Green Hill Academy
by XxSnowDropxX
Summary: Follow Sonic and friends as they face their greatest foe yet, high school! Friendships will be put to the test, romances will blossom while others bust, and there will be...homework! Will they make it out of Green Hill Academy in one piece? Join them as they try to overcome the many challenges high school throws their way. Rated M for controversial topics, several different couples
1. Chapter 1

**Warnings & Disclaimers**

 **Hello, welcome to the story! Before you begin reading, I highly advise that you read through this section.**

 **Let me start by saying that this is my first fan fiction ever—and possibly will be my only one, depending on a few factors. I've tried to write it in the past, but felt it needed more work. This is a High School/ Boarding School AU,** **BUT** **I promise it won't be like the ones you've read on this site before. I read tons of stories like this, and the majority of them are always the same. Fed up with reading the unoriginal content, I decided to try my hand at my own story.**

 **-This is a high school story, and with that comes a range of topics that might potentially discourage someone from reading. Be warned that there will be controversial topics such as** **but not limited to** **; abuse, drugs, sex, violence, bullying, self-harm, mental illness, homophobia, suicide, etc. Of course, I will put another warning in the chapters these topics are featured in.**

 **-** **There will be NO OCs.** **I personally believe OCs are pointless in a story, and often times they take away from stories that are supposed to be about Sonic and co.** ** _(Not that I have anything against people with OCs of course)_** **I personally feel like there are so many characters in the sonic franchise with so many personalities and alignments, that there really is no need for OCs. This will be the very first—or one of the very few stories where every single character featured** ** _and named_** **will be a canon character from somewhere in the franchise (TV shows, comics, games)**

 **-** **This WILL NOT just be centered around game characters.** **The story will focus on several different characters from throughout all parts of the franchise like Sonic Underground, and the Sonic Archie Comics.**

 **-** **No pairing will be set in stone.** **A huge problem with these high school stories is the pairings being permanent. I think it ruined the fun of reading, because you already knew which couples would make it to the end. Warning you now, there will be tons of relationship drama: make-ups, break-ups, hook-ups, cheating etc.**

 **-** **Pairings won't all be generic** **. There will be some pairings featured that are very obscure or never really thought of before, but** **ALL the pairings are subject to change** **like I've stated before.**

 **-** **No characters will be bashed, nor will any be glorified** **. Every character in the series has their flaws. However, no story can entirely avoid OOCness, especially when they throw in characters from different parts of the franchise together. Some character interactions will be completely original because they've never met in canon. Also, for the sake of plot some characters who lacked personality in canon will be given original personalities based on how I perceived their actions in canon. (Example: Saffron Bee offered absolutely nothing to the comics, she had zero personality, only serving as Charmy's girlfriend. So maybe I'd make her an obsessive Charmy fangirl in the story.)**

 **-** **I want this to be as interactive as possibly** **, so at the end of every chapter, I might ask you questions like "what would you have done in this situation?" or what your thoughts are on a character's predicament.** **This is optional of course** **, I'd just like to know your thoughts. There will also be a ton of references to the games, comics, and TV shows, mention the ones you spot in your review! I'd like to see how many you can catch. :D**

 **-I intend this to have fairly long chapters, just because I have so much content to work with. This story revolves around several characters. This will be a long-running fic (Honestly depending on how motivated I stay.) So following will be the best way to keep up. Again,** **completely optional.** **You can help me stay motivated by letting me know you're actually interested in me continuing.**

 **-Lastly, I don't own** **ANY** **of the characters mentioned by name in this story, or some of the places mentioned. Credit for what they created goes to Sega of Japan, Sega of America, Archie, Ken Penders, and Karl Bollers respectively. (** **Please don't sue me Ken. Lol** **)**

 **Feel free to PM me about any questions you may have.**

 **Now that all that's out of the way, enjoy the story!**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Family Matters**

"Finally!" The magenta hedgehog sighed in relief, taking a seat on one of the many large suitcases piled up in the corner of her now vacant bedroom.

Sonia took one last look around the room, making sure she hadn't forgotten anything. The lilac-colored walls were now bare, with a few light square patches where pictures used to hang. The white shelves, were swept clean of the many books, and hair products that used to occupy them. The matching white dresser and nightstands on either side of the bare queen-sized bed had each drawer pulled out and emptied. It's hard to believe this was the same room she had slept in just last night.

"I can't believe summer's already over." She whined, cupping her face with her hands while her elbows were propped up by her knees. She didn't have much of a summer to begin with. Most of it was spent working at her uncle's pizza shop. It took up a great deal of her time, but at least the pay was good. She needed the money to buy a new phone after Sonic had stepped on, and broke her previous one. As much fun as it was to work with her uncle at the shop, she couldn't help but feel like it stole a lot of the time she could have spent with her friends.

Her gloomy thoughts were immediately swept away when her jade-eyes caught sight of the gleaming gem that dangled on the chain around her neck. She twirled it around her fingers, admiring its beauty. It was an over-sized green emerald that glistened even in the dimmest lighting. A truly breathtaking piece of art. It filled the magenta hedgehog's heart with such joy at the thought of how it had come into her possession.

She shook her head in an attempt to repress the blush forming on her pale muzzle, got up, and began to gather her bags. She carried the four, large, purple bags down the stairs with ease. For someone with such a petite frame, she harbored an incredible strength. She set her bags beside the door before scurrying to the living room to see her brothers had already begun saying their goodbyes to their mother.

Sonia walked over and joined them, standing side-by-side with her siblings as their mother made her way to each one to give a personal goodbye. Right now, she was cupping Manic's face in her hands, and trying her hardest at fighting back tears.

"You promise me you'll stay out of trouble?"

"I'll try my best Ma." He chuckled, giving her a wink.

Manic was a bit of a trouble-maker, and wildly known for it. He wasn't exactly an honor student either. He preferred to do his own thing, even when it was the wrong thing. It's a wonder how he made it to junior year without staying back. She kissed him on the forehead before sending him off to go load his bags onto the bus waiting outside. Then, she moved down the line to Tails.

"My sweet baby…" The lavender hedgehog cooed, kneeling down a bit so she was eye-level with the little fox. "I can't believe you're leaving me so soon."

Like Sonia, Tails didn't exactly have a traditional summer of goofing off and relaxing. The majority of it was spent taking extra classes and placement tests—which to him was a summer well spent. Indeed it was, because just a few weeks ago he not only got an acceptance letter to Green Hill Academy, he managed to score high enough to skip an entire grade. Instead of starting out as a freshman, he's going in as a sophomore this year.

"It's not forever Mom." Tails assured her. He felt his heart-strings being more than pulled—they were tearing. He hadn't been away from her since she adopted him. He never even stood overnight at a friend's house before, and now he's off to a boarding school!

"It feels like just yesterday that I brought you home." She sniffled, no longer able to keep her composure.

After the triplets, Aleena was informed that she could no longer bear children. She was content with her three babies for a while, but she always felt like she wasn't complete. The triplets' father was a marine. He was constantly off on duty, occasionally showing up every now and again, but never always there. Once the kids started school she found herself completely alone. Ten years ago, she accidentally stumbled into an orphanage called Metropolis Sanctuary that she had mistook for a daycare. There, she discovered the missing piece of her heart, Tails Prower.

"You've grown up so much. I love you, and I know you'll make me proud." She gave him a kiss on the forehead, then sent him off to load away his bags. Next was Sonic. She embraced him immediately, and didn't release him as they talked.

"My hero." She whispered to him. A childhood nickname.

"Behind every hero is a great mom." He chuckled.

"Please look out for Tails."

"I will."

"And make sure Manic stays away from **_'trouble'_**."

Sonic tensed up at her words a bit, but nodded his head in understanding. She then pulled away, giving him a kiss on the forehead before sending him off like the others. Last but never least, was her only daughter, Sonia. Aleena took hold of her daughter's hands and gave them a squeeze.

"Do I even have to worry about you?" She joked.

"Of course not." Sonia assured her.

Sonia was universally gifted. Intelligent, with a 5.0 grade point average. She was the first student in the region to ever skip a grade after acing the placement exams without taking any extra classes. She chalked it all up to that photographic memory of hers. She'll be returning as a senior this year, while her brothers try surviving junior year without her. Not only is she smart, but she's undeniably beautiful, and if that wasn't enough, she's also a star-athlete. She and Sonic bring home several sports trophies every year. Safe to say, there really was no need for Aleena to worry about this one.

"Just look after your brothers..." She smiled, letting go of her daughter's hand to grab the large emerald hanging off her neck, "and tell Knuckles I said hello."

Sonia's face instantly flushed at the mention of the red echidna's name. Her mother just giggled before kissing her on the forehead to send her off. She sped away as fast as she could to save herself the embarrassment of trying to explain the blushing away.

Aleena stood in the doorway of her colonial-styled home as she watched her four children team up to load the bus. She smiled to herself, thanking Chaos for blessing her with each one of them. With Tails leaving with the triplets to Green Hill Academy, it'll be the first time in years Aleena will find herself all alone again…

* * *

Knuckles laid in his full-sized bed, arms propping up his head in replacement of his missing pillow, while he stared at the ceiling of his bedroom, deep in thought. The contents of his entire room were packed away messily in a single black duffle bag that sat beside the door. There wasn't much in there to begin with, but after packing, there was practically nothing left. The room was pretty small, with its only furnishings being the full-size bed, which was now stripped of its linens, and an empty wooden dresser. He lived with his father in a small, two bedroom cabin-styled home secluded just outside the big city of Mobotropolis where most of his friends lived.

At the moment, he was feeling a bit conflicted. He was one of the very few people in the world who despised summer, and couldn't wait to get back to school. Not that he was a big fan of text books—he really wasn't—school just gave him more freedom of choice, and he loved that. His father Locke was a renowned businessman, and the owner of a profound jewelry shop called _'Master Emerald'_. Every summer, he'd force Knuckles to work security at the store, and insisted he learn the tricks of the trade to one day take over the family business. Although he had no interest in owning the store one day, and absolutely hated working security every single summer, he didn't have the heart to refuse his father. School was a dream come true for him because it offered him everything summers didn't; freedom to make his own choices, do things that really interested him, and actually socialize with people his age.

Sometimes it felt like his dad cared more about the job than him, or anything for that matter. He honestly couldn't recall his dad being present at any major events of his childhood; not his first day of preschool, none of his football games, not even a single birthday. Locke's workaholic nature is what prompted the divorce between his parents. Eventually, his mother found a man who finally put her first, and had another child—whom Knuckles was never to speak to, or speak of around his father. He felt pressured into putting up with his father's bullshit because he was all the man had left, but as much as Knuckles tried to deny it… he wanted out more than anything.

 _'Is it wrong? To be this happy about getting away from Dad and that stupid Master Emerald?…'_ He kept thinking to himself.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE!**

His thoughts were interrupted by the familiar sound of his cellphone, signaling him that he'd just received a text message. He sat up from his comfy position on the bed, and fished out his phone from the pocket of his black cargo shorts. After unlocking the device, he held it up to his face and read the new message.

 ** _Sonia:_** _Hey you! Hope you're all packed up. Bus is headin' for your stop right now._

Just the sight of her name on his screen made him smile. He couldn't say this summer was completely uneventful, he did manage to snag the girl he's been pinning after since middle school. He'd saved up all his work money from the past four summers to buy her the most expensive, high-quality gem at his father's store. He closed his eyes and tried to re-imagine the baffled expression on her face once he had got done placing it around her neck and asking her the big question.

 ** _Knuckles:_** _Don't worry, I'm all packed up and ready to go._

 ** _Sonia:_** _Great! I can't wait to see you. You better come sit with me!_

 ** _Knuckles:_** _Save me a seat and I just might lol_

He tried to play it as cool as possible, but truth be told, he was just as giddy and excited to see her as she was him. She was the only girl who could make him feel so genuinely happy, and she didn't even have to do anything special. There was just something about her that radiated positiveness from him.

 **HONK, HONK!**

He looked out his tiny bedroom window and saw the long silver bus with _'Green Hill Academy 004'_ scrawled on the side in fancy calligraphy. He hopped out of bed, grabbed his bag, and headed out. He shut off the lights to every room on his way to the front door. Before stepping outside, he turned slightly toward the empty recliner of the dark living room, "Bye Dad…" He called out, knowing he wouldn't get an answer. He was just used to the routine of saying goodbye, even when he knew no one was there, and maybe he held out a bit of hope that one day his father would be there for once. With that, he locked the door behind him and made his way toward the bus.

He tossed his bag in the lower compartment the driver had opened up, then he rushed into the bus and scanned every face until he found that of Sonia the Hedgehog. Upon seeing her, he immediately ran toward her. She got up from her seat, allowing him to pick her up and spin her around. It was like a scene straight out of a sappy romance movie, some people 'awed', while others cooed lovingly.

"I'm so glad to see you." The red echidna told her as he set her down, still holding her by the waist.

She replied by giving him kiss, causing more 'awes' to come from the crowd.

"Get a room!" Sonic blurted out, unable to hide the disgust he felt toward the two, and their romantic reunion.

Sonia glared at him with that _'shut up before I kill you'_ kind of look before taking the window seat, while guiding Knuckles by the hand to sit next to her.

"See!" She leaned into him, nuzzling into his shoulder, "I saved you a seat."

"Thanks a lot Babe." Knuckles responded, then kissed the top of her head.

"Chaos, I think I'm gonna hurl." Manic grumbled at the sight of the two from the row of seats across the aisle from them.

* * *

"I'm just so, so, so, **SO EXCITED**! It's going to be great! I don't know which outfit I'll wear first. My red bandeau with some high-waisted cutoff jeans? Or maybe my cute pink sundress with the poke-a-dots?-"

"Amy…"

"Or maybe my baby pink petal skirt with an off the shoulder white top! Yeah, that sounds cute. Hmm, maybe I should ask Sonic what he think would look best—"

"Amy!"

"Oh Sonic! I can't wait to finally see him in person! It's been so long since I've visited Mobotropolis! Ugh, why do we have to live in stupid Merica? Oh well, at least now I'm finally going to Green Hill Academy, and I'll finally be able to hang out with my friends all the time, and see Sonic's adorable face up close and maybe even…—"

" **AMY**!"

"What?" The pink hedgehog snapped out of her compulsive rambling to glare at her cousin who was sitting in the driver's seat.

"I think you should take a second to breathe my Dear Cousin." The teal hedgehog advised.

Amy lived in a lavish modern-style manor in the city of Mercia with her older cousin, Rob O'Hedge, his wife Mari-An the Echidna, and their new born son Jon. Just a few weeks ago, she got an acceptance letter to Green Hill Academy, a boarding school located a few hours away from Merica. Normally the school would provide transportation, but Merica was out of their jurisdiction, so her cousin Rob offered to drive her. She was skeptical about whether his old beat up Honda Civic would make it, but it hasn't given them any trouble so far.

"I'm just so excited! Especially for Sonic." Amy cooed.

"Your main focus should be your studies."

"Yeah, that too." She rolled her eyes, before pulling out her phone and texting away.

Rob couldn't help but worry about his baby cousin. With her bubbly, cute, pink appearance, and cheerful demeanor, you never would have guessed she came from a broken home. He'd never left her side since Child Services placed her in his custody a few years ago. Since then, he's tried his hardest to make her as happy as one could be. He gave her anything she wanted, took her anywhere she wanted to go, and would do anything for her in a heartbeat just to keep her from frowning. To him, he was trying to water a withering little rose back to life, but in reality he was only fueling a dark fire. As a child she was grateful for everything he provided, but now that she's a teenager, she's much more demanding, and has incredibly high 'fairy-tale' like expectations. Although he's tried so hard to give her a better life, the effects of her dark past have been catching up with her, and with the incidents of last year—he wasn't sure if letting her attend the boarding school was such a good idea.

"I must confess, I'm a little worried. With what happened at the last school I just-"

"I **DON'T** want to talk about it." She immediately cut him off, anger purely audible in her voice, "I **NEVER** want to talk about."

He instantly dropped the subject. He knew better than to get her upset. The car was silent for a long time, the only sound being the static from the radio, and the constant tapping of buttons on Amy's phone.

 ** _Sonic:_** _What bus are you on?_

 ** _Amy:_** _None of the buses come to Mercia. My cousin is driving me._

 ** _Sonic:_** _Oh, that sucks._

 ** _Amy:_** _Yeah. Wish I could be riding the bus with you right now._

Sonic and Amy used to be neighbors when she lived in Mobotropolis with her parents a few years ago. They never really talked aside from the typical 'hi' and 'goodbye' thing.

Until one day when he had come to her aid after an altercation between her parents got out of control. After that they became really good friends.

That's when she first began crushing on him too, and even though she's moved away, she still feels exactly the same about him as she did that first day he actually talked to her. She's kept in touch with all of her friends through social media, and went to visit them every now and again. She was so excited to finally be reunited with all of them at once. Although these last few years have been stressful and hectic, she had hope that she could keep it together this year. Hopefully her friends would help her overcome these issues.

"Rob…" Amy piped up, placing her hand on top of his while it rested on the stick shift. "Please don't worry so much. I think I'm going to be okay. I mean it this time." She assured him.

* * *

Green Hill Academy was built ten years ago as a present from the wealthy politician Maximillian Acorn, to his wife Alicia Acorn. As their four children began growing up, their mother felt less and less needed, making her fall into a deep depression. Max thought the solution to her problem would be to find her a hobby. She had always loved to care for children, so he built her a boarding school to run.

It certainly did pull her out of her depression like he had hoped, but what he didn't expect was this little hobby turning into an actual career. In less than two years, Alicia had turned Green Hill Academy into a prestige school, being recognized for the last eight years as the number one boarding school in over five districts. Kids came from cities all across the country just to attend.

With her growing success, and the school's renowned recognition, Max had started feeling inadequate. At some point people started to refer to him as simply _'Alicia's husband'_ rather than call her _'Max's wife'_ anymore. Being the old fashioned man that he was, he would not tolerate this. They began to argue more and more frequently until finally they filed for divorce eight years ago. Unfortunately, he got custody of two of their four children, and immediately moved them away to Moebius that same year. A city located literally on the other side of the country. Even after the divorce, and loss of her two children, Alicia has continued to run the school accordingly.

Right now, she was sitting at the big wooden desk in her office, going through approved applications to see what new students had been accepted. Her fingers moved swift on the keyboard as years of practice had made her a pro.

"Tails Prower, Julie-Su the Echidna, Cosmo the Seedrian, Cream the Rabbit, Matilda the Armadillo…" Her voice trailed off as she gasped in shock at one of the names on the list.

Just outside, a dirty old yellow taxi had pulled into the school parking lot. Scribed in messy graffiti lettering on the side of the cab were the words _'Moebius TaXXXi Cabz'_. The back door swung open, and out stepped an auburn-haired chipmunk girl.

"Sally Acorn…" One of her lost children.


	2. Chapter 2

**The first five chapters all take place on the first day. They serve as the world building chapters, which tend to suck pretty bad. Sorry about that, they'll pick up once I establish some of the characters and their roles.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Unexpected Reappearances**

About a half hour into the bus ride, all the sleeping teens were rudely awoken by the sound of the driver's voice screeching over the intercom. "We've got about eight stops left in the Sand Blast city area, then we'll be heading back to Green Hill Academy." The short, bald driver had a very whiny and irritating voice that screeched to such high octaves over the intercom that everyone received instant headaches.

Sonia sat up from her position of leaning on her boyfriend to stretch, leaving the echidna relieved to finally move his shoulder, but disappointed that they were no longer physically touching. His gaze drifted toward her, as she arched her back to relieve herself from the soreness of sitting for so long. She was wearing a low-cut, long sleeved, white crop top that ended just above her pierced navel, high-waisted ripped jean shorts that showed off her long legs, and lime-green Converse sneakers that matched the green emerald hanging from her necklace. His gaze started to drift downward from her face to her chest, where the gem rested just above her cleavage. She felt his gaze on her and giggled in response. He started blushing when he realized she'd caught on.

Suddenly he fell forward, smacking his face on the back of the chair in front of him after the blue hedgehog behind him had kicked the back of his seat. "Eyes front Romeo." He mumbled, only loud enough for Knuckles to hear.

Knuckles held his nose and winced in pain. _'I'll give him that one.'_ He thought to himself.

"Oh my Chaos!" Sonia gasped, putting her hand to his cheek to comfort him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine." He glared at Sonic from the crack in between the seats.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

Sonia's phone began to vibrate in her pocket, so she pulled away from Knuckles to see who had sent the message. She hadn't expected anyone to text her, seeing as how her boyfriend was already here. Her jade eyes lit up as she read the text, and a big smile crossed her face, making Knuckles a bit curious.

 ** _Elias:_** _Hey Princess, did your chariot break down or something?_

 ** _Sonia:_** _Lol, no. Just got stuck with Snively as a driver. Should be there in another hour._

 ** _Elias:_** _Hope your ears are still functioning by then._

While Sonia was consumed in her texting, Knuckles decided to finally take a nap. Sitting behind the two were Sonic and Tails who sat by the window. Sonic had been texting Amy the entire bus ride, while Tails looked out the window and wondered what was to come in the future. He'd be the youngest kid in his classes, and on top of that he would be new.

 _'What if everyone thinks I'm a nerd? Well I am, but what if they think that? What if I'm deemed a loser, and everyone makes fun of me? What if I can't make friends? What if me and Sonic aren't roommates?'_ He started giving himself anxiety from thinking so negatively. His leg began to shake uncontrollably in response.

Sonic knew Tails' uncontrollable shaking was a coping mechanism, meaning that the poor little guy was nervous. He put away his cellphone and patted the fox's head in an attempt to both comfort him, and get his attention.

The trembling kitsune turned toward him. "Sonic…I'm nervous." He confessed.

"There's no need to be nervous little buddy." Sonic assured him.

"What if no one likes me?" He wasn't worried about the academic portion of school at all, just the social aspect terrified him. He wasn't exactly a 'smooth' conversationalist.

"Are you kidding? Everyone's gonna love you! Guaranteed." Sonic spoke with such confidence, the nervous fox ceased shaking, and felt his anxiety beginning to flush away. "Even if they don't—which they totally will—you'll always have your big bro lookin' out for ya'! I wouldn't let anyone mess with you."

"Thanks a lot Sonic. You're an awesome big brother."

"And you're an awesome little brother." Sonic replied, ruffing his hair.

The two shared a laugh. Manic didn't look at them, but rolled his eyes at the sound of their laughter. He'd been sitting alone, on the opposite side of the bus in the row of seats beside Knuckles and Sonia. He had his back toward the window while his feet were kicked up onto the empty seat next to him. He really hated not having anything to drum on. The green hedgehog grew increasingly bored and decided to pull out his phone.

 ** _Manic:_** _Yo_

 ** _Shadow:_** _Hey. Are you at the school yet?_

 ** _Manic:_** _Nah, still on the bus._

 ** _Shadow:_** _Which bus?_

 ** _Manic:_** _004_

 ** _Shadow:_** _Damn, I'm on 009. I'm about to punch this babbling raccoon chick in the face. Chaos, she's so damn annoying._

 ** _Manic:_** _I'm not having the best time either dude. I've been listening to Sonia and Knuckles get all lovey-dovey for the past hour, and Sonic's over here kissing Tails' ass with some gay little prep-talks._

 ** _Shadow:_** _Ew, I can't tell which of us has it worse._

 ** _Manic:_** _I know right? All I know is after this I'm gonna need a serious smoke sesh._

 ** _Shadow:_** _Same._

 ** _Manic:_** _Meet up at the old hangout?_

 ** _Shadow:_** _Definitely._

* * *

"Hello Mother…" Sally spoke after opening the door to her mother's office.

The older chipmunk pulled her face away from the computer screen to see her daughter in person for the first time in eight years. She gasped, and stood still for a moment, trying to register if the girl before her was actually real. Her mind had played tricks on her like this before. Once she realized this was no illusion, she rushed out of her chair to embrace her daughter. "Oh Sally!" She cried out, letting tears trickle down her cheeks.

"It's been so long, Mother." Sally whispered, fighting back her own tears.

She took note of how her mother had let her hair grow out. She used to always have it cut to shoulder length, but now the older chipmunk's dark brown hair fell at her waist. Once they pulled away from their hug, Sally studied the features of her face, intent on burning the image into her mind forever. After being a part from her mother for so long, she had almost forgotten what she looked like.

"How are you here? Your father swore he'd never let you see me, or come to this school." Alicia knew something had to have happened. Max would never let her come here willingly, he hated this school more than anything.

"I finally stood up to him." Sally explained, "I hated Moebuis High, I hated that entire city! I was so unhappy there. I love Daddy very much, but I couldn't let him rule my life anymore." She appeared to be proud of what she had done, but sorrow was evident in her voice.

"What was the price for your freedom?" Alicia asked, placing a comforting hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"How do you know there was a price?"

"With your father, there is always a price." She said bitterly. "Mine were my daughters."

"It doesn't matter." Sally shook her head. "I'm just glad I'm here."

"I've missed you so much Darling."

"I've missed you too."

"Have you seen Elias or Nicole yet? She has missed you dearly."

"I saw them in the parking lot, they're waiting for their friends."

"I see. Well, now that reunions are out of the way, why don't I give you a quick tour, then you can go find your room."

"I would like that Principle Acorn." The young chipmunk smiled, "Can you promise me something first?"

"Anything Dear."

"No special treatment."

"You weren't going to receive any in the first place." She laughed, as the two exited the office, "How is your sister doing?"

* * *

Finally, all the Green Hill Academy buses began pulling into the school parking lot. Elias and Nicole got up from their spot on the main building steps and rushed over as the buses were opening their doors. Kids started pouring into the parking lot, greeting one another or trying to get to their bags. Elias pushed his way through the crowd until he spotted Sonia hopping out one of the buses. Before people could get in the way he rushed over to her. "Sonia!" He called out.

The magenta hedgehog looked around, then finally noticed him running toward her. "Eli!" She squealed as she met him half way.

He swept her off her feet and spun her around just as Knuckles did hours ago. Speaking of Knuckles, he was standing a little far behind the two. _'Not this guy…'_ He thought to himself as he crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. He was pretty confident. Normally he wouldn't be jealous of his girl hanging out with any guys, but this wasn't just any guy. This was Elias Acorn, the school heartthrob. Of all people in the world, why did he have to be her best friend? He was practically an Adonis. Humble, kind, athletic, incredibly good looking, he was on some next level shit. Next to him, every other guy was pretty much trash. The echidna couldn't help but feel a bit jealous at how easy he could make the magenta girl laugh, or the way everything he said made her smile. It didn't help that he was constantly calling her 'Princess' while it's common knowledge that he's known as the school prince.

"What's this?" The handsome squirrel asked, picking up the emerald from her chest to look at it closer. Knuckles tightened his fists at the sight of his hand briefly grazing her sternum.

"Well..." Sonia began in a shy tone, blushing a bit. "Remember how I told something unbelievably awesome happened over the summer? Well, the guy I've been crushing on since sixth grade finally asked me out! Come meet him!"

"Wha-?" Before he could respond, the magenta hedgehog already had his wrist locked in a death-grip, dragging him toward the angry looking echidna.

"Elias, this is my boyfriend Knuckles!" She let go of his hand to hook her arms around one of her boyfriend's arms.

' _Not this guy…'_ Elias thought to himself.

Elias only knew him from the few classes they'd taken together in the past. From what he knew, the echidna was one of those macho-tough guys. Always had to prove he was the toughest, had the shortest-temper, and wasn't much of a socialist. He wondered what Sonia saw in him. The six-pack? Or maybe she's just got a thing for echidnas? Chaos knows it couldn't be for his brain. Regardless of his skepticism, the squirrel held out his hand for a greeting. Knuckles thought about not shaking it, but figured Sonia would get pissed, so he opted to just shake the guy's hand.

"Nice to meet you formally." Elias smiled warmly, the wind swiping the auburn fringe across his forehead. Chaos, he was so damn charming it made Knuckles want to scream.

"Same." He agreed, trying his best to put on his own charming smile.

"Well, I've got to go. I'll text you later Princess." The prince scooped her up once more in a goodbye hug before disappearing off in the crowd of suitcases and teenagers.

* * *

Sonic attempted to squeeze through the crowd while simultaneously creating a path for Tails, making sure his little brother wasn't bumped or hit by the bustling teens. It took a while, but the two managed to reach the grassy lawn of the campus grounds while dragging their suitcases out to safety. Sonic looked back to make sure the kitsune was still in one piece. "You alright Tails?"

"Yeah." He replied breathlessly. "That crowd is hectic!"

"Better get used to it Bud." The blue hedgehog chuckled. "Did ya' see where Manic went?"

"He went off with Shadow that way." Tails pointed his finger toward the single dirt road that led to the parking lot. It was the only trail connecting the campus to the outside world, with the closest city being an hour away.

Sonic shrugged his shoulders in response to the information. Much to his dislike, Shadow and Manic have grown pretty close over the past two years. They always ran off to do their own thing—whatever it was. He wasn't particularly fond of Shadow, kind of thought of him as an arrogant prick who only cared about himself. Even so, he certainly was an upgrade from Manic's old best friend.

" **SONIC!** " They were just inches from the main building's door when they heard a loud shriek from behind them. They turned around to see a pink hedgehog toss both her gigantic pink suitcases to the ground and charge at them with arms flailing about.

"Ames!" The blue hedgehog called back, dropping his suitcase to open his arms for the hug that was to come. She leapt into him, wrapping her arms around his neck, and her legs around his waist. He stumbled back from the force of her weight but managed to keep it together. "Whoa, take it easy Amy!"

"I'm just so glad to see you! To be here with you!" She squealed lovingly.

He finally set her down, and the two exchanged compliments.

"You look just as cute in person still. Thank Chaos!" She laughed, fanning her face with her hand in an attempt to cool the warmth of her now blushing cheeks.

"I look good no matter what!" He boasted. "You're not lookin' too bad either!"

She had changed a lot since the last time he saw her, almost completely. Aside from the signature red headband and gold bracelets she was sporting, everything else was entirely different. She looked much livelier than she did those few years ago. Last time he saw her she had short pink quills that barely fell past her neck in a boyish haircut, now the quills fell a little past her shoulders. Her once slender body frame had formed a bit of curve, mainly only in the hip area. She even found a new fashion sense, dropping the old tacky orange skirt and ugly tennis shoes—much to his relief—right now she was rocking a hot pink lace-trim tanktop with some acid-wash blue jeans, and pink sandals.

The blush on her face grew deeper. She clasped her hands behind her back and dug her foot into the grass in a shy manner. "Thank you." She giggled.

"Hey, you remember Tails right?" Sonic asked, pulling Tails out from behind him. He didn't want Tails feeling awkward, and this was the perfect opportunity to introduce him to someone.

Amy studied the timid fox's face for a moment before she finally registered who he was. "Tails! The little fox cub your mom adopted!" The last time she saw him he was about five years old. He didn't look much different, aside from being much taller now. He still had a baby face.

"Ye-yeah…" He nodded. She was so pretty, he found himself becoming increasingly anxious again.

Upon recognition the pink hedgehog immediately embraced him. "It's so cool to see you again! You're adorable."

He blushed wildly at the contact. Her embrace was so warm, and she smelt like cotton candy—he nearly passed out. After she pulled away she turned her attention back to Sonic and they chit-chatted for a bit before saying their goodbyes.

"We should all probably go check in before the line gets too long." Sonic suggested before picking up his bags. "It's been one hell of a long day already."

"After checking in we should text the others and all link up tomorrow at lunch."

"Yeah, that sounds cool. Everyone will be way too busy unpacking today."

"Great! I'll set up the group chat!" Amy jumped up and down in excitement. "See ya' later Sonikku!" She cheered before speeding back to where she had dropped her bags. Sonic cringed at the pet name, but didn't fuss about it, even though he absolutely despised it.

He and Tails entered the main building and headed toward the main office to check in and get their dorm keys. To their relief, the line wasn't too long.

* * *

Knuckles and Sonia stood way behind in the check in line. She had her arm looped around his while her head rested against his shoulder. They'd been discussing all their plans for the school year while they waited for the line to move forward.

"Can't wait to see you back on the field Mr. Star Quarterback."

"Can't wait to see you in those volleyball shorts." He gave her a wink, and she punched him in the arm playfully.

"Don't be so dirty! We're in public." She joked.

"Fine. I'll wait til we're not in public."

"Stop it." She giggled, bringing her blushing face closer to his to kiss him on the cheek.

The echidna's ear caught a loud familiar voice booming from across the room. He looked forward to see a big green crocodile walking back from the front desk with a key and schedule in one hand, while wheeling his luggage in the other. The croc was coming straight for him, a big grin on his face. "Check out the power-couple ova here! What up Knux?"

"Vex!" Knuckles greeted, letting go of his girlfriend to fist bump his old pal. "How long's it been since the last party?" He laughed.

"Too long brotha'." The crocodile replied, "I'm thinking about throwing another one at the Hotel Metropolis next week."

Vector the Crocodile was known as **THE** party **GOD**. His parties were legendary, about 99% of the school gossip was inspired by them because of how much shit went down at them. They weren't just any old cake and ice cream parties either. The crocodile came from a rags-to-riches kind of story and liked to flaunt his new fortune, as well as share it. His extravagant events always took place in cool settings, and always had some sort of clever theme to them. Last party he threw was earlier that summer. It was hosted at the Colors Amusement Park, and the theme was aliens, so everyone had to come in a futuristic-alien type costume. The way he invited people was pretty clever as well. He would send a barcode through text to as many people as he wanted to be there, then they would send it to whoever they wanted to come, but they were limited to only send the code to three other numbers. The parties could be extremely big or small, depending on how many people Vector sent the barcode to.

"I'm down all the time. Just send that barcode my way." Knuckles assured him. He'd love to take Sonia to a wild party.

"I'll let you know." He laughed at the echidna's obvious eagerness. "Just gotta figure out a theme here. For once I'm drawin' a blank."

"How about a romantic one?" Sonia suggested.

"Hmmm.. Never really thought about that." The croc grabbed his chin while he mulled over the idea for a moment, "I'll have to take that into consideration."

"Whatever theme, it's still gonna be a badass party like usual." Knuckles added.

"True." Vector agreed. "Speaking of badass, you'll never believe whose coming to this school now!"

The echidna took a moment to think about who Vector might be talking about, but he couldn't think of anyone. Everyone was already here as far as he knew.

"Who?"

"Julie-Su!"

The echidna froze, his mouth slightly agape and his eyes wide with shock. His breath instantly caught in his throat at the sound of that name. Time seemed to stand still as he was unable to breathe or move in the moments it took him to fully register what his friend was saying.

"Knuckles? Are you okay?" Sonia asked worriedly as she reached out to touch him.

He ignored her, focusing his attention on the crocodile before him. " **WHERE IS SHE?** " he demanded in an angry, yet desperate tone. All eyes were now on them thanks to the rugged echidna's outburst. His hands were shaking with pent up emotion.

'I don't know man! Chill." Vector raised both hands in a cautious manner as if someone had a gun pointed to him. "Mighty picked her up from the airport this morning. She should be around."

After absorbing the information he immediately turned toe and headed back out the front doors.

"Knuckles! Wait!" Sonia cried out. She didn't understand what had gotten into him, and she couldn't leave their place in line or their luggage to go after him. "What was that about?" She turned toward the crocodile.

"Abandonment." He stated vaguely before walking out the same door the echidna stormed out of.

Knuckles hastily made his way down the main building steps and started running in no particular direction. He zig-zagged between groups of students while making sure to keep an eye out for the hot-pink echidna. His mind was in such a frenzy he couldn't stop running, let alone think about anything other than finding her.

Julie-Su the Echidna, just hearing the name tore his heart in two. She used to live in the house across the street from his when they were little. Back then, Knuckles didn't like girls at all. He thought they were all just annoying cry-babies, but Julie-Su was different. She was as tomboyish as they came, didn't care about getting dirty, or getting hurt. While most girls were playing dress up, she was outside with the boys, wrestling—and beating them all. The two immediately struck up a friendship upon meeting, and were practically inseparably. They had sleepovers, trained for sports tournaments together, and told each other everything—he even told her about his growing crush on Sonia in their preteen years. The two were best friends, the red echidna had never pictured his life without her, until she was no longer there. Without any explanation or warning, the girl echidna had moved back to Echidnopolis in the eighth grade, leaving Knuckles with a plethora of mixed feelings. He called her hundreds of times for months, leaving her voicemails in which he sobbed, screamed, or sometimes begged for her to return his calls. She never did reply. Eventually, he stopped trying, but occasionally he sometimes caught himself absentmindedly dialing her number in times of sorrow.

That was all four years ago. To hear that she's back in town sent all those mixed feelings rushing back through him. He didn't know how to feel exactly. Happy because she's here? Angry because she left? Or sad for all the years he's missed her company? He didn't know what he would do when he found her, all he knew was that he needed to see her, he needed to know why…

 _'Why did she abandon me like that?'_


	3. Chapter 3

**Very thankful for the follows, and extremely thankful for the reviews!**

 **I'm glad you're reading.**

 **So far I don't really have a particular uploading schedule, these just happen when they happen for now.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Last Minute Arrivals**

As soon as the buses let off, Shadow and Manic immediately linked up amongst the crowd of bustling teenagers. They both packed fairly light, only having a camping backpack swung over their shoulders, and a duffle bag in hand. The two weaseled their way out of crowd and back toward the dirt road the buses had just driven them down. The two trotted down the trail, dropping their bags to the side as they passed a cigarette between each other while they walked.

"Ugh, I really didn't want to be back here dude." Manic groaned, passing the cigarette back to his ebony friend.

"Me either."

"At least this is your last year." Manic mumbled bitterly. "I'm stuck here for another two."

"You'll survive somehow." Shadow assured him, handing him back the cigarette.

They used to do this all the time last year. GHA has a strict no smoking or drinking on campus rule, and even stricter enforcers—Officer Zonic being the worst of them. Of course, as avid rule-breakers the two hedgehogs had to find some way around the rules. Thus, the two did their drinking and smoking on the road, which technically wasn't considered campus grounds. Their devious antics are the reason for their never ending cat-and-mouse game with campus security.

"What are you gonna do? Once you've graduated I mean." Manic asked. He was twirling his drumsticks in one hand while holding the cigarette to his lips with the other.

"I think I want to go into the military after graduation."

"Hmmm…That sounds pretty right for you." The green hedgehog shrugged, handing the cigarette away. "I mean, you kick ass at Call of Duty, and you're subscribed to a bunch of gun magazines. Military sounds right up your alley."

"What about you?"

"Huh?"

"What do you want to do once you've graduated?"

"Don't know. Never saw much of a future for myself. Even when I was a kid I never saw one, and that's when most people want to be like a doctor or a firefighter."

That answer took Shadow a bit by surprise. The two had become extremely close ever since Shadow started attending the school two years ago, and have hung out on a daily basis since. You'd think they were best friends and knew everything about each other by now, but the truth is they didn't. Manic never really talked about his past, or himself at all, and neither did Shadow. It's not like the ebony hedgehog wanted to be so vague, he just didn't know how approach such situations. It's been a long time since he's had a close friend. What drew him to Manic of all people in the first place was how the green hedgehog didn't have any expectations for him. They could sit in silence for hours, and he wouldn't mind it while most people would have expected a conversation or been upset by his quiet nature.

It always felt like Manic didn't talk about himself for a reason, as if he were keeping Shadow at arm's length on purpose. The realization that he really didn't quite know Manic, or even put an effort into letting Manic actually know him made him feel a little disheartened.

"You don't picture yourself as a musician?"

"Nah." Manic shrugged, handing off the cigarette once more. "I lost my passion in music years ago."

Shadow gave him a look of skepticism. This kid carried drumsticks everywhere, banged them on every surface he could find, created rhythms of such beauty out of just mindless tapping. How could he not like music? For crying out loud he's got six IPods full of music down to the last gigabyte!

"How can you not like music? You carry those things everywhere!"

Manic Looked down at the drumsticks he held in his hand. Shadow swore he could see a look of saudade through that mask of a nonchalant expression.

"Someone important to me gave me these a long time ago…"

"Who?"

Before he could get an answer, Shadow's phone began to violently buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw that Rouge was calling. He was finally going to learn something about Manic, but he knew if he didn't answer this call he'd get his ear torn off about it later. So he reluctantly answered.

 _"What do you want?"_ He asked in an annoyed tone.

 _"First off, don't take that tone with me. Ever. Secondly, you and Manic better get your cute little asses back here because Zonic is out for blood. Also, you might want to ditch the cigs and booze if you brought any. He's on luggage check."_

 _"Damn."_

"What?" Manic questioned, curious as to what they were talking about.

"We've got a bit of a problem." Shadow informed him while simultaneously hanging up on Rouge.

* * *

"Welp, here we are!" The red-shelled armadillo exclaimed, pulling his red Chevy Malibu into the school parking lot. All the buses were beginning to depart now, and the crowd in the parking lot had finally begun to disperse and scatter to several other sections of the campus grounds.

His name was Mighty the Armadillo. He's one of GHA's all-star athletes, and well known for his incredible strength and contradicting gentle nature. He's a savage on the football field, but when he's not playing any sports, he's as sweet as they come.

He was sitting in the driver's seat, pulling the keys out of the ignition as he turned to look at the pink echidna in the passenger seat beside him. Julie-Su, a longtime friend. She moved away years ago, but the two secretly kept in touch. She finally moved back from Echidnapolis to stay with her grandfather, who insisted she attend this school for her final year, much to her dismay. She was wearing a black-sleeved baseball shirt, some black knee-high shorts, and matching Converse. Her typical tom-boyish fashion certainly hasn't changed one bit, but her physical appearance has taken a more feminine form. Her stick-figure has grown out into a more coke-bottle frame, and her once butch-esque hairstyle has grown out to her waistline, she's even got a few silver extensions in. You'd never guess this was the same Julie-Su that used to stomp around in mud, and beat Knuckles in arm-wrestling.

"Great." She remarked sarcastically. She had her arms crossed, and was staring at her shoes, biting her lip nervously.

"A little more enthusiasm wouldn't kill you Julie." The armadillo chuckled. Opening his door and stepping out of his car.

Once he was out, he opened the back door, and out stepped a young female armadillo and a shaky yellow squirrel from the backseat. "At least you two are excited right?"

"I am Big Brother." The little armadillo girl nodded.

"I'm ex-ex-excited to be ba-ba-back." The yellow squirrel agreed.

The armadillo girl was his little sister, Matilda. This will be her first year. The squirrel's name is Ray. He was one of the many foster brothers Mighty had, and the only one he ever formed a bond with. Matilda had been separated from him in the foster care system when he was three. She was shipped off to Sand Blast City, while he was shipped to Moebius, where he eventually encountered Ray. After turning eighteen a few months ago, he legally adopted both his younger sister, and foster brother. They've been happily living in a small two bedroom cottage in Mercia ever since. On top of attending school, Mighty has to juggle three jobs to support them and pay rent. Luckily, he got today and tomorrow off.

"Great!" He cheered happily, as he opened the trunk and unloaded their luggage. "We should probably get moving. That line to check in must be huge."

"I-I-Is Julie coming?"

"She looks a bit upset." Matilda added worriedly.

Mighty looked over at their friend who still sat firmly planted in the passenger seat. He looked back at his siblings to see they were wearing very concerned expressions. Julie-Su had been a little fidgety, and anxious the whole way there.

"Hey listen Ray, why don't you give Tilly the grand tour? I need to talk to Julie for a minute. We'll meet you guys back at the check in line."

"O-O-Okay Mi-Mighty." Ray nodded, grabbing his suitcase and going off with Matilda. He watched them for a moment before hopping back in the driver's seat next to the jittery echidna. She was practically breaking her neck, looking in every which direction she could.

"Julie, what the hells the matter with you?" He questioned, narrowing his eyes at her.

"I just don't want to run into **_him_**. Hell, I didn't even want to be here. If I knew the one condition to staying with Grandfather was that I come here I never would have left-"

"His name is Knuckles." The armadillo corrected her, cutting her off in the process. "He's not some nameless ghost from your past. He's your best friend."

" **WAS** my best friend. We haven't talked or seen each other in years. I wouldn't even recognize him if I saw him…"

"Then why look around? Unless…you want to see him."

"I don't."

"Julie."

She hated how he did that, how he read so deeply into everything. It made it impossible to keep secrets from him. As much as she hated that, it's ironically what made him such a great friend. She never really had to explain anything, because he always already knew it. Mighty was her safe haven, she trusted him with everything, so much so that he was the only person she ever let her guard down around.

"I wouldn't know what to say to him. After all this time, what could I possibly fucking say to him Mighty?" Tears began brimming her violet eyes.

"How about the truth? About everything that happened—"

" **NO**!" She screamed. "I can't!"

"Can't? Or you won't?" He grabbed both her wrists, forcing her to look directly at him.

"It's not that simple." She growled, trying to break free of his strong hold.

"Yes it is." He tried to assure her.

Her violet eyes locked with his turquoise ones. He was a wise one, and if he ever gave you advice, 100% of the time it was exactly the right thing to do in any given situation. She knew she should listen to him, but the fear of the unknown kicked the common sense right out of her mind. She pulled herself away just before his words could sink in.

"Let's just go." She huffed, getting out of the car to grab the metallic luggage Mighty had pulled out of the trunk earlier.

"Wait." She had already started walking away. "Julie, hold on a sec!" He hopped out of the car and grabbed his red duffle bag before staggering after her.

* * *

Once Sonia reached the front of the line, she was asked to step aside after getting her key. She wasn't allowed to pick up Knuckles' key and schedule for him, and she didn't want to just leave his bag there so she complied. She had texted him at least thirty times to come back, but hasn't got a response in the half hour he's been gone. She was sitting on top of one of her suitcases, arms crossed, and face in a pout as she watched her brother and his friend set their bags down on the front desk.

"Good evening Officer." Shadow smirked, as Manic flashed a toothy grin. The guy behind the check in desk just grumbled, before tearing into their bags, as if he knew he'd find something Luckily, they were cleared and sent off with their keys.

 _'Those two are definitely up to no good.'_ She thought to herself as they walked away from the desk with victorious grins.

"Yo Sis!" Manic hollered as the two walked her way.

"What do you two want?" She grumbled, holding up her head with her hands as her elbows rested on her knees.

"Where's your man-candy?" The green hedgehog joked.

"He'll be back…eventually."

"He ditched you?" Shadow piped up.

" **NO!** " She retorted, offended by the question. "He'll be here any minute."

"Sure he will." Manic rolled his eyes before walking off.

Shadow glanced back at Sonia as they walked away. "I thought you said they were inseparable on the way here?"

"I guess the honey-moon phase is over." Manic shrugged. "C'mon, we gotta go see what rooms we got. Hopefully I'm not bunked with Bean this year."

Sonia sighed in annoyance before pulling out her phone and sending another text. More time passed. She could do nothing but sit, wait, and watch those who came to collect their keys. Some she recognized, some she didn't. A green-shelled armadillo, and a little yellow squirrel were the last two she watched collect their keys before finally getting up and storming off, leaving Knuckles' bag behind. She angrily stomped down the main building steps until a familiar face stopped her in her tracks.

"Sonia, I'm so sorry." The red echidna apologized.

"Don't." She held up her hand like a stop sign before walking past him.

"Sonia c'mon." He pleaded. "I'm really sorry. I just had to—"

"Ditch me to find another girl? How sweet, now fuck off."

"It's not even like that."

"No, it's exactly that." She turned around to yell in his face. "You, you totally ditched me to go find your old girlfriend!"

"She was never my girlfriend."

"Whatever."

"Look..." He grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward him, wrapping his arms around her waist, forcing her to look at him. "I'm really sorry about leaving. I just got so worked up about hearing she was back. We didn't exactly leave off on good terms. I promise I'll never ditch you again, and I'll for sure make it up to you. Please forgive me?"

She stared into his violet eyes and saw the utmost sincerity. She sighed in defeat before wrapping her arms around his neck. He smiled at the action. "Fine, but you better make it up to me."

"I will." He kissed her passionately before letting her go. "First, I gotta go get my bag." He rushed inside, got his stuff, and then ran back out. He took Sonia by the hand and they made their way toward the girl's dormitory so she could get settled in.

As they walked away from the main building holding hands, a flustered echidna stormed up the steps, while a red-shelled armadillo staggered after her.

* * *

In the school parking lot, a black Hummer H2 with red and orange flames plastered on the sides pulled up right next to the red Chevy Malibu. Inside the car, sitting at the driver's seat was a green hedgehog. He had on some black jeans, a white V-neck, and an open black leather jacket with flames patterned up the sleeves that resembled the vehicle he drove. A chain dangled from his neck, but it fell under his shirt, masking whatever hung from it. On top of his head rested his trademark red sunglasses. "Hello GHA! Your king has arrived!" He yelled out his rolled-down window.

"Settle down Scourge." The red vixen sitting beside him in the passenger seat commanded.

"C'mon Babe. I'm sure they haven't forgotten the queen either." He flashed her a toothy grin, with his naturally razor-sharp teeth.

She chuckled a bit before turning her attention to the car beside them. The beautiful features of her face tensed a bit in disgust. She reached into her small black Prada bag for a pack of cigarettes and a yellow lighter. She quickly pulled one out, lit it, and took a drag.

"Smoking on campus grounds? Naughty girl." Scourge commented, leaning over to kiss the fox's neck roughly.

She ignored the kissing, and the hands that started caressing her chest, which was barely contained by the small black tube-top she was wearing. Her mind was elsewhere, but her boyfriend didn't need to know that. After finishing up the last bit of her cigarette, she swiped him away with her fluffed red tail.

"C'mon." She told him, getting out of the car. "It's trouble time."

"I heard that!" Scourge chuckled deviously.

* * *

 **So that's it for now!**

 **You've just got a better look at the depth of Shadow and Manic's friendship, and met some new characters!**

 **Next chapter we'll see who's rooming with whom, and more relationships will be explored.**

 **Drop a review and let me know what you think about everyone so far. :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**A special shoutout to PoeticLover1996 & BlazeofVenus. **

**Thank you so much for reviewing my story. It makes me really happy to see there are some people interested.**

 **And thank you so much to the lovely follows and the lovely viewer who favorited. Makes me so motivated!**

 **I've officially turned on guest reviews, so hopefully that makes the shy people a little more comfortable reviewing, or gets the trolls hyped, whatever works.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: You Again**

"This is the girl's dormitory. The boy's dormitory is across the way. Boys and girls are allowed to mingle freely in either dorm, but when that clock hits nine, everyone must return to their own dorms, or else there will be consequences." Principle Acorn explained as she stood in front of the building with her daughter.

"Thank you for the tour Mother. I can take it from here." Sally assured her.

"Of course Dear. If you have any questions you can always come to me, or Elias and Nicole. Here is your key and schedule." The older chipmunk handed her a piece of paper and a key. "In the lounge area there be a cream-colored rabbit woman with a clipboard. Her name is Ms. Vanilla, she's your dorm adviser. Go up to her, give her your name and she'll tell you what room you're in."

"Okay, I'll go get settled in." She gave her mother a hug before opening the front door to the dormitory.

"Oh, and Sally…"

"Yes Mother?"

"From here on, it's Principle Acorn."

The auburn-haired chipmunk looked back at her mother and gave her a warm smile before disappearing off inside. Alicia smiled back before heading toward her office to finish looking over new student records.

* * *

"Good morning Principle Acorn!" Sonia waved as she and her boyfriend walked past their principle.

"Good morning Sonia." The principle replied with a wave of her own. "A good morning to you too Knuckles."

He waved back at her before they disappeared out of each other's view. Once they climbed up the steps to the girl's dormitory, they stood at the doorway for a minute. Sonia set her bags down off to the side so she could once again wrap both arms around her boyfriend's neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close in return. She whispered something in his ear that made his face visibly red, before pressing her lips on his. She tangled her fingers in his dreads as the two started a heated make-out session right there in front of the door.

"Excuse me." A voice hollered at the two from the bottom of the steps. They pulled apart to see a white bat standing at the bottom of the stairs.

She had both hands on her hips, beside her was a gigantic, over-stuffed white suitcase.

"Ugh." Sonia stepped back and rolled her eyes.

"What do you want Rouge." Knuckles groaned in annoyance.

"Sorry to break up the amateur make-out sesh." She made sure to look at Sonia once the word 'amateur' escaped her lips. "I just need to get by." She pulled her suitcase up the steps, walking in between the two. She made sure to whack the hedgehog girl with her giant suitcase, while also grazing Knuckles' body with the back of her own, causing him to stagger back in response.

"Hey!" Sonia growled, nearly toppled over by the force of the suitcase. She noticed how the bat had purposely grazed her backside against her boyfriend as well.

"Watch where you're going with that thing." Knuckles scolded the careless bat.

"Which thing?" Rouge smirked.

Knuckles bit his lip as a blush threatened to form on his face, he knew what she was referring to.

"I'm gonna go get settled in." The echidna changed the subject, picking up his bag. "I'll text you." He told Sonia before scurrying down the steps.

"Wait." Sonia called out to him, but he was no longer within earshot.

"Sorry." The bat said sarcastically before disappearing off into the building.

Rouge the Bat, a very popular girl, but not particularly liked by everyone. She was pretty sneaky, but good-natured. She hung out with delinquents like Shadow the Hedgehog, but also with goody-goodies like Blaze the Cat, so it was pretty hard to tell where her alignment fell. Sonia always felt like she had it out for her. Ever since middle school they couldn't stand each other. Apart from being so vulgar, and cunning, the bat was the only girl in the world who drove her self-esteem downhill, and made her insecurities sky-rocket.

The bat girl was as gorgeous as they came. An incredible body, with an hourglass frame. Her make-up was always professional-perfect. She was just as good at sports as Sonia, maybe even a little better. She always had the best of everything; best shoes, best clothes, best hair, best make-up, best anything. The only thing Sonia really felt she had a leg-up on was her grades. Rouge was always flirting with Knuckles too. He never really seemed to notice, but Sonia certainly did, and it drove her mad.

She stared daggers at the bat until she disappeared behind the door.

 _'I hate that girl.'_ She thought to herself as she gathered her bags and headed inside a couple minutes after. Long enough to make sure they wouldn't run into each other again.

* * *

Rouge strolled inside with a triumphed smirk plastered on her face. There was a crowd of girls swarmed around the poor dorm adviser. She couldn't see anyone's faces since they all had their backs turned toward her as they shouted and pushed their way toward the poor woman.

"Rouge!" A small voice called her name. Out from the crowd of girls, a cream-colored rabbit pushed her way through to leap on to the fashionably dressed bat.

"Cream!" She smiled happily, returning the hug. "How was your summer Baby?"

"It was great! I worked at the bakery with Mom all summer. I'm so excited for my first year here!"

"That's awesome. I'm so glad you're here Creamy. This place could use a little sunshine." Rouge cheered, "Hope you're ready for one heck of a first year."

"I am." Cream smiled. "And I hope you're ready to have the best year ever!"

"What makes you think this'll be the best year ever?"

"Because **WE'RE** roommates!" The rabbit cheered, jingling her new room key in her hand.

"Oh my Chaos! **YES!** "

"C'mon, we're in room 102" Cream took hold of the bat's hand and practically dragged her toward the stairwell.

* * *

Amy dragged her suitcases up a flight of stairs, and down a corridor until she was standing in front of room 110. She pulled out the key she received at check in and unlocked the door. Upon entering she quickly noticed four twin-size beds in each corner, next to them their own white dresser, and a nearby closet. There were two large windows on the opposite wall from where the door was, letting natural light flow through the entire eggshell colored room.

She was surprised by the four beds. Vanilla hadn't mentioned she was in a quad. Just gave her the room number, so she had no idea who the other three occupants would be. She was crossing her fingers that they'd at least be cool. The pink hedgehog wheeled her suitcases inside, making sure to close the door behind her. She had claimed the bed in the left corner by the window.

"This room is going to need some serious work." She spoke aloud to herself. "Well, at least my quarter of it." She opened one of her big pink suitcases and took out her frilly pink bedsheets and began dressing her new bed.

About ten minutes into decorating her corner, a click sound came from the door. She turned her head to see a purple bird walk in, holding two white suitcases. "Great. I'm in a quad, and with a newbie? What could be better?" She snapped sarcastically.

Amy quickly looked at the bird up and down. Her outfit was pretty bland, a simple white tanktop, white jeans, and purple pumps that matched the two ridiculously long pigtails that flowed out from underneath her white bandanna. She had a pretty intimidating scowl on her face, but not intimidating enough for the pink hedgehog to not introduce herself. "Hi! My name's Amy Rose. I'm from Mercia. This'll be my first year, but I'm in tenth grade—"

"Not interested." The bird cut her off while she strolled over to the right corner of the room closest to the door. She proceeded to make her bed without even a second glance at Amy.

"That was pretty rude." Amy huffed. "We're gonna be living together for a while ya' know. The least you could do is tell me your name."

"It's Wave, Wave the Swallow. Now please, shut the hell up."

"Ugh!" The pink hedgehog was practically red. She tightened her fists, ready to give the purple bird a piece of her mind, but the door creaked open once again and she was greeted by a familiar face.

Amy's face instantly went white, and she was ready to start balling her eyes out. Familiar isn't always best. Out from behind the door, carrying three little orange suitcases was a small raccoon girl. She had on a strapless green shirt with tacky brown shorts, a matching jacket, and dirty green tennis shoes. "G'day Mates."

"Oh no." Tears began brimming her jade eyes. _'Not her, anyone but her!'_

"Hey I know you! Amy! Amy Rose!" The raccoon pointed at her. "You're Blazey's friend!"

"Great. Stuck with a newbie, and a dork." Wave groaned, leaping into her bed to cover her ears with her pillow.

"Hi Marine." The pink hedgehog sighed.

Marine was Blaze's adopted sister. The purple cat was Amy's best friend. She'd come visit Blaze's house in Solenna all the time. As much as she loved the cat, she could not stand her sister. The hedgehog girl knew she tended to ramble sometimes, but Marine took it to new levels of extreme. Amy felt heartbroken, first roommate happens to be some rude-ass senior, and the second one happens to be the most annoying girl she's ever met in her life. She didn't even want to imagine what the third one would be like.

"It's so good to see ya' Amy!" The raccoon walked up to Amy and extended her hand out. "It's been so long since you've visited! I'm happy you're going to this school now! Blazey is gonna flip when she sees you here! I can just imagine her face right now—"

"Yeah." Amy cut her off in an attempt to stop the rambling.

"I think I'll take this bed here." Marine walked toward the bed set up across from Wave. "Sunlight can be really damaging to the skin. Until we've got some curtains up I wouldn't recommend it as a good idea. Sorry Amy, guess we all can't be avid thinkers ya'know?-"

"Will you just shut up?" Wave snapped.

"Oh." Marine turned her attention to the fuming bird. "No need to fuss Mate! Didn't see ya' there! My names Marine the Raccoon." She extended her hand out to Wave, who looked like she was about ready to tear it off.

"Marine! I hope you're not bothering our new roommates." A voice called out beyond the door.

Amy was holding herself in fetal position on her bed before the voice struck her ear, making it twitch. She sat up and looked toward the door. The nob twisted and in stepped a familiar purple cat. She dragged in a red suitcase along with her. She was wearing some white tights underneath a purple romper-styled dress, and some red high heels. Amy would recognize that red bindi, and high-up ponytail anywhere.

"Oh thank Chaos it's you Blaze!" Amy cried out, leaping into the cat's arms.

"Whoa, Amy!" The cat cried out, nearly stumbling over.

"You don't know how glad I am to see you! I almost thought I was going to be completely alone in here."

"Hey!" Marine pouted.

Wave just rolled her eyes. "Hey Blaze." She greeted nonchalantly.

"Oh, hello Wave. Didn't see you there." The cat quickly scanned the room and found the remaining bed on the right by the window. "Guess I know which bed is mine." She chuckled, setting her stuff down beside it.

* * *

Sonic and Tails managed to shuffle their way to the front of the crowd to check which dorms they were in. Not too far behind them were Knuckles, Shadow, and Manic. Their dorm adviser hadn't arrived on campus yet, so there was a list plastered on the corkboard in the lounge.

"Hey Sonic, can you tell me which room I'm in?" Knuckles hollered to the blue hedgehog, hoping he could hear over all the noise.

"No prob. You're in room 210 with Bark the Polar Bear, and Storm the Fat-ass."

"Lucky me." Knuckles rolled his eyes, moving out of the crowd to go find his room. "Thanks Sonic."

" **YES!** " The blue hedgehog screeched.

"What?" Shadow raised an eyebrow.

"I'm bunked with my brother!"

"Really?" Manic questioned, with a growing smile.

"Yeah!" Sonic confirmed, stepping back from the list.

"Sweet! What room are we-"

"C'mon Tails! You and me in room 123!" The blue hedgehog high-fived the little fox as they walked off. "We're in a quad with Antoine, and Rotor. You remember them right?"

"Of course I do!" Tails laughed.

"It'll be like grade school all over again."

Manic rolled his eyes and quickly stepped up toward the list. Shadow took note of his suddenly unenthusiastic behavior. The green hedgehog searched for his name on the list, when he found it his eyes lit up in excitement. "Sonic's not the only one who gets to bunk with his bro!" He cheered, stepping out from the crowd. Shadow fallowed suit.

"Did you see where I'd be staying?"

"Did you not just hear me? I'm bunking with my bro too! Meaning you. We're in a double on the second floor, room 202."

Shadow let a small smile cross his muzzle once Manic had turned around. The two went upstairs to find their room.

* * *

Rouge and Cream stepped into their new room and chose the two beds by the windows. All the quads were laid out in the same style with four beds in each corner. Rouge was a bit surprised by the set of extra beds. Cream hadn't mentioned anything about more roommates, she assumed they'd be in a double, with only two beds.

"Cream, Honey, you didn't mention we'd be in a quad."

"Oops, must have slipped my mind." The rabbit fidgeted nervously.

"Cream…" The bat eyed the nervous rabbit. "Are you hiding something from me?"

"Me? I, well…umm…"

"Who are they?"

"I want you to have an open mind, okay?"

"Who are they!"

"Well, umm…"

"Cream!"

Just before the bat could verbally pry an answer out of the poor rabbit, the door swung open. In stepped none other than Sonia the Hedgehog.

" **NO WAY!** " Both Rouge and Sonia screamed in unison.

"You didn't tell me one of our roommates was Little Ms. Perfect." The bat huffed.

"I'm just as surprised as you are Rouge the Whore." Suddenly Sonia was regretting not asking Ms. Vanilla who her roommates would be.

"What did you say to me?"

"Deaf now are we?"

"Why you little—"

"Girls, now please. Can't we just try to get along?" Cream pleaded, stepping in between the two girls who were about ready to tackle each other.

Rouge looked at her rabbit friend who was terrified. She didn't like that disapproving look on Cream, or knowing the poor girl was scared. She sighed in defeat before returning back to making her bed.

"Thank you." Cream whispered to her.

Sonia muttered something under her breath before settling down on the bed off to the right of the door. Shortly after there was a knock on the door. Sonia was the closest one, so she opted to answer it herself. Once she swung the door open her jade eyes were met by beautiful amethyst ones in a lovely surprise. Rouge and Cream walked over to the door, curious to see who their other roommate was. Cream knew her name, but didn't know who she was. Rouge's mouth dropped at the sight of her. Standing in the doorway was Julie-Su the Echidna.

" **YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!"**

* * *

Elias walked right up the stairs, not even bothering to check the dorm list. He had his mother tell him earlier so he wouldn't have to deal with the crowd. He was put in room 301, a quad with three other people. Unlike most, he didn't mind sharing a room. What he did have a problem with was being all the way up on the third floor. That's a lot of walking to do when the elevator screws up—which it often did. Luckily, today wasn't one of those days. Once he stepped out of the elevator on to the third floor, he was met by a familiar face, but the expression on this face wasn't familiar at all. Mighty the Armadillo was stomping toward the elevator with an angry expression on his face, something very, very, **VERY** out of character for him.

"Everything alright Mighty?" Elias asked, genuinely concerned. He knew about Mighty's home situation. He hoped the poor guy hadn't gotten fired or anything.

"Not now Eli." He responded as the elevator doors closed.

Elias sighed and just continued on to his destination. As much as he disliked seeing good friends so upset, he felt a little relieved to know he wasn't the only one having a lousy first day. Aside from one of his sisters finally returning home, and seeing Sonia, the day wasn't quite turning out like he had hoped it would. He finally reached his room and opened up the door to be greeted by three familiar faces.

"Oh no." He groaned.

Sitting in three of the four beds were a nervous looking Lynx, a goofy-quilled white hedgehog, and a yellow-striped hedgehog.

"Looks like the gang's all here." The green-eyed hedgehog joked.

* * *

After over twenty minutes of searching, and figuring out the layout of the building, Sally finally found room 303, the room she'd be staying at. She was thankful she'd be staying in a double with only one other person. It would just be easier getting to know one roommate rather than three in her perspective. She opened the door and took the left half of the room. She set her suitcases down by the bed and began unpacking her things. Her roommate hadn't arrived yet so she took the time to make her half of the room presentable. She pulled beautiful baby blue sheets over the twin-sized bed, and put all her clothes in the decent-sized closet. About an hour had passed before the door swung open, nearly falling off the hinges. Sally jumped in surprise, dropping the framed picture she was just about to place on top of her dresser. She looked over to see a red fox standing in the doorway.

She was wearing a black tube-top, tight leather jeans, and extremely high black wedges. Nearly everything she wore was black, except for the extremely out of place yellow bow clipped to her rust-colored hair.

Sally would recognize that face anywhere. Fiona Fox, her middle school bully.

"Oh great, look what the cat dragged in." The fox snarled. "If it isn't little Ugly Acorn."

"Oh no..."

* * *

 **That's all for now!**

 **This chapter, and the next one are mainly just to give you an idea of who is rooming with who, and how they feel about it.**

 **After Chapter 5 the world building is over, and the drama shall really begin.**

 **As you may have read, some students are happy about their roommates, while others are not.**

 **Let me know what you thought of this chapter, and who's relationship or what character would you like explored more.**

 **Fun Question: Have you ever gone to a camp or place that required you to share a room with others? What was your favorite and least favorite part about it?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Roommates Foreva!**

Alicia had just finished looking over the last of the new student records. She pulled her face away from the computer screen and slumped down in her chair, letting out a sigh of relief. Paperwork was not her favorite task, but it had to be done no matter how tiresome it was.

She closed her eyes, relaxing for a bit. So far her day has been lovely. Sally's long overdue return has her feeling much more chipper than usual. Normally, she'd be burying herself in paperwork, but today she didn't feel the need to overwork herself. Maybe having Sally home had taken some of the stress off of her, but not entirely, for one of her children was still all the way on the other side of the country.

An unexpected knock sounded on the closed door to her office, causing her to jump back into alert mode. "Come in."

The door opened and in stepped the main office receptionist. She was a tan fox, with light blue eyes, and cinnamon-colored hair that matched her fur. "Hello Ms. Acorn."

"Hello Rosemary." Alicia smiled, "What can I do for you?"

"Well, there is a line of upset students standing outside your door." The fox explained calmly, clasping her hands behind her back, "I just wanted to give you a notice before I allowed any of them to see you."

"Upset? How many?"

"Yes. There's about twenty-nine of them off them in the main office, but the line appears to lead out the door, so I can't tell you exactly how many."

"How lovely." The chipmunk sighed, straightening herself up in her chair, "Send the first one in."

"Shall I send the first three together?"

"Why the first three?"

"Because they're your children."

"My children?" Alicia rose an eyebrow. She was clueless as to what any of this was about. "Yes, send them in together."

"Right away." The fox nodded before opening the door. She stepped out of the room as the three students walked in.

Elias was the first to walk in, Sally and Nicole followed suit. The three children stood in front of her desk, each with a different expression. Elias appeared to be annoyed, Sally visibly distressed, while Nicole appeared nervous.

"What's going on?" Alicia asked, breaking the silence.

"I'd like a room change." They all said in unison. The principle tilted her head in confusion.

"Why would you all want your rooms switched?"

Instead of receiving a calm answer from them one at a time, the three siblings bombarded her with flustered answers, hollering, and talking over each other. The principle just rose her hand, signaling them to cease their ramblings. "Let's try this again. Elias, why do you want your room changed?"

"Mother, you put me in the same room as Silver, Shard, and Larry! I was stuck with them all summer. Please don't stick me with them for the entire school year too!" The squirrel groaned.

"What's the problem? Those boys are very nice."

Elias bit his lip. He knew his mother wouldn't understand, no one would unless they'd been forced to room with the three like he had this summer when he took that internship in Soleanna. He found Silver to be very nice, but very odd. He was always boasting about games, physics, or something weird. Larry was constantly a nervous wreck, and an extreme pessimist. Shard was a snarky, over-confident tool with a sarcastic remark for everything. It's not that he didn't like the guys, they were great, he just loathed the idea of rooming with people he had nothing in common with.

"I just can't be in a room with them. Nothing good ever comes out of the four of us being together. Just trust me on this."

"I do trust you Sweetheart. Silver, Larry, and Shard are new here. That's why I put them with you. They need guidance, and they already know you. I trust that you can help them get acquainted with how things work around here."

"But Mother—"

"Sally, why do you want your room to be switched?" Alicia cut him off, moving on. Elias just opted to stay quiet and let his sister speak now.

"You put me with Fiona." The younger chipmunk spoke, "Don't even tell me you think she's nice too."

Elias bit his lip and looked away. _'Jeez, Fiona? Why the hell am I in here complaining again?'_ He thought to himself.

"Fiona may be rough around the edges, but she's not as bad as she seems. How can you say such things without even knowing her?"

"I do know her. She went to middle school with me in Moebius. She was horrible!" Sally cried out, "She hates me. How can I spend the entire school year with someone who used to bully me?"

"This is a new school year, with that comes new opportunities, which you should use to move on and make peace. You were roomed together mainly by luck of the draw. Maybe this is fate telling you to give her a second chance."

"But Mother—"

"Nicole? I can't imagine why you would be here."

The lynx rubbed her arm nervously, "Well...I'd also like a room change."

"Why on earth would you want to switch rooms?"

"Umm… It's just that… I'm not very comfortable."

"You're roomed with Mina, and Honey, those girls are absolute gems! Why would they make you uncomfortable?"

"I… just… never mind." Nicole looked down at her feet.

Alicia sighed as she stood up from her chair and moved around her big wooden desk to stand in front of her children. "I promised you all that I wouldn't give you special treatment for being my children. Which is why you'll stay in the rooms you've been assigned to."

They all opened their mouths to object, but their mother just rose her hand once more, silencing them again. "I won't hear any more on the matter. Go back to your dorms and finish getting settled in."

The three put their heads down in defeat, regretting the promise of no special treatment. Being the principle's kid could have certainly come in handy. Too bad Alicia was a lady of her word. They walked out of her office and back to their respective dorms. Alicia sat back in her chair and sighed. She wasn't a fan of the promise she'd made them either, but as much as she wanted to make her kids happy, on these school grounds she was their principle first.

"Rosemary, send in the next one." She hollered, hoping the receptionist could hear her through the closed door.

* * *

A moment later that closed door flung open and in stepped an angry armadillo. As intimidating as he seemed, the principle kept her calm composure. "What can I do for you Mighty?"

He slammed both hands down on her desk, making her jump at the sound. "Why the hell didn't you put me and Ray together?"

"Well, Ray didn't seem to be making much progress socially last year. I thought it'd be good to split you two up so he could come out of his metaphorical shell a little more, and not hide behind yours." She informed him.

"You don't understand!" The agitated armadillo growled, "He has to be with me."

Ray had been bouncing from foster home to foster home all his life. He's lived with over twenty-seven different families in seventeen different cities across the country. His speech issues were the result of neglect, and severe anxiety from maltreatment. When Mighty first encountered him, the poor flying-squirrel could barely form a coherent sentence. The other foster kids made fun of him for it, and their foster parents were more concerned about the federal check than his well-being. Mighty took it upon himself to help Ray in every way he could. He taught Ray how to speak better using cue-cards, defended him when the other kids picked on him, and offered him stability—something he'd never known before.

The two had been inseparable ever since. He always had this need to protect Ray from everything, because he knew from first-hand experience how cruel the world really was. Having Principle Acorn sit there telling him what Ray needed just made his blood boil. He'd been caring for Ray their whole lives, who was she to tell him what was best for his little brother?

"I understand you feel the need protect him, but you're only hindering his growth if you continue to coddle him—"

 **"DON'T TELL ME HOW TO RAISE MY..."** His voice trailed off. He didn't know what to call him. Friend? Brother? Son?

Mighty was a very sweet boy, like a giant teddy bear. Outbursts, and fits of rage like this were unusual for him. The stress of school, working three jobs, and caring for two children must be getting to him.

Alicia got out from behind her desk to give him a hug. The armadillo was on the verge of tears when he confessed the real reason he'd been so upset about the separation.

"Child Services said they'd take Matilda and Ray at any chance they get. Any signs of depression, or if I'm not able to care for them adequately while attending school, they'll just take them…" He began to cry tears of frustration as she held him, "Please, I can't lose them."

"You won't" Alicia assured him. "I can't imagine the stress you're under, raising two children when you're just a baby yourself. I want to help you Mighty, I do, but you've got to trust me."

"No one's ever wanted to help us before."

"Well I do. While you three attend this school consider yourselves my children. I'll take care of all three of you."

If there was one thing to admire about Principle Acorn it was her devotion to the job, and how much she genuinely cared for the students.

"You really think it would be good for him to be on his own?"

"Yes. He needs to gain some life experience, whether it's good or bad, he'll learn from it."

"I'm just…worried."

"I know. Tell you what, if this doesn't work out, I'll rearrange the rooms so you'll be with him. Okay?"

"That seems fair, I guess."

"Now you should go finish unpacking." She smiled warmly.

He thanked her and walked toward the door. Before opening it, he looked back at her. "Principle Acorn?"

"Yes?"

"Did you mean it?"

"Mean what?"

"That while we're here, you'll look after us like your own children?"

"Of course Mighty."

"Thank you."

* * *

"Rosemary, send in the next one."

Since Mighty left, she's had to deal with fourteen other kids demanding room changes. Right now, three girls stormed through her door. Julie-Su, Rouge, and Sonia charged up to her desk, shouting their demands, while pushing each other.

"Ugh." The principle sighed, rubbing her temple in annoyance. This was the seventeenth visit today, and she was nearly out of patience. "What can I do for you ladies?"

 **"I WANT A ROOM CHANGE!"** They all screamed.

"Why do you want a room change?" She directed the question to Julie-Su, but they all ended up answering together once more.

 **"BECAUSE I HATE HER!"** Sonia and Julie-Su both pointed to Rouge, who pointed back at both of them.

Their aggressiveness, and shouting was the final straw. Alicia couldn't take it anymore. She pulled the intercom microphone closer to her. She cleared her throat before pushing the red button.

"Hello everyone, welcome back to Green Hill Academy. I hope you're all settling in well, and that you're prepared for class tomorrow. I'd just like to announce that there will be **NO** room changes. As of right now, the dorm you were assigned to is your permanent dorm for the rest of the year. Thank you, and have a wonderful rest of your day."

The three girls standing in front of her desk just gasped. She turned off the microphone and pushed it to the side. She clasped her hands together on her desk and gave them a warm smile, "As you may have just heard, there are no more room changes. You'll have to work it out amongst yourselves."

They all sucked their teeth in annoyance before scrambling back out of the office, disappointed at the outcome of the meeting.

"Rosemary! I'm going on break."

* * *

 ** _Amy:_** _Hey everyone! We should all meet up tomorrow at lunch!_

 ** _Sonic:_** _I'm down with that! Tails says he'll be there too._

 ** _Knuckles:_** _Sure, where's the meetup spot?_

 ** _Amy:_** _The lunch table all the way in the back of the café sound good?_

 ** _Knuckles:_** _Alright. Is it cool if I bring Sonia?_

 ** _Rouge:_** _No._

 ** _Sonic:_** _Duh, she's my sister R-tard._

 ** _Cream:_** _I can't wait to be all together again!_

 ** _Rouge:_** _I'm not going if Little Ms. Perfect is going._

 ** _Amy:_** _Rouge! PLEASE._

 ** _Knuckles:_** _Give it up Amy. If she wants to be a brat who cares if she doesn't come?_

 ** _Cream:_** _Don't worry, she'll definitely be there._

 ** _Sonic:_** _Yo Blaze, you comin' or nah?_

 ** _Amy:_** _I should have asked her before she left._

 ** _Rouge:_** _Shadow told me to tell you guys he can't come. He and Manic have something to do tomorrow._

 ** _Sonic:_** _I'm sure they do._

 ** _Blaze:_** _Sorry for not replying sooner, was busy. I'll be there for sure. Is it alright if I bring a friend too?_

 ** _Rouge:_** _A boyfriend?_

 ** _Sonic:_** _Rouge, I have a name! Lol jk._

 ** _Knuckles:_** _Please not Marine._

 ** _Blaze:_** _No, it's not a boyfriend, or Marine. He's a friend of mine from back home. He just transferred here this year._

 ** _Amy:_** _Of course! The more the merrier!_

 ** _Cream:_** _Can't wait to meet him._

* * *

Blaze blushed madly at Sonic's last text, before sliding her phone back in her pocket. Things were going pretty well so far. Right now, the purple cat was sitting on her friend's bed in the boy's dorm. He was sitting beside her.

"What'd they say?" He asked, sitting up a bit.

"They said I could bring you!" She cheered, "I promise they'll love you Silver."

"I hope so." The white hedgehog smiled.

* * *

 **And this is where the world building finally comes to an end.**

 **The seeds have been sown for a ton of plot points! Each character is in for one hell of a ride.**

 _ **What'll happen when Knuckles finds Julie-Su?**_

 _ **What happened to Amy at her old school?**_

 _ **Will Cream survive her bickering roommates?**_

 _ **How will Blaze's friends react to her childhood best friend?**_

 _ **What lurks in Manic's past?**_

 _ **What caused the rift in the relationship between Manic and his siblings?**_

 _ **How will Ray handle the separation from Mighty?**_

 _ **Will Sally survive bunking with her old tormentor Fiona Fox?**_

 _ **What has Nicole so shook up?**_

 _ **What price did Sally have to pay to reunite with her mother?**_

 _ **What is Julie-Su hiding?**_

 _ **Who is the mysterious fourth Acorn child?**_

 **All these questions and more, will be answered...eventually!**

 **Stay tuned! Leave me a review, let me know what you think so far. Which character's your favorite? Who do you want to see more of?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Old Friends**

Blaze eagerly waited outside the door of the science lab. The purple cat was leaning up against the metal lockers, one foot kicked back against them, while she balanced herself on the other. She held a few of her books in one hand, as she held her phone in the other, constantly checking the time. She had managed to successfully convince her music teacher into letting her out of class early so she could walk with Silver to lunch.

She hadn't spent much time with him since she started attending Green Hill Academy last year. They occasionally hung out when she went home for vacations, but this summer she decided to stay with Rouge's family in Mobotropolis. She was so happy to finally be reunited with him, and couldn't wait to introduce him to all the friends she's made in his absence. Her tail swished around, and she smiled goofily to herself with excitement. Growing up, the two only ever had each other. The thought of her, and Silver surrounded by friends made her heart flutter.

 _'I can just picture it now. Cream is going to greet Silver first. Amy, Rouge, and Sonia are going to comment on how cute he is, while he and Tails get to talking about nerdy things. Knuckles is probably gonna try-and fail miserably—at convincing him to join a sports team, and Sonic is gonna make some sly remark at how good I pick 'em—or something cheesy like that before accepting Silver into the group with open arms! We'll finally be surrounded by friends like we've always wanted._ ' The cat thought to herself as she closed her eyes, imagining the scene play out in her head.

Her daydream was rudely disrupted by the loud, high-pitched ring of the bell, signaling that class was finally over. Blaze quickly snapped back into alert mode as students poured out of every door, scattering around the hallway like ants at a picnic. The cat scanned every single person coming out of the science lab, until she spotted her friend's hard-to-miss hairstyle. She quickly pounced on him.

"Gotcha!" She yelped, leaping on to him from behind, wrapping her arms around his neck. He was startled, and nearly fell over, but once he realized it was just his feline companion he relaxed.

"Chaos, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" He scolded playfully, "How the heck did you get here so fast? I thought you'd be in the electives building?"

She released him from her grasp, and started walking close beside him. "I convinced Ash to let me out early."

"Ash?" The white hedgehog rose an eyebrow, "The boy's dorm adviser?"

"Yeah, he's the music teacher too." She informed him, "He's a student teacher, and really cool, even lets us call him by his first name."

"Dr. Robotnik certainly isn't cool." Silver remarked bitterly, "I love science, but he makes me want to drop out and work at McDonalds he's so damn terrible."

Blaze giggled at his sourness. Dr. Robotnik is notoriously known as the school's most boring, strict, and worst teacher. She wasn't too surprised to hear the egg-shaped dictator had her friend questioning his love of the subject.

"Don't worry, it gets better." She told him, taking hold of his arm.

"Really?"

"No."

His ears flopped down in sorrow as he gave the cat a pouty look. She just laughed at his silly brat-face. With him, laughter was unavoidable, he always knew just what to do to get a smile out of her.

"I can't wait for you to meet them Silver." She smiled warmly, taking his hand in hers as she led him toward the café.

"Me either…" He spoke through the clenched teeth that accompanied his awkward smile. Truth be told, he wasn't nearly as thrilled as she was.

* * *

"I wonder when Blaze will get here." Cream said anxiously, as she eyed the double doors to the café.

"Why is she so late?" Tails asked the table curiously.

"She said she was bringing a friend." Amy informed him, "She should be here soon."

Just like they had agreed yesterday, the gang met up at lunch and were now sitting at the table furthest in the back of the café. Amy sat across from Sonic, the two conversed on memories prior to her move. Tails sat beside Sonic, talking to the rabbit girl sitting beside him about how morning classes went. Knuckles and Sonia sat beside Amy. The magenta hedgehog was picking up grapes from her boyfriend's tray, and hand-feeding them to him as they whispered sweet-nothings to each other. Sitting across from them was Rouge, glaring at the couple out the corner of her eye as she stabbed her salad with a plastic fork, imagining it to be the magenta hedgehog's throat. The only thing holding her back from making a rude remark at their PDA was the little rabbit beside her, squeezing her forearm underneath the table the way a mother does to prevent her child from acting up in public.

The bat wasn't the only one not too fond of the new couple. From the other side of the table, the blue hedgehog occasionally glanced over at the couple with a grimace. Tails and Aleena were genuinely happy the two had finally gotten together after years of crushing on each other, Manic didn't seem to care much, but Sonic absolutely loathed the idea of his good friend getting down with his sister. It made him wonder what the echidna was really after when he befriended him.

"I bet the guy Blaze wants us to meet is a totally hottie." Sonia giggled, making Knuckles roll his eyes.

"I know right!" Amy agreed, "I wonder what her type is! Sporty? Rebel? Pretty-Boy?" The cat had never expressed an interest in any boy in all the years Amy has known her.

"I'm pretty sure her type is Sonic the Hedgehog, just like every other girl." Sonic boasted. Sonia shivered in disgust, Rouge shrugged it off, and Cream blushed while Amy giggled at the comment.

"Maybe." Knuckles agreed, "If she's into douchebag." Everyone snickered except Sonic and Amy.

"You're just lucky my sister has a thing for idiots." He retorted.

Before any confrontation could break out at the table, Cream stood up and pointed toward the café doors, "Blaze is here!"

All heads immediately turned to see their feline friend waving at them, a white hedgehog following close behind her. He was extremely pale, like he'd never seen sunlight before, and lanky, like he'd never lifted anything heavier than a pen. He was wearing a plain white T-shirt, with a turquoise game logo in the center, dark jeans, black combat boots, and studded black bracelets on each wrist. His quills were styled with jell, fanned out in different directions like a maple leaf, and he was even sporting some eyeliner. All eyes at the table went wide.

"Look out Sonia, here comes your dreamboat." Sonic hollered, bellowing with laughter at the sight of the white hedgehog.

"Hope he doesn't flirt with you Sonia." The red echidna remarked sarcastically, "I'm pretty sure he could totally kick my ass." He then joined Sonic in a fit of laughter.

"Stop it." Sonia growled, elbowing her boyfriend in the gut, "He's kinda cute, sorta."

"Your taste in men is certainly an acquired one Sonia." Tails pointed out.

"Dude!" The red echidna yelped, "Did Tails just diss me?"

"Alright Tails!" Sonic cheered, putting his arm around the little fox.

Blaze and her friend had finally made it to the table. Cream was the first to leap out of her seat and greet the two. She gave the feline a hug. "Blaze! I've missed you so much!"

"Hello Cream." The cat greeted, returning the hug.

"Is that your friend?" The rabbit asked, peering over at the hedgehog hiding behind her, like a child hiding behind his mother's skirt.

"Yes." Blaze nodded, pulling Silver out from behind her, "This is my friend from back home, Silver the Hedgehog."

"Hiya." He greeted shyly, along with an awkward wave to the group.

"Nice hair bro!" Sonic chuckled, earning him a kick from the pink hedgehog across from him. "Ow!"

"I've seen a lot of funny things in my life, but this dude's hair looks like straight up pot!" Knuckles whispered to the table, but not low enough for the hedgehog not to hear.

Silver just bit his lip awkwardly, Blaze turned red. Cream noticed the two becoming increasingly uncomfortable, so she jumped in to save them. "Have a seat you two!"

"Sure." Blaze nodded to Silver.

Silver took a seat next to the pink hedgehog girl—she seemed nice—Blaze was following close behind, but before she could sit beside him a voice beckoned her over into the other direction.

"Hey Kitten! Come sit by me, less crowded over here." The blue hedgehog called out, patting the empty seat next to him.

"Oh, sure Sonic." The cat blushed, complying with his request.

 _'Kitten?'_ Silver thought to himself.

After the hype of meeting Blaze's friend died down, everyone went back to conversing amongst each other. Silver felt extremely out of place as they all conversed as if he weren't even there. Even Blaze had forgotten his presence as she was caught up in a conversation with that blue hedgehog. He felt like a ghost among the living.

"Is Mr. Emu really that old school?" Cream asked Amy.

"Totally! He was wearing a tie-dye bandanna, ripped up old T-shirt, and these ugly little glasses, it was hilarious!"

"Is he at least a good teacher?" Tails asked hopefully, "I have him next period."

"Oh for sure! He's totally cool, but his style is totally not." She laughed.

"This coming from the girl who used to run around the neighborhood in a green blouse and ugly orange tutu?" Sonia chuckled.

"Hey! I was eight alright! Mr. Emu is like thirty! He has no excuse."

"I'm just teasing you."

"Hey, where are Manic and Shadow?" Tails asked, looking up to the blue hedgehog next to him for an answer.

"How the hell should I know?" Sonic snapped, a little annoyed by the question.

"They said they couldn't make it, they had something to do." Amy told Tails. She assumed Sonic had told him all this already, but he didn't.

"I wonder what." Cream said, scratching her cheek as she thought.

"Those two are always off doing something." Knuckles shrugged, "Usually it's not a good thing either. Try not to think about it too hard Kiddo."

Rouge simply laughed to herself. She always seemed to be the only one with any clue as to what those two were up to.

* * *

Manic and Shadow were once again on the dirt road, only today they were sprinting down it. After about ten minutes of sprinting the two turned heel and leaped into the forest surrounding GHA. Although much faster, Shadow lagged a little ways behind Manic, who navigated through the forest with expert precision. It was as if he'd done this a hundred times.

"Remind me how you found this thing again?" Shadow asked, swiping branches and leaves out of his view.

"Just be glad I remembered it!" Manic chuckled, "C'mon, we're almost there!"

They finally reached their destination. Deep in the forest, among all the tall trees was a very out of place stump. It might have been a big oak tree like the rest once, but not anymore. On top of it was a fat gray rock, which Manic immediately shoved out of the way, revealing the stump to be hallowed out. Inside were packs of cigarettes, and bottles of alcohol.

"Bingo!" Manic cheered, taking the bag off his shoulders to fill it with the stump's contents.

"Hmph." Shadow smirked, crossing his arms. "Pretty impressive."

"Now all we gotta do is get this bag back on campus and underneath the floorboards in our room before Zonic can catch us."

"You say that like it'll be easy."

"It wouldn't be any fun if it was easy dude." Manic grinned.

"I suppose. C'mon then, let's get moving."

* * *

Silver had been watching Blaze with pleading eyes the entire duration of lunch. He was extremely uncomfortable, and desperately wanted to leave. He just didn't fit in with these people, and was sick of being the butt of every joke. She couldn't tell though, she was too busy talking to that blue hedgehog.

"Your boyfriend's got some gorgeous eyes." Rouge told the cat.

Suddenly all their gazes were on Sliver's face, which went red with embarrassment. His eyes were a beautiful amber color, accented exquisitely by the black liner.

"C'mon." Sonic scoffed, "If I wore eyeliner, you'd all be gawking at me."

"They are a really cute color." Amy piped up, fascinated by the amber color.

"Cuter than mine?" The blue hedgehog asked in a mock-sad tone.

" **ARE YOU KIDDING? HIS EYES ARE PRACTICALLY GARBAGE COMPARED TO YOURS!"** She didn't mean to offend, but the outburst came off extremely rude.

"If you did your hair as good as your eye makeup you probably wouldn't look so ridiculous." Knuckles remarked.

Everyone at the table snickered and laughed. Silver looked over at Blaze, who seemed to be the only one not laughing. She looked more embarrassed than he did. No longer able to tolerate it anymore, the white hedgehog got up from his seat.

"It's been great getting to know you guys, but I'm headin' out." He lied. It was the most miserable time he'd ever had. "Blaze?" He looked at the purple feline with pleading eyes once more, beckoning her to follow him.

She got up to follow him out, but her hand was grabbed by another. She looked back and saw Sonic giving her his trademark playboy smile.

"Hold it right there Kitten." He pulled her back so she fell to her seat. He snaked an arm around her waist. "I believe you promised me we'd sign up for cross country together." Blaze blushed at the unexpected contact, and smiled at him before turning back to Silver with a frown.

 _'What the hell is that shit? Grabbing her waist like that, and Kitten? Like seriously! Blaze, tell this guy to fuck off already.'_ The white hedgehog thought to himself.

"Sorry Silver, I promised Sonic I'd sign up with him after lunch. I'll come find you afterwards, okay?"

"Don't bother." The white hedgehog shook his head, walking off toward the exit.

"What a drama queen." Sonic rolled his eyes.

Before Silver could walk through the doors he felt something swipe him off his feet. He landed directly on his face. A tray of applesauce, salad, and juice was poured onto him. Everyone in the café howled with laughter, cheering and pointing at his misfortune. He sat up, touching his bloody nose with his fingertips. He looked up at the culprit, a green hedgehog with sunglasses on his head, and a provocatively dressed fox strutting beside him. They both were looking back at him with malicious grins. Silver looked out toward Blaze one last time, who simply turned her head away from him. He just muttered something under his breath before making his way out the door.

* * *

Outside the main building, by the huge fountain on the center of campus were a few picnic tables. Nicole felt too anxious eating inside a crowded room, so she and Sally opted to eat their lunch outside. The lynx was eating a chicken sandwich, while her vegan sister chowed down on some celery sticks. The weather was certainly right for outdoor eating.

"I wish you both would've came home." Nicole sighed.

"You know her, she's always got her own hidden agenda."

"Well, I hope she changes her mind and decides to come here too. I miss her."

"Hey Nicole, can I ask about you something?" The chipmunk spoke, setting down her celery stick.

"Sure. What is it Sally?"

"Yesterday, you requested a room change because you said you felt uncomfortable. Why is that?"

"Oh…" The lynx nervously bit her lip and looked away, "That was nothing. I was just overacting, really."

Sally knew Nicole better than to believe that she would just overact to nothing.

"Nicole, I'm your sister." The chipmunk reminded her, placing her hand on the lynx's. "You can tell me anything."

Nicole was Max's first attempt at trying to cure Alicia's depression. He thought all his wife needed was another child to care for, so he brought Nicole home from a country called DigItaly that he was visiting on a business trip. It certainly lifted Alicia's spirits for a while, but being from a third-world country Nicole was independent, and already knew how to take care of herself.

She was incredibly intelligent, absorbed knowledge like a sponge. Her only challenges seemed to be adapting to Mobius culture, and the language. Due to English not being her first language, she spoke a bit robotic, and didn't understand most social cues, like flirting or sarcasm. She was often teased for the way she spoke.

She took to the Acorns very well, forming a strong bond with each of the children. She fit in so well, you'd hardly believe she wasn't an Acorn herself. She was very close to her adoptive siblings, but she and Sally had a bond just a bit deeper than the other two. The lynx knew trying to lie to her was futile.

"It doesn't matter." She mumbled bitterly, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you, no one would."

Before Sally could pry any further, a voice called out to them. "Nicole! Hey!" They both looked over to see a heavy-set walrus running toward them, a pompous coyote, and a cheerful rabbit following close behind.

"Hello Rotor, Antoine, Bunnie." The lynx greeted once they were by the table.

"Oh mah stars! Is that you Sally-Girl?" The rabbit yelped, rushing over to hug the chipmunk.

"My, my, it has been so long, no?" Antoine smiled warmly at Sally.

"Wow Sal! How long's it been?" Rotor added.

"Too long Rotor." Sally smiled, giving them each a hug.

They were all childhood friends. They never went to the same school, but she knew them from the old neighborhood. Everyone was heartbroken when she was shipped off to Moebius. They'd never thought in a million years they'd ever see her again, but here she was.

"Since when did ya' start wearin' glasses?" Bunnie asked, poking the thick black rimmed glasses Sally wore.

"I've been meaning to ask you that too." Nicole added.

"Well, a few years ago actually." She said, adjusting the over-sized lenses a bit. "Small print gave me headaches."

"Zhe look, how you say? Very nize." The coyote's English was incredibly broken, being from another country himself. It was always a brain teaser trying to figure out what he was saying.

"Thank you Antoine." Sally smiled.

It's been so long since she'd seen them. It warmed her heart to see how much they've grown. Rotor was a pretty chubby kid, but now he seems well built. Antoine hasn't changed a bit, English still bad, appearance still prim and proper. Bunnie seemed to be the one most changed, well physically speaking of course, she's still the lively southern belle she's always been. Her hair had grown out quite a bit, her once tan fur had lightened up to a bright yellow, but the biggest change was her legs, and left arm.

The rabbit's arm and legs were prosthetic limbs. Sally didn't stare or bother to ask in fear of coming off rudely, but she couldn't help but wonder what happened to her old friend in her absence. The five of them all took a seat at the picnic table, reminiscing and catching up until lunch was over.

* * *

Sonic and Blaze walked into the electives building and made their way toward the corkboard where the sports signup sheets were hung. Only the fall sports were open, meaning the only choices were volleyball, football, cross country, and cheer—which was an all year round sport.

Blaze took a pen off the table and scribbled her name in feminine writing underneath the cross country list, then she passed the pen over to Sonic.

"Not gonna sign up for volleyball?" He asked, writing his name underneath hers.

"I'm not into team sports."

"Afraid you won't look as good as Rouge in the little outfit?" He joked.

Usually she'd have chewed him out about such a remark, but she was too busy thinking. She had her arms crossed and her distracted gaze on the floor. Sonic sighed before putting an arm around her shoulder. "What's up Kitten?"

"I just think you guys were too harsh on Silver earlier today."

"C'mon Blaze." Sonic groaned, "We rag on each other all the time! We don't really mean it."

"So you guys like him?"

"Heck no! That dude is mondo-weird."

The feline put her head down in shame, she really thought the group would be very accepting of him, that Sonic would be so impressed he'd let Silver join the gang. She knew he was a little weird, but that's what she liked about him, he was different, interesting. She assumed her new friends would feel the same way, but little did she know, meshing old and new friends can be a little more complicated than it seems.

"He's my best friend." She whispered sadly, "I really want him to hang out with us."

Of the females in the group, Blaze was the one Sonic felt the closest too. Everyone was off doing their own thing this summer, and the cat was the only other one with free time. This summer mostly consisted of them. As much as he didn't like the idea of it, the blue hedgehog was willing to try getting to know the goofy-looking hedgehog one more time. It was the least he could do for her, considering he practically held her captive all summer.

"Ya' know, if it were anyone else asking, I'd shut them down in a second." He told her as they walked down the hall. "But for you, I make exceptions." He smiled down at her.

Her face lit up with a red glow on her cheeks. "Really?" She cheered happily.

"I guess we could give it another shot." He shrugged.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you so much Sonic!" She squealed, wrapping him up in a hug.

"Yeah, yeah." He chuckled, "C'mon, I've gotta head over to science. Buttnik is gonna kill me if I'm late."

* * *

"Those two seem awfully cozy don't they?" Rouge said, watching as the hedgehog and cat walked off together.

"Of course they do, they're friends." Cream laughed.

"A little too friendly if you ask me."

"No way." The rabbit waved in dismissal, "He's not her type."

"She has a type?"

"Well, she's never really said anything about a crush, or finding any guy remotely attractive, but I'm assuming she's into guys like Silver."

"Socially awkward, scrawny science guys?"

The two were signing up for their respective sports. Cream grabbed the pen off the table and scribbled her name under the cheerleading list. Rouge smiled brightly at this, "So, first year and you want to be a cheerleader? High aspirations there Ms. Rabbit."

The rabbit smiled cheerfully, passing the pen to her friend. "You should try out with me!"

"No thanks." Rouge shook her head, "Only sport I care to take this season is volleyball—"

Her voice caught in her throat as she noticed the two previous names on the volleyball list, Julie-Su the Echidna, and Sonia the Hedgehog. The bat was fuming.

"Ugh!" She growled, pressing the pen extra deep on the page out of anger as she wrote her name, "First I have to room with those bimbos, and now I have to play with them too? Does the universe hate more or something?"

"Maybe volleyball will teach you three how to work together." Cream mumbled, folding her arms in annoyance, "Being roommates sure hasn't."

"They just better not slow me down." The bat huffed, putting the pen back on the table.

 _'I get why she's so salty towards Sonia, but what's with the animosity toward the echidna girl? She seems sweet to me.'_ Cream thought to herself as they walked back down the hall. She didn't dare ask though, she wanted her ears intact for next class.

* * *

"So, I heard you're bunking with Knuckles' girlfriend." The red-shelled armadillo looked over to the pink echidna sitting before him.

His roommates were out to class, or signing up for sports. It was just him and Julie-Su sitting on his bed. They were facing each other as they each held a book on their laps. They'd been briefing themselves on history facts they'd forgotten over the summer.

Julie-Su looked up at him with wide eyes, " **HE'S DATING ROUGE?** "

"No!" Mighty chuckled at her shocked face, "He's dating Sonia, the hedgehog chick."

The pink echidna recalled a faint memory of her best friend once confiding in her that he had a crush on a magenta hedgehog. That was years ago, she was genuinely surprised to hear they were together now. She tightened the grip on her textbook, "Good for them."

"Have you thought about what I said? About reconnecting with him."

"It's not gonna happen Mighty." She said flatly.

He sighed in frustration, "It's only a matter of time before you run into each other."

"Why are you so deadest on us talking? Don't you have your own drama to fixate on?"

"I just want things the way they used to be." He confessed, "I miss the squad. It was so much fun when we were all together."

"Well, do yourself a favor and move on." She shut the textbook and got up to leave.

As much as he adored her, the pink echidna's tough-girl persona frustrated him to no end. She walked through life with a tough exterior, fearing that if she even tried to open up hurt would find its way in. She always acted so cool about everything, like nothing fazed her. Mighty seemed to be the only one who could see through her façade, see the scared, fragile girl she really was underneath it all.

"You know what I think?" The armadillo spoke, getting out of his position on the bed to stand face-to-face with her, "I think you're just scared. Too fucking scared to face the mess that **YOU** made out of him, too scared that he won't remember who you even are, too scared that he won't look at you the same after he finds out what you did—"

" **I AM FUCKING SCARED ALRIGHT?** " She cried out, no longer able to keep up the act. His drilling of accusations had broken her down, she dropped to her knees as she wailed, "I'm such a coward. I'm so scared…"

"Of what?" Mighty asked, kneeling beside her. "It's okay Julie…"

"That he won't forgive me."

Mighty just quickly embraced the crying echidna without another word. He knew that was a little harsh of him, but sometimes pressure was the only way to get through to her stubborn head. The reason he was so fixed on the reunion of Julie-Su and Knuckles is because they haven't been the same since the separation.

Knuckles barely spoke to his former group, and Julie-Su was more withdrawn than ever before. The armadillo only had their best interest at heart. He cared about them too much to just let them suffer in silence. Whether she liked it or not, he was going to bring those two back together, and finally give them what they both desperately needed…

Closure.

* * *

 **DigItaly is a cross between the words 'Digital' and 'Italy'. It's not actually a place in the Sonic universe. I made Nicole a foreign girl to explain away the robotic tone.**

 **Bunnie's robotic limbs are prosthetic in this universe, which will eventually be explained.**

 **Everyone's reaction to Silver was based on the old continuity of the comics where Silver was disliked by nearly everyone-especially Sonic.**

 **No one has super powers, but they do have specific qualities retaining to their canon powers. Example, Sonic is fast on the trackfield, Silver has good intuition, and Mighty is the football team's powerhouse.**

 **Let me know what you thought of this chapter :D**


	7. Chapter 7

**A few special shout outs**

 **To xXAmberAddilynRosexX: Thank you so much for the review. I love the enthusiasm! I really appreciate it**

 **To ThatOnePairOfGlasses: Thanks a ton for letting me know I was spelling Soleanna wrong, apparently my computer thought Solenna was a legit word.**

 **To 1Pas and Present1: Thanks for the long constructive review! I'm glad my story peaked your interest, and I'm thankful for the helpful advice!**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Potential Romances and Apologies**

Silver was lying on his bed, face buried in a pillow. On the bed across the room sat Elias, he had three books laid out on his bed, and was taking notes in a journal he held in his lap. It was their free period, Larry and Shard were still in class.

"Are you ready to talk about it?" Elias asked, eyes still fixed on the books in front of him.

It had been three days since he was the laughing stock of the café. He'd been avoiding Blaze ever since, not that she had even tried to contact him.

"It sucked!" The white hedgehog yelled, pulling his face out of the pillow, "I just don't fit in with those people, but Blaze really wanted me to try."

"You'd do anything for her huh?" The squirrel asked, putting down his notebook. "Even if it meant crucifying yourself for the whole café."

"She's my best friend." The white hedgehog slumped down against his bed so he sat on the floor. "I just wanted to make her happy."

"I guess we have more in common than I thought." Elias noted, looking over at the Silver on the floor.

"What are you talking about?"

"So tell me, how long have you been in love with her exactly?"

"What! That's absurd! How could you even think I—"

"Believe me." Elias chuckled, closing all the books in front of him. "I know a thing or two about being in love with your best friend."

Silver's pale face immediately went red. Elias had hit the nail on the head. "Since I first saw her."

* * *

Tails sat all the way in the back of class, the seat closest by the window. He watched the kids sprint across the track field like tiny ants. Dr. Robotnik was rambling on and on about the laws of physics and other amateur science facts. Tails didn't feel the need to really focus much, considering he literally knew everything the egg-shaped teacher was lecturing about.

Halfway through class the door swung open, making everyone jump in their seats. Standing at the door was a red fox with a cute yellow bow atop her head. She walked right past the teacher, not caring about how late she was, or how she had just interrupted his class.

"Fiona Fox, how nice of you to finally make your appearance." The angry professor hissed, scribbling on to a red detention slip. "After three no-shows, and halfway through the fourth class." He handed her the red paper.

She snatched it before shrugging. "Whatever."

She looked around and spotted an empty seat in the far back next to a yellow fox by the window. The red fox made her way towards it, swaying her hips in a provocative manner, grabbing the attention of all the guys in the room.

Tails felt his heart begin to pound harder and harder as she got closer. He had never seen a girl more beautiful. Her rust-colored hair was so shiny, and bounced as she walked. Her eyes were a beautiful mixture of gray and blue. She was like something straight off a magazine cover. She took a seat next to him, swiping him with her tail as she sat down, making him blush immensely.

"See something you like sweetie?" She asked, flashing the young fox a seductive grin.

* * *

Ray navigated his way through the halls until he found his appointed locker. He was nervous, not having Mighty around had him feeling very antsy. The poor squirrel was shaking like a leaf, making entering the lock combination a hundred times more difficult. Someone had accidentally bumped into him, causing him to drop all his books. At least he got the locker open just in time before the fall.

"I'm so sorry!"

"It's o-o-okay." The squirrel stammered, kneeling down to pick up his books.

He tried to reach out for his math book, but mistakenly grabbed someone's hand. He looked up to see a cream-colored rabbit girl starring back at him. He quickly pulled his hand away, as they both blushed at the awkward contact.

"I'm so-sorry." He apologized. His nervousness was sky-rocketing right now.

"No I'm sorry." The rabbit apologized again, picking up the text book before standing up. "I should have been more careful. My name's Cream the Rabbit by the way." She handed him back his text book with a warm smile.

"I'm Ray the Fl-Fl-Flying Squirrel."

"Well Ray, it looks like we're locker buddies." She cheered, pointing at the locker above his.

She was the first person to talk to him since he got here. Not even his roommate had spoken a word to him these last couple days. It was nice to be noticed. While staring at her smiling face, he somehow felt his anxiety begin to calm down on its own.

* * *

Amy and Sonic were sitting on the couch in the lounge of the boy's dormitory. They had just gotten out of English class, and were taking a much needed break before heading over to the café. The blue hedgehog had his feet kicked up onto the wooden coffee table, as Amy sat right by his side.

"I'm glad we actually got a class together." Amy smiled, "I love English!"

"I'd love any class Ms. Breezie was teachin'." Sonic grinned, thinking about the seductive smile of the teal-colored English teacher. "She's hot as hell."

Amy just crossed her arms and pouted, she didn't appreciate the comment very much. Sonic took notice of how upset she was by the remark, and chuckled. She actually looked cute when she pouted. He placed an arm over her shoulder, giving her a playful grin, "Is little Amy from down the street jealous?"

"No!" She lied, "And I'm not little anymore, or down the street."

He just smiled at how nonchalant she tried to act, but she wasn't fooling anyone. He always knew Amy had a thing for him, but never really acknowledged it because he never really gave her a second thought. She was always just little Amy from down the street, the annoying brat with the toy hammer and ugly skirt.

The blue hedgehog can't even remember when or why she started crushing on him. He just remembered how annoying it was to be chased, and adored by her at an age where girls were still icky. But now that they were older, little Amy from down the street didn't look so icky anymore.

"Awe! Little Amy from down the street still has a big crush on Sonikku." He teased in a high-pitched baby voice. Chaos he despised that pet name, but it was worth it just to tease her.

The pink hedgehog turned beat red, crossing her arms, and quickly turning her face in the other direction nervously. "And what if she does?"

"Then I might have taken her out this weekend." He shrugged, "But since she doesn't—"

" **I DO! I TOTALLY DO!** " She screeched, no longer able to keep up the act. Sonic just mentally high-fived himself for tricking her out of her shell.

* * *

 _'It was a warm summer day in August. The weather was perfect, and the grass and leaves on the trees were green with life. The sky was a canvas of baby blue, and big, puffy clouds were painted across it, shielding the sun from view._

 _I had on a pair of gray cargo shorts, an over-sized long-sleeved white shirt, and white tennis shoes stained brown from constant wear. My hair was extremely short, falling in two little pigtails just passed my shoulders._

 _I was about seven years old. I rode my bike all the way to the mall by myself that day, not that Kargok cared, even though he was supposed to be babysitting me and Lien-Da. I remember stupidly parking it in one of the lots, as if it were a car. I didn't even think to chain it to something, I just left it there while I walked inside._

 _Mobotropolis Mall was so huge to me as a kid, it's a miracle I didn't get lost. Luckily, I knew how to read signs. After some navigating I found myself at the Master Emerald jewelry store._

 _I opened the glass door, causing a little chime to go off as I stepped inside. It was really crowded in there that day. I shoved my way through the group of fangirling women until I spotted a kid sitting on a stool by the counter. He looked very unhappy. I quickly made my way over to him, and tugged his pants leg. Once he looked down at me his melancholy expression melted away into one of joy._

 _"Julie!" Seven year old Knuckles screeched. His voice was so high-pitched and annoying back then, "What are you doing here?"_

 _"I'm here to see you dummy! What else?" I replied as if it were basic knowledge. I was such a brat._

 _"I thought you guys were going to play Capture the Flag today?"_

 _"I can't play without my defense." I told him, handing him the green flag, "C'mon, let's go."_

 _"I can't." He sighed, looking over toward his dad behind the register. "Dad says I can't play today."_

 _His dad always had him sitting in that stupid stool. He thought forcing Knuckles to sit there would inspire him to one day take over the family store. I used to hate it, because I knew Knuckles wanted nothing more than to be free. He always looked so miserable on that stool, and I knew it hurt him to know me and the guys were out playing without him._

 _"You should probably get going. The guys are waiting for you." He said in a sad tone._

 _He handed me back the green flag, which I then tossed to the floor. I pulled out the stool next to his and climbed my way onto it, plopping down right next to him. He gave me a confused look._

 _"What are you doing?" He asked._

 _"What's it look like? I'm sitting with you dummy."_

 _"What about the guys? They're waiting for you."_

 _"Espio's moves are pretty predictable, they'll catch on eventually." I shrugged._

 _"Don't you want to go have fun?"_

 _"It wouldn't be any fun without my best friend in the whole world dummy."_

 _I looked at him with a big smile. He always got so happy when I referred to him as my best friend. I remember how red his face got, and the cheesy smile he gave me in return, showing off his missing tooth._

 _We sat there on the stools for hours, talking, joking around, and watching people to pass the time. That day, the store was incredibly busy. Knuckles' dad was overwhelmed with females huddling around the counter, demanding the finest jewels._

 _"This ring must look marvelous for my wedding! I demand something nicer!" A woman hollered at him._

 _"Julie?" Knuckles turned to me._

 _"Yeah?"_

 _"What's a wedding?"_

 _"Well, Daddy told me a wedding was when two best friends promise to be together forever, and give each other jewelry, and have a big party!" I exclaimed, flailing my arms to put an emphasis on the word 'big'._

 _"Oh." He nodded, processing the information. "We should have one of those!"_

 _"Yeah!" I agreed, before recalling some more things Father had told me, "But Daddy says we can't have a wedding until we're grown up."_

 _"How grown up?"_

 _"He told me I have to be thirty." I put my head down in sadness, "That's not for a long time."_

 _"That's okay." Knuckles reassured me, "We're going to be together forever anyways. We can wait."_

 _I cheered happily at the proclamation._

 _"So which jewelry would you want me to get for you?" He asked, looking around at the jewelry cases, "My dad can give it to me."_

 _I looked all around the shop, taking note of all the pearl necklaces, gemstones, and shiny rocks. Nothing really caught my eye except for one. In the glass case by the door was a silver string necklace, hanging from it was a beautiful, over-sized green emerald._

 _"Let's get that one for our wedding" I exclaimed, pointing toward it.'_

"What the hell are you staring at?" Sonia shrieked, covering her exposed upper body with the shirt she had just taken off.

Julie-Su was immediately snapped out of her thoughts. She hadn't realized she'd been blankly staring at the over-sized green emerald hanging off the hedgehog girl's chest while she was getting dressed. The echidna quickly turned her head back to her book. "Nothing." She mumbled.

Sonia quickly got redressed. The two were sitting in their dorm room, waiting for their next class to start. Sonia sat at the bed across from her, occasionally glancing over to make sure the echidna girl wasn't still staring like a creep. The awkward silence was becoming too much to bear, so she just packed up her bag and scurried off.

* * *

The magenta hedgehog set her stuff down on one of the picnic tables by the fountain. The weather sure had been lovely these last few days. She inhaled, taking in all the wonderful scents nature had to offer.

"There you are! Girl I been lookin' all ova for you!" A voice bellowed. Sonia turned her head to see Vector strolling toward her.

"Oh, hey Vector." She greeted casually, "Why have you been looking for me?"

"To see the look on your face when I send you this." He quickly whipped out his phone and swiped his fingers across the keys.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

She gave him a curious look before pulling out her cellphone. She squealed for joy when she opened his texts. It was details to his next party, with the infamous barcode attachment. " **OH MY CHAOS! NO WAY!** " She squealed girlishly.

"Yes way Girl!" He laughed, "First one to be sent out too. Consider it a thank you."

"A thank you for what?"

"For helping me come up with a theme for the next party."

She looked at the text message again, reading the party details. It was going to be held this Saturday at Metropolis Hotel. He had arranged for three of the school buses to chauffeur guests. The theme was surprisingly a romantic one like she had suggested. A Night in Paris, the color scheme was going to be black and white, the hotel foyer will be decorated in fairy lights, and Effel Tower cut outs, along with all the hotel rooms being available.

"You rented out the entire hotel?"

"Of course."

"This is going to be amazing!" She cooed, "Thank you so much Vector!"

"It was all you Girl." He waved.

She gave him a big hug, surprising him a bit, then she quickly started to text away on her phone.

"I've got to tell Knuckles! And Elias!"

 ** _Sonia:_** _Baby! Where are you? I have such amazing news!_

 ** _Knuckles:_** _Hey Babe. How weird, I'm actually right outside your dorm room._

She gasped, nearly letting the phone slip from her hands. _'Oh fuck.'_

* * *

Knuckles slipped his phone back in his pants pocket. He smiled to himself, thinking how weird it was that Sonia had just messaged him while he was standing right outside her dorm room, like their minds are linked. Just as he was about to knock on the wooden door in front of him, his phone buzzed a second time. He stepped back and retrieved it out of his pocket again.

 ** _Dad:_** _Go to school parking lot._

' _What the hell?_ ' Knuckles thought to himself.

He quickly turned heel, and headed back out the building toward the school parking lot. He had no idea what the text was about, but his curiosity was certainly peaked. He hadn't heard a thing from his dad since he left for school last week. Once he got there, the parking lot was vacant. He pulled out his phone again to give his father a confused reply, but the honk of a horn made him look up from the screen.

Coming through the parking lot were two cars, one was his grandfather's old pick-up truck, followed by a brand new black Lexus. Knuckles' jaw nearly dropped at the sight of it. Driving the old pick-up was his grandfather Athair, and pulling up beside him in the Lexus was his father Locke.

"Holy shit!" Knuckles exclaimed, "Dad when the hell did you get this!"

"Ask me why I got this." He replied, stepping out of the vehicle.

"Hello Knuckles, I see you're well." His grandfather greeted him as he walked up to them, a cane in hand to keep him steady.

"Grandfather." Knuckles bowed respectfully to the elder echidna before turning back to his father, "So why did you get this?"

Locke tossed the keys to Knuckles, who of course caught them with his fast reflexes. He looked up at his father with a shocked expression, "I'm sorry I wasn't there to see you off yesterday. I thought this might make up for that."

"Are you serious?" The teen asked, as if he couldn't believe it.

"All yours." His father nodded.

Knuckles smiled the biggest he'd ever smiled at his father. He wasted no time hopping into the car himself, checking out the interior, and the sweet custom sound system. Athair stood beside Locke, as they both smiled.

"That was almost sweet." A voice spoke from behind them, "Too bad school started a week ago, not yesterday."

The two older echidnas turned around to see Principle Acorn. She was strolling up to them, arms folded, as the wind whipped stray strands of chestnut-colored hair across her face. Locke smiled at the sight of her.

"Hello Locke." She greeted, once she was face-to-face with him.

"Hello Alicia."

"I see the store is still your main priority." She remarked, looking at her student freaking out in the Lexus, "Must have spent a pretty penny on this apology."

"No more than your husband would have." The echidna replied.

"I'm divorced."

"Still carrying the last name around as a memento?"

"Just for political reasons." She caught his eye, "Where's your wedding ring?"

"I'm divorced." Locke informed her, "She ran out on me and my son for another man."

"Did she run? Or just walk?" The chipmunk asked sarcastically, "With your work schedule I'm sure you wouldn't have noticed either way."

The two stared each other down, until their solemn looks broke down into satisfied smirks. The two had a lengthy history, the more recent years consisting of cynical banter such as this. She had always been the fiercest woman in his life, not afraid to give him the business like everyone else. He always liked that about her.

"Alright, alright. Settle down you two." Athair intervened, stepping in front of Alicia. "Look at you dear, the years have been so good to you." He took her hands in his, and gave her a smile.

"Hello Athair." She greeted. Just looking at the elder sent a thousand memories fluttering through her mind.

Locke's phone started to chime, a sound Alicia heard many a time in their younger days, and she knew exactly what it meant. "C'mon Dad, I've gotta go to work."

"Of course you do." Alicia smirked facetiously.

"There's a gorgeous **SINGLE** woman right in front of you and you want to go to work?" Athair joked.

"Single I'm sure, but gorgeous seems a bit generous." Locke grinned, "I'm needed at the store."

The elder echidna just sighed in defeat, "Don't get me wrong, Lara-Le was a wonderful woman, but why my son never married you is beyond me. Take care Alicia, and drop by for a visit once in a while!"

"You too Athair, and I'll be sure to do so…whenever Locke can find the time."

Locke's eyes caught Alicia's before he turned around, they gave each other a genuine smile before he turned toward the pick-up truck. She was relieved that years of being apart hadn't changed the way they interacted. Knuckles hopped out of the Lexus and waved goodbye to his relatives.

"Bye Dad! Thanks for the car!" Knuckles' exclaimed before turning toward his principle, who still had her eyes fixed on the pick-up truck. "I didn't know you and my dad knew each other."

"It doesn't surprise me that you didn't." She replied before turning back toward the school, "You should get back to class. The bell will ring any minute now."

* * *

There was a loud knock on the door, pulling Elias out of his intense note-taking. He looked over to Silver, who hadn't heard the knocking. The white hedgehog was laying on his stomach, face buried in his pillow, with headphones on, blaring out the noise of the world. The squirrel sighed in annoyance before getting up to answer the door.

He opened the door to see Blaze standing in front of him. She must have expected Silver to open the door, because she looked pretty shocked to see the school prince standing before her. He brushed the auburn hair out of his face with his hand, giving her a better look at his sapphire blue eyes. Her face started to flush.

"Hello Blaze." He greeted with a charming smile that nearly knocked her off her feet.

"He-He-Hello Elias." The feline stammered, so captivated by the attractive senior. _'Chaos, how is it possible to be so freaking good looking?'_ She thought to herself.

"What brings you to these parts?"

"I'm looking for Silver. Is he here by any chance?"

"He's here." Elias nodded, ushering her inside. "He's been moping in bed for about an hour. I was just heading off to gym class, maybe you could cheer him up."

Elias quickly grabbed his bag from the floor beside his bed before walking out, making sure to give Blaze one last smile goodbye before exiting. The cat frowned about the information. She hoped her best friend wasn't still upset about the lunch incident the other day. She walked over to his corner of the room by the window. She set her bag down at end of his bed before pouncing on him as she often did, causing him to jump.

"Dammit Eli! I don't want to talk about how I love..." His voice immediately trailed off when he looked up to see Blaze hovering above him, "Uh, chocolate."

"Chocolate?" The cat laughed, "You guys must talk about the weirdest things."

"Yeah." He nodded.

Silver could feel his face get hotter and hotter as it dawned on him that he was now laying on his back with Blaze straddling him. She must have noticed his increasingly embarrassed look, because she quickly got off of him blushing herself. He sat up, so the two were now sitting side-by-side on the twin-sized bed, little to no space between them.

"Silver…" She spoke up in a now serious tone, "I'm really sorry about what happened in the café."

"It's not your fault your friends are jerks." He shrugged.

"Those two weren't my friends!" She growled, annoyed by his remark, "Fiona and Scourge, along with their little gang of buddies are the biggest jerks at this school! I'd never have anything to do with people like them."

 _'I wasn't talking about them, Kitten.'_ Silver thought to himself, trying his best not to make the remark aloud.

"I just wanted to let you know Sonic is sorry about how rude he and the others were being." She continued, "They want to give this another shot."

 _'Yeah right! Guys like him don't apologize and mean it! And there's no way in hell I'd ever set foot near any of those people again!'_ He thought in his head, but simply nodded to, ushering her to continue.

"They just weren't prepared to meet you. They had all these delusions of what they thought you'd be like, but were taken aback by how wrong they were. They didn't mean to be so rude, they are really cool people. Tails is really into nerdy stuff like you, Cream is a saint, Sonia and Amy are very sweet, Rouge and Knuckles can be a bit rough around the edges, but they are very loyal people, and Sonic is—"

 _'The biggest douchebag on the planet?' Silver thought._

"The greatest guy on the planet!" She smiled, "Sure, he's got an attitude, and he's pretty cocky, but he's the most honest person I've ever met, and he cares so much about all his friends. He was the first person to say hello to me when I got here, and he helped me so much. He's my hero."

Silver just looked away as she went on and on about how the blue hedgehog was such an amazing friend. He honestly didn't care to hear any of it, Sonic was already on his shit-list. He knew where Blaze was heading with this, she wanted him to hang out with them again, and he had no intention of doing so.

"Please Silver, will you give this another try?" She begged.

He wanted so badly to stand his ground, to refuse. He didn't want a repeat of the incident that happened three days ago, but the way Blaze pleaded with him made him so weak. The way her beautiful hazel eyes looked so honest, and how her bottom lip poked out like an upset child, she was just too cute to say no to.

"Alright…" He gave in.

"Thank you so much Silver!" She cheered, throwing her arms around him in a hug, "It'll work out this time, I promise!"

"Sure." He agreed—not really meaning it, "So since we've both got about half an hour to kill before next class, how about we watch a movie or something?"

"Just like old times" She smiled, nodding in agreement.

"I'll grab the laptop." He laughed, getting up to grab the laptop sitting on his dresser.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

Blaze jumped at the vibration coming from the bag she set down at the edge of the bed. She pulled it towards herself and quickly fished out her phone.

 ** _Sonic:_** _What's up? Are you in class?_

 ** _Blaze:_** _No, I've got a free period. I'm just with Silver. We're gonna watch a movie, probably some science documentary._

 ** _Sonic:_** _Sounds boring, wanna chill?_

 ** _Blaze:_** _I don't think so Sonic, I haven't spent much time with Silver since he got here._

 ** _Sonic:_** _C'mon Kitten, just a quick race! Shadow's not here to pick on._

 ** _Blaze:_** _Alright, I'll be there in a second._

 ** _Sonic:_** _I'm waaaaaaiting!_

Silver had set his laptop down on the bed before noticing the cat getting up. He tilted his head in confusion. She seemed to be in a bit of a rush.

"Where are you going?" The white hedgehog shouted as the cat bolted for the door.

"I've gotta go do something with Sonic real quick! I'll be right back I promise!" She hollered back.

"Of course." Silver sighed, closing the laptop.

He tossed his computer to the floor, with enough care not to break it, but not in the most delicate way either. As he went back to his laying down position on the bed his foot kicked against something, causing it to fall to the floor with a thud. He quickly sat up, startled by the sound. He looked over his bed to see that he had kicked down a purple bag, spilling its contents all over the floor. He scrambled to pick everything up, making sure he hadn't broken anything. After reading the name on one of the papers that had flown out he concluded that the bag belonged to Blaze, which she must have forgotten on her way out.

As he picked up the cat's things he noticed something interesting. He picked up a thick purple journal and inspected it. Scrawled on the cover in her signature feminine writing were the words _'Blaze's Diary'_. He quickly shoved it back inside the bag before any bad ideas could find their way into his head. He tossed the bag to the side of his dresser, deciding he'd text her to come pick it up later.


	8. Chapter 8

**Welcome back! I just hit 20 reviews and I'd like to thank you guys for that!**

 **I know it seems like a small number, but it really makes me proud.**

 **I love interacting with you guys, and reading your theories. Some are dead on, while others are way off. It's so interesting to see how invested you guys are and how much you enjoy the story.**

 **For those who dislike Sonic in this story, you have every right to. He's based off a mix of the Old Archie Version of himself, and the Sonic the Comic version-which made him look like kind of a douchebag to me. But just like his game franchise, he's always got the potential to redeem himself...or not.**

 **WARNING: This chapter contains sexual themes, drug use, and some other stuff I can't think of right now. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Boys Will Be Boys**

Word of Vector's party had spread around the school like wildfire, and only after a day the barcode had made its way to a majority of the student body. The party was two days from now, but the hype was grand. Everyone was either talking about it, or preparing for it. Vector loved throwing these shindigs. Whenever he did he was practically king for a day, everyone wanted to come, and everyone adored him. It was hard for the students to keep their minds focused on their studies when the party was just around the corner.

Sonia and Knuckles were sitting in the backseat of his brand new car. The magenta hedgehog was straddling the echidna, who had his hands gripping her waist as they were caught up in a steamy make-out session. The only sounds were their lips, and the occasionally moan that escaped her. They made-out quite often these past few months of dating. It was great, but Knuckles couldn't help but feel the urge to go a little bit further.

He snaked a hand under her tanktop, groping one of her breasts as he kept his other hand on her hip. Much to his relief, she accepted the action, rewarding him with a loud moan. Her body trembled from the foreign touch, but she continued to press herself against him, kissing him a little more roughly. Once he felt confident enough, the echidna trailed his other hand down from her hip to her inner thigh. He inched his hand further and further under her skirt, brushing the tips of his middle and index finger against the moist area of her panties before her hand came down on his and pulled him away.

"No." She yelped, pulling herself off him, "Not yet."

She sat next to him, pulling down her skirt, looking away in embarrassment. The echidna let out a disappointed sigh before putting his arm around her and pulling close. "Don't worry about it Babe."

"I'm sorry. I've just—"

"Never done this kinda thing before?" He asked, although the answer was obvious.

"Not really." She admitted, "Have you?"

He contemplated his next few words carefully. Sonia was a pretty jealous girl, and easily upset. He thought about lying to her, but figured it would be better to just be honest, even though he knew she'd pry his ear off with questions.

"Not for a long time." These were the vague words he decided on.

"How long?"

"Since I was like, thirteen." He admitted.

"How many times?"

"Once."

"Did you get an STD check?"

"Sonia…"

"Was she attractive?"

"Sonia…"

"Do I know her?"

" **SONIA!** "

" **WHO IS SHE?** "

"I don't remember!"

"How can you not remember?" The hedgehog pouted, crossing her arms in frustration.

"Because I had no idea who she was!" He shrugged, looking down in shame.

"What?" Sonia gave him a confused look, "How could you not know who you slept with!"

"It was at this party. One of Vex's parties actually." The echidna explained, not too thrilled on the subject, "The theme was masquerade, everyone was wearing ridiculous masks in the dark. It was my first time getting drunk too. She came up to me, chatted me up, one thing led to another and shit happened."

Sonia just pouted. She didn't like the thought of some random girl all over him, even if it was years ago. He noticed her visible jealousy and sighed. "Honestly, it's nothing to get jealous over. It literally meant nothing." He told her, looking out the window to avoid her gaze. "I'm pretty disgusted by the memory actually. My first time was in a freaking broom closet with someone I didn't even care about. It was a big mistake, one I can't take back. That's why I'm not gonna pressure you into anything Sonia. I don't want you to live with this kind of regret."

She suddenly felt sorry for him. By the way he sounded, she could tell he felt a little ashamed at how his first time went. She always wondered why he didn't usually engage the sexual activity, she always seemed to have to make the first move, but she had always assumed it was because he was shy. Things started to make a little more sense now.

They both heard the loud ring of the bell, signaling them to get back to class. They straightened themselves out before they kissed each other goodbye. It was after this little conversation that Sonia began to formulate a grand scheme.

* * *

Manic, Shadow, Sonic, and Tails littered the lounge area of the boy's dorm. Shadow sat on the stairs, Sonic laid on the couch, Tails sat on the chair beside him, and Manic sat on the table below the corkboard beside the door. The four had been conversing about the upcoming party.

"Can't believe Vector picked some sappy romance theme this year." Sonic groaned.

"Sounds like something your sister would come up with." Shadow remarked.

"Right?" The blue hedgehog agreed, "It's so lame."

"Don't worry bro." Manic chuckled, "The party theme won't matter as long as the party favors are fire."

"What are you up to?" The blue hedgehog sat up to eye his brother.

Manic just shrugged innocently, eyeing Shadow with a devious smirk. "Nothing. Promise."

"That Honey chick keeps texting me." Shadow told the group. He had his phone out, and was deleting the yellow cat's messages, "It's fucking annoying."

"Dude!" Sonic turned back to the black hedgehog, "She's cute as fuck. You should be glad someone besides my brother is texting you."

"I'm not into clingy girls." He replied, "And I'm not into the twelve year old fashion sense either."

"The dress won't really matter when it's in a pile on the floor." Manic replied with a shrug, "I'd hit it."

"You know who's really hot though? That Mina Mongoose." Sonic redirected.

"She's whatever." Shadow replied, unimpressed by the choice. "She's too preppy and snobby for my taste."

"She's fine." Manic sided with his brother, "I love chicks with long hair. But if you want to talk about sexy, let's talk about Ms. Breezie."

"Oh man, what I'd give for some special 'extra circular activity' with her." Sonic joked.

"Now you're talking." Shadow nodded in agreement, "Now that's a choice I could actually get behind, figuratively and literally."

Tails just slumped down in his chair, face glowing red. He couldn't really contribute much to the conversation, he felt too embarrassed about discussing the physical appeal of females to his brothers—and Shadow. He was a pretty shy boy, being only thirteen. He found girls attractive of course, but didn't feel like it'd be appropriate to discuss with the guys.

There was this one girl on his mind, Fiona Fox. The girl he met in science class. There was something about her that just interested him. Before he knew it he had already started speaking, "How about Fiona Fox?"

All heads were instantly on him, like he had just uttered an extremely taboo word. Sonic seemed the most surprised to hear that his little brother knew the girl.

"Biggest bitch I've ever met in my life." Manic was the first to speak in his usual chill tone.

"She's alright looking, but she's a complete try-hard." Shadow shrugged.

"Listen little buddy…" Sonic walked over to his little brother, kneeling down to eye-level with him, "Don't waste your time on that girl. She's nothing but a heartless bitch. She'll chew you up and spit you out before you know it."

Tails just stared at his feet, a little disappointed by the information. He had assumed the tough-girl thing was an act or something. Being the logical person that he was, he wasn't going to take their opinions as fact. He decided that he was going to get to know her anyway, and make his own deduction on her character.

"C'mon Shadow." Manic stood up from the desk, stretching out his spine, "We've gotta head over to art."

Shadow stood up from the stairs and went to follow Manic. The green hedgehog opened the door, only to be met by a mirror image, only this image was an inch taller, and wearing red sunglasses on his head. Manic's arctic-blue eyes went wide as they met with a familiar pair of the same color. Standing in the doorway was Scourge the Hedgehog, and following close behind him was his pal, Mephiles the Dark.

"Scourge…" Manic managed to speak faintly.

The other hedgehog's face looked just as surprised. He almost said something, until he caught a look from the blue hedgehog glaring at him from the couch. Scourge just shoved his way past Manic, and up the stairs. Mephiles followed him up, but not before giving Shadow a dirty look.

"Chaos, I hate that asshole." Shadow cursed, watching the gray striped hedgehog walk up the stairs.

Manic just stood in the doorway for a minute. His joyful expression once again lost. He didn't say a thing, he just walked out. Shadow followed.

"Who was that Sonic?" Tails asked, curious as to the dramatic scene between the two green hedgehogs in the doorway.

"Trouble." The blue hedgehog replied in a bitter tone.

* * *

Sally pulled her phone away from her ear and pressed the red button, ending the call. She'd been sent to voicemail once again. She slid the phone back in her tote before walking into her next class, English class. She took a seat in the very front row, placing her bag beside her chair after getting out her books.

This was one of the classes she didn't share with an old friend, so it was pretty lonesome. At least Ms. Breezie had an unorthodox way of teaching, which made for an interesting class. She was very beautiful, and looked incredibly young, no older than twenty-five. She had long teal-colored quills that fell at her waist in wild curls. She was really tall, with the figure of a supermodel, shown off by the tight red low-cut dress that ended a little higher than mid-thigh. It wasn't that hard to figure out why she was every guy's favorite teacher.

The young teacher was walking between the rows of desks as if they were a catwalk. She had a notepad and pen in hand as she checked off names for attendance. Once she was done with that, she set the notepad back on her desk, which she took a seat on, crossing one leg over the other. All the guys were practically foaming at the mouth. Sally just rolled her eyes at their gawking.

"Now that we've had a week to get to know each other, I've devised a special seating arrangement based on your personalities and interests." She spoke in her naturally seductive voice.

"Seating arrangement?" Shadow huffed, "What is this third grade?"

"No Shadow." The teacher shook her head before getting up from the table and strutting over to him. She bent over so she was at eye-level with him, "I'm just a teacher who enjoys a little entertainment."

The black hedgehog was at a loss for words, he just stared down at her cleavage, trying to suppress a whole bunch of dirty thoughts. He just nodded in agreement to whatever the hell she was telling him, not paying attention at all until she walked back to her desk.

"Wonderful, now that everyone's on board I'd like you all to get up from your seats and stand by the wall until I call your name." She smiled, picking her agenda book up.

Everyone complied with her request, some reluctant, some thrilled. The desks were a bit unusual. Each desk seated two people instead of one like a traditional desk. As Breezie made her way past a desk, she put her finger on it and listed off pairs of names who'd occupy that specific desk.

"Silver the Hedgehog, and Manic the Hedgehog"

"Rosy the Rascal, and Mina Mongoose."

"Honey the Cat, and Shadow the Hedgehog."

"Amy Rose, and Blaze the Cat."

The hedgehog and cat squealed in joy and hugged each other before taking their seats. They both looked out toward the line of kids whose names hadn't been called yet. They were both happy to be paired, but disappointed at not being paired with their blue hedgehog friend. Silver looked over at Blaze with the same disappointed expression. Sonic just tapped his foot impatiently.

A few pairs were listed off before Ms. Breezie stood at the remaining desk. There were only two students left standing.

Sonic looked mortified.

"Sally Acorn, and Sonic the Hedgehog."

Sally just nodded, taking her seat. The blue hedgehog just groaned, dumping his bag on the desk and flopping down on the chair with a sigh.

"Now for the rest of class, I'd like you to get to know the person beside you." Breezie instructed.

Sonic looked at the girl next to him. He didn't recognize her, so he assumed she was a freshmen. She had short auburn hair that barely fell past her shoulders, and bangs that swooped across her forehead, just above her eyes. She had these gigantic, black, thick-rimmed glasses on that took up a majority of her face. The chipmunk was wearing a loose fitting blue turtle-neck shirt, average looking knee-length jean shorts, and matching Converse shoes.

She was very unappealing to his eye. She did smell nice though, like lavender.

"Great, I get stuck with Plain-Jane the Freshman." He said aloud, not caring if he offended the girl beside him, "Just try not to faint at the thought of sitting next to the most desired guy at school, alright Cindy?"

"Desired under a bus maybe." The chipmunk retorted in annoyance, "And my name is Sally."

"Well listen 'Sally'." The blue hedgehog began, "You should feel honored to sit by me. I'm kind of famous ya'know. Girls would do anything just to get a chance at talking to me!"

"And I'd do anything just to get you to stop talking to me." She shrugged.

The room bursted into a fit of laughter. Manic, Shadow and Silver were holding their guts and pounding their fists on their tables. Blaze eyed Sally in annoyance while Amy shot her a death-glare. Never ever had a girl one-upped him like that, never had a girl ever brushed him off. He turned red in the face. For the first time in his life he felt a bit insignificant.

Unlike most girls, the chipmunk showed zero interest in him. Sally hated guys like him. Guys who catcalled women like animals, guys with egos three sizes bigger than Texas, guys who felt entitled, like they were king of everything. She's usually a genuinely respectful person, but she wouldn't tolerate his bullshit attitude.

Shockingly, Sonic didn't have a retort, he was embarrassed and at a loss for words. He'd never been put in such a position. He was pissed. For once, everyone was laughing at him. He couldn't think to do anything else but grab his bag and walk out as the laughs echoed throughout the room. It might have seemed like a weak comeback, but the thing with Sonic is, there's never been a comeback! He's always had the last word.

Amy just stood up, fists shaking, teeth clenched in rage. She gave the chipmunk one nasty glare before chasing after Sonic. Ms. Breezie simply smiled to herself.

The way to get some good entertainment was to seat two people who were either polar opposites, or had potential drama between them.

 _'Very entertaining.'_ The teacher thought to herself.

* * *

Scourge and Mephiles were back in their dorm. The two shared a double on the second floor. The green hedgehog sat up in his bed, with a bong held up to his face, and a lighter in hand. He took hit after hit, demanding the high the device was to bring through his lungs. He didn't want to think right now, he was so furious.

Mephiles just sat on the other bed across the room watching him with amused reptilian eyes. He had his back against the wall, one leg bent while he used it to prop up the elbow of the arm he held his cigarette in. Apparently, Manic and Shadow aren't the only ones sneaking illegal substances on to school grounds.

"Why are you so desperate to get high all of a sudden?" The dark hedgehog asked.

"Because that's what we came here to do." Scourge replied obnoxiously.

"Are intentions were to do so, but you seem to be extra desperate after that little encounter downstairs." Mephiles noted.

"Shut up." The green hedgehog retorted, fiddling with the lighter anxiously. He needed this right now.

He and Mephiles had been good friends these last two years. They met by chance while shaking down the same kid who owed them drug money. Scourge was the talker, always hyped, always wild, always confident. Mephiles was the quiet one. He had a strange habit of reading people, watching their every move, giving an explanation to the actions they made. It was eerie, you'd think he was inside your head.

"I think you're spooked. You must have some sort of history with that green hedgehog, a boyfriend perhaps? Or is it the blue hedgehog that has you so scared you feel the need to run away from reality."

"Just shut up." Scourge demanded, "It's nothing like that you fag."

"Then what is it like exactly?" He asked, putting down his cigarette. "I'm curious."

"Go fuck yourself."

* * *

Rotor was walking down the second floor hall of the girl's dormitory. He had a free period, and since Nicole did too, he figured they could hang out. As he made his way toward her room, he noticed her sitting in front of the door. She had her back up against it, hugging her knees as she had her head down. The lynx was completely naked, only a small towel wrapped around her thin frame.

Rotor quickly took off his jacket and draped it over her, startling her. She looked up at him with red puffy eyes and a weak smile. "Oh…Hello Rotor." She greeted nonchalantly.

"Nicole!" He shrieked, covering her up, "What in the heck are you doing!"

She blushed, knowing the embarrassing state she was in, "I forgot my key…"

"And your clothes just disappeared too?" He asked, not buying her story.

"I left them inside while I went to take a shower." She explained.

He pulled out a safety pin from his pocket and started fiddling with the lock until it clicked open. He helped her up from the ground, and they both made their way inside. It was a triple, three beds, two on one side of the room and one on the other.

Nicole's half of the room was completely bare. No clothes in the closet, nothing sitting on the dresser, no bed linens. Rotor gave her a confused look before taking a seat beside her on the bare bed. She looked like she'd been crying earlier.

"Nicole…" He whispered, "Please talk to me… You've been acting strange these last few days."

She just shook her head in response, "I can't…"

* * *

Once again, halfway through science class the door swung open, only this time with much more aggressive force. Tails was the only one who didn't jump at the sound. Dr. Robotnik angrily scribbled on a red slip, handing it to the red fox as she passed by. Instead of her usually sexy strut, she angrily stomped over to her desk.

"Thank you for finally joining us Ms. Fox." The teacher grumbled, narrowing his eyes at her through his glasses, "Now you can take part in the pop quiz."

"Fucking awesome." She said sarcastically. She had her arms crossed in a huff.

Tails took notice of her upset state. He ripped a sheet of paper from his notebook and wrote something on it, then he folded it up and flicked it on to her desk. The paper instantly caught her eyes once it made contact with the desktop. She quickly unfolded it.

 _Don't worry, you can copy my test if you want._

She turned her head, taking a look at the kitsune who'd written the note. He was young, short, and scrawny—not her type at all. His outfit consisted of plain black jeans, a red hoodie, and white tennis shoes. His eyes were as blue as the sky.

She had no idea what to make of the gesture, it had took her a little off guard. However, she was relieved that she'd have some help on this pop quiz. Chaos knows she needed it, she was far too pissed off to focus on any test.

 _Thanks, but why? What do you want?_

 _I don't want anything._

 _Everybody wants something._

 _Well, you looked upset._

 _So?_

 _I just thought I could cheer you up._

The female-fox was completely taken aback by the boy's generosity. She wasn't used to people like him, but she did appreciate the help.

 _Thanks Sweetie._

 _No problem. My name' Tails by the way._

 _I'm Fiona._

 _If you don't mind my asking, what's got you so upset?_

 _Boyfriend being an asshole as usual._

He frowned a bit at the mention of a boyfriend, but more at how upset the boyfriend had her. Before he could send a reply, Dr. Robotnik slammed a test on his desk, making him jump. The teacher looked down at him with an evil grin. Tails gulped before he looked out toward Fiona, who gave him a reassuring wink and smiled.

* * *

" **SONIC!** " Amy shouted, "Sonic wait up!"

She had finally caught up to the angry blue hedgehog by the fountain, he must have been on his way back to the boy's dorm. He stopped once he heard his name, and looked back to see the pink hedgehog panting as she tried to catch up.

"What?" He sighed. He was still pretty pissed.

"Please don't be upset." She pleaded.

"Did you not just here the entire class laugh at **ME**? How can I not be mad that Glasses-Girl just took shots at me?"

"Who cares? She's nobody!" Amy retorted before taking his hands in hers, "You're famous, and everybody loves you."

Their jade eyes locked. Among all the girls who sought after him, Amy was obviously number one, there was no denying that. She was his first fangirl, and the biggest. He could always rely on her to take his side, even when everyone else wouldn't. Lately, he's seen the pink hedgehog in a much different light, and he wasn't sure why. Maybe because with her, he always felt like king of everything.

"Even you?" He asked, tilting his head to the side as he began to close the space between their faces.

"Especially me." She whispered before their lips met.

* * *

 **Some major clues about Nicole, Manic, and Scourge are hidden in here. If you read carefully, you might be able to piece some things together.**

 **I think I might stop being a meanie and reveal Nicole's secret next chapter-or not. Mwuahaha!**

 **Hope you enjoyed Sonic getting the tables turned on him for once, even if it was simple. Unfortunately for Sally, he's not one to take ridicule lightly.**

 **The next two or three chapters might be pretty long, and they'll take place at the party-which is gonna shake things up for everyone.**

 **To answer some questions; **

**Yes, there WILL be gay, lesbian, and bisexual characters. You'll just have to wait and see who.**

 **Don't get mad if you don't like the established couples or potential couples. As I've stated before ALL couples are subject to change. No one is safe. **

**No, still no specific upload schedule, they just happen.**

 **Drop a review! Let me know what you think, what you want, what you like, what you hate, whatever you want to let me know!**

 **Share the story with friends, and have an awesome rest of your day!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Heartbreak Hotel Part I**

A few of the girls were getting ready for tonight's big party in Amy's dorm. With the help of Cream, Rouge dragged her full length mirror, professional make-up kit, and hair products to the pink hedgehog's room—which the rabbit insisted they go to, because she didn't have the patience to deal with her three roommates bickering tonight.

Rouge sat on the pink-sheeted bed while Amy sat on the floor as she got her quills curled. Blaze was at her own bed putting on her high-heels as Cream sat beside her, waiting for them to finish up. Wave had already headed out to the bus. It was just Amy, Blaze, Cream, Rouge, and Marine who was rambling on and on about something. Luckily, the girls had mastered the art of tuning her out.

"I think Sonic's gonna love this." Amy cooed, twirling around in front of the full length mirror Rouge had brought.

She studied herself, making sure not a single thing was out of order. She had on a white low-cut halter dress. The low-cut exposing a majority of her chest, and the dress was very short, emphasizing her toned legs. She wore knee-high white heeled boots, and her signature gold bracelets. Her quills were styled in beautiful big cuff-curls accompanied by a white headband. Thanks to Rouge, her make-up was flawless; winged black liner, rosy cheeks, and bright pink lips. She felt like Cinderella, and the bat was her fairy god-mother.

"You look like an angel Amy!" Cream told her, as she clapped her hands, jumping up and down.

"Thanks Cream" Amy blushed, "You look super cute too!"

The rabbit sitting on the bed wore an innocent yellow sundress with four white buttons at the sternum. Her golden brown hair tied back with a single white ribbon that matched her white flats. Cream wasn't one to be flashy, she preferred the simple look. Rouge only managed to convince her into putting on a little eyeliner, which really made her brown eyes pop.

"Girl, from what I've seen you've already got him wrapped around your pretty little finger." Rouge laughed as she wrapped a strand of her hair around the curling iron.

Cream covered her mouth as giggles threatened to escape her, while Blaze's ears perked up in curiosity. Amy's face turned red as she gasped at the comment, "Wh-what do you mean by that!" She stammered.

"You can't make-out in public and not expect people to find out." The bat shrugged, finishing off the last curl.

"Made out?" Blaze questioned, "With…with Sonic?"

"We weren't making out!" The pink hedgehog cried out embarrassed, "It was just one kiss! One really long…amazing…kiss." Her mind started floating back to the memory.

"Whatever you say." Rouge smirked playfully.

"It was just a kiss I swear!"

"Don't worry Amy, she's just teasing." Cream giggled, "I know it was just a kiss."

"You were spying on me too Cream?"

"No! I don't think it's considered spying if you're standing right outside our window." The rabbit laughed.

Rouge looked at the reflection of the purple cat in the mirror. Her gaze had dropped to the floor uncomfortably, and she seemed a bit withdrawn. After putting on the final touches of her make-up the bat turned back toward the three girls and struck a sexy pose, intent on changing the subject. "How do I look?"

The three girls looked over to the bat. Their eyes went wide with a mixture of jealousy and amazement. Rouge was the oldest of them, and it surely showed physically. She and Blaze are the same height, but Rouge's legs appear longer, and her body has much more curve to it than the cat's. She wore a very tight, little, black strapless dress that hugged her body. The matching black stilettos gave her three inches in height. Like Amy, her hair fell down in large cuff-curls, but her make-up was much more dramatic; black smokey-eyes, and a dark red on her full lips.

"Gorgeous!" Amy squealed, running over to the bat for a hug. "Thanks for helping me out with the hair and make-up Rouge."

"Yeah, thanks for helping me too! It was so nice of you." Cream nodded.

"No problem Sweeties." The bat smiled.

Blaze just looked down at her attire. Much like Cream, the cat preferred the simple look. She wasn't one to strive for the sex appeal, she just wanted to be comfortable. Her hair was tied up in her traditional high ponytail, she wore a simple red apron dress, and matching heels. She had no curves to show off, and didn't find make-up comfortable. She felt unattractive compared to the beautiful girls surrounding her, but she didn't dwell much on it. Her mind was too busy dwelling on other things.

"Well, we're ready!" Cream cheered, hopping up from the bed. "We should get to the buses."

"Yeah, they'll probably be crowded as hell." Rouge agreed, grabbing her purse.

"Let's go!" Amy shouted, pumping her fist in the air as she grabbed her handbag and charged out the door. Rouge and Cream followed.

Blaze snapped out of her thoughts and got up to follow them. She grabbed her phone and wallet off the dresser, but before scurrying after them she stopped at the doorway to look at her sister.

"Marine, are you coming?"

No one had noticed, but surprisingly the raccoon had quit her babbling a while ago. The whole time they were talking the raccoon was scribbling on a notepad. She looked over at the cat and nodded.

"Sure, I'll be there in a second Blazey!" Marine smiled, tossing the notepad into her green tote before chasing after the cat.

* * *

"Where's everyone going?" Silver asked his roommates.

"A party." Elias told the hedgehog as he buttoned up his white shirt.

"Is that why everyone's getting all decked out?"

"No, we just like to play dress up." Shard said sarcastically with a roll of his green eyes.

"Didn't you get the text?" Larry asked Silver, struggling with shaky hands at lacing his shoes.

"What text?"

"You mean no one invited you?" Shard looked over at the white hedgehog, "Dude, that's sad. I can't even joke about that."

"I'm supposed to be invited by a text?"

"It's this thing Vector does—he's a senior." Elias explained, "He sends out a text with a barcode attachment to three people, then they send it to three more people, and that's how you get invited."

"I wanna go." Silver smiled.

"You need the barcode to get in." Larry informed him.

"So one of you send it to me!"

"Can't, wasted all my invites." Shard shrugged.

"Me too." Larry sighed, "Sorry Silver."

"What about you Eli?"

"I did too. You can only send it to three people before it expires. Even if the person you sent it to already has it, it'll still count as an invite." The squirrel told him, "The text was sent to me forty-seven times."

"Oh…" Silver mumbled, looking down at his feet. He wondered why Blaze hadn't sent him one.

 _'She probably doesn't want me to come…or maybe she maxed out her invites on her new buddies.'_ He thought to himself.

While his roommates prepared for their night out he sat on his bed, sulking about the negative thoughts. His eyes began to drift toward the purple bag sitting on his dresser, and the diary sticking out of it.

* * *

"Why don't one of you send me the barcode?" Sally asked the other four occupants of Bunnie's room. The rabbit shared a double, but her roommate had already left. It was just her, Sally, Rotor, Antoine, and Nicole.

"We all already maxed out our invites." Nicole sadly informed her.

"We're sorry Sal." Rotor apologized, feeling kind of guilty.

"Oui." Antoine agreed with the walrus, "I had forgottzen that you were here wiz us."

"Don't worry about it." Sally waved, "I'm not a party girl anyway."

Once the four of them were finished getting ready, they filed out the door. Bunnie and Sally stood in the doorway for a quick goodbye chat.

"You sure you'll be okay here all by yourself Sally-Girl?" The rabbit asked concerned.

"All by myself?"

"Oh Sugah, this is one of Vector's parties. Everyone goes." Bunnie informed her, "There won't be another student soul on this campus."

"Oh…" Sally nodded, processing the information. "I'm sure I'll be fine Bunnie. Don't worry about me. Just go have enough fun for the both of us." The chipmunk gave the rabbit a quick goodbye hug.

"I sure will!"

* * *

Vector's closest friends were already at the hotel. He sat at one of the round tables with the other remaining members of their little group, which they referred to as Team Chaotix. Everyone was seated except for Mighty, who stood up. He was leaning over the white clothed table pointing at a napkin he'd scribbled some things on. Julie-Su had just stepped outside to make a phone call.

"So everyone remembers the plan right?" The red-shelled armadillo asked the table.

"Uh…can we go through it one more time?" Charmy asked with a nervous smile.

Mighty sighed in annoyance before starting from the top. "Okay, so Team A will consist of me, Matilda, Ray, and Saffron. Team B will consist of Charmy, Espio, and Vector. It's Team A's job to make sure Julie-Su stays put and doesn't try to leave. I'm going to eventually spill something on her shirt. She'll have to go get cleaned up in one of the rooms, which is when we hand her the key to room 116. Team B's job is to track down Knuckles. He'll probably arrive with Sonia. Your job is to get him away from her somehow. Spill something on his shirt, then give him the other key to room 116. These two incidents have to happen around ten so that they both go up to the room at the same time. Then they'll be forced to face each other."

"Isn't that kind of sneaky and deceitful?" Saffron asked, twirling her fingers nervously.

"Yep." Mighty shrugged, "But it's the best chance we got at getting our old friends back."

"I d-d-don't know a-a-about this." Ray said in apprehension.

"Me either." Espio added, "I'm sneaky, but not deceitful."

"No one's asking you to lie." Mighty replied, "Just make shit happen. It's not deceitful if they don't ask what we're up to, right?" He laughed awkwardly.

"Mighty's right guys." Vector spoke up, "Crazy shit goes down at my parties. What's crazier than getting the squad back?"

"I do miss Knuckles a lot…" Charmy sighed.

"Then it's settled!" Mighty grinned, "Operation Echidna Retrieval is a go!"

* * *

Elias pulled up in front of the Metropolis Hotel in his dark blue Infiniti. He turned off the car before turning toward the girl in the passenger seat. He smiled at her as she looked out the window. Every day she was beautiful, but today he thought she was much more than that. The magenta girl had her quills straight, falling all the way down to the small of her back. Her fringe was swept across her forehead as usual, and her make-up casual with just some black liner and pink lipstick. She had on an off-shoulder short pink dress with silver heels and that giant emerald around her neck as always.

"So…" Elias began, "Why didn't you want to come with Knuckles?"

"Because I didn't want him to suspect anything." Sonia told him, stepping out of the car. "I want this to be a surprise."

The squirrel followed her out of the car and up the stairs to the hotel doors. They're barcodes were scanned by the two huge bouncers standing at the entrance. "I'm still not following."

"Just go up to Vector and ask for the keys to room 611." The hedgehog told him, pushing him toward the croc sitting at the front desk. "I'll go wait for you up there."

"Why do I have to get the keys?"

"Because I don't want anyone to know anything!"

"But why—"

" **JUST GO!** "

"Fine." He sighed in defeat before walking over toward the crocodile.

Sonia slipped up the semi-spiral staircase before anyone could notice. She'd been pretty secretive since she texted her best friend to come pick her up. He was clueless as to what any of this was about. He just complied with her requests.

"Hey Vector." Elias smiled.

"Fresh Prince!" The crocodile bellowed in a hyped voice, "What's good?"

"Not much." The prince laughed. He always liked the Downunda accent. "This is gonna be one killer party huh?"

"Aren't they always?" Vector laughed.

"Better snag my room key before they start filling up then." The squirrel joked.

"True that!"

"Let me get the keys to room 611."

"As you wish Your Majesty." Vector bowed jokingly, handing the keys over.

"Thanks." Elias gave him that trademark lady-killer smile before walking off up the stairs.

 _'Chaos, that guy must be swimming in a pool of bitches._ ' Vector thought to himself.

After the first flight of stairs, the squirrel opted to take the elevator. There was no way in hell he was walking up five more flights. He made his way down the sixth floor corridor until he found Sonia standing in front of room 611. She was holding a Victoria Secret shopping bag, and tapping her foot impatiently as she stared at the floor. Elias made his presence known with a simple jingle of the keys. She looked up and smiled.

"You did it!" She cheered, throwing herself at him.

He caught her by the waist as she threw her arms around him, squeezing him a little too tightly, "Why'd you need this specific room anyway?"

"It's 611, like June 11th." She explained, snatching the keys from him and quickly opening the door, "That's when me and Knuckles became official."

"Oh…" Elias nodded, not too interested in hearing about her relationship. "That's cool."

Upon entering, Sonia immediately went to work. She pulled out a basket of rose petals and sprinkled them in a path from the door to the bed. Elias watched her with an eyebrow raised as she pulled out several candles and set them up everywhere.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm setting up for the surprise." She informed him.

"Which is…what exactly?"

"I don't want anyone to know, but you're my best friend, and I tell you everything." The magenta hedgehog walked up to him until they were face-to-face. She started blushing, and smiling shyly. "I'm going to let Knuckles take my virginity tonight."

* * *

"Hey guys." Knuckles greeted as he walked into Sonic's dorm.

Manic and Shadow were leaning against one of the walls while Tails sat on the bed, and Sonic stood by the dresser. They all looked over to the echidna, greeting him with their individual responses of nods or hellos.

"Sup Knucklehead?" Sonic smiled, smoothing out his shirt with his hands.

"You look different without Sonia's leash around your neck." Shadow said, getting a chuckle out of the green hedgehog beside him.

"Shouldn't you be hiding under Mother Batty's wing?" The red echidna retorted.

"So what brings you here Knuckles?" Tails piped up, trying to defuse the situation. "I thought you and Sonia would have left by now?"

"She got a ride from a friend." Knuckles shrugged.

"You mean Elias Acorn? The dude who could snap his fingers and have any girl's pants instantly off?" Sonic remarked.

"The Elias Acorn who's smile prompted a teacher to divorce her husband of twenty years?" Shadow added.

"The Elias Acorn who's won prom king three years in a row?" Manic added.

"The Elias Acorn who upstages every guy here except me?" Sonic added.

"The Elias Acorn who's totally gonna fuck your girlfriend—" Shadow was cut off by the upset echidna.

" **SHE WOULDN'T.** " Knuckles growled, "I get it. Letting her go with him was a bad idea."

"Really bad." Sonic told him.

"Super bad." Manic corrected.

"Extremely stupid." Shadow agreed.

"I fucking hate that guy!" The echidna growled.

"Why?" Sonic asked, "Because he's better looking?"

"Smarter?" Tails asked.

"Popular?" Manic asked.

"Because he's in a hotel room with your girlfriend right now, probably balls deep inside her?" Shadow inquired. His statement was a little to blunt for the brothers. They all glared at him, "What? I'm just saying what we all know is happening." The black hedgehog shrugged.

Knuckles just tightened his fists at the very thought. He was getting so angry. "C'mon, we're going."

They all exited the room and made their way to the school parking lot toward the echidna's car. Tails sat up front with Knuckles. Sonic sat in the back between Manic and Shadow.

"Sorry I don't have a special pillow for you to sit on Sonic." Knuckles told the blue hedgehog, staring at him through the rearview mirror.

"Why would I need a pillow?"

"I heard you got your ass roasted the other day in English class."

Manic and Shadow immediately bursted into a fit of laughter just like that day. Tails looked back at his older brother whose cheeks were immensely red.

"You heard about that too?" Sonic pouted, crossing his arms in a huff.

"Who hasn't?" The echidna laughed, pulling out of the parking lot. "When Sonic the Cocky-Prick chokes and runs out of the room like a little bitch everyone hears about it."

"It was fucking awesome." Shadow said between laughs, "He looked like such a pussy!"

"There's even a video of it!" Manic added.

"Send me that shit!" The echidna demanded.

"Fuck you guys." Sonic hissed.

Tails just eyed Sonic from the passenger seat. He felt sorry for his brother. Sonic had always been the jokester, never the joke. He didn't seem to be taking it well either.

* * *

Shard and Larry walked on to one of the buses Vector had rented out. The seats were nearly full to the max, aside from a few being vacant here and there. There was no way they'd be sitting together. Larry found a seat next to purple weasel, leaving Shard to go find his own. The yellow-striped hedgehog squeezed his way down the aisle taking note of everyone he passed by.

"Sorry!" He squeaked when he accidentally bumped into a purple cat sitting next to a little raccoon. She just nodded her head in understanding.

There was an empty seat next to a super sexy bat, but by the time he made his way to it a little rabbit girl had plopped down on it. He continued to search awkwardly. He felt so embarrassed at shuffling his way through a crowded bus. While looking for seats he spotted a lynx girl with a similar appearance to his. She wore a simple purple off-shoulder dress, and had Digitalian beads in her hair. Shard couldn't help but crack a wide smile at her. He thought he was the only kid from DigItaly here!

"Hey!" He waved at her.

It took a moment, but she looked up eventually catching sight of him. She noticed he bore a similar appearance to the people of her old country, but she'd never seen him before. She didn't know exactly what to do. It was too crowded to talk back and forth, so she just waved.

"I'm from DigItaly too!" He yelled before being pushed forward.

"Keep moving!" An angry green bird growled from behind him.

"Sorry." He apologized before turning back to the lynx, "I'll just catch up with you at the party!" He waved before continuing the walk of shame.

He once again spotted an empty seat next to a yellow mongoose. She was gorgeous. Her hair fell in purple waves, and her outfit was high-end fashion. She looked friendly.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" Shard asked her. She was staring out the window.

"Yeah sure." She agreed, until she turned to look at him. " **ACTUALLY NO.** " She screeched, throwing her bag on to the chair.

"What? Why not?" He asked confused.

"I said no! Now move along." She stated coldly. "Dirty Nanite." She mumbled under her breath as he walked away.

Nicole watched from her seat as the whole thing went down. She watched the DigItalian hedgehog wander off further back to find a seat, feeling sorry for him. She couldn't hear what Mina had said exactly, but she did read the girl's lips.

 _'Nanite.'_ The most offensive racial slur you could call a person from DigItaly.

* * *

"Let me find out you're talking to that bitch, I swear to Chaos I will kill you." Fiona yelled.

"I'm not talking to anyone Fi. Chill the fuck out." Scourge said in annoyance. He was real sick of her bullshit.

"All I'm saying is that you better recognize that **I'M QUEEN**. You won't find anybody better, and you'd be the stupidest fucker alive to try and let me go."

Scourge didn't reply, he didn't even shrug. He just sat there in the driver's seat while his girlfriend verbally assaulted him about how she felt unappreciated and how she suspected he was cheating. Normally a person would freak out and try to defend himself, but Scourge just sat there and did nothing, at this point he wasn't even listening anymore.

From the back seat, reptilian eyes darted left to right, eyeing the couple, taking not of every movement and word uttered. He grinned to himself as he fed off the negativity, trying to piece together their more intimate thoughts. Reading people was his favorite pastime. You could learn so much about a person by the way they talk, move, and react.

 _'She's mouthing off about how desirable she is and how she's number one, but by the tone of her voice it sounds like she doesn't believe herself. Every time she refers to 'that bitch' she tenses up. There must be someone out there that makes her feel insecure. Strange how Scourge hasn't slapped her yet, Chaos knows I would have done it three times over by now. He seems pretty withdrawn, and he tends to avert his gaze from her every time she mentions the mystery bitch. Judging by how his hands tighten their grip on the steering wheel I'd bet money that he knows exactly who she's talking about. Hmmm…how interesting.'_ The dark hedgehog thought to himself.

"If you don't have anything to hide let me see your phone." The vixen growled, holding out her hand.

"No." The hedgehog hissed, "You're not my fucking babysitter. This is what I can't fucking stand about you, these fucking insecurities. I haven't spoken to, or seen that slut in years and you still won't shut the fuck up."

"I know you still think about—"

"You don't know what the fuck I think!" He cut her off, "If you did you'd know I want your ass the fuck out of my car!"

"Oh my Chaos, fuck you Scourge." She shouted before throwing the car door open and getting out.

Luckily they had just pulled up in the parking lot. The angry fox slammed the door shut, making Scourge grit his teeth in annoyance. She stomped off in her little heels up the stairs to the building. She was nearly out of sight when Scourge started to feel bad. Tonight was supposed to make up for yesterday's fight, and the day before that's fight, and the fight before that one.

* * *

The hotel was beautiful. Upon entering, the first thing you see are the two large semi-spiral staircases on both sides of the foyer. Lining the white walls were a few decorative pillars of the same color, and glass chandeliers hung from the ceiling. The lobby was huge with round white-clothed tables scattered everywhere. On each table there was a table ornament of an Eiffel Tower and some candles. The room was dimly lit by the fairy-lights wrapped around the pillars and staircases. Slow dance music echoed throughout the room. It was a breathtaking scene for any hopeless romantic.

Knuckles and the guys had finally arrived. After getting their barcodes scanned they all rushed inside and immediately scattered. Sonic and Tails went to find the girls, Shadow and Manic went to check out the refreshments, and Knuckles went to look for Sonia.

The echidna pushed his way through the crowd, focusing his violet eyes hard as he tried to spot his girlfriend in the dimly lit room. He darted his eyes back and forth until he spotted the school heartthrob coming down the stairs. Knuckles immediately shuffled through the crowd to get to him.

"Hey!" He hollered over the noise of the crowd.

The prince glanced over at him, but continued his walking. Sonia had instructed him to give her boyfriend the key and tell him where to meet her, but he was having second thoughts about doing so. He'd been in love with Sonia forever, way before Knuckles was even in the picture. How could he help give her away like this? Why couldn't he just tell her how he felt?

"I said hey!" Knuckles growled, pulling Elias by the shoulder once he finally got close enough, "Where the hell is Sonia?"

The physical contact had Elias ready to punch him. He stared at the echidna for a moment, contemplating what he should do. Knuckles shook him by the shoulder after not receiving an immediate answer.

" **WHERE THE FUCK IS SHE?** "

Elias simply replied by slamming the keys angrily into the annoying echidna's chest. Knuckles was taken aback by the force.

"She wants you to meet her in room 611." He said blankly before walking away.

Manic and Shadow stood by the refreshments table, disappointed at how crappy the alcohol section is.

"Figures there'd only be shitty wine on deck at a Paris-themed party." Shadow growled in annoyance.

"Look at this!" Manic sighed, gesturing to the scene of classy dressed couples slow dancing, "This isn't the wild party I was expecting."

"It will be in soon." Shadow smirked, pulling out a small baggy of green pills.

Manic returned the devious grin as the black hedgehog poured the pills in to the bowl of punch, and chucked some into the wine bottles.

"This I like to call, Chaos Control." Shadow said, handing Manic one of the green pills.

"Alright! Now it's a party." Manic laughed, as they both swallowed a pill.

Elias strolled up to the table and picked up a red polo-cup. He ignored all the cooing and catcalling of the fangirls, he didn't want to deal with anyone right now. As he poured himself some punch his ears picked up on Manic and Shadow's snickering. He eyed the two hedgehogs standing in the corner. They were unusually giddy.

"You guys okay?" He asked, a bit weirded out by their demeanor.

"Oh yeah. Don't worry Eli. We're just super thrilled on this party theme." Manic joked.

"Okay then…" The squirrel replied awkwardly inching away from the table.

"I can't wait to see what kind of guy the pills turn him into!" Manic laughed, taking a sip from the red polo-cup in his hand.

"I bet he's a little cry baby." Shadow said.

"What if he's angry and tries to beat Knuckles' ass?" Manic lit up at the thought.

"Oh shit." Shadow high-fived him, "That'd be fucking awesome."

* * *

As Sonic and Tails shuffled through the crowd they spotted their female friends standing by the dance floor. Sonic walked in front of Tails, creating a little path for him to follow so he didn't get hurt. As they made their way toward the girls the fox's blue eyes spotted a familiar figure sitting at a table all by herself. Without thinking, he quickly turned heel and headed toward her.

"Fiona?" He asked once he reached the table.

It was hard to recognize any of the girls. They'd all looked so much different tonight with the extra make-up, different hairstyles, and fancy clothes. The only reason he recognized the vixen was thanks to the color of her eyes, whirlpools of blue and gray.

" **WHAT?** " She yelled angrily, but upon seeing it was just the boy from science class she softened up the tone. "Oh, hey Sweetie."

He was confused by the sudden shift in mood, and how disoriented she appeared. She looked upset, like that first day they talked.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"No." She began to cry, "My boyfriend is such a fucking asshole! He doesn't appreciate me. I know he's been thinking about someone else and I just…I…" She began to sob dramatically.

Tails just put a comforting arm around her shoulders. He didn't know much about her boyfriend—whoever he was—but he definitely didn't like the guy, making a beautiful girl like her feel so depressed, at a party no less.

"Hey, it'll be okay." He assured her, "Do you want to go talk about it in private? I could go get the keys to a room if you want."

"That sounds nice." She said between sniffs.

As she stood up to follow him she nearly toppled over. He caught her just before she could fall off her feet. He took the red-polo cup out of her hand, curious as to what she was drinking. He'd assumed she was drunk, but there was only punch in her cup. He just set the cup back on the table before helping her over to the front desk where Vector handed them the keys to room 117.

* * *

 ** _Silver:_** _How's the party?_

 ** _Silver:_** _I couldn't go, I had no invite._

 ** _Silver:_** _Hope you're having fun with your other friends though._

 ** _Silver:_** _Have a good time._

After shooting Blaze a ton of passive-aggressive texts and not receiving an answer, Silver fell back onto his bed. He sighed heavily in sadness. Since he got here, he's felt like Blaze has been slipping further and further away. The thought of being without her—or worse, her with someone else—broke his heart.

He didn't know for sure, but it seemed like she had a crush on that Sonic guy. Just the thought tore his insides. He couldn't stomach the idea of the love of his life in love with someone else—especially a douchebag like him.

He turned his head back to the dresser with the purple bag sitting on it. Her diary stuck out in plain view, coaxing him to open it. He sat up and stared at it, contemplating what he should do. The diary contained her most intimate thoughts, ones that she must have not wanted anyone to know.

 _'Maybe she's written about me…'_ He thought to himself.

Once he caught himself leaning over to grab it he quickly pulled himself back, averting his gaze from it. He shook the evil thoughts out of his head before getting up and walking out the door.

"That's wrong! I can't do that." He told himself, "A little walk around campus might help me chill out."

* * *

Across campus at the girl's dormitory, Sally had finished up all her homework. She took her phone off the dresser and dialed a number. After being sent to voicemail once again she ended the call, and got up from her laying down position on the twin-sized bed. She pulled out some headphones from her bag and connected them to her cellphone.

The dorm was completely dead. Not a single sound but the ones she made. It was only eight, and she wasn't tired at all. She didn't really have anything to do, and was very bored. The chipmunk figured she'd explore campus a little.

She exited her room and popped the white headphones into her ears before walking down toward the exit.

* * *

 **Next time on Green Hill Academy:**

 **Hearts get shattered**

 **Friendships are lost**

 **Knuckles rises to a challenge**

 **Elias goes off the deep end**

 **Lust conquers love**

 **And so much more...**

 **Answering A Few Questions:**

 **The Babylon Rogues aren't really relevant as of right now, but will gradually become more important as we go.**

 **Manic and Shadow get more screen time later on. I'm juggling a ton of different characters with several different issues.**

 **DigItaly is not a legit place. It's a name I gave to the digital world Nicole and Shard used to go to in the comics.**

 **Shard is not a fan character, nor is Larry. You can see them both in the Sonic Universe Arc: Secret Freedom Fighters.**

 **The reason I don't go into grave detail about setting and what everyone is wearing is because 1: I'm not good at it, and 2: I want you to vision the world yourself. Dialogue and character interaction are my stronger suits.**

 **This isn't a lemon. Sexual scenes aren't going to get ridiculously graphic. Sorry!**

 **Thanks For Reading!**

 **Leave a review and let me know what you think about the characters and their situations. Reading theories are awesome, and long reviews make me smiley.**

 **Feel free o PM me with any other questions you might have.**


	10. Chapter 10

**WARNING: Chapter contains sexual themes and drug use (Forgot to mention that before)**

 **I figured I 'd throw out this chapter back-to-back to really hype you up for Part 3-Which I'll withhold for a while because I'm evil like that.**

 **Credit for the song goes to Demi Lovato for 'For The Love Of A Daughter' I know you're not supposed to do that on this site, but honestly at this point who the hell really cares? I've seen an entire 53 chapter fanfiction do nothing but use lyrics *shrugs***

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Heartbreak Hotel II**

" **SONIC!** " Amy screamed over the noise as she leapt at the blue hedgehog.

He barely recognized her in that attire. "Whoa, uh…Hi Amy…"

He trailed off as he looked at her from head to toe. She didn't appear like her usual cute self. Tonight she looked surprisingly sexy. Her chest was nearly all exposed in that provocative white dress, and her make-up made her baby face look more like that of a woman. Sonic's face started blushing, and the blood circulating his body started rushing south. He wasn't used to seeing her this way. Hell, he'd never seen her look this good.

"You look pretty hot tonight." He told her once he finally regained his composure.

She immediately blushed, putting a finger to her lip. "Not nearly as hot as you."

"I know." He shrugged, "But hot none the less, and I like that."

Blaze just rolled her eyes at their flirting. The blue hedgehog's gaze quickly found her. He walked away from Amy to greet her. "There's my Kitten! Lookin' classy as always." He grinned, strutting over to her.

She couldn't help but smile. "Hello Sonic."

"When do I get a cute petname?" He asked her, wrapping his arm around her waist, much to the distaste of Amy.

"When you're a pet." She replied playfully.

"Only if you promise to cuddle me every night." He teased. She started blushing like crazy.

Amy never realized it before, but Blaze seemed to blush a lot whenever she talked to him. Sonic was always extra handsy with her too. Touching her face, holding her, wrapping his arms around her. Jealousy started brewing in the pink hedgehog's blood.

 _'She's my best friend. She's known I've liked him practically my whole life! She wouldn't try to steal him away…right?'_ Amy thought to herself.

She quickly rushed over and grabbed Sonic by the arm, "Hey Sonic can we dance?"

"What? Uh, I don't think so—" He nearly objected until she started pressing against him, her nearly-bare breasts touching his arm, "Sure why not?"

Blaze just pouted, crossing her arms as Amy scurried off with Sonic to the dance floor.

"Let's go dance Cream." The cat told the rabbit.

"Okay!"

Rouge stood behind them, smirking as she watched the entire scene go down. The thought that there might be something more to Sonic and Blaze than friendship didn't seem so crazy after all.

* * *

Julie-Su was sitting at one of the tables with Saffron. The little bee had been forcing an incredibly dull conversation for a while now. Mighty and Matilda were off somewhere close, keeping tabs on the echidna, while Ray stood by the door as he made sure she didn't try to leave.

"That's why Honeycombs are my favorite cereal." Saffron smiled, "I bet that one blew your mind."

"It sure did." Julie-Su rolled her eyes.

"Bet you can't guess what my favorite color is." The bee persisted.

"Uh, listen Saffron." The pink echidna began getting up, "I'm gonna head out. I don't think a party like this is for me. Tell Vec I'm sorry."

The echidna began walking toward Ray, but the little squirrel had been distracted by the sight of his rabbit friend just a few feet away. He hadn't seen Julie-Su get up. He assumed Saffron had things under control as he moved out of his post and walked over to his locker buddy.

"Hi C-C-Cream." He greeted once he was close enough.

The rabbit girl turned her head toward him and gave him one of her sweet smiles. She looked so beautiful tonight, Ray could barely breathe.

"Hi Ray!" She gave him a hug, sending his little heart into overdrive, "You wanna dance?"

His face started turning red. None of this seemed real to him. A cute girl like her asking him to dance? He could hardly believe it. He'd never met anyone as nice as her in his entire life—and he's been around **A LOT** of people. She was such a breath of fresh air.

"Sure." He nodded.

Despite his extreme anxiety he agreed to dance with her in a lobby crowded with people. There was something about her that just made him want to try, made him want to be a little more confident in himself. These emotions were so new to him. She took him by the hand and led him to the dance area. Slow songs were still playing, so she wrapped her arms around his neck and stood close. He put his hands on her waist as they swayed to the music.

"You look really nice tonight." She told him.

"You look re-re-really pretty." He exchanged.

"Thanks." She smiled up at him once more, "I'm hoping he notices too. Once I see him of course."

"Wh-wh-who?" Ray asked confused.

"Well…" She began, blushing a bit. "I kinda have this crush on a good friend of mine. His name is Tails."

* * *

Knuckles walked through the lobby, intent on finding the elevator. There was no way in hell he was going to kill himself walking up six flights of stairs. He made it a point to scold Sonia for choosing a room so high up once he found her. He shuffled awkwardly through slow dancing couples and other party-goers until he spotted the elevators just a few feet away. As he trudged toward them his path was spontaneously blocked by someone standing in his way.

"Get out of my way Storm." The echidna snarled.

"Not until you agree to a little competition." The bird told him, folding his arms.

"Not now." Knuckles shook his head, "I've got somewhere to be." He tried to walk to the right of the bird, but his path was once again obstructed. This time by jet.

"What? Are you scared you might lose?" The hawk laughed.

"I've just really got somewhere to go. Let me by assholes." He tried to walk to the left, but this time Wave stood in his way.

"Just forget it Storm. This guy's just a little bitch." Wave mocked.

Knuckles started gritting his teeth, anger filling his head as he clenched his fists. He was so easily provoked, especially by negative reinforcement. "Alright fucker, how do you want it?"

"You and me!" The albatross pointed at him, "A game of Drink or Drop."

"Fine." Knuckles growled, "Set it up."

The birds led him over to an empty table. He and Storm took a seat across from one another. Wave and Jet stood up, pouring some wine into a shot glass for each of them. Knuckles glared at the over-weight bird sitting across from him. He needed to wipe that cocky grin off his beak, Sonia would have to wait.

"The rules of the game are simple." Wave started to explain for good measure, "You each throw back shots continuously. Since we don't have any hard liquor, this shitty wine will have to do. Whoever can down the most drinks without vomiting, passing out, or quitting first is the winner. Got it?"

They both nodded their heads in agreement.

"Ready…Set…Drink!" Jet cheered, starting the match.

* * *

After walking around campus a bit, Sally found herself in the auditorium located in the electives building. She spun around, taking note of how huge it was. The walls were a deep purple, and the seats were a light-colored wood, matching the giant stage. The chipmunk quickly made her way to it. She hopped up onto it, and scanned the whole room once more from the view a singer or theater actor might have.

She had always dreamed of being a singer, but her crippling shyness was all that held her back. She didn't like to be looked at, or the center of attention. She much preferred to be a fly on the wall, even if it meant she could only dream. She started twirling around on stage, dancing like no one was watching. She sang along to the lyrics playing through her headphones.

 _Four years old with my back to the door  
All I could hear was the family war  
Your selfish hands always expecting more  
Am I your child or just a charity ward_

 _You have a hollowed out heart  
But it's heavy in your chest  
I try so hard to fight it  
But it's hopeless  
Hopeless  
You're hopeless_

 _Oh, father  
Please, father  
I'd love to leave you alone  
But I can't let you go  
Oh, father  
Please, father  
Put the bottle down  
For the love of a daughter_

While walking down the hall of the electives building, Silver's ears picked up on a sound—a voice to be specific. He didn't expect anyone else to be on campus. Following the voice led him to the auditorium.

The white hedgehog walked up to the stage, staring at the girl with her eyes closed, singing her heart out and dancing across it. Her voice was beautiful, she sounded like an angel—or at least someone who'd taken some serious music lessons. There was so much power, and emotion to her voice. Even the way she moved was driven by pure emotion. Silver couldn't help but stare.

 _Don't you remember I'm your baby girl?  
How could you push me out of your world,  
Lied to your flesh and your blood,  
Put your hands on the ones that you swore you loved?  
Don't you remember I'm your baby girl?  
How could you throw me right out of your world?  
So young when the pain had begun_

 _Now forever afraid of being loved_

Her voice trailed off as she opened her eyes to blink away the tears threatening to escape her. Upon doing so, she noticed the white hedgehog standing in front of the stage staring at her. She gasped, clasping both hands over her mouth as her face went red with embarrassment.

"No don't be embarrassed!" He waved his hands around frantically, "You were really good, even just acapella. That was amazing."

"I didn't think anyone was here." She mumbled from behind her hands.

"Neither did I." He laughed.

"I should head back to my dorm." The chipmunk searched for an excuse to leave his presence. She was all types of embarrassed right now, "I've got a lot of homework."

"Want me to walk you there?" He asked politely. He just really wanted something to keep his mind off Blaze.

"No that's okay." She declined, "I'll be fine."

She quickly scurried off, but before she reached the door she was stopped in her tracks by his voice. "Hey wait!"

She looked over her shoulder at him as he continued, "Would a girl be mad if her best friend read her diary?" He asked.

"I don't see why she would be." The chipmunk shrugged, "A girl's best friend **IS** her diary. Chances are they already know everything that's in it." She waved goodbye before disappearing out the door.

Leaving Silver to contemplate her words.

* * *

After three cups of punch, Elias' mind was off in outer space along with over half of the other party guests. Someone had cut the slow dance music and replaced it with an upbeat techno song. Elias bobbed his head to the music, inhibitions incredibly low. His thoughts begun to drift to Sonia, and what might be happening in room 611. He was getting so angry at the thought of that idiot echidna exploring her body in ways he could only ever imagine.

"Fuck her!" He shouted, "I could have anyone I want!" His words were incredibly slurred.

He swung himself up onto a table, kicking over some bottles. His vision was doubled, making him side step to keep his balance. Eyes glanced over at him, standing on the table made him the center of attention. Girls swooned and quickly rushed over as soon as he started to thrust his hips to the beat, and unbutton his shirt. They reached out to him, shouting, begging, ushering him to continue his sexy dancing. He flipped his auburn hair to the side and flashed that signature smile. They shrieked, cheered, and damn near fainted.

He stepped back, picking up a wine bottle off the table. He held it up in the air and shouted to the crowd, " **WHICH ONE OF YOU'S TAKING ME UPSTAIRS?** "

The crowd of girls let out a glass shattering shriek. They all raised their hands, some even jingling their keys. Elias quickly leapt off the table and into the crowd, surfing in a pool of girls that were willing to anything for his affections.

"Dude, check out Eli." Manic nudged Shadow.

They both looked over at the squirrel with his shirt half unbuttoned as he leaped into the crowd of swooning girls. They were both pretty taken aback at how the pills had affected him.

"That's fucking awesome." Shadow laughed.

 ** _Sonia:_** _Did you ever give Knuckles the key?_

 ** _Sonia:_** _Elias? I've been waiting here for over an hour. He should have been here by now._

 ** _Sonia:_** _Have you seen him?_

 ** _Sonia:_** _Hello?_

Sonia threw her phone down on the bed. She was sitting at the edge, arms crossed and face in a pout. She'd been waiting a while and was finally starting to lose her patience. The candles were beginning to shrink, and the time was rolling by way to slowly.

She finally decided to go look for Knuckles herself. Tonight had to be perfect.

* * *

"Mighty! Mighty!" Saffron cried as she rushed over to the red-shelled armadillo.

"Saffron? Where's Julie? Is she with Ray?" He asked.

"No!" The bee exclaimed, "Ray ran off somewhere! Julie's about to leave!"

"Darn." He bit his thumb, "It's not even ten yet."

The armadillo quickly whipped out his cellphone and dialed Espio's number.

 _"Hello?"_ The chameleon's voice was barely audible thanks to the noise of the party—which had gotten surprisingly rowdy in the last hour.

 _"Did you find Knuckles?"_

 _"Not yet. No sign of Sonia either."_

 _"The three of you spread out."_ Mighty ordered, _"We need to find him fast. This thing has to happen now."_ He quickly hung up the phone and darted over to the pink echidna who was almost out the door.

As he passed by a table he picked up a red-polo cup and doused it on her hair. She gasped at the cold liquid spilling over her. She whipped her head around angrily to see Mighty standing behind her with an innocent smile. "Sorry Julie!"

"What the fuck Mighty?" She scolded him.

"It was an accident. I tripped." He pulled out the room key from his pocket, "Here, you can clean up in my room."

She stared at him with skepticism. Her friends had been acting quite strange tonight. She sighed before taking the key from his hand and heading over to the stairs. Mighty breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good." He smiled, "Now we've just gotta find Knuckles."

* * *

"I'm-I'm-I'm not even drunk." Knuckles laughed, setting down his empty shot glass for Jet to fill once more. It was his fourteenth shot.

"I-I-I'm, neither, not am I." Storm told him, setting down his own glass for Wave to fill.

The two downed their drinks once more, only this time the giant bird fell back along with his chair. He was knocked out cold. Wave gasped, immediately going over to help him. Jet just sucked his teeth as he reluctantly announced Knuckles to be the winner. The echidna raised both arms in the air and let out a drunken victory screech.

"There you are Knuckles!" Charmy called out, rushing over to him.

"Oh Chimney! Wassup little buddy?" He greeted the bee to the best of his ability.

"You don't look so good." The bee cringed, "Maybe you should go lie down."

"I-I-I feel awesome!" He cheered, but nearly toppled over. "But nap sounds nice."

"Here." Charmy handed him the keys to room 116 like Mighty had instructed, "You can go lie down in this room."

"Okay, goodnight."

The echidna staggered off toward what he believed to be the stairs. Charmy just shrugged before speeding off to find his friends.

* * *

As she made her way up the stairs, the poor echidna girl tried to squeeze the juice out of her hair. She was so pissed that she didn't watch where she was going and collided with someone coming down the stairs. She staggered back, but quickly caught herself before she could get seriously injured. She looked up to have her violet eyes met by jade ones, her roommate's to be exact.

"Watch where you're going!" Sonia growled, rubbing her forehead.

"Sorry." The echidna girl apologized.

Sonia bit her lip nervously, praying that Knuckles hadn't seen Julie-Su at the party and decided to bail. She'd had much luck keeping him from running into his old friend so far.

Both girls quickly darted their heads back and forth. They both accidentally dropped their keys during the fall. Without even thinking, they both snagged the first one that caught their eye and continued on to their destinations without even realizing they grabbed the wrong keys.

* * *

On the dance floor, Amy was grinding on Sonic, who squeezed her hips from behind her. They seemed to be really, really, really enjoying each other's company. Blaze just stood to the side, huffing in annoyance. She didn't feel as lucid as she did when she arrived, and her inhibitions had gone south, along with her morals and dignity. She wanted that blue hedgehog, and she was going to get him. She waltzed over to the two, cutting in between them to spin Sonic away with her. Amy's head nearly exploded.

"Gotcha." The cat winked at him as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Thanks for the save." He smiled at her.

"I know how much you hate dancing without me."

"I really do." He laughed, "Are you okay? You seem a little off balance."

"I'm right where I want to be." She purred, pushing her hips up against him and biting her lip.

He didn't question it, just enjoyed the contact. Something was definitely off about her though, he just couldn't figure out what. Amy had been using her sex appeal to grab his attention all night. Blaze thought if Amy wasn't gonna play fair, it was time to use some sleezy tricks of her own. Amy might have a nicer body, and the drive to do anything, but there is one thing Blaze had that she didn't.

Sexual experience.

"I feel kind of dizzy, can you take me to my room?" Blaze whispered in his ear. He nodded, took her by the hand, and they exited the dance floor. Amy crushed the wine bottle she'd been holding in her hand.

* * *

"You look like shit." Rouge narrowed her eyes at the sloppy looking echidna swerving back and forth as he tried to walk down the first floor hall on his own.

"Hi." He greeted before vomiting in a nearby plant pot.

As much as the bat wanted to scold him, or poke fun at his stupid state, she felt bad for him. Chaos knows he was gonna feel one crazy headache tomorrow. She sighed before helping him back up to his feet. He looked at her in surprise. "Roogy! You help."

"That's right." She rolled her eyes, disgusted by his breath. "Let me see your room key."

She swiped the key from his hand and glanced at the number engraved on it, 116. The bat dragged the echidna further down the hall in search of his room. Once they found it, she opened the door, dragged him in, and tossed him on to the bed. She fished through the first drawer of the bedside table until she found a mint. She walked back over to him and popped it in his mouth.

"Maybe that'll help you look less terrible." She sighed, sitting beside him as he laid on his back.

"Thanks Rug." He said between chews, "I wish you were nice all the time."

"Only when you're drunk." She rolled her eyes.

"I would have asked you out instead of Sonia…"

"What?" The bat jumped, a blush creeping up on her face.

"Mhmm. You're very, very, very pretty, but such a mean. You stole my shovel claws in the sandbox, and y-y-you kicked me all the time!" He explained drunkenly, "You're so pretty, but you didn't like me…I cried a lot."

He was talking about second grade. She would always take his toy shovel claws, and kick him into the sand. She'd make fun of him, and steal is ringpops at lunch. Being the clueless idiot he was, he didn't realize that's what kids do when they like someone. He used to go home crying to his dad about how she was so mean.

"I do like you…" She admitted, knowing he wouldn't remember any of this tomorrow. "I've always liked you Knuckles."

"I don't think me and Sonia are gonna work." He told her, sitting up so he could speak with her face-to-face.

"Why not?"

"Because I like you too." He said before crashing his lips on to hers.

Her eyes went wide with shock. Normally, she would have pulled away, but she felt her inhibitions drain out of her, and her head felt light as a feather. She was cruel, but not a boyfriend stealer. Too bad her body and mind weren't on the same wavelength, because she found herself pushing him back on the bed to lay on top of him.

She straddled him as they continued to kiss, and his hands explored her body. She didn't feel like Sonia, her breasts were much larger, her hips wider, and her hair much shorter. They were so caught up in lust they didn't even notice they began discarding their clothing piece by piece.

"I know it was you." He whispered to her, pulling down her dress, "You were the girl in the mask."

She didn't acknowledge what he was saying, she was too caught up in the moment to really care. He stumbled a bit, not quite use to having a partner willing to consent to more than just kissing and light petting. Rouge took her time, cherishing every moment, because she knew she'd never get a chance like this again. They explored every intimate part of each other with hands and mouths, lettings moans of pleasure escape them under the covers.

Just before the grand event, Rouge halted the red echidna by grabbing his manhood, making him twitch.

"What?" He hissed impatiently.

"You need to put this on first." She instructed, pulling out a condom from the bedside table.

He got off of her and turned the packet over in his hand a few times. Rouge just rose an eyebrow at his unusual action. "This is no time to be a complete moron Knucklehead."

"I'm not!" He scolded, "I've just…never used one before."

"Here." She held out her hand, "Let me help."

* * *

Elias had a decision to make, it was going to be a tough one, but it had to be done. Standing to his right was a cute yellow cat, to his left was a sexy squirrel.

"What's your name?" He asked the cat.

"Hehe, I'm Honey." She giggled cutely.

"You do look sweet." The prince winked before turning to the squirrel, "And what's your name?"

"Megan." She blushed, captivated by his gorgeous looks.

"How classy." He nodded, "Well ladies, I'm a bit torn between you two. You're both so adorable, I just can't decide who I should go upstairs with."

The two girls looked up at him with hopeful eyes. He was still heavily intoxicated, much more so now than earlier. He looked at both girls individually. They were both cute, but neither of them Sonia the Hedgehog. He shook his head to suppress the thoughts of her lingering in his mind.

"How about you two make out?" He drunkenly suggested, "Whoever impresses me more wins!"

The girls turned to each other with an eyebrow raised. They're skeptical looks quickly turned to seductive ones as they shrugged and began making out for the young prince. The crowd around them cheered and howled, egging them on as they put on a show.

The cat wrapped her arms around the squirrel girl's waist, tilting her head to the side as she closed the gap between them. Megan was a bit hesitant at first, but quickly got into the grove of things. She opened her mouth, allowing Honey to explore the terrain. Things escalated quickly, as they started groping each other, and trailing their hands toward their lower halves. The crowd roared as the two girls got more and more physical. There show only came to an end when the prince rose his cup.

"That was such a bad idea." He sighed, "Now I really don't know who to choose!"

The girls looked at each other before they both grabbed for his hands.

"How about we both take you?" Honey winked.

The crowd went wild, chanting for the prince to agree. He just laughed as he put an arm around their shoulders and walked off upstairs with both girls.

* * *

Sonia sifted through the crowd of now completely out of control teenagers as she frantically searched high and low for her missing beau. People were tipping over tables, ripping off their clothes, and swarming the dance floor. In the midst of searching she stumbled upon a few familiar faces and decided to ask them if they'd seen her lost love.

"Amy!" Sonia shouted, sprinting toward the pink hedgehog, "Have you seen Knuckles?"

"No." Amy shook her head, "Have you seen Sonic?"

"No." Sonia shook her head.

"Have either of you seen Rouge or Blaze?" Cream asked, rushing over to them, "Tails is missing too. I've texted them a hundred times and no one is answering. It's been a while since I've seen any of them. I'm starting to worry."

"Where the hell is everyone!" Amy yelled, losing her cool.

"Take it easy Amy." Sonia demanded, "They have to be around here somewhere."

"I believe I can be of some assistance." A voice spoke from behind them.

They all turned around to see Nack the Weasel standing there, tipping his hat to them. He's a senior. He's notoriously known as the 'Sniper' because he's got dirt on almost everyone at GHA, and he could metaphorically destroy you with his trigger-happy texting finger. If you wanted dirt on someone, he was the guy to go to, but he came at an incredibly hefty price.

"I know where all of them are, and then some." He chuckled, revealing his over-sized front tooth.

"Oh please tell us." Cream begged, clasping her hands together.

"Sorry Sweetheart, you know the deal. My services aren't free." The weasel grinned evilly.

"We don't have time for this." Sonia hissed, "We can find them ourselves, for free." Just as she was about to walk off, something the weasel said stopped her in her tracks.

"Time definitely isn't on your side Love." He agreed, "How long do you think he'll hold out before putting out for Bat-Girl?"

" **WHAT?** " She turned back around furious, "He's with Rouge? **WHERE?** "

"No, no, no." He wagged his finger, "Not until I see some green."

"How much do you want exactly?" Cream asked.

"About three hundred each."

"We don't have that kind of money!" Sonia yelled.

"One of you does." He smirked at the pink hedgehog, "Amy Rose. Born in Mercia, moved to Mobotropolis when she was two and lived there all the way until age eight, when she was picked up by Child Services. They released her to cousin, Rob O'Hedge back in Merica to live in a lap of luxury and be spoiled rotten."

Amy glared at him, fists tightened. She didn't know how he knew all that, but it made her nervous that he did. She wondered if he knew about the incident at her old school, or why she was taken from her parents. Sweat started to bead on her forehead. She felt embarrassed and wanted to go, but just as she turned around to run away his voice caught her attention.

"C'mon, I'm sure you wanna know where your boyfriend is too." He instigated, "Or better yet, what he's doing with ya' best friend up in a hotel room."

" **A HOTEL ROOM?** " She screamed at the top of her lungs, " **WHICH ONE!** "

He just held out his hand to the wealthy girl, curling his fingers in a _'hand it over'_ gesture. She just sucked her teeth before fishing out three gold credit cards from her purse and shoving them into his hand. The weasel just smiled in victory, examining the cards to make sure they were legit. Sonia and Cream were pretty surprised, they didn't know Amy's family was wealthy.

Nack held up one of the gold cards as he spoke, "Well, last time I saw Knuckles he was shitfaced and vomiting into a ficus. Bat-Girl carried him off into whatever room he had a key to."

Sonia immediately turned heel and headed back toward the stairs. She'd instructed Elias to give him the key to room 611. So that's where she was heading. Nack just nodded in satisfaction before holding up the second gold credit card.

"I never pegged the cat to be so flirty, always being so modest ya'know?" The weasel chuckled, "But she was practically dry humpin' the blue boy all the way upstairs. I believe they're in room 432."

Just as fast as the magenta hedgehog before her, Amy quickly darted up the stairs without second thought. She was so angry. Nack laughed at the display before handing Cream back the last gold card.

"Where's Tails?" She asked, expecting an answer like the rest.

"Sorry Love." He shrugged, "I didn't think Pinky would actually give me anything, I was just bluffin'."

"You lied to them about our friends?" The rabbit yelled.

"No." The weasel assured her, "I just don't know where your little friend went."

He tipped his hat once more before disappearing off into the crowd with two of the three credit cards Amy had given him. Cream stood there in sadness, wondering where her crush was tonight.

* * *

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy:**

 **Cheaters!**

 **Backstabbers!**

 **Break ups!**

 **Fist fights!**

 **Sonic plots a devious scheme**

 **Knuckles confesses to an unlikely source who he really wants and why**

 **Amy confronts Blaze**

 **And TWO people will DIE tonight...the question is who...**

 **Review Replies**

 **I'd just like to thank you guys for the love and support for this story! I can't say it enough honestly.**

 **It's been a while since I've replied to some reviewers.**

 **Mimi Good: Thanks so much for the kind words! I really appreciate it! **

**Bang Rowdyruff: Tails wouldn't be Tails if he didn't have both tails! It's not really brought to attention until later on. **

**BlazeofVenus: I don't think anyone saw it coming honestly. Mina's racism is based off #219 of the comics where Mina starts fearing Nicole because she is an AI, and might malfunction again, so she uses her fame and music to rally people against Nicole and bully her out of the city she helped build. **

**Twotailedfox: Really diggin' the theories! You'll just have to wait and see... :)**

 **Tiana: Girl, absolutely nothing is forever in this story. **


	11. Chapter 11

**WARNING: Intoxicated teens, slight sexual themes, physical altercations, and double character death.**

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Heartbreak Hotel III**

 _Dear Diary_

 _Silver took me to another one of his SyFy conventions again. It was weird, but I had a blast. He always makes everything a good time. He got me a huge teddy bear! I've decided to use it as a pillow, since it doesn't really fit on any of the shelves in my room. Silver does the sweetest things. I've actually been thinking a lot about us lately, and I honestly think we have the potential to be more than just friends, but I don't want to jump to conclusions just yet. I'd better get some rest. We've got to take the entrance exams for Green Hill Academy tomorrow. I'm so excited!_

Silver's smile never left his face as he flipped through the pages of his feline friend's diary. Almost every entry so far was about him, and how good of a time she had with him. He felt so relieved to see she did feel something toward him…but that all changed when he got to last year's entries.

 _Dear Diary,_

 _Silver didn't make it into GHA, but I did. I've been attending for a few weeks now. I met a really cool guy named Sonic. He's really cute, and nice. He offered to show me around campus, and even introduced me to his friends. I've never been surrounded by so many people in my life. Before meeting him I was never confident, or very social, but Sonic is my drive to be better. He's my hero. I've gotta go, class is starting. He's probably waiting for me outside._

From this entry on they focused less and less on him, and more on Sonic. His heart sank deeper and deeper until finally he found an entry from this summer that just destroyed him.

 _Dear Diary,_

 _I did something crazy. Yesterday I had sex for the first time. I'm not quite sure how it happened, it just did. We were just hanging out in his room and it happened out of nowhere. He kissed me so hungrily, like he'd been holding back for so long, and his hands were everywhere. It hurt a bit at first, but after a while I started to really enjoy the feeling. I was even on top at one point. Chaos, I never pictured myself doing such things, or thinking such dirty thoughts about someone like this. Sonic brings out these crazy feelings in me. To be honest, I think I'm in love with him. I've never felt so strongly about someone. I'm glad it was with him, I can't think of anyone I'd ever want more than Sonic the Hedgehog…_

Silver threw the diary toward the wall, tears fell like waterfalls down his red face. He was so upset, so hurt, so distraught; but above all…heartbroken.

* * *

Blaze and Sonic were finally alone, just like she wanted. He seated her on the bed before sitting beside her. She'd been off balance the entire walk.

"Sonic…" Blaze began, speech a bit slurred. "I want to talk about what happened between us this summer."

This was it, her big chance at finally getting the guy she'd been crushing on since last year. She put a hand on his thigh, and starred deep into his eyes. He already had an idea of what she was thinking, or so he thought.

"Don't worry." He assured her, waving his hands. "It was summer. I know we were just bored, and home alone. You don't have to worry though, I didn't catch feelings, I swear."

Blaze felt her heart crack. Apparently the hedgehog thought that night they spent together was nothing more than that, just two bored teens home alone.

He got up from the bed and smoothed out his shirt as he continued to speak. "Honestly, as of lately I've been feeling like I might wanna give Amy that shot she's always wanted." He laughed, "I'm gonna head back downstairs. You rest as long as you need to. I need a drink."

He exited the room. As he did so, Blaze just fell back on to the king-sized mattress and let the tears finally spill over her face, feeling her heart completely shatter. She felt so humiliated—the spiked drink must have been losing its effect. She needed another to help her numb the chest pain. She got up from the bed and walked over to the door, only to be met by an angry pink hedgehog in the doorway.

"Amy!" The crying Blaze gasped before a hand came down hard on her face.

"You slut!" Amy screeched, tears of her own escaping, "You were supposed to be my friend!"

The cat staggered back from the hard slap. It felt like her brain was bouncing back and forth in her skull. She quickly regained her balance, cradling her cheek with her hand in disbelief. A million questions raced through her mind, the biggest being… _'Does she know about last summer?'_

"Amy I can explain—"

"There's no need! You know I like him! And right when he's starting to like me back you get all jealous and try to sleeze your way into his pants! I'd expect something like that from Rouge, but you…"

With that the pink hedgehog disappeared off to find the blue hedgehog once more, leaving Blaze in the doorway, holding her cheek and sobbing. She pulled out her phone and texted the only person who she felt safe with, the one person she only seemed to want when she needed someone.

 **11 MISSED CALLS**

 **3 NEW MESSAGES**

 ** _Blaze:_** _Silver, I need you…_

 ** _Blaze:_** _Please_

 ** _Blaze:_** _Please pick up Silver…_

The white hedgehog picked up his head from his pillow to look at the phone beside him. A picture of Blaze's face lit up on his screen. He just shook his head, picked up the phone and threw it at the wall. He was so done.

* * *

After hours of searching, Matilda finally spotted Ray sitting on the steps outside.

"There he is!" She exclaimed, rushing out the doors to talk to him. Saffron and Charmy followed her.

"Ray? Are you alright?" He looked very upset, and his eyes were red like he'd been crying.

"Have you s-s-seen Mighty?" He asked, wiping his face with his sleeve, "I wanna go h-h-home."

The armadillo girl shook her head. "No. I think he went off to find Espio and Vector."

"I wanna go home too." Saffron pouted, "This isn't the romantic night Vector promised."

"Since we can't find Mighty how about we have Mellow drive us?" Charmy suggested, pointing toward the older bee standing over by his car.

Matilda looked over at the older bee in the parking lot. He was a senior, about seventeen or so. He was leaning against his white truck. Standing next to him was another senior named Tommy Turtle. She recognized them from her history class. Both boys looked very sketchy, as did the vehicle they drove.

"Are y-y-you coming Tilly?" Ray asked hopeful, he didn't want to go back alone.

"Sure Ray." She agreed, taking her adopted brother's hand as they followed Charmy and Saffron.

"Hey Mellow!" Charmy waved, "Do you think you could give us a ride back to the school?"

"Charmy! Good to see ya!" The older bee nodded, opening the door to the backseat. "I'd be happy to give you, Ray, and these two fine looking ladies a ride."

Matilda hesitated a bit. She felt uncomfortable with such remarks coming from him. She and Saffron were only fourteen. The green-shelled armadillo girl didn't like the way he was looking at her, or the crooked smile on his face. She thought about staying behind, but Ray held out his hand to her, and she didn't want to leave him so she reluctantly hopped into the backseat. Tommy and Mellow sat up front, leaving Matilda, Ray, Charmy, and Saffron sitting in the back.

Above all the sketchy things about the two seniors that made Matilda very uneasy…was the way they slurred their words, and fidgeted.

* * *

Sonia quickly raced down the hall to the room she'd prepared earlier. She slammed the door open to see no one but Julie-Su putting her shoes back on. The echidna jumped at the sound of the door bouncing off the wall. "What the hell?"

"How did you get in here? Where's Knuckles!" Sonia shouted in frustration.

"How the hell should I know?" Julie-Su growled in annoyance, "When we fell I accidentally picked up the wrong key, see?" The echidna held out the key she'd mistakenly picked up earlier.

"Did you say Knuckles?" A voice asked from behind him. They both turned to see Jet and Wave lugging a passed out Storm down the hall, "Rouge dragged him to his room a few hours ago."

"Do you know which room?" Sonia asked desperately.

"Yeah." Wave shrugged, "116 I think."

"Dammit!" The magenta hedgehog shouted before rushing out of the room.

Julie-Su just tightened her fists at the thought of Rouge finally getting her claws on the red echidna.

Sonia didn't bother taking the elevator. Every second she wasn't with him was another second she imagined Rouge all over him. She slid down the banister of every staircase until she reached the first floor. She practically flew down the hall until she finally made it to room 116. The door was locked. Out of sheer anger she wound her foot as far back as she could and took it clean off the hinges with one powerful kick.

" **WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?** " She shrieked at the sight of her boyfriend pulling away from Rouge.

"Shit." Rouge hissed in frustration.

"Sonia?" Knuckles yelped, jumping up and out of the bed, quickly wrapping a sheet around his waist.

"How could you do this to me Knuckles?"

"I don't know how it happened…" He answered truthfully. He was still heavily intoxicated.

Sonia felt her blood boiling underneath her skin. Her gaze drifted over to the bat sitting on the king-sized bed who'd been hastily getting redressed with a victorious grin on her face. She angrily stomped over to her.

"Get up." The magenta hedgehog commanded.

"Why would I do that?" Rouge asked obnoxiously.

"Because I'm about to beat your fucking ass." Sonia growled.

Rouge quickly rose to her feet before the magenta hedgehog, using her three extra inches of height to intimidate. She didn't count on Sonia being so fearless, or having such a quick left hook. In less than a second the bat had been knocked to the floor with the force of a mighty punch. She sat up and rubbed her sore cheek. If she hadn't been so intoxicated, it probably would have seriously hurt.

"I might have deserved that." Rouge smiled as she got back up to her feet, "But you know what you don't deserve? Him." She pointed at the red echidna, who didn't know what to do.

"Shut up!" The hedgehog yelled, ready to throw another punch.

"You're so insecure. You barely let him breath. Being with you is like walking on eggshells because you're such a jealous bitch. No wonder he was so willing to cheat on you—"Another jab set the bat staggering back down.

"You don't know anything!" Sonia barked, "I'm not insecure. I'm protective, because of dumb sluts like you who purposely try to fuck up relationships!"

"Is that why you didn't tell him about Julie-Su?" The bat got up once more, this time feeling as though she held all the power.

Knuckles' eyes went wide at the mention of his old friend. "What is she talking about Sonia?"

"Don't try to turn this around on me." Sonia growled nervously.

"What about Julie-Su?" Knuckles shouted at Rouge, "Tell me."

"She's known where Julie-Su has been since the very first day of school." The bat crossed her arms, "In fact, she's been trying pretty damn hard to keep you from running into her. Isn't that right Little Ms. Not So Perfect?"

"What?" Knuckles asked in disbelief, glancing over to Sonia, "Are you fucking serious?"

Sonia just averted her gaze from him. She had been purposely keeping Knuckles from running in to Julie-Su since day one.

"Why the fuck would you do that?" The echidna yelled, stomping over to her and forcefully grabbing her by the shoulders, "You knew I wanted to see her!"

"Exactly! The way you ran after her that first day…it seemed so much more than just wanting to see an old friend." Sonia explained, "I didn't want you around a girl you had so much history with… I thought I'd lose you to her…"

"But you can be buddy-buddy with Mr. Perfect?" He shrieked, shoving her away from him. "Fuck this. Sonia I'm fucking done. I can't handle this shit anymore."

"You cheated, and now **YOU'RE** dumping **ME**?"

"Exactly." He mocked her earlier words before ripping the green emerald off her necklace, "This was never for you anyway."

With that, he got his shirt and made for the exit.

"Where are you going now?" Rouge asked calmly.

"To look for Julie-Su at the end of every bottle."

He then vanished out the door. Rouge glanced over at Sonia, who had dropped to her knees and was sobbing into her hands. Tonight was supposed to be the best night of her life. The bat simply mouthed the word 'sorry' before making her exit. She didn't like the hedgehog, but that was one hell of a nasty way to break up with someone.

* * *

While walking down the hall, Sonic had the misfortune of running into his old pal Jet the Hawk, who was out getting ice for the injured albatross.

"Well, well, well." The hawk grinned. "Check out Sonic the Bitch."

"Fuck off Feather-Face." The hedgehog rolled his eyes, "Don't you have an albatross to fuck?"

"Very funny." Jet said sarcastically. "I'd make a sly remark about how ugly whatever chick you brought here is, but with that video floating around I bet you couldn't get anyone to come with you."

"What are you talking about?" Sonic laughed, "I'm Sonic! That dude every girl wants."

"All, except that one chick in English class?" Jet laughed.

Sonic's face immediately went red. How did everyone know about that little slip up! His reputation had been sent straight downhill ever since that altercation with Glasses-Girl. He couldn't take the mockery much longer, it was really starting to get to him.

"Please, she's just putting up this big front." The hedgehog shrugged, trying to play it cool. "Secretly, she wants me just as bad as the rest of them."

"Yeah right." The hawk laughed, "She shut you down dude. Face it, you're not the hot shit you think you are, and it's driving you crazy."

"I bet I could totally get with her." Sonic replied, nodding his head in assurance, "Hell, I could even get her to sleep with me!"

"No way." Jet waved him off.

"A hundred dollars says I can." The hedgehog grinned, knowing full well Jet could never resist a bet.

The bird simply grinned, extending out his hand for his rival to take. "Sounds like easy money to me."

"Shit, I'll even record it for you." Sonic laughed as he walked away, "It'll give you and Storm something to jerk off to besides each other."

"Chaos, he's such a douchebag." Jet mumbled before returning to his quest for ice.

* * *

Fiona had kicked off her heels and made herself comfortable as she sat on the king-sized bed with Tails, going on and on about Scourge and how she suspected he was unfaithful. The two foxes were up in that room for hours. Despite how lousy the night had been going Tails was doing a great job of consoling her, and even managed to get a few smiles and laughs out of her. She didn't know why, but tonight she thought the young kit looked really attractive.

"Thanks for helping me out tonight Sweetie." She smiled.

There was still a trail of tears running down her cheek from earlier. On instinct Tails leaned in, using his index finger to wipe away the last of it. "Pre-pretty girls shouldn't cry." He stammered, a blush creeping up on his face at being in such close proximity to her own.

Scourge never told her she was pretty, and they'd been dating for four years. It was so different, being with the young boy from science class was so much easier. Tails wasn't like Scourge at all. He was sweet, and so caring.

"You're only being nice to be because you don't know I'm an evil bitch." She sighed, swiping his hand away.

"I don't think you are." Tails told her, taking her hand in his. "Sure, I've heard stories, but the girl sitting next to me right now…she's nothing like they say she is."

They're eyes met, as he squeezed her hand.

"I think she's amazing." He added.

Fiona couldn't hold back any longer. All night he'd been saying everything she'd ever wanted to hear from anyone her entire life. With inhibitions gone, and without second thought she kissed him. His eyes went wide with shock. He was completely taken off guard. He fell backwards onto the mattress, she quickly straddled him, pelting him with a barrage of neck kisses.

Tails didn't know what to do, his mind was in a frenzy. He'd only seen things like this happen on TV. He never thought in a million years he'd be with a girl like this, doing this kind of thing. She continued the vampire-esque assault on his neck, her teeth lightly grazing him as she let out desperate moans. They were like angelic sounds to his ears. His face began to flush as his body begun reacting to her treatment.

"Fi-Fi-Fiona…" He stammered nervously.

"Shh…" She hushed him, "I'll be gentle, I promise."

She then proceeded to kiss him as low as she could until the fabric of his shirt prevented her from going any farther. She then got to work on undoing his belt…

* * *

Knuckles staggered his way out of the hotel, his entire body swinging back and forth as he drunkenly trudged down the steps. He accidentally missed one, causing him to go tumbling down. He sat up on the side walk and rubbed his head. He scooted himself back up against one of the light posts by the stairs to prop himself upright. The drugs and alcohol ravaged his insides, but his conscious was somehow snaking through. He soon started to realize the severity of what he'd down tonight. He held the over-sized green emerald up to his face and began to sob.

"I'm such a fucking idiot!" He cried out, "I can't believe I did that…"

"You really blew it this time didn't you?" A voice sighed.

Knuckles looked over to see a pink echidna kneeling beside him. He didn't recognize her, but she was pretty.

"I really did." He admitted. "I just want her right now…"

"Rouge?" The pink echidna asked, "Or Sonia?"

"Neither." He shook his head, "I just want my best friend…I want Julie-Su to call me a dummy, make me happy again."

The pink echidna wasn't too surprised he couldn't recognize her right now. She had changed a lot in the years she's been away, and he was so intoxicated he could barely form coherent sentences. The way he said her name with such desperation made her cringe. Tears started brimming her violet eyes. Mighty was right, she couldn't handle seeing the mess she'd made of him. She got back to her feet and nearly walked away, but her old friend's babbling beckoned her back.

"I want to tell her I'm sorry." He wailed, "Whatever I said, whatever I did to make her runaway I didn't mean it. She was the best part of my life. I think I died when she left, because I haven't felt like myself since. I don't understand why she just abandoned me like that! We were supposed to be together forever."

Julie-Su quickly turned around and dropped to the floor beside him. "Don't you hate her?"

"She meant so much more to me than anything I've ever known."

"Maybe she didn't know that. Maybe she did something terrible that she couldn't tell you about."

"She could tell me everything." Knuckles shook his head in disbelief, "I was the first to know everything. What her grades were, how her day went, everything. We didn't have secrets."

"She might have been too afraid to tell you this one. She might have thought you'd look at her differently so she ran away."

"There's nothing in the world that could ever make me look at her differently. Even this time gap hasn't changed the way I feel. "

"She was too scared to tell you, because she didn't want you to think she was stupid. She made a huge mistake."

"No way." He shook his head again. "You must be talking about a different Julie."

"She did Knuckles."

"Yeah right. How would you know anything about her? Who the hell are you anyway?"

"I'm Julie-Su."

He looked over at her again. She had long pink dreads with silver extensions here and there, she was lean with curves like Rouge, and had pretty violet eyes. Knuckles shook his head again in disbelief.

"No." He denied, "Julie has short hair, she keeps it in pigtails, and she has a stick-figure. You couldn't possibly be her. You're way too pretty and girly looking."

He described her the way she looked when she was thirteen. The last time he ever saw her she looked just as he described. She shook her head, convinced there was no way to get through to him, not in the state he was in. She just got up from her knees and turned heel back toward the hotel.

"You're such a dummy." She sighed before vanishing.

The comment made his eyes widen in realization. He picked his head up to look at the pink echidna girl, but she was already gone.

"Julie…"

* * *

Sonia was still in the messy room Knuckles and Rouge had left her in. She ceased her crying and was now on her knees staring at the floor. She didn't know what to do, or how to act. The buses wouldn't arrive for another half hour so there was no way to get back to her dorm, and even if she did Rouge would still be right their gloating.

The magenta hedgehog was trapped in an inner battle with a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts. She'd never been broken up with before. Knuckles was her first boyfriend. She never pictured it ending like this—or at all for that matter. She sought out to find comfort in the green emerald around her neck as she often did in times of sorrow, but when she lifted her hand to grab it she remembered it was no longer there.

The silence of the room was disrupted by a loud shriek coming from the room next door, pulling Sonia out of her depressive state. She would have shrugged off the noise if it hadn't sounded so much like her little brother.

"Tails?" She questioned aloud as she got up from the floor to investigate.

She exited room 116 to stand in front of the neighboring 117. Through the door she could hear a faint mumbling, and wet gasps. She assumed she'd been hearing things, this hotel was driving her mad, but her thoughts were quickly confirmed when she heard him again. Without another thought she opened the door, assuming he might have been hurt, but what she found was much worse.

"Oh my Chaos!" She shrieked.

Tails quickly sat up from his laying down position on the bed, using his hands to cover his exposed manhood, while Fiona wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. The vixen stood up and pulled her dress back over her shoulders.

"S-S-Sonia?" Tails stuttered nervously.

Without warning Sonia charged at the scandalous vixen, knocking her clean across the room with a dead-weight punch square to the jaw. Before Fiona could get up and defend herself, Sonia yanked her by the hair and dragged her out of the room.

"Sonia stop! **PLEASE**." Tails cried out as he fixed his pants before chasing after them.

The angry magenta hedgehog did no such thing. She continued dragging the shrieking vixen to the semi-spiral stairs. She whirled Fiona around with both hands before sending her flying down the steps. Fiona landed to the first floor right on her face, blood trickling down her nose. Before she could make a move the magenta hedgehog manually flipped her over and continued pounding her face. Tails rushed down the stairs to witness the horror.

A crowd quickly formed around the two girls, chanting and instigating. Phones were pulled out and began recording at all angles.

"Chill out!" Fiona growled, finally catching Sonia's hands to prevent her from further assault.

"Chill out? **HE'S THIRTEEN!** " The hedgehog yelled, trying to get her hands free.

Fiona quickly head-butted her without warning, sending the hedgehog stumbling back. She quickly rose to her feet and delivered her attacker an upper-cut. Sonia staggered back, but quickly regained her balance.

"Check it out." Shadow nudged Manic.

"What?" He looked at the hedgehog pointing to the crowd of people by the stairs.

"Your sister is kicking some serious ass."

"Sonia?" Manic yelped, "Oh shit." He got up from his seat and quickly rushed over to constrain his sister before she could seriously injure someone.

"Check it out." Mephiles nudged Scourge.

"What?" He looked at the hedgehog pointing to the crowd of people by the stairs.

"Your girlfriend is getting fucked up."

"Fiona?" He yelped, "Oh shit!" He got up from his seat and quickly rushed over to aid his girlfriend before she could get seriously injured.

The two fighting girls quickly found themselves being pulled apart by their respective green hedgehogs.

"Sonia chill!" Manic instructed as his sister tried to wiggle out of his grasp.

"Fiona, what the fuck happened?" Scourge asked his girlfriend, holding her back.

"I'll tell you what happened!" Sonia shouted at Scourge, "You're slutty ass girlfriend was sucking off my baby brother!"

" **WHAT?** " Scourge and Manic both looked over at Tails blushing on the staircase, then their gazes found each other.

"Fiona are you fucking kidding me?" Scourge shouted at her, averting his eyes from Manic.

"He's nice to me!" Fiona shouted, "Unlike you! Always talking shit and taking me for granted."

Scourge just shoved her away from him, turning around to leave. "I'm fucking done Fi. I can't do this shit anymore."

"What?" Fiona gasped as Scourge walked off. Realization started to hit her just as hard as Sonia's fist had earlier. She quickly ran after him and grabbed him by the wrist, "You can't leave me Baby! You can't! I'm queen remember?"

He just yanked his wrist out of her grasp and continued walking away, "Bitch you ain't shit."

Manic watched as Scourge disappeared off into the crowd. Sonia had finally calmed down and was released to go bombard Tails with a hundred questions. Sonic, Rouge, Amy, and Cream had also stumbled on to the scene shortly after.

* * *

" **RAY! TILLY! WHERE ARE YOU?** " Mighty tried his hardest to shout over the noise of the crowded lobby.

He'd been searching high and low for his siblings all night, but has had no luck. He was starting to worry. Last time he saw Matilda she went off to look for Ray—who he hadn't seen since way earlier. In the midst of searching his hand was grabbed. He turned around to see Espio frantically pulling him in another direction.

"What's going on Es? Did you find any of them?" Espio was out searching for Charmy and Saffron as well.

"Charmy just called me." The chameleon stated. He wasn't his calm collected self either.

"What's going on?" Mighty questioned, pulling away from Espio in a fit of confusion, "Where are Ray and Matilda?"

"There's been an accident." Espio screeched, grabbing the armadillo's hand again and rushing out of the hotel, "We have to hurry."

"What are you talking about?"

"Charmy, Ray, Saffron, Matilda…they were all in a car crash down the road."

Mighty couldn't breathe. His eyes widened in shock as the information registered with him. He snatched his hand away from the chameleon and ran as fast as his legs would carry out of the hotel. Espio was right beside him as they both sprinted down the road.

Once they finally arrived on the scene they saw the wreckage of a four-car collision surrounded by yellow caution tape. Police cars, firetrucks, and ambulances littered the area. Mighty's eyes weld up with tears at the thought of his siblings in such a horrific accident. He couldn't think straight, and frantically charged toward the wreckage.

" **TILLY! RAY!** " He screamed in agony before being taken down by six officers.

"You can't go there." They told him, "Get back!"

"You don't understand." He cried out, "My kids, my kids were in there!"

The officers gave him a perplexed look. He looked way too young to be a parent.

"We'll find them." One officer assured him, "Until then you'll have to stand back."

Mighty took a deep breath, trying to keep sane. He agreed and they let him go. His voice picked up on a faint cry. He turned around to see Vector and Espio standing by a shook up Charmy who was sitting in the back of an ambulance. He wasted no time running over to them.

"It-It-It all happened so fast." Charmy sniffled, shaking underneath the thin blanket the paramedics had provided him.

"It's alright Charmy." Espio assured him, "You're okay now."

" **CHARMY!** " Mighty shouted as he rushed over, " **WHERE ARE THEY?** " He asked the bee, looking around to see if he'd spot either of his siblings in the other ambulances.

"Mighty…" Charmy's eyes began welling up with tears again.

"Charmy, please." The armadillo begged, "What happened?"

"Tommy ran a red light at the intersection…we collided with three other cars." The bee explained between his sobs, "We were trapped under the other cars. I wiggled out from underneath a car door. I managed to pull Saffron out with me since she wasn't pinned."

"What about Ray and Tilly?"

Charmy's sobs began to worsen as he spoke. "I saw…I saw Ray had a piece of metal through his chest…and Matilda's entire upper body was crushed." He began to wail, "I'm sorry Mighty. I couldn't pull them out."

"You did all you could Charmy." Vector put a comforting hand on the bee's shoulder.

"Mighty…" Espio tried to reach out to his friend.

Mighty's mind was all over the place. Fearing the worst, he ran back toward the wreckage. He had to find them. Just as he was about to make a run for the scene Vector and Espio quickly restrained him.

" **LET ME GO.** " He cried out, " **I HAVE TO FIND THEM.** "

"You need to let them do their jobs." Espio told him.

The three of them watched as paramedics once again emerged from the wreckage, only this time…they carried out two body bags.

Mighty's breathing ceased, he dropped to his knees as his heart refused to beat. Color started to spill out of the world, until everything went completely black…

* * *

 **That was the finale of Heartbreak Hotel, and as you can see heartbreak was everywhere in more ways than one.**

 **Fiona and Scourge: BROKEN UP**

 **Sonia and Knuckles: BROKEN UP**

 **Blaze and Sonic: FRIEND-ZONED**

 **Cream and Ray: FRIEND-ZONED**

 **Silver and Blaze: HE'S DONE**

 **Elias and Sonia: HE'S DONE**

 **The couples above are no longer in commission for various reasons, but there's always a possibility of reuniting, or not. You never know what to expect in high school really. You'll just have to wait and see who gets swept off their feet, and by whom.**

 **Just to make it clear, the only ones not effected by the drugs were; Sonic, Sonia, Tails, Wave, Jet, Julie-Su, Saffron, Charmy, Ray, Matilda, Cream, Espio, Vector and Mighty.**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy**

 **A day of mourning**

 **Depression**

 **Guilt**

 **Sonic's history with Rotor, Antoine, Bunnie and Nicole is revealed**

 **Mighty receives devastating news**

 **Fun Questions:**

 **#1. If you were in Silver or Elias' position would you move on? Or continue trying even though you know they want somebody else?**

 **Leave a review and let me know what you thought, what you think happens next, or what you'd like to see!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Miracles**

Nearly all the intoxicated students found themselves back in their dorms around two or three in the morning with the exception of those who were at Metropolis Hospital in support of their loved ones. It took Principle Acorn, the on-campus staff, and security to lug all the disoriented students safely back to their respective dorms. Hours later everyone had awoken from their slumber, hungover and sickly.

For the first time ever, no one breathed a word of Vector's party. No gossip was shared, no reminiscing of any sort, everyone just stood in their beds in silence. The only time a voice was heard was when Principle Acorn gave a morning announcement.

"I hope you're all in a better condition than last night." She sighed, "Due to last night's outrageous antics there will be no more off-campus privileges without my direct approval. Classes today have been canceled out of respect for the two lives that were taken in the crash. We shall spend the rest of today mourning the loss of two beloved students, and praying for those left in critical condition."

She pressed the red button on the intercom before pushing it away from her. She turned around in her chair to face the bay window overlooking the school grounds. Tears began falling down her face as she shook her head in disbelief. She adored and cared for all her students just as she would her own children. Losing two of them to such a brutal fatality was devastating.

* * *

Cream sobbed loudly into Rouge's chest as the bat held her tightly while she cried. News of the crash had torn her heart to pieces, she was very sensitive to such topics—probably why she was never allowed to watch the news. The two girls sat on her bed, Rouge cradling her like a baby as she muffled her cries into her stuffed Chao.

"C'mon Creamy…" Rouge cooed motherly, "You're going to ruin Cheese with those tears." The bat rocked her back and forth, stroking her hair in an attempt to comfort her.

"It-It-It could have easily been us." Cream whispered between sniffles.

"It wasn't Cream." The bat assured her, "You're alright."

"What about Ray?" The rabbit asked.

Ray the Flying Squirrel was a sophomore boy occupying the locker beneath the rabbit's. She talked about him a lot, about how sweet he was, and how much he made her laugh. Rouge just gave a shake of her head, not knowing quite how to respond.

"I don't know Baby…"

The rabbit just clutched her stuffed animal even tighter, letting the tears trickle down her face. She prayed Ray was fine, that he would be standing by their lockers waiting for her tomorrow. Sonia just laid lifeless in her bed, starring at the ceiling as she wondered why last night couldn't be erased from existence. Julie-Su's bed was empty. After hearing about the crash she wasted no time rushing to the hospital.

* * *

Elias was kneeling on the floor beside his bed, vomiting into the wastebasket, making all his roommates cringe in disgust. His head was pounding, and he couldn't remember a damn thing about yesterday. He could only remember Sonia's proclamation about taking her and Knuckles to the next level, the rest was blank. Why on earth did he have to remember the one thing he wanted to forget?

"I thought you didn't drink?" Silver gave him a puzzled look.

"I…" Before Elias could go on he began violently vomiting again, "Don't." He finished.

"The punch was spiked." Larry informed the white hedgehog, "Everyone was messed up man."

"Why aren't you guys messed up then?" Silver asked, looking over at Larry and Shard who seemed to be fine.

"I didn't drink anything last night." Larry shrugged, looking over at Shard for his answer.

"I'm DigItalian." The yellow-striped hedgehog shrugged, "We don't consume anything other than purified water imported from our homeland."

"Oh…" Silver nodded. He didn't know much about DigItaly, just that they had very strange customs and outlooks on things.

Their conversation was once again cut by the violent barfing of the school prince—who wasn't feeling so royal at the moment. They all shivered every time he gagged and released the vial substance from his esophagus.

"Larry, we should go work on that art assignment since we've got the extra time." Shard suggested, backing up toward the door. "Preferably at the library."

"Right behind ya'." The lynx nodded, following the snarky hedgehog out the door.

Silver just sat by Elias and held his hair out of his face as he continued to throw up. His gasps for air quickly turned into chuckles, "Isn't this what girls do when they get drunk? Hold each other's hair back."

"Maybe you shouldn't have such girlish hair." Silver laughed.

Sometime passed and eventually Elias ceased his vomiting. Now he and Silver were both sitting across from each other on the hardwood floor, leaning against their own beds.

"Blaze and Sonic had sex last summer." Silver sighed, "I read it in her journal. She's even in love with him."

Elias just gave the sad hedgehog a sympathetic look. If Silver felt anything for Blaze like he did Sonia, chances are the poor guy was torn up inside.

"What are you going to do to win her back?" Elias asked him, hoping to take his answer as advice for his own situation.

"There's no going back." Silver shook his head, "I'm done for good. My heart isn't a cat toy. She can stay with her new friends, and boyfriend…"

Elias was a little taken aback by the Silver's words, but he was right. Hearts aren't toys.

"I think I'm done too." The prince agreed, "Sonia had sex with Knuckles last night, what's worse is she had me help set up the room for them…"

"That's pretty bad." Silver cringed.

"Funniest part is, that's the only thing I can remember from last night."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Elias nodded, "I was so mad. I just got some punch hoping it would cool me off, but I can't remember anything after that."

"Spiked punch, car accidents, fist fight…" Silver shook his head, "I'm glad I didn't go to that party."

"I just wonder what I did last night." Elias sighed, trying to piece together the memories.

* * *

Sonic just sighed heavily into his hands. He sat on his bed across from Tails who was sobbing heavily. Antoine sat at his bed, praying as in tradition of his people. Rotor sat by Tails, slinging a comforting arm around the little kit's shoulder as he let his own tears spill.

"Tommy…I can't believe it." Sonic spoke in disbelief, shaking his head as if refusing to believe his old friend was truly gone.

"How could this happen…" Tails cried, leaning into Rotor.

"You guys only got to see him in his good years." The walrus sighed, "After you both stopped hanging out with us, Tommy went down a dark path."

"What are you talking about?" Sonic asked confused, "Tommy was as stiff as they come! Always doing homework on time, reading, and doing right. He wanted to be an engineer."

"Those dreamz were casted aside once you started treatzing us like we meant nozing." Antoine spoke up, a bit angry at how upset Sonic was over Tommy.

Back in middle school, Sonic used to be great friends with Rotor, Antoine, Bunnie, Nicole, and Tommy. They were the outcasts, but they were the most welcoming, honest, and kindest people he'd ever known. They were very close, almost like a big family, but that all changed once Sonic went on his quest for popularity. He immediately dropped them, encircling himself with more favorable candidates. His old friends were all heartbroken, but eventually got used to being without him—all except for Tommy, who couldn't cope.

"What did you say Twan?" Sonic growled angrily, "I didn't treat you guys like nothing! We just drifted apart, that's all."

"More like you pushed us zapart." The coyote shot back, stepping up to the hedgehog.

Usually Antoine was such a scaredy-cat, but in moments of rage like this he was fearless. He saw what Tommy went through. He knew how bad it hurt the turtle to be casted aside like trash, because he too carried the weight of Sonic's abandonment in his heart.

"It wasn't like that." Sonic shouted.

"It doez not matter." Antoine shook his head, "He iz gone forever. You can take nozing back." The coyote stomped out of the room, off in search of the southern belle to cool him down.

Sonic just stood there, standing alone as Rotor and Tails watched him. He looked to the ground, trying to understand what Antoine meant. He looked over at Rotor, hoping he'd be the key.

"Do you think I abandoned you?" He asked the walrus.

Rotor simply got up from Tails' side, and put a comforting hand on the hedgehog's shoulder, "I think you did what you thought was best for you…" He replied vaguely before going off to look for Antoine.

Sonic just stood there in silence, Tails staring up at him as he tried to understand.

* * *

 _' "Mighty the Armadillo, seeing as how you are eighteen as of today and meet all the requirements, we hereby grant you custody of Matilda the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel."_

 _I couldn't believe it. I didn't move or say anything, just so he could repeat himself. I had to make sure it was real, that I'd finally gotten my siblings out of the system. Ever since I was young, all I dreamt about was whisking them away to a better life. One with stability, one with nothing but good times, one where we could finally be together._

 _As soon as I aged out, I immediately filed for custody. The requirements were that I be of age, have a stable living situation, and be able to financially care for them. I'd been working at the antique shop with Mr. Moss since I was sixteen, but picked up two more jobs just in case. One as a server at the bakery Sweet Stuff, the other at the Master Emerald as night security. It took some juggling and sleep deprivation, but I managed to save enough money to get us a place to live._

 _We moved back to the place me and Matilda were born, Mercia. We got a small two bedroom cottage. It was tiny sure, but we were comfortable just being together. I shared a room with Ray, and Tilly got her own room. I used to make them breakfast every day before work, come back to make them dinner, then be back to tuck them in. On the days I had off I made sure to spend as much time with them as possible._

 _I'd never seen either of them so happy before. I remember the day I nearly burnt our little dream house down._

 _I was standing by the stove, attempting at flipping pancakes like a professional—only to fuck up repeatedly—while they sat at the table, giggling at my stupidity._

 _"You seem a bit distracted M-M-Mighty." Ray spoke up, noticing that my gaze was constantly drifting out the window._

 _"Mighty!" Matilda gasped, "Stop staring at the girl next door! She's gonna see you, you creep!"_

 _"I'm not a creep!" I yelped embarrassed, "And I'm not staring!"_

 _They both started laughing at how flustered I'd become._

 _"Yo-Yo-You should ju-just try talking to her." Ray suggested, making my face even redder._

 _"I don't even know her." I tried to laugh it off._

 _"You could if you tried." Matilda winked._

 _Chaos, those kids were driving me crazy. One little compliment at how cute the neighbor girl was and they were all over me about it! I didn't mean anything by it, they just insisted on making it something. I think they just wanted me to pursue something for myself, seeing as how they were always priority._

 _"Ju-Just say he-he-hello!" Ray encouraged._

 _"You think it would be that easy?" I asked them._

 _"Just do it!" Matilda persisted._

 _"I guess I could…" My voice trailed off as the beeping of the fire alarm echoed throughout the little cottage._

 _Stupid me was gazing out the window while pancakes burned on the stove. We all jumped up at the high-pitched ringing, scrambling for the fire extinguisher. Once the flames were out, I scraped the charred pancakes on to two plates, turned around, and smiled jokingly. "Breakfast is done."_

 _"A little too done." Matilda cringed, Ray nodded in agreement._

 _"Ho-Ho-How about we ju-just have cereal today?"_

 _"That sounds like a good idea." I laughed. '_

"Mighty?" A voice called out, "Mighty say something!"

The armadillo's eyes began to flutter open as he sat up in a white-sheeted bed. His face was quickly met with Julie-Su's concerned expression. She had both hands on his shoulders, shaking him back to consciousness.

"Julie?" He questioned, looking around at the tiny white room. "Where are we?"

"Oh thank Chaos." She breathed a sigh of relief, hugging him tightly. "We're at Metropolis Hospital."

Her embrace was very tight, waking him up a bit more. When she pulled away he noticed the tired features of her face. She looked like she hadn't slept at all. The armadillo rubbed his head, trying to suppress a throbbing pain. "What happened?"

"You fainted." Espio answered from one of the four chairs by his bed. Beside him sat Vector, a bruised up Charmy, and Saffron.

"Your head practically bounced off the concrete." The crocodile added, "You must have one hell of a headache."

Suddenly, Mighty's eyes widened as he remembered the events leading up to his nasty fall. The car accident, Charmy's words, the two body bags. He gripped Julie-Su tightly by the shoulders, nearly shattering them. He shook her as he screamed with panic, "Tilly and Ray! Are they…are they—"

Julie-Su quickly hugged him, not allowing him to finish such a sentence. He relaxed a bit in her grip, but tears threatened the corners of his eyes. She finally put him at ease, "They're alive Mighty…"

Tears of joy just poured down his face. He placed his hands around the echidna and sobbed into her shoulder. The news was so relieving, his chest was mere moments away from concaving. He almost couldn't believe it.

"But…the body bags." He managed to spit out through gasps.

"Tommy and Mellow." Charmy spoke up, "They died on impact." Saffron grabbed his hand to comfort him. He and Mellow were like brothers. Mighty just nodded in understanding before pulling away from Julie-Su to look at all of them.

"Have you seen either of them?" He asked.

They all shook their heads. Mighty just looked down, clutching the white sheets draped over his lower body.

"I see you're awake." A voice called out.

They all turned their heads to see a yellow duck in a lab coat standing at the doorway, "Forgive the intrusion. I'm Dr. Quack. I've been informed that you're the legal guardian of Matilda the Armadillo, correct?"

"Yes Sir." Mighty nodded, getting out of bed. "Is she alright? Can I see her?"

"Of course, you all can see her." The doctor gave them a warm smile, before it dropped into a frown, "But I do have some bad news…"

Mighty's hopeful smile quickly dropped and his hands begun to shake nervously. "What is it?"

"Follow me." The doctor gestured them all out the door.

They all filed out in a single unit down the hall, dodging gurneys and passing nurses. Mighty stood right beside the doctor, Julie-Su and Espio beside him as the rest followed closely behind. They all listened to the doctor as he explained the situation.

"Your sister shouldn't be alive, she's a true medical mystery. Her entire upper body was crushed under an estimated three-hundred pounds of metal wreckage. Sixteen of her twenty-four ribs shattered, shell cracked, nose broken, and her windpipe crushed. She's a strong one isn't she?" The doctor looked at Mighty.

"She is." The armadillo nodded, "She had to be."

"When she was wheeled in she was miraculously conscious. She even had enough strength left to speak. _'Mighty…meet me at the wishing tree.'_ She said"

Tears began welling in Mighty's eyes once more. The wishing tree was an old bubblegum tree in Mobotropolis Park. Child Services constantly moved them from city to city, so they had a meet up spot, a place they both knew how to get to. The wishing tree was their sanctuary. No matter where they went, they always found their way back to each other, back at the wishing tree.

The doctor stopped in front of a door with E102 carved on the top in black lettering.

"As strong as that child is, there was still a price to pay."

"What do you mean?" Mighty asked desperately.

"We had to amputate."

The armadillo just looked past him as if he were a ghost. He reached out for the nob and rushed inside. Matilda was lying in bed, eyes half-lidded as she looked at the doorway. A weak smile crept up on her face as soon as her brother walked in. "Mighty…" She whispered weakly.

He slid on his knees over to her, pressing his forehead against hers as he cried. "I'm sorry. Tilly, I'm so sorry." He cried. The rest of the Chaotix pooled in from the door, all except Espio who stood outside with the doctor.

"How is the surgery going doctor, with Ray." Espio asked the duck. "You don't have to beat around the bush with me. I can handle it."

"Well son," The doctor began, "A metal rod shot straight through the boy's chest. Thankfully it missed his heart by the width of a hair, but the removal might ultimately kill him."

"There's nothing else you can do?" The chameleon asked solemnly.

The doctor simply shook his head, "Nothing but pray."

Espio just looked over at the two armadillos reuniting. Mighty was a good guy, always cheerful, always positive, and always smiling. No matter what life threw his way, he always smiled. Ray and Matilda were his drive, without them…he'd be nothing, and Espio knew that. So he prayed Ray would make it out of surgery alive.

"I thought I lost you…" Mighty cried to his little sister.

"I always find my way back to you." She whispered faintly.

He quickly wrapped both arms around her, holding her as if she'd fly away if he didn't. That's when it dawned on him that she had no arms…

She'd never be able to hug him back again.

* * *

 _' "Stupid retard! Can't even form a sentence like a normal kid!"_

 _"What the fuck is wrong with you? Do you have like, Parkinson's or something?"_

 _"Check it out! It's that dumbass! Let's kick his ass."_

 _Everyone hated me, no matter where I went all the other kids bullied me. I've always had a bad stuttering problem and severe anxiety, a result from abuse I suffered in the system. My parents put me up for adoption when I was a baby. I don't know who they were, but I hate them. They didn't even try to give me a chance. No one ever gave me a chance…until Mighty._

 _We met at one of the homes in Moebius. I think it was my fourteenth or sixteenth family, I lost count._

 _I was getting beat up again by the other foster kids when he came to my rescue. He picked me up off the ground and took me to the bathroom. He even cleaned up my wounds. I shook like a leaf, afraid he was just joking and planned to beat me up too._

 _"Relax little guy!" He told me, "I'm not gonna hurt you."_

 _"E-E-E-very hu-u-urts" I couldn't speak back then. No one ever took the time to help me learn. I was mostly silent, only using hand gestures to communicate._

 _"Well, I'm never gonna hurt you." He replied, dabbing my cheek with a wet cloth. It was almost like he understood what I was trying to say._

 _"My name's Mighty!" He smiled warmly, "What's yours?"_

 _"R-R-R-R-Ray." I managed to spit out._

 _"Well Ray, consider me your own very best pal!"_

 _He was so genuine. I couldn't help but smile and nod frantically, excited to finally have someone good in my life. From that day forth, he never left my side. He was my bodyguard, my teacher, and my friend. He protected me from the other kids, always stuck up for me, and even pulled Fiona's hair when she teased me about the way I talked. He used to quiz me with cue-cards, and was patient while I learned to form sentences. He taught me to speak, he gave me a voice._

 _There's nowhere in the world I'd rather be than by his side. He's my brother, the first person who ever treated me like I was somebody, somebody important._

 _So why am I here? Why am I dying? '_

"Doctor!" A nurse screeched, "The patient is flat lining!"

"Dammit." The doctor cursed, "You need to hang on a little longer. It's almost out." He told the unconscious patient as he slid the metal rod out of the squirrel's open chest.

Soon enough, the lines on the screen ceased movement, and a continuous beep echoed in the room. The doctor had finally slid out the rod, but saw no movement of the heart in plain view. He shook his head before pulling down his mask.

"Call it." The nurse ordered, moving over to the counter to retrieve a clipboard.

"Ray the Flying Squirrel, age fifteen. Time of death 4:30pm."

* * *

Dr. Quack looked at his pager, receiving a message from one of the nurses reading _'Code Blue_.' Meaning that the patient had died in surgery. He sighed before stepping over toward Mighty and his sister.

"I'm sorry Mighty. Ray didn't make it out of surgery."

Everyone's eyes widened in shock. Julie-Su clasped her hands over her mouth, while Saffron and Charmy began to hold each other as they cried. Vector just pounded his fist on the wall, no longer able to keep his calm composure as he let warm tears escape him. Espio just glanced over at a stunned Mighty.

"Can I…can I see him…" The armadillo asked in a shaky voice.

"Yes." The doctor whispered, "But only you. Follow me."

"Wait here with Tilly you guys." He ordered.

"Mighty…" Matilda whispered, unable to reach out to him.

The armadillo followed the duck down several hallways until they reached the window of the surgery room. He slid open the curtain, revealing a deceased Ray on the table. They'd finished closing him up, and draped a blanket onto him from the neck down. His eyes were shut as he lay lifeless before his brother's eyes.

Mighty freaked. He pounded on the glass, nearly shattering it as he attempted to call his brother back from the dead. " **RAY! RAY PLEASE WAKE UP! RAY. DON'T GO!** "

The doctor wrapped himself around the armadillo, trying to cease his pounding on the glass. "It's over son, he's gone."

"No, no, no, no." Mighty refused, " **RAY!** "

 _'Someone's calling me…but I'm just so tired. I want stay and sleep._

 _Who is that? Why would they be calling me? No one wants me…_

 _"Ray you have to wake up."_

 _Mighty? Is that Mighty calling for me?_

 _"Ray, come back!"_

 _It is! I can't stay here. There's nowhere I'd rather be…_

 _Than with Mighty. '_

With a loud gasp, the yellow squirrel sat up from the table. Both Mighty and Dr. Quack couldn't believe their eyes as Ray had come back to life right before them. Mighty immediately shoved the doctor away and dashed for the door. Dr. Quack just stood their stunned, "My Chaos, that's impossible."

"Ray!" The armadillo cried, wrapping both arms around his little brother, "My Chaos."

He pulled away to hear what the squirrel had to say once his gasps and coughs had ceased. Although his lips moved, no sound came out. The armadillo gave a perplexed look to the doctor who came through the door with a million questions of his own.

"He can't speak." Mighty told the duck who began to examine Ray.

"Hmmm…" The doctor hummed as he examined the squirrel's eyes. "I'm almost certain that he suffered severe trauma to the Broca's area of the brain, which results in muteness."

"Will he be like that forever?"

"I'm not sure, but with enough speech therapy, and support I believe there might by a small glimmer of hope for him." The doctor smiled, "He did just come back from the dead after all. Fate is definitely on your side Mr. Armadillo."

Mighty looked over at Ray, who tried to say something again, but the result was nothing. Mighty just gave him a warm smile. "Don't worry little buddy. It'll be just like when we first met. I know exactly what you're saying. Tilly is just fine."

Ray smiled happily.

* * *

Sometime later, after a million examinations Ray was finally sent to residency. Mighty had managed to pull some strings thanks to Dr. Quack to get Ray and Matilda in the same room. Mighty explained the situation to the rest of Team Chaotix who were just grateful that he was alive.

While everyone conversed, there was a knock on the door.

In walked Knuckles, shocking everyone. Mighty stood up and walked over to him, immediately being swept up in a brotherly hug. Once released, he made his way over to Charmy. He gave the bee a hug, careful to not hurt his injured wing. Then he walked over to Saffron, picking her up to spin her adoringly just as he did in their younger days. She smiled happily as he set her down. He then proceeded to greet Espio and Vector with nods before making his way to Matilda.

"You came…" She whispered.

"Of course, you are the princess after all." The echidna smiled at her before kissing her forehead and making her blush.

He was referencing a game they played as kids called Protect the Princess. There were two teams, each had a princess. The objective was to protect your princess from the other team. If they tagged her you lost. Matilda and Saffron were always the princesses, and Knuckles was always her right hand knight.

"There's the man." The echidna smiled, walking over to Ray who could do nothing but smile, "Get better soon. We've gotta play catch sometime. You were always the best pitcher."

The squirrel nodded happily at the thought of playing ball with his old friend again. He made it his mission to get better just so he could.

There was only one person left in the room to greet. He turned toward a nervous Julie-Su, and stomped over toward her. Everyone braced themselves, not knowing exactly what to expect. Screaming? Rage? A fist fight? To their shock, the echidna threw his arms around her, pulling her in close.

"Knuckles…" She gasped, taken aback by his sudden hug. "I…I..."

"Shhh, I don't care about anything that happened." He told her, "I'm just glad you're here Julie. I don't care why you left. Can we just…go back? I want things to be the way they used to."

She hesitated before putting her arms around him. "You're such a dummy…but I missed you."

Everyone smiled and inwardly cheered happily. Team Chaotix was officially reunited.

* * *

 **Hooray! Team Chaotix is officially back with both Knuckles and Julie-Su!**

 **Sorry about the emotional rollercoaster I took you guys on. Matilda and Ray were originally going to die, but I figured out some more plotlines to save them for.**

 **This chapter was the final chapter to this arc, the next is an introduction into the new one. It'll star every main character so far.**

 **Review Replies**

 **PoeticLover1996: I agree. A lot of these characters are really immature, it's to be expected in high school. Elias and Silver are both in really tough situations. Perhaps they'll find romance elsewhere. At this time I'm not sure what I'll do with them. It was mentioned in the first chapter that Tails skipped a grade, meaning he's a thirteen year old sophomore. Fiona is a sixteen year old junior (I should probably mention ages and grades at some point) I did this on purpose to reflect how she told him he was too young for her in the comics.**

 **Mimi Good: Your reviews are hilarious! I love it. **

**BlazeofVenus: It was the two seniors! You can be put as ease now. To answer your earlier question on how I upload relatively quickly; it's not witchcraft xD It's pre-writing. Every time I release a chapter, the next one is already finished or in the works. **

**Afry Sapphire: Don't worry, there is no bashing here. All these characters have their own unique flaws based on their actual characters. No favortism here. I'm always happy to see a new comer :) I haven't met a Julie-Su fan in a long time, you'll be seeing much more of her in the future.**

 **Just So You Know**

 **Don't be afraid to leave a review of your thoughts and opinions on characters or their situation. No one is going to yell at you for not having the same views. Feedback is always good, and sometimes it even changes the course of the story! Like it did this chapter, where I didn't kill off Ray and Matilda like I had originally planned.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Updates**

The wind was brisk, and swept the colorful autumn leaves off the trees, making the weak ones fall gracefully to the dirt. Very few still held their green color as the temperature dropped, and summer began to say its official farewell. It was early October, and it had been a few weeks since Vector's party. Things had slowly but surely gotten back to normal around Green Hill Academy, people even felt comfortable enough to talk about the party—excluding the accident that costed Mellow Bee and Tommy Turtle their lives.

Matilda and Ray were still bed ridden at the hospital, but their recovery was coming along very well. The little yellow squirrel still couldn't speak, but his chest wound was healing up just fine. Occupational therapy was difficult for Matilda, as she found it very challenging to balance herself while she walked with missing limbs. Mighty had received a special pass from Principle Acorn, allowing him to leave school grounds to deliver his two siblings their homework, and visit whenever he needed. He made sure they kept up with their studies, and oversaw their recovery as much as he could when he wasn't at school or work.

Without her arms, Matilda couldn't do much for herself. She never allowed any of the hospital staff to bathe or feed her, because it made her feel ashamed. She would only let Mighty be her aide, so he made sure to visit at least six times a day, even if it was just for twenty minutes. Her ribs had been healing very well, but her mental state was at a loss. The poor girl found herself in a great depression over the loss of her extremities. She felt like a burden to her older brother, much more than she was before, but he didn't seem to mind at all. Mighty was always smiling.

In a strange turn of events, Silver had been the one avoiding Blaze, who was constantly looking for him. She distanced herself from Sonic since the party, and Amy had been ignoring her. She longed for a friend to talk to these past few weeks. Silver was always the place to go when there was nowhere else to turn, but for the first time ever he wasn't there for her to lean on.

Amy was still just as furious with the cat as she was that night at the party, although she did feel bad about striking her. The pink hedgehog had a very short fuse as Rob used to say. Even though she was so mad at Blaze, she couldn't help but miss her, and think it might have all been a misunderstanding. As for her and Sonic, they've been getting up there on the romance scale, but ever since the party Sonic has been a lot more distracted than usual.

Ever since the party, Sonic has put all his effort into getting Glasses-Girl to fall for him, just as he told Jet he would. Unfortunately, it wasn't going as easily as he assumed it would. He tried everything! The cool-guy act, the playboy charm, the bad-boy gimmick; but she just shut him down every time. It was really starting to work his nerves. He hated the way she brushed him off. A million girls would kill to get this kind of attention from him, but not Glasses-Girl. He wasn't gonna give up though, not with his reputation on the line.

Sally had been so frustrated these last few weeks. Fiona had been kicking her out of the dorm constantly so that she could cry in secret—even though her sobs echoed outside the door, and that blue hedgehog just wouldn't leave her alone! Why couldn't he just take the hint that she wanted nothing to do with a guy like him? She couldn't stand him. The worst thing about him talking to her was how the girls in the room would burn holes into the back of her head with their death-glares, especially the purple cat and the pink hedgehog that sat behind them in English class. He made it impossible to be a fly on the wall.

Fiona hadn't spoken a word to Tails since the night of the party, much to his heartache. She was too devastated at the loss of her near four-year relationship, and disgusted by the oral sesh with Tails during her intoxicated state. Sure, he was a nice guy, but he was just a kid. She didn't mean to take things that far. The vixen had worked so hard to make Scourge hers, she couldn't stand the thought of them being over—or him moving on.

Tails was all out in love with Fiona Fox, he had a feeling he was from the first day he saw her, but that intimate night at the hotel confirmed it. He could sense that she felt something too, why else would she have done those things to him? Everyone always says your true feelings come out when you're drunk. She'd been keeping her distance since though, probably because of Sonia. The vixen's face was still severely bruised. It hurt him so much to see her all banged up. No one understood that he was okay with what they did. He might be thirteen physically, but mentally he was far older. He didn't want to be treated like a kid. The poor boy wondered when Fiona would come around. It broke his heart that she no longer replied to his notes.

Scourge was out doing what he did best, fucking people up, getting fucked up, and looking for girls to fuck. All these 'fucks' and he had none to give about his ex-girl. He felt like a bird freed from a cage he'd spent nearly all his life in. He almost forgot how awesome it was to be single, and how it felt to not be tied down by a paranoid bitch.

Mephiles was relieved that his friend had finally dropped the vixen, but took note of the feelings lurking beneath the surface. Sure he was glad to be single, and living out loud, but beneath the happy features of his face lied an unmistakable look of fear that Mephiles couldn't figure out. Scourge was like the ultimate puzzle, he had so much emotion to every subtle movement, but at the same time he was so hard to read. The dark hedgehog was perplexed, there wasn't anyone he couldn't figure out—except for Scourge the Hedgehog.

Silver had been avoiding Blaze, knowing that if he even looked at her he might fall back under her wondrous spell. It was tearing him up inside just ignoring her. She'd leave voicemails and messages constantly, begging him to meet up. It was hard letting her go, but he knew she only wanted him because she needed someone. He wasn't gonna be her white knight anymore, he deserved better.

Sonia had completely shut down her social-side. She merely went to class, came back to her dorm, and slept. She rarely spoke to anyone, and if she did it would only be three words at the most. The loss of Knuckles had really did a number on her. She didn't even show up for volleyball practice anymore, resulting in her being cut from the team. The poor hedgehog was just a shell of her former self.

Rouge felt a little guilty, watching her roommate do nothing more than sulk. Of course she wanted Knuckles to herself, she always has, but she didn't mean for it to go down that way. The shitty part was that Knuckles hadn't really spoken to her since the party either. In fact, he's been spending more time with his old friends than his current ones lately.

Knuckles couldn't have been happier. He was finally back with Team Chaotix, more importantly his best friend Julie-Su. He didn't realize just how badly he missed her company until back in her presence. They'd play football together, hangout at lunch, and joke around just like they used to. Knuckles couldn't even begin to fathom how he ever got along in life without her.

Julie-Su was in much better spirits than when she first arrived to Green Hill Academy. She never dreamed in a million years that she and Knuckles would ever be as close as they were back in the day, but this school has been nothing but surprises. Although ecstatic about how things have gone so far, a little piece of her was dreading how it might all end once he learned the truth.

Elias had been getting along relatively well. Even though he swore he was done with her, the squirrel couldn't help but worry about his old best friend. He'd seen her trudge through the hallways with the most pained expressions. She looked so sad, like she needed someone. It was breaking his heart, not being able to sweep her off her feet like he used to. He didn't know how long he could keep this up. He heard about what happened between her and Knuckles at the party, and it only made him feel worse.

Shadow had felt very remorseful and guilt-ridden about spiking the punch that resulted in the accident. It didn't help that Mighty's locker was the one right next to his. He'd listen to the armadillo tell his friends of how worried he was about his little sister, and how the crash had changed her physically and mentally. Guilt ate away at his very soul as he remembered being in a position similar to Mighty, watching someone he loved wither away.

Of course Manic felt bad about spiking the punch, but he didn't dwell much on it like Shadow. His mind was off in outer space, just as it always was.

Every day Ray had been gone was another day Cream spent at their lockers alone. She was relieved to hear that he had made it out of surgery, and was making a good recovery. The thought of someone close to her dying devastated her. The only thing really troubling her now was the loneliness All of her friends were either mad at each other, or off doing their own thing. No one sat together anymore, leaving her all alone at their signature table.

Nicole and Shard linked up at the party just as he promised her on the bus. They really hit it off, and haven't stopped texting since. The lynx was so relieved to find someone who understood her culturally, and she didn't feel so alone anymore. Although Mina's racial intolerant schemes grew worse and worse each day, Nicole felt like she could handle it, as long as Shard was in her life.

Wave wasn't quite sure what had gone on between her roommates at the party, but the tension in their dorm was pretty easy to define. She felt bad for Blaze, the only one of her roommates that she could tolerate. The poor cat seemed so depressed.

Jet had been counting the days until Sonic payed up. He couldn't wait to laugh in the blue hedgehog's face. He'd been thinking about it nonstop since they made the bet. Every text, or video of the chipmunk rejecting or dissing Sonic in class had the hawk throwing himself on the floor. He couldn't wait to deal the final blow to Sonic's ego, sending him straight down the social-latter he worked so hard to climb.

Storm was extremely upset about the outcome of the drinking game. He didn't like losing, especially to Knuckles. He's tried several times to challenge the echidna to other things, but he always declined, too busy hanging out with his pals. The bird couldn't wait to take him down once the next challenge surfaced.

Although his body was healing, Ray's speech wasn't coming along at all. It horrified him to think that he'd never be able to speak again, to not be able to make his locker-buddy laugh anymore. His locker-buddy, Cream. He missed her company so much. He thought about her a lot while lying in his hospital bed, wondering if that boy Tails ever told her she was beautiful at the party like she wanted. Although it pained him a bit, he hoped so, because he wouldn't be able to tell her she was beautiful anymore…

* * *

 **This was a short chapter updating you on what everyone's been up to since the party. A few clarifications:**

 **-Sally and Sonic have never met before, but he did go to the same middle school with Nicole, Rotor, Antoine and Bunnie.**

 **-There is a reason Sally wears glasses, it will be explained eventually.**

 **-Mellow Bee was from the old Archie Comics. He was Charmy's friend, and ironically he died of an LSD overdose in the comics. Tommy Turtle was the first friend Sonic and the Freedom Fighters ever saw die during battle in the old Archie Comics.**

 **-Shard is from the comics, he's the original Metal Sonic from Sonic CD (Just wiki him!) NO ONE IS A FAN CHARACTER.**

 **-I've been getting A LOT of hate for certain pairings/ potential pairings, and all I have to say is NOTHING IS SET IN STONE. Everything has the potential to change, this is not your average high school story where Amy just walks through the door and everyone is madly in love. This story is realistic, controversial, and centers around more than just one person. It's like actual high school. Like I've stated before, this story is not for everyone, you don't have to read it.**

 **Review Replies:**

 **ZeroPhoneix230: If you're talking about Ray, yes he miraculously came back from death! BUT, he didn't come back unscathed. His brain was cut off from oxygen for so long he damaged the part of the brain that induces speech, thus resulting in him being mute. Stranger things have happened in real life lol. **

**Nebula The Hedgehog: Silver goes through some things, but nothing like that. The story takes a more realistic approach than other high school stories. No one falls madly in love at first sight, no one is perfect, and no couple is guaranteed. The fun part about this story is that you never know where it's going. You'll just have to stay tuned and find out. But, there is a goth/emo-styled character that has yet to be introduced.**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Shadow breaks, and Manic snaps**

 **Rouge confronts her party-lover**

 **Blaze receives an unexpected kiss**

 **Fate brings Silver back to a familiar place**

 **Ray has a visitor**

 **Sonic shows a desire to settle down, but with whom?**

 **Thank you guys for the love and support! I've got nearly 3,000 views on this story! Thanks a ton!**


	14. Chapter 14

**WARNING: Homosexual scene approaching (Just warning you homophobes) and bullying.**

 **Song: Escape the Fat- Harder Than You Know**

* * *

 **Chapter 14: Strained Relationships**

 _C'mon Cindy, you know you wanna hang out with me! Just say yes!_

 _No thanks, and for the last time,_ _ **IT'S SALLY!**_

 _Right. But seriously, you'd love me if you got to know me._

 _I seriously doubt that. What's with the sudden interest anyway?_

 _Sudden? I've been interested since I saw you._

 _Yeah right, I'm 'Plain-Jane the Freshmen' remember?_

 _I was just kidding Cindy._

 _Just leave me alone._

Sonic had been passing notes like this to Sally for about three weeks now. The chipmunk wanted nothing more than to just be left alone, but he was persistent. He was not going to lose this bet with Jet, not with his reputation on the line. One way or another he was going to get Glasses-Girl to fall for him, just like the rest of 'em.

He glanced over at her, scoping her up and down as she sat beside him in English class. Chaos, she was unappealing. Her gigantic glasses took up half her face, and made her eyes look huge. She wore extra-baggy clothes, with no figure to show for. She was so plain looking, not his type at all. Her only physical redeeming qualities were that her eyes were a beautiful sapphire color, and that she smelt good, like lavender.

"Stop staring at me please." She whispered to him, a red glow of embarrassment forming on her face.

"Can't help it." He lied, "You're just too cute."

The blush on her face only burned deeper as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat, "Just stop okay?"

"Not until you agree to hang out with me." He grinned evilly.

Amy sat behind the blue hedgehog, trying so hard to listen to what that chipmunk girl was whispering to him, but couldn't focus with Ms. Breezie's lecturing. She whipped out her cellphone, making sure to be stealthy as she texted under her desk. A second later, Sonic felt the buzz of his phone in his pocket.

 ** _Amy:_** _Is she being a jerk again?_

 ** _Sonic:_** _Nah. I just needed some notes._

 ** _Amy:_** _Oh, well I could give you the notes if you need them. You don't have to force yourself to talk to her._

 ** _Sonic:_** _It's cool. We've gotta learn to get along sometime right?_

 ** _Amy:_** _I guess, considering you have to be desk-buddies for the rest of the year._

 ** _Amy:_** _She just better play nice with my Sonikku._

 ** _Sonic:_** _Heh. Speaking of desk-buddies, what's with you and Blaze? You guys aren't fighting are you?_

 ** _Amy:_** _Not exactly, just not talking right now._

 ** _Sonic:_** _Well, if it came down to it you know she'd beat you hands down in a cat fight right? Lol_

 ** _Sonic:_** _Just kidding, but seriously Ames, I don't want my two best gals fussing over stupid shit. You two better kiss and make up (Preferably in front of me)_

 ** _Amy:_** _Haha, very funny. Honestly, I don't want to talk to her._

 ** _Sonic:_** _Why though?_

 ** _Amy:_** _Girl stuff._

 ** _Sonic:_** _That's such a bullshit answer._

 ** _Sonic:_** _I get it, you don't want to tell me. Seriously though, work it out please. For me._

The pink hedgehog looked over at the purple cat taking notes beside her. There was a sad aura just glowing around her. As much as Amy was upset at her friend's sneaky attempts on Sonic at the party, she was willing to make peace, mainly because he asked.

 ** _Amy:_** _I guess I could try…_

 ** _Sonic:_** _That's my girl! We're still on for tonight right?_

 ** _Amy:_** _Of course!_

Sonic slid his phone back into his pocket with a big grin on his face thinking about sneaking out with Amy tonight.

* * *

"Tilly's been real down lately. I feel like I've just been watching her spirit slowly fade away. She hardly talks anymore." Mighty explained to Espio, "I feel so helpless. I want to help her so badly, but I barely know what to say to her."

The two boys were standing by their lockers. Beside them with ears pointed up listening in was their locker neighbor, Shadow. He had his locker door open, pretending to search for books as he once again listened to Mighty discuss the deteriorating mental health of his sister. Guilt shot through his heart like a giant arrow made of green energy. If he weren't already on his knees, he would have collapsed from the razor sharp pain in his chest. He didn't mean for anyone to get hurt that night.

"Yo, ready for art?" A voice asked him.

He looked up to see Manic standing beside him, one foot kicked back against the lockers, and his arms crossed. Shadow shook himself out of his thoughts before standing up and dusting himself off. He glanced over to where the chameleon and armadillo had been conversing, only to see they were already gone. He must have gotten lost in thoughts again.

"His sister is real messed up." Shadow mumbled, barely audible.

"What?" Manic asked, raising an eyebrow. "Who are you talking about?"

" **THE GIRL WE NEARLY KILLED!** " He yelled, losing his cool. Manic quickly grabbed him by the shoulders, ushering him to calm down.

"Dude, chill out!" The green hedgehog demanded.

"We have to tell him." The ebony hedgehog shook his head frantically, "We have to tell him we're the ones who spiked the punch, the ones who nearly cost his siblings their lives, and killed the others."

"You don't know what you're saying right now." Manic replied, "We could go to jail for life dude. They'd never let you serve in the military then."

"We have to tell…" Shadow continued, "If something like that happened to Maria I'd—"

"Who the hell is Maria?" Manic questioned, "Look, we didn't kill or injure anyone. They did it to themselves, alright? We didn't shove anyone in the car, we didn't run the light. They did!"

"What if it was Scourge?" Shadow piped up in anger, "You'd care then, right?"

Manic's eyes widened in shock, taken completely by surprise at that name escaping Shadow's mouth. His grip on his friend's shoulders grew increasingly tight, digging his nails in as he clenched his teeth in anger. With a bit of force, he shoved Shadow down the hallway, making him fall clean on his back in front of the few passing students. People gasped in shock, while some simply turned to watch.

"Fuck you." The green hedgehog said, heaving with anger. "You don't know shit!"

With that, Manic just walked off. Shadow sat up from the ground, watching his friend stomp down the hall as he tried to process what happened. Apparently, he'd struck a nerve, making him a bit more curious.

"Are you okay?" Shadow looked up to see a familiar yellow cat extending her hand out to him. He took it, allowing her to help him off the floor.

"I'm fine." He replied, dusting himself off while avoiding the gaze of the girl he'd been ignoring.

* * *

After some navigating, Cream found herself in front of hospital residency room E102. She took a deep breath, preparing herself to see her good friend in a less than prime condition. She opened the door to see the squirrel lying in his bed with his eyes closed. The bed beside him was empty, his sister must have been in occupational therapy at the moment. The little rabbit tip-toed her way toward his side, examining his features. She smiled to herself upon seeing his sweet face, thanking Chaos that he was alright.

She set the flowers down on the bedside table, and tied the little blue balloon to his bed post. She wished he was awake so she could talk to him, but seeing him was just as good. It took a lot of pleading with Principle Acorn to get the special outing pass.

She whispered goodbye to the sleeping squirrel, before brushing the back of her hand up against his cheek. The thought of never being able to see his face again was so terrifying, she was so grateful he was okay. Soon after her hand made contact with his cheek, his eyes began to lazily flutter open. They were met by Cream's warm chocolate-colored ones. He quickly sat up, blushing madly at the physical contact. He tried to spit out words, but no sound came out.

Cream tilted her head in confusion before remembering how she overheard one of his friends say he couldn't speak. Her ears quickly perked up as an idea came to her mind. She pulled out a dry erase board and a marker from the yellow bag she'd been carrying and handed them over.

"I heard you couldn't speak, so I brought this to communicate." She smiled, "Sorry I woke you."

He nodded, taking the board and pen from her. He quickly popped the cap off the marker and began scribbling something down. Once he was done, he held it up to her.

 _How did you get here? How did you know where I was?_

"I got a special pass from Principle Acorn to come see you, and my mom drove me here. I sort of heard some of your friends talking—well I was kind of eavesdropping…" She admitted, feeling a bit ashamed. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to know if you were okay."

 _It's okay Cream. I'm glad you're here._

"Me too. I really miss you being by my locker every day."

 _I do too. It gets kind of lonely here. I can't wait to get back to school._

"I'm sorry all of this happened…" The rabbit sighed, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Bad things shouldn't happen to good people."

 _If you ask me, I got off pretty easy. Sure, I died for a little while, but I came back in one piece. Tommy and Mellow didn't._

"It's just so sad." She shook her head, tears threatening to spill over.

 _Did you find the guy you were looking for that night? Tails?_

"No." Cream shook her head, "I spent the whole night looking for him, but I wish I would have found you."

Ray just smiled at the rabbit. He didn't expect to see her, but he was so glad she came. Just knowing that she thought about him made his heart throb with joy. Cream brought out feelings in him he didn't quite understand. He didn't feel happy at finding a new friend, like when he met Mighty. This was different, more personal, and more emotionally-driven. Kind of like…love.

* * *

It was lunch time now. After trying and failing once more at locating Silver, the purple cat decided to just wait out the intermission in her room. It had been weeks since she'd spoken to Silver and Amy, her two closest friends, and she'd been ignoring Sonic as well. She wasn't mad at the blue hedgehog, she just wanted to distance herself a bit, hoping the time apart would cure her broken heart and rid her of the feelings that caused the rift between her and Amy.

Alas, the time apart wasn't helping one bit. She still found herself thinking of Sonic every now and then. This crush was ruining her life. Not only did he flat out tell her he didn't reciprocate the feelings, they also threatened her relationship with Amy, and made her unknowingly push away Silver. Her mind was telling her to stop, she didn't want to like him, but her heart was being so stubborn.

Tears weld in her eyes as she walked down the hallway to her room, thinking about how neglectful she'd been toward Silver, and how unfair she'd been to Amy; all because she had a stupid crush. Before anyone could spot her tearing up, she immediately unlocked the door to her room and pounced on her bed, making sure to slam the door shut behind her. She quickly threw her head onto a pillow to muffle her sobs.

The slam of the door caused the girl in the bed across from hers to jump in fright. Wave had been in the room as well, and was now watching the crying Blaze. She felt bad for the cat. The girl had been nothing but tears and depression ever since the stupid party, and that annoying pink roommate only seemed to make it worse. Wave sighed before getting up and walking over toward the cat. She took a seat on the bed beside her, causing Blaze to jump up.

"Wave?" She gasped as she sat up and wiped her tears away, "I'm so sorry. I didn't know you were here."

"Don't worry about it." Wave told her, putting a comforting hand on the cat's shoulder. "What's going on Blaze? You're not acting like the badass chick who killed it on the track field from last year."

"It's nothing, really." The cat lied.

"So you're crying like a baby for nothing?" The bird asked sarcastically, "I've seen the way Pinky's been giving you the cold shoulder. Something happen between you two at the party?"

Blaze lifted a hand to her cheek, remembering the cold slap Amy delivered to her that night. It sent a shiver down her spine. She never pegged the pink hedgehog to be so aggressive. "We're just going through some stuff right now."

"I think I get it." Wave nodded as she pieced things together, "Don't let it get you down though, shit happens."

"I just wished I was someone else…" The feline sobbed, "Maybe then Amy would—"

" **DON'T!** " Wave scolded, "Don't ever wish you were someone else for the sake of another, especially a dumb brat like her. No one can help who they are, so just be yourself, even if it upsets everyone else. Go for what you want. At the end of the day it's your life."

The cat just nodded. The swallow was right, she shouldn't have to change herself or hide her true feelings because it's inconvenient for others. She can't help who she loves, it's not a choice. If Amy was her real friend she'd understand. Thanks to Wave's encouraging words, she decided that she'd tell Amy how she felt about Sonic the next time she saw her.

"You really think that Wave?" Blaze asked.

Blaze looked up at Wave with her big beautiful eyes, wearing a hopeful expression. Wave simply put a hand to her cheek, leaning closer before crashing her lips on to the cat's. The feline's eyes widened in shock before she shoved the swallow away, immediately breaking the kiss.

" **WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?** " Blaze yelped, blushing madly.

"Wait…you're not gay?" The swallow asked in confusion.

* * *

"Hey!" Rouge shouted, grabbing the red echidna by the arm. "I need to talk to you."

Knuckles turned around to be greeted by Rouge's scowling face. He'd been purposely avoiding her since the party.

"Can't, gotta go meet up with Julie." He shrugged her off, but her grip found his arm again.

"You can't just keep avoiding me." She growled, "Enough with the games Knucklehead, be a man."

"What do you want from me?"

"I wanna know where we stand."

"Um, on the ground?" He replied obnoxiously, pulling away from her to turn around and face her completely.

"I mean us idiot." She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Us? There's no us Rouge." He shook his head, "I was drunk, you were drunk, that's all."

"It wasn't like that and you know it." She pointed an accusing finger into his chest.

Before they knew it, eyes from all over the hallway had started drifting to them, soon followed by silence, amplifying their aggressive tones.

"It doesn't matter." He swatted her hand away in annoyance, "I was messed up! It was wrong, and I shouldn't have done it."

"That's such bullshit." Rouge crossed her arms, "You think you could just erase everything that went on before little Julie-Slut came back in the picture?"

"Don't talk about her that way." Knuckles shot back, "Just hop off, and get the fuck over me already."

"You just think she's so damn perfect." The bat shook her head before walking down the hallway.

* * *

Nicole stood outside the library, leaning against the wall with her phone in hand as she texted her new friend to hurry up. Shard promised he'd meet her at the library so they could go grab lunch, but of course he was running late. She smiled to herself, his snarky messages were very humorous. She found his playful attitude quite charming.

She was so happy to have met him. Although most people wished the night of Vector's party had never happened, she didn't feel that way. If it hadn't happened, she wouldn't have met Shard.

As she began replying to his last message, her phone was slapped up and out of her hands. She gasped as it crashed to the floor with a thud. As she kneeled to pick it up, a three inch high-heel slammed down onto it, completely shattering the screen.

"Why did you do that?" She cried, looking up to see her tormentor, Mina Mongoose.

"Just saving Mobius from another terrorist attack." The mongoose smiled, flipping her long lavender-colored hair. "What were you doing? Calling your little Nanite buddy to plan another school shooting?"

" **I'M NOT A TERRORIST!** " Nicole shouted, standing up from the floor. "I've lived in Mobius my whole life!"

"Nanites shouldn't be allowed in this country at all." She huffed, crossing her arms. "My father fought in the Great War!"

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" The lynx cried, shoving the mongoose out of her face.

" **EW!** " Mina screeched, swatting Nicole's face. "Don't ever touch me you disgusting Nanite! Just go back to your own filthy country already!" The mongoose quickly reached for Nicole's raven-colored hair, and yanked out the sacred DigItalian beads, tossing them to the floor before walking off.

Nicole erupted in tears as she scattered to pick up her beads in a panic. She sniffled and sobbed lightly, no longer able to bear the cruelty of Mina's racist remarks. That is, until Shard cupped her face in his hands, before hugging her tightly. "Nicole, it's alright…I'm here now."

* * *

It was extremely late, definitely passed curfew when Amy snuck passed Ms. Vanilla and out of the dormitory. She dove into the bushes outside, waiting for Zonic and the other campus security officers to make their rounds before sneaking off toward the football field. It felt so naughty, sneaking out in the middle of the night to rondevu with her crush, but it felt so right all the same.

Tonight was very important to her. Tonight she was going to try to move things to the next level. She was going to ask him to make her his girlfriend.

Before heading under the bleachers—the spot they chose to meet up at—she dusted the stray leaves off of her clothes and fixed her hair. She wore a cute pink romper with white poke-a-dots, and some white sandals. She tied her quills back in a messy bun before tip-toeing underneath the bleachers.

Sonic was laying on a blue blanket he put out on the ground for them. He had his eyes closed, and was seemingly asleep. Amy snuck her way over to him, staring at him adoringly with a big smile. Much unlike herself, the blue hedgehog decided to sport his pajamas. Some plaid red and black pants with a gray hoodie, and worn out old socks. She kneeled quietly beside him, admiring the attractive sleeping hedgehog. She reached out to touch him, but her wrist was grabbed, and she was pulled on top of him.

"Sonic!" She whispered harshly, surprised by the quick reflex.

"Shouldn't sneak up on me like that." He grinned, they're jade eyes meeting as their faces were mere inches apart.

"Sorry." She blushed at the closeness.

He replied by holding her body tightly above his before kissing her soft pink lips, "I'm not." He joked once he pulled away. She just smiled before kissing him again...

* * *

Silver couldn't sleep, he just couldn't shake the constant negative thoughts out of his head tonight. Although he knew he'd get in trouble, he decided to take a walk around campus to cool himself off. He snuck out of his dorm, and passed Mr. Ash at the front desk before exiting the dormitory into the cool night. He walked around, being extra cautious to avoid campus security. Upon seeing that the door to the electives building was open, he took the opportunity to sneak inside. The school was so different at night, it was so quiet and calming. He soon found himself in the dimly light auditorium.

The white hedgehog got onto the stage, looking around at the props and empty seats. In the corner of the stage, he noticed a large old piano. His mother taught him how to play when he was young, he picked it up pretty quickly, but didn't do much with the talent. Music wasn't a passion, but it was something he was gifted in. He played piano, guitar, violin, saxophone, and even sang. Much to the dismay of his parents, he was more interested in graphic design and comic books.

Before he knew it he was sitting at the piano, and had lifted the lid up. He fumbled a bit before getting the tune he wanted, then he began to sing from the soul.

 _You said this could only get better  
There's no rush 'cause we have each other  
You said this would last forever  
But now I doubt if I was your only lover_

 _Are we just lost in time?_  
 _I wonder if your love's the same_  
 _'Cause I'm not over you_

Once again Fiona had kicked Sally out of their room, leaving her nowhere to go. She didn't feel like crashing on one of the couches in the lounge—not just yet at least—so she decided to go on a stroll. The chipmunk too noticed the open door to the electives building, and quickly snuck inside. She wanted another chance at being up on stage, when no one was around to stare.

Just as she made her way toward the auditorium her ears picked up on a somewhat familiar voice. She followed it, leading her inside. As she made her way down the aisle, she watched the hedgehog boy in awe as he sang from his heart. His eyes were closed as his fingers moved swift across the piano keys. His voice cracked a bit, as he was losing his composure, emotions overflowing from his heart; but his singing was beautiful all the same.

 _And if you don't want me than  
I guess I'll have to go  
Not loving you is harder than you know_

Silver ceased his singing, unable to bear the emotions and images of Blaze fluttering through his mind. When he opened his eyes they caught sight of a pair of sapphire ones staring back at him. He yelped, jumping up from the piano in fright. He thought he'd been caught by security, but saw that it was only the auburn-haired girl.

"Oh thank Chaos." He breathed in relief, holding his chest. "It's only you."

"Sorry to frighten you." She apologized, "I just heard your voice and…you're astounding!"

"Thanks." He smiled, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "I was probably a bit rusty, haven't played in so long. So what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"I could ask you the same thing." She smiled, hopping up and taking a seat on the stage. "My roommate kicked me out, and I'm not tired."

"Too much on your mind?" He asked, taking a seat next to her.

"Yeah." She nodded, "You too?"

"Yeah." He agreed. "Just having some problems."

"With a girl you like?"

"How'd you know?"

"I could hear it in your song." She explained, "Someone broke your heart."

"Well, yeah." He sighed. "She was my best friend for years, then this new guy came into her life and ruined everything. I feel completely pushed out. I didn't even get a chance to tell her how I feel."

"What kind of guy is he?"

"A freaking jerk! Thinks he's so damn cool, and thinks he's the hottest guy in the world." Silver rolled his eyes at the thought of the blue hedgehog.

"This school seems to have a lot of those." Sally sighed, rolling her eyes at the thought of the same blue hedgehog.

"I just don't know what to do. I still like her, but she's all about him…"

"Just give it time." Sally put a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Guys like him always screw up somehow, and it's guys like you that end up sweeping the girl off her feet."

"Thanks." He smiled, "So what's troubling you tonight?"

"Oh, it's nothing important." She waved in dismissal.

"C'mon, you gave me some advice, let me give you some in return."

"Well…" Sally began, "There's this guy who keeps passing me notes in one of my classes. He wants to get to know me, and hangout, but I keep rejecting him. He just seems like such a pompous asshole, completely not my type at all."

"Maybe you should give him a chance." Silver shrugged, "You're only seeing one side of him, the side your perception has created. Maybe you're completely wrong, and he's the prince charming you've been looking for your whole life."

Sally nodded, taking his words into consideration. Maybe Silver was right, maybe there was more to the boy in English class than what appeared. His advice is what led her to the decision that next time Sonic asked to hangout, she'd say yes. The two continued talking on the stage for a bit, until Sally realized it had gotten incredibly late.

"Oh no!" She yelped, dashing for the door. "It's crazy late! Get back to your dorm before my mom kills you! Bye!" With that she vanished.

"Hey wait!" Silver reached out, "Shoot. Didn't get to ask her name."

* * *

Sonic and Amy had been lying under the bleachers for hours. Talking, kissing, and more kissing. The blue hedgehog grew quite restless. He hadn't seen much action since the one night he spent with Blaze last summer. He tried to go a bit further each time Amy pressed her body on his. He tried to snake a hand up her thigh, but her stupid attire wasn't allowing any further access. Amy could tell he was growing frustrated, and felt a little embarrassed. She was very relieved she wore the romper, otherwise she would have been very clueless as to what came after kissing.

After some time, he'd given up and opted to just lay beside her as she cuddled him. They both looked out into the darkness as they spoke.

"Why do you like so much Ames?" He asked curiously.

"Because you're the greatest." She smiled.

"I know that." He chuckled, "But what made you realize it?"

"Definitely that day you came to my rescue."

"What day was that?"

"I was sitting on the curb outside. It was raining hard, and my parents had kicked me out of the house so they could argue. I was cold, and crying. Then you came along, and handed me a green umbrella. I still have it. You told me I should get inside before running off back to your house. From that day forth, I knew I wanted to be your girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" Sonic grinned, eyeing Amy in the darkness.

She gasped, realizing that she'd just let it slip out without thinking. Her face turned red with embarrassment as she covered it with her hands.

He didn't remember that day, but it sounds like something he would do. His mother didn't nickname him 'Hero' for nothing. He was always trying to save the day somehow, especially back then.

He weighed Amy's girlfriend proposition carefully in his mind. She adored him forever, and whenever he was with her he felt like king of everything—the complete opposite feeling he got from Glasses-Girl. He never would have thought of himself with Amy, ever. She was such a pest back in the day, but now she's a hottie-with-a-body, and completely devoted to him. She practically met all his ideal-girlfriend requirements, all but the ones about having D-Cup breasts, and never addressing him as Sonikku. Still, she was a near perfect fit for him.

"Do you think people would think we look cute together?" He asked her half-jokingly.

" **DUH!** " She laughed, "We'd be the cutest and most popular couple in the entire school! We'd even outshine Knuckles and Sonia—if they were still together I mean. I'm sure people have been waiting for us to get together for centuries!"

"Yeah." Sonic agreed laughing. "Maybe they won't have to wait much longer."

"Re-Really?" She stammered hopeful.

"Yep." He nodded, "I just need to consult my best gal pal about it."

He never had an actual relationship before, just a few flings here and there. He wanted this to be serious though. Amy wasn't just any girl, she was a good friend. It was his junior year, and the only thing he hadn't done yet was have a serious thing with someone. He's just never found the right girl with enough social status, or one that was appealing more than just physically. Amy however, is extremely popular and made him feel so important. She could be the perfect candidate, but he needed a second opinion from someone whose opinion actually mattered to him.

Someone like Blaze the Cat.

* * *

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy**

 **A piece of Shadow's tragic past is revealed**

 **Manic's rebel past and connection with Scourge are revealed**

 **Julie-Su finally reveals why she left**

 **Sonic backs Sally up into a corner**

 **And more...**

 **Leave a review and let me know what you thought of this chapter!**

 **Fun Question: What do you think Nicole should do in her situation?**


	15. Chapter 15

**WARNING: Brief mention of rape and a sexually transmitted disease**

* * *

 **Chapter 15: Revelations**

 _'Last night was a little bizarre, but I'm not gonna complain, especially because I got one of my best friends back!_

 _I don't know where she went, but she came back to the dorm covered in grass stains around four in the morning. I was asleep when she snuck over to my bed and gently shook me awake._

 _I fluttered my eyes open to see her kneeling by my bed all teary-eyed. She started whispering how sorry she was that she struck me, and how badly she missed my company._

 _I apologized too, and welcomed her into my bed. She was freezing cold. We talked until the sun came up. It was the perfect time to tell her how I felt about Sonic, but I didn't. Instead I blamed my behavior on the spiked punch. I realize that Amy is much more important to me._

 _Although I still hold these strong feelings, I don't want to pursue anything with Sonic. Not if it means I have to lose my best friends._

 _Now all I need to do is apologize to Silver, if I can ever find him first.'_

Blaze smiled happily to herself as she and Amy entered their English class with linked arms. The aura of sadness no longer surrounded her. She was all giggles and smiles today. Sonic noticed the two stroll into the classroom together in much better spirits than yesterday. He smirked, giving Amy a wink as thanks for patching things up with the cat.

Then he turned his attention to the auburn-haired girl beside him. It's been weeks since he made that bet with Jet, and so far he hadn't been successful at **ANYTHING**! She just would not give him the time of day, and it drove him mad. He was going nowhere fast, but Jet's mocking and annoying laughter were enough to fuel his drive and persistence.

"Hey Cin—I mean Sally." He corrected, putting on his most charming smirk, "If you're not busy today I was thinkin' we could hang."

"No thanks." She shrugged.

He just gritted his teeth while he nodded in understanding. Chaos, this girl was pissing him off so badly. He worked so hard to build his name from the ground up, and here she was swinging in like a wrecking ball to destroy it all.

"Today I'm going to give you a partner assignment." Ms. Breezie spoke as she had her back toward the students, writing out instructions on the chalk board.

Amy giggled to herself, eyeing the blue hedgehog in front of her. Shadow and Manic eyed each other from across the room, but both quickly turned away with a grimace. Silver could only watch Blaze from way back across the room with hopeful eyes. He prayed Sonic couldn't get to her first from wherever he was sitting. There were so many students in the class it was hard to tell who was who, and who sat where.

"To make things easier, your partner will be your desk-companion." The teal teacher added, smirking to herself as she heard a few disapproving sounds.

Blaze squealed with joy as Amy gave an awkward smile, masking her disappointment at not being paired with Sonic. What ticked her off even more was that her poor blue hero was paired with that chipmunk girl. Silver sighed in disappointment before looking over at the green hedgehog sitting next to him.

"C'mon, I'm not that bad!" Manic chuckled.

"Oh no! I'm sorry!" Silver quickly apologized, "I just…thought I'd get paired with someone else."

"Sorry I'm not someone else." The green hedgehog shrugged, "My name's Manic though. I don't think I've mentioned that, we've been sitting together for a while. You new?"

"I'm Silver, just transferred this year." The white hedgehog smiled. This guy seemed really cool.

Shadow just looked over at his partner, the smiling yellow cat. She looked thrilled, while he put his head down on the desk and grumbled. Her upbeat childish manner was so nerve-working. She wasn't a fan of his withdrawn quiet nature either but he was hot so she wasn't complaining.

Mina looked over at her partner, Rosy. The yellow mongoose felt a shiver go down her spine at the sight of the pink hedgehog. Rosy was a quiet one, but always wore a terrifying scowl that kept people away, not to mention that she was rumored to be batshit crazy. No one ever talked to her, no one ever wanted to be near her. Her quills were short in the back, but long in the front, mimicking a bob-cut hairstyle. She had quills swept across her forehead, shielding one of the eyes she heavily outlined in black eyeliner. Her clothes were all black, and she had bike chains wrapped around her arms like decoration. Mina quickly averted her eyes, exhaling in frustration at the pairing.

"You'll each have to write a short story based on your partner's personality." Breezie explained, "For example; I'm very cunning and persuasive. One could write a story about me building up my own multi-million dollar company. Your story must be based off your partner. Since I'm a good judge of character, believe me when I say I'll know if you just made something up."

"What if we don't know our partner?" Silver asked.

"The whole point of this project is to get to know them." Breezie smiled.

"What if you already know them?" Amy asked.

"Then learn something new." Breezie shrugged.

"What if you don't want to know them?" Mina asked rudely.

"Then you fail." The teacher answered back in the same rude tone.

Sally just sank in her seat. It seemed that her days of avoiding the blue hedgehog's requests of hanging out were at an end. She looked over to him, only to see that he'd already been staring at her with a victorious smirk.

"Guess we'll be hanging out after all huh Cindy?"

"No." She retorted in annoyance, "Just text me some things about you and I'll come up with something."

"So…I get your number then?" He grinned.

"Ugh." She rolled her eyes.

* * *

Tails strolled down the hall with a sad expression. Fiona was still ignoring him, and it was taking a toll on his heart. He hadn't yet told her how he felt, but he wanted to so badly. He'd been scolded multiple times by Sonia and Sonic to stay away from her, but he couldn't help yearning for her touch again. The heart wants what the heart wants, even when your brother and sister don't like it.

He sighed to himself as he took a turn down the hall, heading over to history class. That's when he saw a familiar girl on the floor, struggling to pick her books up. He quickly rushed to her aid and helped pick up the books from the floor.

"Tails!" She gasped, startled by his sudden appearance.

"Hey Cream." He gave her a nonchalant smile that made her glow red, "What made you think you could carry all these text books at once?"

"Oh well, sometimes I forget Ray isn't here to help me carry my books to class." She put her head down in embarrassment as she scrambled to pick up the two remaining books before they stood up.

"Ray? The kid from the car crash?" Tails questioned, handing her the last of her books. "I didn't know you knew him."

"I just met him a few weeks ago. His locker's the one right below mine." She explained, "I actually saw him that night before the crash. Before I went off to look for you…" Her blush worsened as she steered closer and closer to the question she wanted to ask.

"You were looking for me that night?" Tails tilted his head, "I was with uhhh, a friend." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, averting his eyes from her. A lot of people knew what happened between him and Fiona, thanks to Sonia blurting it out. Some people didn't though, and he was hoping Cream was one of them.

"Oh." She nodded, "Well, I was wondering if you wanted to grab some lunch or—"

"I gotta go!" The yellow fox blurted as he saw Fiona strutting down the hall. He ran away so fast he didn't let poor Cream finish her sentence, and his abrupt speed toppled her over, spilling all her books back to the floor.

He skidded down the hall before following the red vixen out of the building. He lagged a long ways behind her, but he could spot her from miles away. Once he caught up to her, he noticed she was alone in the parking lot with some guy. He was leaning against a Hummer, Tails recognized him as that guy Sonic said was 'trouble'.

The green hedgehog wore an annoyed expression, and had his arms folded while averting his eyes from the pleading Fiona. She held on to one of his arms with both of her hands as she begged him for another chance.

"Please Baby, I love you so much. I'm so sorry, I was fucked up, and I didn't mean it." She whined.

"Don't care." He rolled his eyes.

"You know you do." She scolded him, "I'm your queen."

"You're nothing to me Fiona." He groaned, clearly uninterested.

She could tell she was losing this battle. He wasn't going to take her back. Luckily, she had a trump card. Scourge had a weakness, and as much as she hated to do it, she knew it would bring him to his knees. She pulled out the bow from her hair and undid her ponytail. She shook her head vigorously until her long hair was messily covering half her face. She pressed her body up to him, cupping his face in her hands, forcing him to look at her.

"My King…" She cooed adoringly, lightly pulling his face closer to hers.

He bit his lip in frustration. She knew he could never resist being called 'king', especially when she had her hair down like that. As much as he adored being single, he adored the assurance of sleeping with someone every night that a relationship brought more. He just shrugged his shoulders, leaning toward her in defeat.

" **NO!** " Tails cried out, stepping out from behind one of the cars. "Fiona don't…don't go back to him."

The two ex-lovers whipped their heads around to see a frantic Tails. His blue pleading eyes fixed on Fiona, begging her to step away. She had no idea he'd been following her, and was furious.

"What are you doing here!?" She scolded.

Tails' reemergence quickly snapped Scourge out of the trance he was under. He quickly shoved Fiona back, mentally scolding himself for almost falling back in.

"Really Fi?" He snapped at her.

"Fiona, he's a bad guy." Tails tried to explain, "My brother told me he was a jerk!"

"Your brother's full of shit." Scourge grumbled. "I'm out. This is stupid." With that, Scourge walked back toward the main building, leaving the two foxes by themselves. Fiona was fuming.

" **YOU RUINED EVERYTHING**!" She screamed at Tails, "I almost had him back!"

"He's not good for you." The yellow fox told her, stepping closer to her. "He didn't treat you right. All he did was make you upset. You deserve so much more than what he gave you. You deserve to be treated like…like a queen." He found himself close enough to reach out to her.

She quickly swatted his hand away before delivering a back-eye inducing punch to the face. He flew across the parking lot, shocked at her action. He quickly cupped his face in sheering pain as he sat up. He instantly started to cry once her rings had made contact with his eye. He looked up at her, vision blurred by tears.

" **GO AWAY**." She growled at him, "I don't like you. I **NEVER** liked you. You just caught me at a bad time. Truth is, all the rumors you've heard, everything your brother's told you, it's all true. I'm a bitch, I'm mean, and I'll chew you up and spit you out."

"You're not like that." Tails sobbed refusing to believe it, "I know you're not."

"You're just a kid." She sighed in annoyance, "A pathetic one at that. Did you really think we could be something? Aren't you supposed to be smart? Whatever, I'm done with this. Don't ever come near me again." She shook her head before running off to look for Scourge.

Tails just sat in the parking lot, cupping his face in agony. He could feel the throbbing pain behind his eye, but it was nothing compared to the pain she inflicted on his heart. He didn't want to move, or get up. He just wanted to lay on the cold ground forever. He thought he could, until he felt someone pick him up by the arm. Through blurred vision he could only make out a green blob.

"Who are you?" He mumbled through sniffles.

"Don't worry." The voice was very feminine and calming, "I'm gonna get you to the nurse. My name is Cosmo."

* * *

Knuckles sighed heavily as he trudged over to the office where his presence was requested. He didn't know what for, only assuming that he was in some kind of trouble. When he got there, he set his bag down by the door and looked for a seat. The only available seat was next to a little girl sitting in the corner with a notebook and crayons.

"Hey." Knuckles smiled at her, "Can I sit here?"

She looked up with a big smiling, revealing she had a missing tooth. She looked to be about four or five years old, a little echidna girl with glasses. She wore a purple sundress, and cute white shoes. She looked Knuckles up and down before answering.

"My daddy says I'm not supposed to talk to strangers." She replied in a cute little kid voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Knuckles apologized.

"So what's your name?" She asked, tugging on the sleeve to his varsity jacket.

"It's Knuckles."

"Yay!" She clapped, "Now you're not a stranger no more." She quickly grabbed for his index finger and led him to the chair. "Wanna see my pictures?"

"Uh, okay." The red echidna couldn't help but chuckle at the cute little girl's logic.

She took a seat beside him, pulling out her notebook to show him her latest drawing. To him, it looked like nothing but colorful scribbles. She then explained to him that it was a picture of her and her parents.

"That's pretty." Knuckles complimented.

"Thank you." She smiled, "My mommy says I'm the best artist in the whole world."

"So what's your name anyway? Ms. Best Artist In The Whole World?"

"No Silly!" She giggled, "My name is Lara."

"Lara? That's a pretty name. It's my mom's name too."

A very tall, large, purple Tasmanian devil exited the principal's office. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose when he saw his daughter chatting some stranger's ear off…again.

"Lara." He hollered, walking over to the two echidna. She quickly perked up when she heard his voice.

"Daddy!" She screeched before jumping into his arms.

"What did I tell you about talking to strangers?" He scolded her lightly.

"I'm sorry." She pouted, "But he's not a stranger no more! I asked him his name. It's Knuckles!"

"Just because you ask someone their name doesn't mean they aren't strangers." He laughed before turning his attention to Knuckles, "Sorry about that man."

"Don't worry." Knuckles laughed, "She wasn't bothering me."

"The name's Thrash the Devil, and this is my daughter." He picked up the echidna girl and held her, "I just transferred here this morning so Lara could be closer to her mom. My fiancé's a student here."

"I wanna see Mommy!" Lara whined.

"Oh really?" Knuckles smiled, "Who's your fiancé—"

"Knuckles!" The receptionist called out, "Principal Acorn will see you now."

"Better go handle that Bud." Thrash nodded, "See ya' round!"

* * *

 ** _Manic:_** _Babe._

 ** _Rouge:_** _Hey Baby._

 ** _Manic:_** _Where you at?_

 ** _Rouge:_** _My room._

 ** _Manic:_** _Alone?_

 ** _Rouge:_** _Yeah, why?_

 ** _Manic:_** _I'll be there in three minutes._

 ** _Rouge:_** _Why? I don't know where Shadow is if that's what you want._

 ** _Manic:_** _Can't we be alone together just because?_

 ** _Rouge:_** _I'm not gonna sleep with you Manic._

 ** _Manic:_** _I didn't say all that! Lol, but if that's an offer…_

 ** _Rouge:_** _Don't get fresh with me._

 ** _Manic:_** _Girl just wait til I get ova there._

Not long after receiving his last text, Rouge jumped in fright as the same green hedgehog busted through her door. He shut it behind himself before leaping onto her bed. She let out a startled yelp as he kicked his shoes off and slid underneath her blanket. She had been laying down in her pajamas, a black tanktop and white shorts.

"Honey, I'm home!" He laughed, getting cozy in her blanket as she turned her back toward him.

"What are you doing here?" She asked

"Came to check on my baby girl." He grinned playfully, getting himself into a spooning position. "No one's seen you all day."

"I'm feeling sick." She lied, "Better not get too close."

"I don't mind sharing a few germs with you." He joked, wrapping both arms around her waist to pull her extra close. She just laughed as the green hedgehog held her in bed.

"You're something else." She shook her head as she giggled.

They've known of each other's existence for some time, but never talked until Shadow introduced them two years ago. Since then, they've become really good friends. She was the girl of his dreams; cunning, easy-going, and sexy as hell. Unfortunately, he was the furthest thing from the man of her dreams. He didn't dwell on it at all though, just being her friend was enough for him. If it weren't for his carefree nature, he'd probably be thirsting after her like Amy does Sonic.

"When is Knucklehead gonna smarten up?" Manic joked.

"Sometime soon I hope." She muttered, a little irritated at the mention. Manic always knew she had a thing for him, even before they became friends.

"Well I don't." He nuzzled his face in the crook of her neck, "I don't wanna share my Waifu!"

"Ew, stop!" She laughed, pushing him away playfully. "Sounds like something Amy would say if Sonic had a girlfriend."

"Oh Rougikku Senpai! Please notice me." Manic joked in a mock-Amy voice as he made kissy noises.

After sharing a few laughs, and some more teasing, the two just stood there in silence. They stared at the ceiling as they cuddled. Finally, Rouge spoke up.

"So what did you really come here for Manic?"

"To be honest? I wanted to know something."

"Something about what?"

"Shadow."

"You two have spent every single day of your lives together since you met. You probably know more than I do at this point, and we've been friends for years."

"Actually, I don't have a clue."

"Yeah right."

"I'm serious." Manic looked over at her, "He never talks about himself, neither do I. We don't know anything about each other really."

"So why not just ask him?"

"I can't." Manic sighed, "If I did, he'd ask me questions, and I can't give him answers."

"Why not?" Rouge asked in an irritated tone, "You know friendship is a two-way street right?"

"Truth is, I don't have any answers myself." He shrugged, sighing in what sounded like disappointment. "The other day he let a name slip that I don't think he meant for me to hear."

"What name?"

"Maria." He locked his arctic-blue eyes with her teal ones, "Who is that?"

Rouge shifted uncomfortably in bed, not quite sure how to respond. Surely Shadow didn't mean to let that name slip. "I don't know if I should tell you. I don't think he'd want me to."

"Please Rouge." Manic begged, "I wanna understand."

"It's serious." She shook her head, "It's not something he'd like people to know."

"I'm not just anybody." He replied, "I'm his best friend."

She sighed in defeat. "You can **NEVER** tell anyone, or let him know that you know this, got it?"

"I promise." He nodded.

"Maria Robotnik. She was Shadow's childhood friend, and only friend until I met them at Space Ark Academy four years ago—the high school we went to before coming here. If you ask me, I'd say he even had a little crush on her too." She bit her lip as she continued, "After what happened to her, Shadow changed. He withdrew himself from the world, and cut ties with almost all his emotions. It's like a part of him died. After approval from his father, my mother took him in as a foster child and transferred us here. I had to get him out of that school, it only broke him every day he had to walk into that damn building."

"What happened to her?" Manic asked curiously.

Rouge began to get visibly distressed, "She was raped by one of the school staff, and he gave her NIDs. She made me promise never to tell him, fearing that he might do something crazy. So we kept it a secret for months. In that time, her mental state started to deteriorate, and she pushed Shadow away—devastating him. She couldn't cope with what had happened to her, or the disease destroying her from the inside. She wanted out, she wanted freedom, but she wanted to go out on her own terms…" The bat began to sob, letting repressed tears burst from her eyes. "So she threw herself off the school roof, right in front of Shadow."

Manic instantly pulled Rouge into a hug. She sobbed frantically on his shoulder, clutching his shirt as tightly as she could. "He was never the same…"

* * *

After a long grueling gym class, Sonic just had to shower. He stood under one of the showerheads in the locker room, letting the cool water spill over him as he wiped away the sweat and tears induced by gym class. He sighed in relaxation as the cool water relieved his aching muscles. He was seemingly alone in the shower, until he felt a hand grab his shoulder and whip him around.

"What the hell man?" He yelled, once he saw that Shadow had manually turned him around.

"I need to talk to you." He growled in a low and intimidating voice.

"Can it wait until I have some damn pants on?" He screeched in frustration, "What the hell are you doing in the shower with all your clothes on anyway?"

"I said I need to talk to you." He growled once more, only this time he shoved Sonic to the wall, pinning him by the neck with his elbow. "It can't wait. I need answers now."

"What do you want?" Sonic hissed in frustration, hardly able to breathe with Shadow's elbow on his throat.

"I want to know about Manic."

"Is that supposed to be funny?" Sonic yelled, shoving the ebony hedgehog away.

"I mean it." Shadow replied, slowly losing his patience. "I need to know about him and Scourge."

"Scourge?" Sonic gasped, "Has Scourge been talking to Manic?"

"Does that mean something?" Shadow inquired.

Sonic quickly grabbed the ebony hedgehog by the wet collar of his shirt, " **HAS HE BEEN TALKING TO MANIC?** "

"No." Shadow growled, "But I said something about Scourge yesterday, and Manic freaked."

Sonic just sighed, releasing his grip on Shadow. He walked over to the showerhead and turned it off, grabbing a white towel from the metal hanger. He quickly wrapped it around his waist before taking a seat on one of the benches. He ran his hands through his quills, letting out another frustrated sigh.

"Listen to me Shadow," He began in a stern voice as he got up once more, "you don't like me, and I sure as hell don't like you…but you're the closest person to Manic so I have to trust you. You can **NEVER** let him anywhere near Scourge, **EVER**."

"Why is that?" Shadow asked, "I want to understand."

"I'm honestly surprised you don't know, you guys are so damn close and all." Sonic replied bitterly.

"That's what it seems like on the surface." Shadow sighed, "Truth is, I have no idea who he is, nor does he know me. I want to change that, but he doesn't seem willing. Lately, I've noticed a tension between him and that green hedgehog. He's never freaked out on me like that before, and I've ragged on you countless times...Why was he so upset when I brought up Scourge?"

"I'm about to tell you something no one really knows about except me and Sonia." Sonic began, glaring intently at Shadow, "You can **NEVER** breathe a word of it to anyone, **ESPECIALLY MANIC**."

"I assure you I won't breathe a word." Shadow nodded.

"Manic met Scourge our freshmen year. They were the best of friends, but honestly it seemed a bit more than that-"

"Like, gay stuff?"

"How the fuck should I know!" Sonic scolded, "Anyways, they got into a lot of trouble together. They were a bad combination. Scourge was the worst thing to ever happen to him. The bastard got him into a ton of shit, even turned my fucking brother against me! And he still thinks I'm the bad guy to this day. I had to do what I did, otherwise he would have ruined Manic's life."

"Sonic, what did you do?"

"One day, my mom got a call from the police department. They said Manic and Scourge broke into some guy's house, and they were missing. They weren't found for two weeks. Everyday my mother cried, and every day he was gone she was suffering. They finally found them completely wasted under a bridge in Moebius, a city on the other side of the damn country! Chaos knows what the fuck they were doing. Thankfully the guy refused to press charges. The same day they were released from police custody I found Scourge waiting outside my house for Manic. I was so angry at all the shit he put us through, all the shit he made Manic go through, so I beat him…very badly. I told him if he ever went anywhere near Manic again I'd kill him. That's why he stays away, Manic thinks Scourge just hates him, and it's honestly for the best."

"Don't you think it hurts him? Believing that someone he cared about hates him, and not having any idea why?"

"It's better than him going to prison for that fucker." Sonic replied, "I'm doing this to protect Manic, his hurt feelings are just repercussion. He'll get over it eventually."

Shadow and Sonic just stared each other down. Two opposing forces with the well-being of the same person on their minds. Shadow just sighed in defeat as he nodded his head in understanding, intent on keeping the secret from Manic. He started feeling a little bad about what he said yesterday.

"Am I interrupting something?" A voice called out.

Both boys turned to see Jet stroll into the shower, an eyebrow raised, and a sly grin. They both rolled their eyes in annoyance.

"Fuck off Feather-Face." Sonic snarled.

"Too busy playing with boys to focus on the bet?" Jet laughed.

Sonic just glared at Jet before he and Shadow exited the showers.

* * *

"We don't have to talk about it." Knuckles assured his best friend, "I told you, I don't care why you left."

"I know you keep saying that, but I want to tell you." Julie-Su sighed, "I'm finally ready."

The two were sitting at one of the picnic tables outside. He sat across from her. She took a deep breath, nervous about the outcome of this conversation. She hoped that things between them wouldn't change, that he wouldn't look at her differently. He noticed her become visibly distressed, so he put a comforting hand over hers.

"Whatever it is, it won't change us." He assured her, "It's probably not even that bad."

"Here goes." She sighed, "Back then, I was so ugly. Boys didn't like me—"

"Of course they did!" He interrupted, "Everyone wanted you on their football team!"

"Not like that you dummy!" She scolded, "I mean they didn't **LIKE** me, not the way they liked Rouge. One day, I swallowed all my pride and asked her for help. She gave me a make-over and took me out to meet boys, and I met someone that night."

"Wait, you left because you found a boyfriend and thought you couldn't tell me?" He rose an eyebrow, "Julie-Su, that's so stupid."

"I didn't just find a boyfriend!" She yelled, annoyed by his constant interrupting. "Mighty and Rouge are the only ones that know…"

"Mighty knows?" Knuckles questioned in an upset tone, "Rouge too? Knows what? What do they know? What do they fucking know that I couldn't?"

"I got pregnant!" She yelled at him, "I was thirteen and pregnant! I thought you'd look at me different, like I was a slut or something. I made Mighty and Rouge swear never to tell you or anyone that I…"

"Julie-Su?" Knuckles questioned, voice cracking as a nervous ache in his throat hindered his speech. He was afraid to ask, but he had to know. "Did you…Did you have an abortion?"

"No!" She yelped, offended by the question, "I would never!"

" **MOMMY!** " A voice called out, cutting into their conversation.

They both turned their heads to see a little echidna girl running up to them, a purple devil following close behind her with a big grin. The little girl leaped into Julie-Su's arms.

"Sweetie!" She cooed, kissing the girl on the forehead. "I didn't know you were coming!"

"Daddy said that we could visit when he got his 'ceptance letter." The little girl cheered.

"You should have told me!" Julie-Su whined at the purple teenager.

He took a seat beside her before giving her a long overdue kiss, "Sorry Babe. We just wanted to surprise you."

Knuckles' jaw practically unhinged and fell to his feet. He stared at the family before him, completely speechless. Julie-Su nearly forgot his presence, until she turned to see his perplexed expression. She smiled warmly before making introductions.

"Knuckles, this is my boyfriend—"

"Fiancé." The purple devil corrected.

"This is my **fiancé** , Thrash the Devil." She rolled her eyes at the word. "And this is my daughter—"

"Lara…" Knuckles finished for her.

* * *

Silver sighed as he walked out of science class, relived to finally be out of Dr. Robotnik's presence. Chaos, that guy was such a downer. The white hedgehog instantly jumped in fright as he felt something leap onto him. He quickly turned around to see it was Blaze.

"Gotcha!" She smiled.

"Oh…Hey…" He greeted awkwardly, wondering if she realized he was sort of avoiding her.

"Why haven't you replied to any of my messages?" She asked.

"I've been busy." He lied, "I kind of have my own life ya'know?"

"Right." She nodded in understanding.

She sighed, knowing the true reason he'd been so distant was because she was such a jerk to him before. She finally had a chance to apologize, and she was not going to blow it.

"Silver, I wanted to say sorry." She apologized, "I was so distant and distracted before. I didn't mean to treat you so poorly. You're my best friend in the whole world, and I love you. I miss you."

Although used in a harmless sort of way, the word 'love' struck him right in the heart. He dodged the gaze of her hazel eyes, fearing that he might fall under that spell once he looked into them. Blaze always made him so damn weak, but he was intent on sticking by his word, he told Elias that he would. But something from the bottom of his heart beckoned him back to her.

"I miss you too." He mentally apologized to Elias as he spoke.

"Can we hangout?" She asked, "Watch a SyFy documentary or something?"

"Future Technology or UFOs?" He asked with a smile as she took his arm.

"You choose." She smiled back.

"Future Tech it is then." He chuckled.

"That sounds—"

Just when he thought things between them would go back to the way they used to be, her cellphone rang. She fished it out of her pocket, holding the screen to her face. A picture of her and Sonic from last summer lit up on her screen. Silver quickly caught a glimpse of the picture and rolled his eyes. He sucked his teeth in frustration, knowing how this was gonna go down. Blaze noticed how visibly upset her friend had become and shockingly swiped the screen—ignoring the phone call. She put her cellphone back in her pocket before grabbing his arm once again.

"That sounds fun." She finished, "It's always fun with you."

"Same with you Blaze." Silver smiled, a light blush creeping up on his face.

"Hey, by any chance have you seen my purple bag? I think I might have left it in your room last time I came over. I've been borrowing Rouge's math book for like two weeks."

* * *

 **Another chapter down, but still so many things to be explored! At least you know a little more about Julie-Su, Manic, and Shadow, and got to meet four new characters! Most of you know who Cosmo the Seedrain, Rosy Rascal, and Lara-Su the Echidna are, but for those who don't know Thrash the Devil he is an antagonist from the comics created to explain the disappearance of Julie-Su before the reboot. Pretty ironic huh? Also, NIDs is actually a thing from the Sonic universe. It's the equivalent to AIDs, and it's the unknown disease Maria had.**

 **That completely unnecessary shower scene was a little treat for the Sonadow fans out there, even though it wasn't sexy in the slightest lol Gotta say, I adored writing the playfulness of Rouge and Manic the most.**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy**

 **Knuckles runs into Sonia**

 **Sonic catches up to Blaze seeking approval**

 **Sally learns the history behind Sonic and her friends**

 **Amy makes a very stupid decision**

 **Nicole is brutalized**

 **And so much more...**

 **Review Replies**

 **Thank you so much Soniclover888 & Fairlyoddme: I really appreciate you taking the time to give my story a shot, and that you enjoy it! **

**Afry Sapphire: I'm really glad my story is giving you motivation. I have no doubt whatever you come up with will be great! Just have confidence, and don't be afraid to be different. **

**Fun Question : Just out of curiosity, is there any pairing you're rooting for at the moment? Chances are I'll completely destroy it, but I'd like to know anyway lol.**


	16. Chapter 16

**WARNING: Racially motivated assault, nudity, slight sexual themes.**

* * *

 **Chapter 16: Girl Talk**

"I had to make up with Blaze." Amy rolled her eyes before leaning over the sink to study her reflection in the mirror.

"I didn't expect you to." Cream replied as she held her hands under the blowdryer, "Especially since you're so crazy about Sonic."

"He's the only reason why I made up with her." The pink hedgehog huffed, "I'd still be mad at her if he hadn't asked me to work it out."

"Shouldn't that be a decision you make on your own?" The rabbit questioned, "I mean, if you're still upset about what happened at the party why would you make up?"

"I'm gonna tell you a secret Cream." Amy put her lipstick down on the counter to put both hands on her friend's shoulders.

"What is it?"

"Sonic said he might make me his girlfriend!" She squealed, jumping for joy.

"Oh my Chaos!" Cream gasped as she jumped in sync with her, "Really?"

"Yes! He said he needed approval from his best female friend first." The pink hedgehog explained, "I'm hoping Blaze will put in a good word for me, now that I've forgiven her."

Cream's smile immediately dropped. "Wait, you're only forgiving Blaze so she could give Sonic her approval?" The rabbit brushed Amy's hands off her shoulders, "That's deceitful, and so wrong Amy!"

"Only when you say it like that!" The pink girl scolded, "I did miss Blaze. This just gave me a reason to forgive her a little earlier."

Cream just shook her head, giving Amy a disapproving look before grabbing her bag. Amy just shrugged and continued dolling herself up in the mirror. The rabbit couldn't believe how cynical her friend was being, all for a boy.

* * *

 _' "Nurse!" The green-haired girl shouted as she dragged me into the nurse's office, "This boy needs help!"_

 _The nurse, a purple hedgehog with yellow hair immediately rushed over and helped carry me to one of the cots. I could barely see, my eye had swelled up pretty badly, but I could hear their voices._

 _"Do you know what happened?" The nurse asked._

 _"He fell." She lied. Throughout the entire walk to the nurse I begged her not to tell. I didn't want them to call my mother and worry her._

 _"Poor baby…" The nurse sighed, as she placed a cold compress over my eye._

 _She then instructed the girl who brought me in to leave. I thought that would be the last I saw of her. After over an hour of exams and questions, Nurse Bernie let me go, and to my surprise the green-haired girl was waiting for me outside._

 _"Are you going to be alright?" She asked with such concern._

 _"Yeah, just need to keep this ice pack on my face for a little while." I replied, pointing at the compress I held to my swollen eye._

 _"Thank Chaos." She sighed in relief, "I'm glad you're okay. Do you need help getting around or anything?"_

 _She didn't even know me, I was a total stranger, but there she was reaching out to me with her heart on her sleeve. Without even thinking I took her hand and gave her a warm smile._

 _"I'd appreciate it." I told her, "My name's Tails by the way."_

 _That was three days ago, the day I got my heartbroken, and the same day I met the girl who called herself Cosmo._

 _The girl I haven't stopped talking to since.'_

"Ready for art class?" Cosmo asked, snapping the kitsune out of his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, yeah." He shook his head, dismissing his inner ramblings. "Not sure how well I'll do though." He gestured toward his bruised eye.

"You'll do wonderfully." She laughed, "Your eye is looking much better. Soon you won't be needing me to walk around with you anymore." He swore he could hear sorrow in her voice.

Ever since the incident she's been helping him get around campus. He very much enjoyed her company, so much so that he'd been lying about his vision just to keep her around. Truth is, he's been feeling better since yesterday.

"Doesn't feel much better." He shrugged, "Vision's still a bit blurry."

"Well don't strain yourself." She cupped his cheek with her hand, examining the eye up close.

A warm blush soon crept over both their faces when they realized how close they were. She quickly backed away, pulling her hand back as well. They looked away from each other awkwardly before the bell rang, signaling them their next class would be starting soon.

"We'd better go." She smiled, taking his hand.

As the two strolled down the hall, a pair of light brown eyes locked on their hand holding. Cream had been walking down the very hall, a ton of books in her hands as she watched her crush walk off with a girl. Although someone had accidentally bumped into her and made her drop all her books, all her mind could think about was Tails…

 _'Who's that girl?'_ She thought to herself.

* * *

Sonic just sighed in frustration as he got sent to voicemail for the millionth time trying to call Blaze. He hadn't heard a thing from her since that party, and he really needed to ask her about Amy. Just as he was about to put his cellphone away, he received a message. He unlocked the screen to see the contact Glasses-Girl.

 ** _Sally:_** _Send me some info so I can do the project._

 ** _Sonic:_** _No can do._

 ** _Sally:_** _Please don't make this any harder than it has to be._

 ** _Sonic:_** _It wouldn't be hard at all…if you'd just agree to chill._

 ** _Sally:_** _For the last time, I'm not interested in 'chilling' with you._

 ** _Sonic:_** _C'mon, it'll be cool!_

 ** _Sally:_** _No thanks._

 ** _Sonic:_** _Guess you don't wanna pass English._

 ** _Sally:_** _Can you not?_

 ** _Sonic:_** _I'm perfectly fine getting an F, how about you?_

 ** _Sally:_** _What the hell do you want from me Hedgehog!_

 ** _Sonic:_** _Just hang with me! I'm not asking you to marry me or anything! Who knows, maybe you'll find something to like about me._

 ** _Sally:_** _Do I even have a choice?_

 ** _Sonic:_** _Absolutely not. Meet me in the school parking lot around midnight._

 ** _Sally:_** _Why so late?_

 ** _Sonic:_** _You don't want everyone staring at you right? Imagine how many glares you'd get if you were seen with everyone's crush._

 ** _Sally:_** _I wouldn't say everyone's, but good point._

 ** _Sonic:_** _I promise you won't regret it Cindy!_

 ** _Sally:_** _I already do._

The hedgehog grinned devilishly before sliding his phone back into his pocket. Finally, he was making some progress on the bet. Hopefully he'd be able to pull this off tonight, and finally regain the respect of the birds, and everyone else who saw that stupid slip up.

"Sonic!" A voice yelped.

He looked away from his locker to see Amy strutting over to him ever so stylishly. He smiled, slamming his locker shut before meeting her halfway down the hall. To her surprise he wrapped both arms around her waist and pulled her close. She blushed madly as he kissed her cheek before whispering in her ear.

"Don't you look cute today?" He teased, noticing the extra make-up she applied earlier.

"Oh this?" She laughed awkwardly, pointing to her face as she rambled nervously. "It's nothing. Just something I wanted to try out. I'm really, really, really glad you like it—"

"Amy." He laughed, pulling her closer. "You're already number one. There's no competition, so you don't have to try so hard. Just be yourself, okay?"

"Does that mean I'm your…your girlfriend?" She stammered nervously, unconsciously wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Almost." He shrugged before giving her a kiss on the lips.

She let herself melt into the kiss. She couldn't believe this was actually happening, and neither did any of the other jealous-ridden girls in the hallway. Unbeknownst to the almost-couple, all eyes of the hallway were on them, as were cellphone cameras.

* * *

"Ugh, he's such a fucking prick!" Sally groaned to herself in frustration as she angrily threw her phone back into her bag.

"Just who in the heck are you talkin' about like that Sally-Girl?" Bunnie asked, with an eyebrow raised. Sally wasn't one to usually use such language.

"Clearly zomeone she iz not fond of." Antoine cringed.

The three of them were at the tables by the fountain, the spot they usually sat during lunch or free period. Rotor had art, and Nicole had history. Bunnie, Antoine, and Sally had a free period.

"Sorry guys." The chipmunk apologized, "It's just this idiot I got paired up with for a project in English. Chaos, he's just so damn irritating."

"He must be one heck of a patience-tester if he's got you all bent outta shape." Bunnie giggled.

"Oui." Antoine agreed, "You are uzually very, how you say? Tolerant."

"Yeah, well this guy is just everything I could possibly hate rolled up into one person." Sally sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "He's been asking me to hangout for weeks, and it's been driving me nuts! He just texted me pretty much forcing me to hangout or he won't help me on our assignment."

"Sounds desperate, no?" Antoine chuckled.

"He sure does!" Bunnie laughed, "Sounds like Mr. Jerk might have a little crush on you."

"What! No, that's absurd." Sally shook her head, "He's been nothing but a jerk to me!"

"Romance iz mysterious." Antoine shrugged knowingly.

"Oh I sure can't wait to see what kind of boy you bring Mama Rabbot home." The southern belle joked playfully, "I hope he's as wonderful as Nicole's 'friend'."

"Don't make this more than what it is." Sally sighed, "I don't even wanna hangout with him. I just want a good grade. I can't stand the guy."

"Ahh yes, how all ze wonderful romances start out." Antoine joked, "Past enemies, new lovers."

"Quit it!"

"So tell me Sugah, who's the lucky guy?" The rabbit asked as she nudged Sally with her prosthetic arm.

"His name is Sonic." Sally huffed, "And there's nothing going on between us."

The playful banter at the table immediately ceased, letting a spine-chilling silence linger in the air. Antoine's smile quickly dropped at the mention of the blue hedgehog. He stood up from the table and just stomped off without a word, leaving Sally with a bitter-looking Bunnie. The chipmunk felt very confused and uncomfortable, like she just uttered the most taboo word of the English language.

"What's with Antoine?" She asked Bunnie in confusion.

"He doesn't like talkin' about Sonic, especially since Tommy died." The rabbit replied in a sorrowful tone.

"Wait, you guys know him?"

"Know him?" Bunnie huffed, "Once upon a time that boy was one of our own. We were like family, until his ego got too big for his head. Believe it or not, that boy used to be the sweetest, humblest, and most respectful person I'd ever known."

"What do you mean?" Sally asked, "What changed?" She started to wonder if they were even talking about the same Sonic.

"He wanted to be popular." The rabbit sighed, "To do that he couldn't have a loser like Tommy, a fatty like Rotor, a cripple like me, or two creepy foreign kids like Antoine and Nicole hanging around him. So he dropped us, got himself some new friends, and became exactly what he sought out to be. Antoine took it pretty hard, the two were very close, but no one took it as bad as Tommy."

"How could he do that to you guys?" Sally murmured in a hurt tone, "Just for popularity…"

"He did what was best for him." Bunnie shrugged solemnly, "I was hurt, but I can't say I blame him. Who would want friends like us?"

" **ME**." Sally retorted, extremely offended. "Every day I spent in Moebius was a miserable friendless one. Every night I dreamed of coming home, to be with you guys. You might not be perfect on paper, but you're all perfect where it counts, and fuck him for not seeing that!"

Bunnie just smiled. People didn't usually say such nice things to the little pack of friends dubbed Freedom Fighters. They were the odd ones, the misfits, and the losers. She quickly embraced Sally, whispering a thank you to her. They've missed her dearly these last eight years.

Sally exhaled a frustrated sigh as she returned Bunnie's hug. If she liked Sonic even in the slightest before, she sure as hell doesn't anymore.

* * *

"So unfair!" Mina whined, brushing her hair out in front of the bathroom mirror. "How do you get paired with a hottie like Shadow, while I get stuck with the psycho goth bitch?"

"I'm just lucky." Honey laughed, touching up her eyeliner in the same mirror.

"I could come up with a million short stories based entirely on his abs alone." Mina giggled.

"I'm going over to his dorm tonight to work on the assignment." The cat grinned, "Don't wait up."

"You are so not!" Mina scoffed, "Are you seriously gonna try to fuck him?"

"You know me." The cat laughed, "When I see something I want, I pounce on it. Today it just so happens to be Shadow the Hedgehog's dick."

Honey the Cat, a seventeen year old senior with a ridiculous sex drive. With her childish demeanor and fashion sense you'd hardly believe it. She's a wild child, a free spirit who loves fun of all forms whether it be drugs, sex, or a simple board game. With an innocent deceptive smile she fools all the adults into thinking she's a saint, but underneath it lies the tempting smirk of a promiscuous devil.

"You're such a slut!" Mina half-joked, "He hates you. He'll never go for it."

"I know how to get what I want." The cat shrugged, "You can come if you want. I don't mind a crowd."

"You say things like that, yet expect me not to think you're a fag?"

"Because I'm not." Honey laughed, "I just like to party."

"Yeah sure." Mina rolled her eyes.

Mina Mongoose, an extremely popular girl adored by nearly everyone for her talents as a musician, and her beauty. To the public, she's as innocent as a white rose, a cutie with a good-girl image. She grew up with wealth and fame, it was second nature to her. Her mother, Isabella Mongoose is the best lawyer in the entire country, and her father, Arthur Mongoose fought in the Great War as the second highest ranking official in the army. Her arrogance and snobby attitude were mere side effects of growing up in the limelight, and her intolerance toward DigItalians came from war stories by her scorned father.

"So I heard from Nack that Sonic and Amy are dating." Honey grinned mischievously, eyeing Mina's reflection in the mirror. "He's even got a picture of them fooling around behind the bleachers."

"Amy? Amy Rose?" Mina scoffed, "Yeah right. That's gonna go nowhere. She wouldn't even know what to do with him if she got him."

"And you would?" The cat retorted, "He hasn't talked to you since freshmen year."

"I haven't talked to him actually." Mina corrected, "I'm just biding me time."

"Well if these rumors are right, Amy might actually be a steady girlfriend, and your time just might be out."

"I'm not worried." Mina shrugged, finishing up her brushing.

"Sure you're not." Honey rolled her eyes before picking up her bag, "That project is due tomorrow, you better hit up Psycho tonight."

"Haha." Mina rolled her eyes as the cat blew her a kiss before exiting.

Once Honey was out of sight, Mina gave out frustrated sigh, tossing her brush to the mirror. Thankfully it didn't shatter. That's when her ears picked up on a sound—someone's breathing to be specific. She quickly whipped her head around to see no one behind her. She dipped her head toward the floor, scanning underneath each pink stall before standing up with an annoyed scowl. She stomped over to the fourth stall to the right and kicked it open, revealing a cowering Nicole.

"Spying on me?" The yellow mongoose huffed, pulling Nicole out of the stall by the hair.

"No!" The lynx cried, trying to wiggle out of the lavender-haired girl's grasp. "I just wanted to wash my hands, but then I heard you two come in—"

"Were you going to assassinate us or something? That's how your people work right? Always coming up with ways to kill innocent people?"

"I'm not a terrorist!" Nicole yelled, "I'm a person just like you…"

"Barely." Mina growled, tossing the girl to the floor. "Daddy says you people are like animals, the way you hunted down innocent Mobians and killed them. You're all scum."

She then proceeded to stomp on the lynx's face. Kicking her body, delivering punches, and spitting on her like trash. Nicole was extremely frail, too fragile to defend herself, and on top of that she was a pacifist. All she could do was lay there and wait for the beating to be over. Tears rolled down her face as the abuse to her body proceeded for what felt like hours. The poor girl could feel her ribs ache, her eyes swelling shut, and her lip tearing open.

Once it was finally over, Mina looked down at her victim, watching the girl lay near-lifeless on the ground. She thanked herself for wearing stilettos today, as it did major damage to the Nantie's body. Nicole was covered in bruises. Mina would have simply left then and there, if she hadn't gotten a glimpse of those shiny beads in that long raven hair. Instead of leaving, she walked over to her expensive green purse and pulled out a pair of fabric scissors. She picked up Nicole from the floor by the long braid she had her hair tied in, before jaggedly cutting it off.

Nicole tried to break free, but the more she struggled the more her scalp bled as the scissors made contact with the surface of her skin. She screamed for help while the mongoose continued to assault her.

After all the beads were out of her hair and shattered on the floor Mina felt satisfied, and strolled out of the bathroom as if nothing had occurred. Nicole just laid there, too weak to move, and too traumatized to call out to anyone.

Luckily for her, someone had just been walking by the bathroom. If it were anyone else, they might have missed the signs, but Espio happens to be extremely diligent. After walking a few steps passed the bathroom, he noticed his shoe start to squeak and slip. He held it up to himself, figuring he might have stepped in juice, but that was blood. He whipped his head around to see blood spatters beneath the door to the girl's bathroom. He walked back toward it, slowly creaking the door open to see a barely conscious lynx girl on the floor.

"Chaos." He gasped as he rushed over to her. He picked her up in his arms, and gently shook her. "What happened?"

"Please…call Shard." The girl managed to mumble, "Don't tell…"

She was incredibly pale, and had fresh bruises all over her body. Her hair was all over the bathroom, patches of it completely gone from her head, and a pair of bloody scissors beside her.

* * *

Knuckles sat at the lunch table, awkwardly shifting his gaze around the room to refrain from looking at Julie-Su as she sat in her fiancé's lap across from him. Thrash was whispering sensually into her ear with his hand resting dangerously high on her inner thigh. Knuckles had never seen this side of her before, he didn't even know she was capable of giggling or blushing like that. He felt an indescribable irritation in the back or his brain, and his stomach churned.

 _'Was everyone this annoyed when me and Sonia…'_ His thoughts trailed off when he spotted said-mentioned girl across the café, sitting on a windowsill by herself.

Sonia, he hadn't seen her since the party. Sonic told him she was taking the break up pretty hard and that he should steer clear of her for a while. His heart ached at the sight of her. She wasn't her usual chipper self. She wore plain clothes, and didn't bother styling her hair anymore. She sat with her knees to her chest while she rested her chin on them. She looked completely drained of life, and seemed to have lost a concerning amount of weight. Worst of all, her jade eyes didn't sparkle like they used to.

"That girl over there." Thrash spoke up, nodding his head over to Sonia. "You like her?"

"Sweetie, that's his ex-girlfriend." Julie-Su corrected him, "I already told you that."

"Oh, right." The purple devil remembered.

The red echidna just zoned out, thinking back to last summer, and all the things he and Sonia went through until the very bitter end. Truth was, he missed her like crazy, and didn't mean to end things the way he did. Seeing her so down just yanked hard at his heartstrings. He dug into his pocket, wrapping his hand around the green emerald he'd been carrying around since that fateful night.

"How is she doing?" Knuckles asked Julie, but still kept is gaze on Sonia.

"Do you want the truth?"

"Yeah…"

"She's a ghost. She doesn't talk, rarely eats, and always sleeps." Julie-Su sighed, feeling really bad for her roommate. "Never thought I'd miss the preppy upbeat attitude. She even got kicked off the volleyball team for being a no-show."

"Really?" Knuckles gasped, "I had…no idea."

It was clear to Thrash that Knuckles obviously still cared about the girl, and felt terrible about whatever happened between them. He reached over the table and put a comforting hand on the echidna's shoulder.

"Still care about her don't ya'?" He asked.

"Yeah…" Knuckles confessed, "But I seriously fucked up. There's no way she'd take me back now. It's too late—"

"It's never too late to make things right man." Thrash replied.

Knuckles just looked up at him with hopeful eyes, then back to Sonia. "I…I wouldn't even know what to say to her."

"How about you start with 'sorry'." Julie-Su gave him an encouraging smile.

He let their words sink in, and soon felt courageous enough to follow through. He stood up from the table, and took three steps toward the girl across the room before his amethyst eyes caught sight of a familiar figure.

Elias Acorn, he dashed over to Sonia, clearly taking her by surprise as he picked her up and spun her around bridal style. Their faces were in such close proximity. Knuckles watched as the prince brought the life back into her…as he swept her off her feet…bringing out that familiar sparkle in her eyes. His face just twisted up in a mixture of anger and sorrow as he watched Sonia be carried off by the handsome squirrel.

He thought about going after them, but felt his hand get tugged back. He turned around to see Julie-Su, ushering him back to the table with a sympathetic look. "Knuckles…"

"I could still catch her." He replied desperately.

"Look, forget what I said." Thrash spoke up, "Just come back to the table."

"But…you said it was never too late."

"No homo or anything, but when a guy **THAT** hot starts spittin' game to your girl…you've already lost."

* * *

"Amy and Sonic sittin' in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G." Rouge teased in a sing-song tone.

"Stop it!" Amy yelped, blushing. "How did you even get that picture?"

"A friend." The bat shrugged, "So how did you manage to wrangle Big Blue?"

"I haven't…yet."

"Yet?" Rouge rose an eyebrow, "Judging by this picture, I woulda guessed you already did."

"He needs to talk to Blaze about it first." Amy sighed, pulling her shirt off over her head. "After he gets the okay from her we officially become boyfriend and girlfriend. I'm so excited!"

"Blaze?" Rouge questioned, slipping on her gym shorts. "Why does he need her approval? She's not his keeper."

"Well, he said his mother always told him to always run important decisions involving girls by the leading lady of his life first." Amy explained, "Since his mom is on a trip to DigItaly, and Sonia's stuck in break up city, Blaze is the next option."

They were in the girl's locker room, preparing for another Chaos-awful gym class with Coach Sleuth. Rouge sat on the wooden bench, pulling up her socks. Amy stood topless by her locker, sifting through it to find her gym shirt.

"I see…" Rouge nodded at the information.

"Ugh, why can't I ever find my gym clothes?" Amy whined, hitting the locker in frustration.

"There she is!" A voice called out.

Rouge and Amy both turned their heads to see Honey strolling toward them, completely naked. Rouge just rolled her eyes, as Amy quickly turned her face away blushing madly upon seeing the cat. The pink hedgehog wasn't used to seeing anyone nude but herself. Honey just smirked, finding Amy's innocence to be quite adorable.

"H-H-Hi Honey." Amy stammered awkwardly.

"So, you're Sonic's girlfriend?" The cat purred, circling Amy like a hungry shark through half-lidded hazel eyes.

"Well, uhhh…sorta." Amy murmured nervously.

"I'm impressed."

"What are you getting at Kitty." Rouge narrowed her eyes at the cat, "And would it kill you to put some damn clothes on?"

"Don't be such a prude Batty, I like being naked." Honey shrugged, "I'm just impressed you managed to make him your boyfriend, that's all. Sonic's never had a real girlfriend before."

"Yes he has!" Amy squealed before turning over to Rouge, "Hasn't he?"

"Not exactly…" Rouge replied.

"Not at all." Honey corrected, "He's only ever had fuck-buddies. You must be crazy good in bed if you landed being his girlfriend."

"What!" Amy gasped, her face as red as a tomato, "I've never—"

"I just wonder…how good are you Amy Rose?" The cat purred seductively, trailing her tail up the pink hedgehog's thigh.

Rouge quickly swatted the cat's tail away. "Go spray somewhere else, she's not interested."

Honey just laughed, putting her hands up in the air, "Alright, alright. I was just teasing."

Amy looked like she was about to damn near pass out from being so uncomfortable. Honey and Rouge just exchanged passive-aggressive insults until the cat scurried off to another corner of the locker room.

"Chaos, for a cat she's sure a horn-dog isn't she?" Rouge laughed, walking over to Amy to make sure she was still breathing, "Sorry about that. Honey's a little over the top."

"Is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"Has Sonic really never had a girlfriend?"

"Not one." The bat shook her head, "That just means he thinks you must be very special."

The bell rang, signaling the start of gym class. All the girls filed out of the locker room except for Amy who stood behind to find her gym shirt. She thought to herself about what Honey had been suggesting.

' _I'm not good in bed…I've never even…done it before. That night behind the bleachers, he was getting so frisky with me, and I barely even knew what to do! How the hell am I gonna make it as his girlfriend if I don't know how to do anything other than kiss? What if he gets bored of me? Oh no! What if he dumps me because I'm not…experienced enough for him! I know what I'll do! All I need is experience, to learn the basics, right? All I have to do is…lose my virginity before we become a couple, learn a few tricks, and then I'll be able to satisfy him for sure! It's a great idea, but who would I….do it with?'_

* * *

These last three days had been a dream come true for Silver. Things between him and Blaze couldn't have been better! Things were feeling just like they used to. They'd hangout between classes, watch movies, and joke around. Just the two of them. He didn't tell her that he read her diary, figuring it would only ruin things.

"Ready for science class?" The cat giggled as the two walked down the hall, arms linked.

"Ugh, please don't remind me." Silver groaned, "Can you believe Dr. Robotnik made us write a forty-three thousand word essay on photosynthesis?"

"Actually yes." Blaze laughed, "He's kinda known for being a prick like that."

"I'd rather do a backflip off the tallest mountain in the universe than go to his class."

"Gotta do what ya' gotta do."

"I guess." Silver sighed, pulling his arm away from hers to sling it around her shoulders, "At least you'll come to my rescue right?"

"Don't I always?" She chuckled.

Mending her relationship with Silver was the best choice she'd ever made. She felt like such a fool for not fixing things between them sooner. Although things between them were going great, something felt different to her. When she looked at his goofy face, she felt something different, something very odd yer so familiar.

"Yo, Kitten!" A voice called out to the two.

They both turned their faces to see Sonic dashing over to them from down the hall. He immediately swooped in between them, scooping Blaze up by the waist and twirling away with her. Silver felt all the happiness drain out of his soul, replaced by irritation.

"I've been looking everywhere for you!" The blue hedgehog exclaimed.

Blaze quickly removed his hands from her waist, causing him to raise an eyebrow. "Sonic…Hi." She said in an awkward tone.

"I've missed you Kit—"

"It's Blaze." She corrected him, simultaneously cutting him off.

"Right." He nodded with a confused look, "Anyways, I need to talk to you about something. You and me, track field lunch date?"

"Actually, Silver and I were just about to go watch a SyFy documentary." The cat explained, walking back over to Silver's side.

The white hedgehog couldn't help but smile, finally she was putting him first again.

"C'mon, I really need some advice from my best friend right now." The hedgehog whined.

"Sorry." Blaze apologized, "I've already made plans with mine." With that, she and Silver walked off.

Sonic just stood with his jaw agape as he watched Blaze walk off with that weirdo. He balled his fists and tightened his jaw in frustration at her last words. He felt a strange feeling brew in the pit of his stomach, something like…jealousy.

After turning around and no longer being in Sonic's line of vision, Blaze exhaled in relief. She didn't think she could do it, but she managed to evade the blue hedgehog directly. In fact, she thought being confronted by him would be much worse, but when she looked at his face she didn't feel the same way she did about him a few weeks ago.

That's when she put two-and-two together. Her feelings for Sonic were gone, but those romantic feelings weren't gone from her. The affections had only seemed to migrate, the feelings she had for Sonic had transferred over to someone else.

 _'Silver…' She whispered to herself._

* * *

Manic and Shadow had been somewhat avoiding each other in their own special way. Being classmates, and roommates made it impossible to avoid each other's presence, so they walked together and hung around each other like they usual did. The only thing that seemed to be different was that they didn't speak to each other at all, not that they did much before. They also hadn't partaken in any of their usual devious antics together, which was far worse than not talking.

The two of them lay in their respective beds, staring up at the ceiling. The silence was peaceful, but the awkwardness was kinda killing the vibes. Manic knew something about Shadow, and he knew something about Manic. They both felt guilty about confronting Rouge and Sonic for information, and they both wanted to apologize for their confrontation the other day, but neither of them knew how to go about it. They were both so socially awkward.

"Hey…" They both said in unison, struggling to find the right words for an apology.

They both turned their heads toward each other, ushering the other to speak first.

"Smoke Sesh?" They spoke in unison again before exchanging knowing smirks. This was their strange way of apologizing.

"Now that we're talking again, I need you outta here in like twenty minutes." Shadow sat up from his bed, cracking his knuckles.

"What? Why?" Manic questioned, tossing Shadow a lighter after sparking his joint.

"Partner's coming over to do that assignment thing for English."

"You mean Honey." Manic grinned, "And I doubt she's coming to 'do homework'."

"Then she'll be sorely disappointed." Shadow grumbled, lighting his joint.

"C'mon, she's cute."

"She looks twelve."

"That mouth don't look twelve though."

"Dude, fuck off." Shadow groaned, throwing a pillow at the green hedgehog across the room.

* * *

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Espio reveals his biggest secret**

 **Sally's glasses come off! Revealing something shocking**

 **Guilt finally starts sinking in for Manic**

 **Matilda no longer wishes to be a burden to Mighty**

 **Sonic's true character is revealed**

 **And so much more**

 **Review Replies**

 **Guest: After some thought, I figured you were right. I'll lower the rating to T for now, but it might have to go back to M if I follow up on certain plot lines. I chose multiple characters as a way to treat everyone, singular protagonists get boring. I don't feel like ALL of them have to cross over though. The connection is that they are all in the same place, some do cross over, while others don't-just like actual high school. Thank you for the suggestions though, I really appreciate the constructive criticism. **

**PoeticLover1996: I was wondering when I'd here from you again! I'm glad you're still around. **

**1Darkness552: Thanks a lot! I'm really liking these theories, shows me how much you've been paying attention.**

 **twotailedfox: Those are actually really good suggestions! I've been trying to figure out what to do with certain characters (Shadow being one of them) There really is a million and one ways to go. If you feel like Sonic is growing on you now, just wait til next chapter. You may or may not be retracting that statement lol **


	17. Chapter 17

**WARNING: Drug use, sexual themes, and suicide**

* * *

 **Chapter 17: Won't You Save Me?**

 _'I can't remember much, but what I do recall is horrible to say the least._

 _It was Mina again, hitting me, and calling me that awful word…_

 _Nanite, a word I heard often as a child back in my old country, but never knew what it meant until I was older._

 _My biological father is Dr. Elidy, a renowned scientist known for many of his findings, most notably the invention of a concoction to slow down the effects of NIDs; the most common fatal disease in the world._

 _I guess that's where my intelligence comes from._

 _My father was always so busy with his experiments, too busy to care for a child. He didn't want to give me up, but he refused to be selfish and keep me knowing that he couldn't adequately care for me._

 _After a visit from his old friend Maximilian Acorn, he sent me to Mobuis._

 _Most would see it as abandonment, but I don't. My father wanted nothing more than to give me a shot at a better life, he wanted me to have a family, and all the things that would have been out of my reach in DigItaly._

 _I'm grateful, even in times like this where I'm harassed for my ethnicity, I am humbled to be in such a country. I thank my father in my prayers every night._

 _Although my body is sore, and my heart is in pieces, I do not blame Mina for her actions. I only pity her for being blind. Not all DigItalians are cold-hearted killers.'_

"Are you finally awake?" A voice called out, making the lynx's jade eyes flutter open.

She sat up and looked around. She was in a room, but it wasn't hers. There were four beds, and she was laying in one with a black comforter draped over her. Her eyes caught sight of a figure sitting in a chair beside her. A boy with beautiful hazel eyes, and a very concerned expression.

"Who are you?" Nicole asked nervously.

"My name's Espio." The boy explained, "I found you in the girl's bathroom passed out on the floor. You told me not to tell anyone, so I brought you to my dorm instead of the nurse. Your injuries weren't severe, so I patched them up myself. My mother's a field medic in the army. Are you feeling any better?"

The lynx looked down at her arms. He had wrapped gauze bandages over the wounds from the sharp end of Mina's heels. She then touched the side of her head with her fingertips, and trailed them up to her scalp. She nearly bursted into tears as she felt the bare patches on her head, and not a single one of her sacred beads.

"Do you have a mirror?" She whispered, eyes brimming with tears.

"You shouldn't…"

"Please…"

He sighed before walking over to his dresser and pulling out a metal dagger—the closest thing he had to a mirror. He handed it to her before sitting back down. She took it and held it up to her face. She nearly screamed in fright as she saw her reflection. All her hair was jaggedly cut, leaving certain places bald, while other places had hair that varied in length. She felt so ugly, and so defeated.

"Nicole…" Espio whispered, pulling the dagger out of her hand gently.

"I hate myself." The lynx sobbed, clutching the blanket tightly. "I'm so…ugly."

"No you're not." He assured her, cupping her face in his hands as he looked her dead in the eye. "She's the ugly one. Anyone capable of doing something like this is ugly."

"You…You know?" Nicole bit her lip nervously.

"You kept mumbling her name in your sleep."

"Please." She quickly latched both her hands to the collar of his shirt, holding his gaze. "You can't tell anyone. If my mother finds out I-"

"Relax." Espio ceased her frantic rambling, "I'll keep your secrets, but I can't let this happen again."

"Why are you helping me?"

"My father was DigItalian." Espio confessed, "He was shot in the head while playing catch with me at the park when I was five. He was born here in Mobius, and had nothing to do with the war or any of those terrorist groups, but being DigItalian was enough of a reason for someone to kill him. That's why my mother never lets me tell people I'm interracial. She's afraid I'll die too…"

"I don't…I don't want to die." Nicole mumbled.

"I'll protect you." Espio gave her a half-smile, enough to make her give one in return.

"How did you know my name?"

"I figured it out with your phone."

"Nicole?" A voice called out, "Oh Chaos what happened!?"

They both looked up toward the door to see a frantic Shard rushing over to them. He quickly embraced Nicole without a second thought, terrified by her bruised up face and jagged cut hair.

"Shard?" Nicole questioned, "How did you know-"

"You told me to call him." Espio reminded her.

* * *

 ** _Manic:_** _Yo, we about to go in on this project tonight or what? It's due tomorrow._

 ** _Silver:_** _Can't, my friend and I are hanging out._

 ** _Manic:_** _Oh, you mean 'somebody else' ?_

 ** _Silver:_** _Yes…_

 ** _Manic:_** _Eh, I'd take the F just to spend a night with Blaze myself. Not working with much body-wise, but she's got a cute face._

 ** _Silver:_** _How did you know?! And don't say those things about her!_

 ** _Manic:_** _I've got eyes. I seen the way you stare at her in English class, all lustfully and shit._

 ** _Silver:_** _I do not!_

 ** _Manic:_** _Seems like its 'Deny The Feels' day for everyone._

 ** _Manic:_** _I'm just playin' with ya'. You seriously need to loosin' up a bit._

 ** _Manic:_** _Have fun, and use protection!_

 ** _Silver:_** _STOP_

Manic just laughed to himself, tossing his phone back in the rugged fanny-pack around his waist. He'd been roaming the halls of the main building, looking for something to do. It was around eight, so he had a good hour to kill until curfew, and he couldn't go back to the dorm because Shadow and Honey were working on their thing.

"Hey Funny Bunny." He smiled, noticing Cream standing by a locker.

She quickly turned toward him and smiled. "Oh Manic, you scared me."

"You shouldn't be all by yourself in the main building this late." He scolded her playfully, "Zonic's kind of a perv, always threatening to search my body for 'contraband'." He used his fingers as quotations.

"That's because you always carry 'contraband'." The rabbit chuckled, mimicking his finger quotations.

"Hey, you're not supposed to know that kinda thing!"

"I'm fourteen Manic."

"Really?" He gasped sarcastically, "I've missed seven birthdays? Could have fooled me!"

"I don't look that young." She pouted.

"Of course not, you look so grown! At least thirty."

"Stop teasing me." The rabbit giggled, pushing him playfully.

They both shared a laugh. Then he noticed she had the locker below hers open, and it was full of colorful sticky notes.

"Uh, you know that's not your locker right?" He asked, remembering that hers was the one on top.

"Yeah." She nodded, "This is Ray's."

"The…The kid from the crash?" Manic stammered, turning a bit pale.

"Yeah…" She sighed, closing his locker. "Every day I leave a little sticky note in his locker about how my day went. It's the best I got since I can't really talk to him. Even when he gets back, we won't be able to talk like we used to."

"Why not?"

"He damaged the part of his brain that induces speech. He might not be able to talk ever again…" Poor Cream looked like she was on the verge of tears, making Manic feel a thousand times worse.

* * *

"Question seven: What are your best qualities?" Shadow asked the yellow cat sitting across from him on his bed.

"Well, I'm confident, spontaneous, and **VERY** flexible." The cat purred seductively, swishing her tail back and forth with excitement.

The ebony hedgehog just rolled his eyes as he wrote down her answers on the worksheet. She'd been flirting with him for the past half hour, not paying any attention at all to the assignment. Her advances were of no real interest to him, she wasn't his type.

"Unsurprising that focus isn't one of your strong suits." Shadow sighed, flipping through papers.

The two sat across from each other on his bed, a pile of books and paperwork stacked up between them. Honey wore one of her typical Lolita-styled dresses, the kind that looked more appropriate for a child. It was dangerously short, and it didn't help that she sat with her knees up; exposing her panties to the boy sitting across from her.

"Why are you always so mean to me Shady?" She pouted.

"Let's just get through this."

"I guess." She shrugged before digging through her little red knapsack.

"What are you doing?" He asked as she popped a yellow pill into her mouth.

"Um, ecstasy." She replied as if it were basic knowledge.

"I didn't know you messed with drugs."

"There's a lot you don't know about me." She smirked, "Want one?"

He had no idea she was into that kind of thing. Her child-like appearance certainly had thrown him off entirely. She held out a yellow pill to him, it had a smiley face on it. He shrugged before taking it.

* * *

Sally laid in her bed, eyes fixed on the ceiling as she sighed in frustration. At least Fiona had gone to take a shower and wasn't taunting her anymore. Now the only thing annoying her was the thought of seeing that asshole from English tonight. She pulled her phone out from her pocket, checking the time. She had to meet up with him in four hours, and she was dreading it.

She then began to dial a number, the same one she's dialed at least a hundred times for the past month. After being sent to voicemail once again she just ended the call and tossed the phone to the side before burying her face into a pillow.

Suddenly, a loud knock came from the door. She just gave an agitated sigh, assuming it was Fiona. The vixen knew the door was open, so she wasn't going to bother getting up. The knocking continued, becoming louder and more aggressive each time. The chipmunk couldn't stand it any longer, so she got up from her bed and walked over toward the door.

"It's open…" Her voice trailed off as she swung open the door to see a shocked-looking green hedgehog standing in the doorway.

He was tall, and very lean. He had on an open black leather jacket with a white shirt underneath, black jeans, and matching combat boots. His quills were extra-long, and his eyes were like blue ice. His left ear was pierced with two silver hoops at the top and one silver stud at the bottom, he even had a tongue ring of the same material. Sally began to shift uncomfortably under his hard stare.

"Can I help you?" She asked nervously, "If you're looking for Fiona she went—" Before Sally could finish, the green hedgehog had shoved her inside the room, and quickly shut the door behind him.

She fell back onto the floor. When she opened her eyes the mysterious hedgehog was towering over her. She propped herself up on her elbows, edging herself away from him. Once far enough, she scrambled to her feet. He slowly took a step forward, ice-blue eyes still fixed on her. She started to panic as she backed up toward the wall. Before she could scream he quickly lunged at her, pinning both her wrists to the wall with his hands. His face was mere inches away from hers. She closed her eyes, afraid of what he might do.

"Please, don't hurt me…" She whispered, terrified.

"Is that supposed to be a joke?" He growled, "Quit acting like that! Acting like you don't know me!"

"I don't." Sally replied fearfully, "I have no idea who you are!"

He just growled in frustration before yanking her glasses off. His eyes widened once he got a look at her face without them. Along the area of her face the glasses usually occupied were tiny scars, hundreds of tiny rips across the skin. Tears soon spilled from her closed eyes as she felt his gaze on her scarred face.

"What happened to you?" He whispered to her sympathetically.

She sobbed, shaking in his grasp. He let go of her wrist to grab her by the face, forcing her to look at him. She slowly opened her innocent sapphire eyes to meet his cold aquamarine ones. Upon realizing she wasn't who he thought she was, he let her go, and handed her back the glasses.

"I'm sorry." He apologized, "You look like someone else."

She took the glasses back with trembling hands, quickly putting them back on her face to mask the scars. Just then, Fiona walked in. She was infuriated to see her ex-boyfriend alone with her roommate.

"What the hell is this?" She growled at the two.

"Relax, just came to get my stuff." Scourge replied, turning away from Sally.

He grabbed a few things off Fiona's dresser, and walked right past her out the door. Before he could disappear she grabbed his wrist. He turned around and met her desperate gaze.

"You can't keep avoiding me…" She murmured to him.

"Watch me." He shrugged out of her grasp and walked off.

She felt a whirlpool of emotions sweep over her, most notably jealousy. She looked over to the fidgety Sally, and gave her a cold glare.

* * *

 _'I met Sonia when I was in elementary school, the same year my parents got divorced, and two of my sisters were sent away to Moebius. It was just me, Mother, and Nicole back then._

 _People have always only seemed to fawn over my looks, no one's ever liked me for me._

 _I used to stand out by the lake in Mobotropolis Park a lot. I always found myself skipping rocks there whenever I missed my sisters, it's something we all used to do together. My mother was always so busy, and Nicole was always so withdrawn. I never had anyone to talk to…until Sonia came along._

 _She snuck up on me while I was skipping rocks one day. I used to be really bad at it._

 _"That's not how you do it!" She complained._

 _I turned around to see a magenta girl with a really long ponytail and pretty green eyes walking up toward me. She was wearing a pink dress with a white bow at the sternum._

 _"Who are you?" I asked._

 _She threw a rock at the water, showing off her skills. The rock skipped all the way to the other side of the lake. I was so impressed._

 _"The girl whose gonna teach you how to skip rocks!" She laughed._

 _It could have gone a million ways. I could have been sick that day, she could have just gone home, but fate brought us to that lake. We spent that entire day together, and nearly every day since._

 _She's the only girl who's ever made me feel like an actual person, the only girl that's ever taken more than two seconds to get to know me. I've always been in love with her, since that very first day, but I just didn't realize it until the summer of sixth grade._

 _We were laying in her backyard, watching the stars twinkle in the night sky. I remember looking over at her, as she pointed to the constellations excitedly. That's when I saw it, this little sparkle in her eye. Something clicked in my mind. I couldn't breathe, and my heart began to race. That's the moment I knew I loved her. Ironically the same moment she told me she was in love with Knuckles._

 _As cruel as it is, I'm happy they broke up, and I'm relieved they didn't get to do it like she was hoping._

 _These last few weeks have been agonizing, watching her skulk around with such a sorrowful expression. I know I promised Silver I wouldn't, but I can't fucking help myself. I can't stand to see her hurt like this anymore. She needs someone._

 _I'm someone._

 _The one she wants only when she needs someone, never the one she just wants._

 _And as much as it sucks, I'm okay with that…because I love her.'_

"Careful Cinderella, looks like you lost the glass off your foot." Elias smiled, picking up Sonia bridal style before spinning her around.

"Elias!" She gasped. She hadn't seen him in weeks. "I've missed you…"

"We can talk all about it after we get some coffee in you." He chuckled carrying her out of the café, "You look like you've been hibernating!"

That was this morning. Now the two were laying in her bed, discussing the challenges they've faced these last few weeks. Her roommates were out, so it was just them.

"I'm sorry I haven't been there for you." Elias apologized, "I know you must feel awful."

"No." The magenta hedgehog shook her head, "Because you're here now…and that's all I need." She leaned over and gave her best friend a peck on the cheek, sending his heart into overdrive.

* * *

Blaze and Silver laid comfortably under his blanket while watching another SyFy documentary on his laptop. Today he chose the one about robots. All of his roommates were off somewhere on campus doing Chaos knows what, so it was just them. Although Silver was deeply interested in the documentary, Blaze had no interest whatsoever. She just wasn't into any of the SyFy stuff, but she knew how much he adored it. As he stared intently at the screen, she stared at him.

It never really occurred to her how beautiful the color of his eyes were. A magnificent amber. She studied the features of his face, how deep his dimples were when he smiled, and how expressive he was. Her heart began flutter every time he laughed. He felt her gaze on him, so he turned his head to meet it with his own. Their eyes locked in a battle of amber and hazel. He gave her a goofy smile.

"Do I have something on my face?" He asked, touching his fingertips to his mouth.

She giggled at the comment, and without even thinking leaned over and pressed her lips onto his. His eyes went wide with shock as he realized what was happening. She must have noticed, because she immediately pulled away, clasping her hands over her mouth and quickly turning away from him.

"Oh my Chaos!" She squeaked, "I'm so sorry!"

"No, don't be." He told her, pulling her shoulder back so she looked at his now blushing face.

"Silver…I think I…might have feelings…for you." She stuttered nervously.

The white hedgehog couldn't believe his ears. It was unreal, to hear the girl of his dreams confess that she felt the same way. He knew these last few days had been amazing, but he didn't think they were amazing enough to make her fall for him. The auburn-haired girl told him to give it some time, but he thought that was bullshit. He mentally sent her a thank you.

"Are you sure?" He asked nervously, fearing that it might all just be a prank.

"I think so…" She blushed, looking up at him with those big cat eyes. "I'm so confused. I thought I had feelings for someone else, but I don't think I ever did. I mean, I feel like these feelings have always been inside me, and I thought they were for him, but I think…they were always for you….I'm so fucking complicated I—" Cutting off her rambling, he spontaneously leaned back in and kissed her again.

"It's okay, I like complicated." He smiled once he pulled away from her. "So where do we go from here?"

"I think this is the part where the childhood best friend asks the girl out, and she says yes." The cat chuckled, cuddling up to the white hedgehog.

* * *

Only twenty minutes after taking the smiley face pills, Shadow and Honey were literally bouncing off the walls of his room. They leaped from his bed to Manic's, then back to his; kicking over their papers and books. They laughed like maniacs, holding hands while they spun around in circles.

"Are you seeing this ceiling?" He asked stupidly, "It's like **WAY** up there!"

"I know right?" Honey giggled, "Only thirty foot tall giants could touch it!"

The ceiling actually wasn't that high. In fact, if Shadow stood up on the bed and raised his arm he could reach it. The pills had brought them way past cloud nine. They soon became exhausted with their frantic movements and fell back onto his bed. They stood there, talking about nothing until it became something.

"Why do you hate me so much Shady?" The cat asked sadly.

"I don't." He told her, stroking her soft raven hair. "I just don't want to sleep with you."

"Why not?" She pouted, "Aren't I cute?"

"Extremely." He replied, "But in an innocent little girl kind of way."

"Innocent little girl huh?" She scoffed, rolling on top of him.

She stood up over his waist as he laid underneath her, staring up at her as she pulled her dress over her head and tossed it to the floor. His crimson eyes widened, and a deep blush formed on his face as she pulled out the childish hair accessories. Her long raven hair fell to middle of her back. All she had on now was a pair of black lace panties and nothing else. Shadow could feel himself stiffen up at the sight of her, and being on top of him meant she could too.

"Do I still look like a little girl to you?" She asked, grinding herself playfully against him.

"You…You have a tattoo?" He rose an eyebrow once he caught sight of script writing a little below her abdomen, just barely peeking out above the hem of her panties.

"Yeah." She giggled, pulling down her underwear a bit more to reveal the tattoo completely, among other things. "It says Sex Kitten. I got it at a rave last year."

"You go to raves?"

"Did you really think I was a good girl?" She laughed.

"Well, yeah."

"How about I show you just how wrong you were?" She purred seductively.

He bit his lip in frustration, as the attention she gave his lower half started to take its toll on his mentality. He'd never hear the end of it from Manic if he did this, but she was hot, and he was horny.

"Fuck it." He sighed before pulling her into a sloppy kiss.

* * *

Sally sighed as she shivered, holding herself as she walked through the freezing cold night toward the school parking lot. It was midnight, and she had a very difficult time sneaking past Ms. Vanilla. Today had been so stressful, of course she had to top it off with meeting up with the most irritating person on the planet. She was not looking forward to this at all.

Sonic was standing in the parking lot. Tapping his foot impatiently as he waited for Glasses-Girl. He tried his hardest to push his frustrations with Blaze out of his mind. If he wanted to pull this off tonight he needed to focus. His ears soon picked up on the crackle of a twig. He whipped his head around to see the auburn-haired girl stepping toward him.

She was wearing a long-sleeved over-sized blue shirt, and gray sweatpants. Her hair flowed with the direction of the wind, and she carried a blue binder with her.

"That's what you decided to wear?" He chuckled, taking note of her unappealing attire. Whenever he asked Amy to hangout she was always dolled up.

"I'm supposed to be sleeping right now." The chipmunk huffed in annoyance, "Can we just get this over with?"

"Sure." He laughed, "But not here. We might get caught by security."

"Where are we gonna go?"

"Follow me." He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the woods.

"Let me go!" She gasped at the sudden action, "Where the hell are you taking me Hedgehog?"

"Just keep up! You'll see."

They ran and ran, their only source of light being what the moon and stars could offer. After about fifteen minutes of running into the forest, they finally stopped. Sally put her hands on her knees and gasped for air. All the running did a number on her lungs. Sonic just laughed before falling back onto the grass. When Sally looked up she nearly lost her breath again.

The scenery was astonishing. Deep in the forest surrounded by the colorful-leaved trees was a beautiful lake. The full moon reflected on the water, making it shimmer, and fireflies danced in the area.

"It's…so beautiful." She said, admiring her foreign surroundings.

"Yup, and nobody knows about It except me…and you now." The blue hedgehog chuckled, tapping the ground next to him, "I call this the Lake of Rings."

"Whys that?" She asked, taking a seat beside the hedgehog laying in the grass.

"The first time I came here I found a pair of gold rings at the bottom of the lake." He shrugged.

"Interesting…" She nodded, admiring the fireflies floating around them.

Sally soon pulled out her notebook and began writing some notes down. Every time she asked a question he'd always give her some arrogant answer. It really started to work on her nerves. Once she finished up all her questions, he started to ask her some, but none of the ones he was asking had anything to do with their assignment.

"On a scale of one to ten, how hot do you really think I am?"

"Zero."

"Did my free running skills impress ya' back there?"

"Not in the slightest." She groaned, "The questions are supposed to be about me, remember?"

"Right." He chuckled, sitting up from the grass to face her.

In the dark, she didn't look half bad. At least that would make it a little easier for him to perform. He scooted over a little closer to her, making her shift uncomfortably.

"Question one: Have you ever been kissed?" He asked curiously.

"How is that relevant!?" She yelped, a blush forming on her face.

"Ms. Breezie said every question is relevant, and we can ask ones that aren't on the worksheet." He grinned evilly, "So, have you or have you not ever been kissed?"

She just sucked her teeth in frustration before putting her head down on her knees, "No…I haven't."

"Question two: Do you want to be kissed?" He took advantage of her head being down to scoot extra closer. They were shoulder-to-shoulder.

"I'm a sixteen year old girl." She replied, picking up her head to turn to him. "Of course I want to be kissed!—"When she rose her head to look at him, they were literally nose-to-nose.

Her voice hitched in her throat as their eyes met. He closed his before leaning toward her with his head tilted. Instead of feeling his mouth land on her soft lips, he felt the force of the bottom of her shoe ram into his face. He fell backwards with a thud, shooting his eyes open before cupping his nose in agony. He let out a pained screech before sitting back up to stare daggers at the chipmunk with her foot out.

"What the fuck!" He shouted at her.

"What the fuck were **YOU** doing?!" She retorted back, face red as a cherry.

"You said you wanted to be kissed!"

" **NOT BY YOU!** " She yelled, standing up from the ground. "Why the hell would I want you to kiss me? I can't fucking stand you!"

" **WHY CAN'T YOU JUST FALL IN LINE?** You're fucking impossible ya' know that?!" He growled, getting up from the ground. Still cupping his bleeding nose.

"And you're pathetic." She retorted, picking up her blue binder. She turned her back to him, intent on walking off.

"Why do you hate me so much anyway?" He shouted after her, making her stop in her tracks.

"Because you're so fake!" She shot back, turning around to face him. "Everything about you is a fucking show. All you care about is what others think of you, and you do nothing but use people. You're a joke, and I hate clowns."

"Fuck you." He gave her the finger, "I'm no show-pony! I'm fucking famous, and everybody loves me! You're just jealous because you're ugly as shit and no one even knows your fucking name!"

"What about before your little power trip? Who loved you way back then?"

"What the hell do you know?"

"I know the Freedom Fighters did, when you were one of the losers." She stepped back toward him until they were once again nose-to-nose.

"How did you find out about that…" He gasped, shocked that she knew of his old crew.

"They told me all about you, and how amazing you used to be." She tightened her fists as she held back angry tears, "You just abandoned them, like they didn't mean anything to you. And for what? So you could become some showboating asshole?"

"It wasn't like that." He shot back, fighting his own tears. "I'm not the kind of guy who uses people! We just didn't connect anymore. I had to move on."

"So you could be a big shot right?" She stepped back.

"You don't fucking know me." He yelled.

"So tell me then! Are you the 'hero' my friends used to think you were? Or the loser I see standing in front of me? Who the hell is Sonic the Hedgehog really?"

It happened again, he choked. He couldn't find the words to answer her. His esophagus felt like it had swelled shut, and tears peaked from the corners of his eyes. She just shook her head before turning around and walking away again.

"My name is Sonic the Hedgehog." He yelled at her, voice cracking as tears spilled from his eyes. "I'm a sixteen year old junior at Green Hill Academy. My mother is my hero, and I barely know who my dad is. My sister just broke up with one of my best friend and I don't know how to console her, my brother fucking hates me, and my little brother has me a constant nervous wreck fearing for his safety. My best girl friend is acting some type of way with me and I have no idea why. I'm about to get into my first serious relationship with a childhood friend, and I'm not sure how to go about it. And I was finally the coolest guy in school…until you. You came along and dissed me. Now everyone thinks I'm a joke! For the first time in my life I feel insecure, and it's your fault. Now I have to gain everyone's respect back because I have a superiority complex, is that what you wanted to hear? And I did ditch the Freedom Fighters to get to higher places, alright? I did! And I think I killed him…Oh Chaos, I fucking killed Tommy. He's dead, and it's all my fault."

He dropped to his knees, and began to sob like a baby. Her words had broken him down, and all his pent up emotions had just spilled out of him. She looked back at him with sympathy. He looked so vulnerable, so innocent, and so unlike the douchebag from English class. The chipmunk walked back over to him, kneeled beside him, and put a comforting arm around him. He threw his head in her lap, clutching her over-sized blue shirt as he stained it with tears. She stroked his quills to comfort him.

By the Lake of Rings, under the moonlight, and surrounded by fireflies she had seen the real him. The insecure, regretful, and the fragile side.

* * *

It had been a month since the crash that stole the voice of Ray, and the arms of Matilda. The yellow squirrel had healed from his physical injuries remarkably well, but still showed no signs of returning speech. He was back to square one, using sign language. He was released from the hospital earlier that day, and was now on a bus back to school. He was so excited to finally go back to Green Hill Academy, and be able to see his locker-buddy again.

Matilda however wasn't having such a smooth recovery. She didn't show any signs of progress in occupational therapy, and her stay had been extended due to signs of a possible infection. Now she was all alone in her hospital room, no longer able to look over at her brother. She felt so alone.

Ever since the loss of her arms, her mentality and willingness to carry on has slowly been degrading. She hated being so helpless, not being able to do something as simple as picking up a Chaos-dammed spoon. Above all, she felt like such a burden to Mighty, more so now than ever before. Whenever he came to bathe or feed her, he didn't seem to mind at all, but she did. She felt like she was stealing his life away.

"Bath time Matilda." A chipper nurse called out as she entered the room.

"No." Matilda replied completely monotone. "I wish to wait for my brother."

"He called and said he couldn't make it." The nurse informed her, pushing a wheelchair to her bedside. "He said he was sending a friend over to help, but they must be running late, and the rule is all patients must bathe before bed."

"Fine…"

"Let's just get you to the bathroom then." The nurse cheered happily as she helped the armadillo girl into the wheelchair.

The nurse wheeled her into the bathroom. Matilda bit her lip in embarrassment as the stranger ran the warm water in the tub, and begun undressing her. She felt so humiliated.

"Can you call my brother?" Matilda asked in the same dead tone, "I'd like to see when he'd visiting again. I miss him."

"I'm not supposed to give you my cellphone, but I'll make an exception for you Sweetheart." The nurse smiled.

The woman reached into her pocket and pulled out her cellphone. Matilda gave her the numbers, but just before she could hit the call button the armadillo girl spoke up.

"Dr. Quack is calling you Ma'am." She nodded her head toward the door, "He's standing by my door, and he looks upset."

"Oh Dear!" The nurse gasped, tossing the phone to Matilda's lap before exiting the bathroom.

When she walked out, she saw no one standing in the doorway. "Honey, there's no one here—" Before she could get back in the bathroom, Matilda had slammed the door shut and locked it with her teeth. "Matilda! Open this door right now young lady!"

The armadillo struggled to work the phone with her mouth. She managed to get the camera on before setting the phone down on the counter. She sat in front of it, only being seen from the shoulders up on the screen. The nurse pounded on the door, but she ignored the pleas and continued to make a video. She pushed the start button with her nose.

"Mighty…I'm so sorry. I'm messed up, and I can't go on. I feel like such a burden to you. I know you're always smiling, and saying you're happy, but I feel like…I'm ruining your life. I love you Dear Brother. You mean so much to me, which is why I can't do this to you anymore. I want you to have a normal life. Join the football team again, quit your jobs, and get a girlfriend for Chaos sake! Please don't worry about me, or blame yourself. I'll be in a better place…I'll be at the wishing tree."

With that, she ended the video, and sent it to her brother. The pounding on the door became desperate, and she could hear the nurse screaming at the top of her lungs. The armadillo girl just zoned out, as she walked over to the tub full to the brim. She gazed at her reflection in the water, envisioning Mighty and Ray's smiling faces. She smiled her first smile since the accident before flinging herself over the rim of the tub. A million memories of her and her brothers fluttered through her mind as her lungs filled with water. The last thing she saw was an image of Mighty, holding her under the wishing tree.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

Mighty didn't usually look at his phone during work, but it was late, and he was at his security job. He pulled out his phone, swiping the screen to see an unknown number had sent him a video. He opened it up to see Matilda on screen…

* * *

 **I need to stop putting you guys through all this heartache! But it's just so crazy. Poor sweet Mighty goes through so much. At least Silver finally found happiness, but how long do you foolishly believe I'll let that last? Maybe forever, you'll just have to find out. Elias seems to finally have his shot as well, but Green Hill Academy has a way of fucking everyone over most of the time. Let's check the relationships chart.**

 **Silver and Blaze: DATING**

 **Honey and Shadow: HOOKED UP**

 **Julie-Su and Thrash: ENGAGED**

 **Knuckles and Rouge: ONE NIGHT STAND**

 **Scourge and Fiona: SHE THIRSTY**

 **Amy and Sonic: ALMOST-OFFICIAL**

 **Fiona and Tails: ONE NIGHT STAND**

 **Cosmo and Tails: POTENTIAL COUPLE**

 **I cant believe I've almost hit 100 reviews! I'll definitely have to do something crazy for that! Probably another hellish chapter where I shuffle the love interests around and make some lives miserable or happy.**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy**

 **Amy chooses a mate to deflower her**

 **Mighty finds out who spiked the punch at the party**

 **Scourge and Manic finally have a run-in**

 **And so much more!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: Dangerous Encounters**

 _'I really wanted to die._

 _If it hadn't been for them, I could have…_

 _The friend my brother sent to bathe me was Julie-Su. Knuckles had driven her to the hospital._

 _They saw the nurse sobbing at the bathroom door as she listened to me drown. I didn't mean to frighten her. She begged them to call security, but Knuckles didn't think there would be enough time. So he broke the door down, and Julie-Su pulled me out and resuscitated me._

 _When I came back to, the two of them were kneeling over me, and calling to me with desperate cries. Once I opened my eyes, they both hugged me tightly._

 _I felt something strange in my heart. I could feel their worry, and their fear._

 _It felt like being held by my parents for the first time._

 _I couldn't help but cry. In that moment, I realized that I didn't want to die…I just wanted to be brought back to life.'_

It had been a week since Matilda's suicide attempt. Her friends had been visiting every day since. Sometimes Mighty stood over night. Right now, all of the Chaotix littered her hospital room. Julie-Su had revealed her secrets to the rest of the team, now that the hard part was over she didn't feel the need to hide anything.

"So you tellin' me Rouge, Mighty, and Knuckles found out before me?" Vector gasped, clutching his chest. "Julie! You're supposed to be my homegirl!"

"Sorry Vec." She rubbed the back of her head awkwardly.

"So when am I gonna meet my niece though?"

"Eventually." She laughed.

"I'm more interested in meeting your future husband." Saffron giggled, "I wonder what he's like."

"You must really like him if you're gonna marry him!" Charmy added, "Usually people wait forever til they get married."

"Well, we've been together about four years. It certainly feels like it's been forever, and we have a daughter. So why not when we turn eighteen ya'know?" The female echidna shrugged.

"That's only in a few weeks." Mighty smiled at the now flustered pink echidna.

"I know." She covered her face in embarrassment, "And we haven't planned anything."

Knuckles just sat in the corner, eyes fixed on the floor. It was that damn feeling again, the irritated feeling poking in the back of his head. The echidna stood in his chair uncomfortably beside the quiet Espio as Julie-Su continued to ramble on about her and Thrash getting married.

"I want to be your flower girl!" Saffron cheered excitedly.

"And I call ring boy!" Charmy added.

"I wish I could be a flower girl too." Matilda sighed, "But—"

"You can't be my flower girl." Julie-Su cut her off. "Because you're going to be my maid of honor." She smiled before leaning in and giving the armadillo girl a loving kiss on the forehead.

"Really?"

"Of course Tilly."

They all continued to talk for a while, enjoying each other's company until they had to head back. They all said their individual goodbyes to Matilda before leaving. Mighty and Ray stood behind for a minute.

"I'll be back at six, I promise." Mighty told her, stroking her cheek.

"I know." She nodded.

"You really scared me Tilly…" Her brother's voice cracked, "I don't know what I would do if I ever lost you…either of you."

* * *

Amy took a seat way in the back of her math class, being extra cautious as she opened her cute pink journal to the list of potential intimacy partners. She had listed several boys she knew in descending order from most attractive. Beside their names were pros and cons lists. She went over the names once more, crossing out the ones she deemed unfitting. As she did so she mentally commentated on each boy.

 _'Elias Acorn! Ugh, that would be a dream come true! I mean,_ _ **I LOVE**_ _Sonic, but just looking at Elias makes my toes want to curl. Chaos he's so damn hot! Too bad he's all about Sonia—and too bad she's too stupid to realize it.'_ She sighed before regrettably crossing his name off her list.

 _'Manic? Eh, he sorta looks like Sonic, but he's nowhere near as attractive. He kinda dresses like a homeless kid, and always smells like a giant cigarette. Yeah, not feelin' it.'_ She quickly crossed Sonic's brother off her list.

 _'Tails? I did hear he messed around with that slutty fox chick, but I doubt he has any more experience than that. Plus, he'd tell Sonic in a heartbeat. Can't risk it.'_ She crossed out his name.

"Hey, you're in my seat." A voice sounded, making her jump up.

She quickly attempted to shut the journal and hide it, but the figure in front of her was too fast. Before she realized it, the journal was swiped from her hands. When she looked up she saw a green hedgehog in a leather jacket scanning over her list.

" **GIVE THAT BACK!** " She yelled.

"A list of boys and their pros and cons?" He scoffed, peering over the book at the embarrassed sophomore girl. "You lookin' for a boyfriend?"

" **NO!** "

"Yo Meph!" He called out to another senior a few feet away. He quickly tossed Amy's journal over to him. "Give me an analysis. What do you think this list is for?"

Amy looked mortified as the reptilian-eyed hedgehog scanned over her journal too. She wanted to die right then and there, mostly because his name was on it. After a few minutes Mephiles walked back up to them, a curious look in his eye.

"A list of boys ranked by attractiveness, pros and cons, and…a guestimate of our 'shoe sizes'." He closed the book before studying the pink girl's facial reaction and body language. "Judging by the intense blush on your face I'd say this is about more than looking for a boyfriend. I'm guessing by your reaction this is about sex."

The green hedgehog's ears quickly sprung to attention, and Amy nearly collapsed on the floor in embarrassment. Mephiles just grinned evilly. Reading this girl wasn't a challenge at all.

"It's…It's…It's not." She stammered.

"You're cherry picking for a boy to pop your cherry." The dark hedgehog chuckled, "How ironic."

"I…It's…umm…"She was at a loss for words.

"Let me see that!" The green hedgehog swiped the book back and quickly scanned for his name.

"I'm honored to be ranked so high up, but I believe I far exceed Shadow in attraction…and definitely 'shoe size'." The dark hedgehog smirked.

"Hey, where the hell is my name?"

"I don't know you!" Amy scolded the green hedgehog.

"But you know this creep?" He gestured to Mephiles.

"We have three classes together."

"Well, if sex is what you're after, look no further." The green hedgehog grinned, taking a seat next to her while shewing Mephiles away. "The names Scourge the Hedgehog, and I believe I far exceed your qualifications."

"How so?" Amy inquired, peering over at him with a curious look.

He had that bad boy image, the one like the hot guys in her favorite dramas. He was incredibly attractive, arguably more so than her favorite blue hero because of one specific trait. His eyes, they were out-of-this-world blue, and unlike anything she'd ever seen in her life. As he spoke, she even caught a glimpse of the silver barbell through his tongue. A deeper blush formed on her face as she imagined several scenarios it would be useful for.

"Well first off, I'm sexy as hell. Way hotter than any of the losers you had in mind. I'll never get attached. And best of all, I won't tell Sonic shit. Not to mention I have a really big—"

"How did you know about Sonic!?" She yelped, cutting him off.

"I saw you making out by the fountain a while back." Scourge shrugged, "But I can keep a secret. Sneaking around is always hot."

"I don't get it. What's in this for you?"

"Um, free no-strings-attached sex?" He replied sarcastically, "My question is, why don't you wanna do it with him? Not that I care."

"I just…want to be the best I can for him." She admitted, "But I don't have a clue about anything. He's been with so many girls…I don't want him to think I'm boring. I just need some practice."

"Well then you've got your guy." He grinned, "I know how to play teacher."

She looked over at him again as he gave her a devious smirk, resting his hand on her thigh beneath the desk. She blushed madly at his suggestive manner of speaking, and the way he stuck his tongue out at her with its jewelry shining under the florescent light.

Scourge the Hedgehog, he was the one.

* * *

 _"Hey Dad."_

 _"Knuckles? You know this is my business phone. I can't be bothered at work." Locke answered in confusion._

 _"I know, I know. I'm actually calling to ask how much of my money I can get back for that giant green emerald I bought last summer, I still have the receipt. "_

 _"Return it? Why would you do that? I thought your girlfriend loved it."_

 _"She did…until we broke up, like last month."_

 _"Oh, I'm sorry."_

 _"Yeah, so I have no real use for it."_ Knuckles sighed, looking over the emerald in his hand.

 _"Save it."_

 _"Why would I do that?"_

 _"My father gave it to me. It's been a family tradition for a long time."_ His father explained _, "It's called the Master Emerald. Give it to the girl you think you'll love for the rest of your life, and it will determine if she is your soulmate. If she isn't it'll end up right back in your hand."_

 _"Dad, that's such superstitious bullshit."_ Knuckles shook his head, _"And if it's a family tradition why was it on sale at the shop for so long?"_

 _"Of course it's bullshit. I told my father the same thing when your mother gave it back to me after the divorce was finalized."_

 _"Right."_ Knuckles sighed, _"I gotta go. My next class is starting."_

Knuckles ended the call, leaving a disheartened Locke on the other line. The older echidna sighed before doing the same. He looked around his store. It was empty. For the first time in a long time he wasn't being hounded by customers. He took advantage of the peace to make another phone call.

 _"Hello Alicia."_ He smiled as he could practically hear the smirk on her face.

 _"I didn't expect your shift to be over for another seventeen years."_ She greeted.

 _"I wanted to take you up on that visit proposition."_ He laughed, _"Or was that just a front for my father?"_

 _"Was it that obvious?"_

 _"How does lunch sound?"_

 _"I'm more concerned with how it tastes."_ She laughed again, _"It sounds wonderful Locke."_

* * *

Although Shadow was no longer high he did have a very vibrant aura around him, which is very unusual. He seemed to walk with a bit of pep in his step as he and Manic made their way down the hall. The green hedgehog was laughing his head off about how his friend hooked up with Honey, just as he predicted.

"I totally called it!" Manic laughed, "I told you the dress doesn't matter when it's off!"

"It certainly doesn't." He chuckled lightly, reimagining the cat without her childish clothes on.

"Oh man, I'm so proud of you Shads. Maybe now people will stop thinking we're gay lovers." The green hedgehog joked, making kissy noises.

Shadow just shoved him lightly, and gave a rare low chuckle. This last week certainly has been good. He and Honey had been texting as well as fooling around every day since. He had no idea she was such a wild child, but he loved it. A girl that loves sex, drugs, and alcohol just as much as he does—what could he possibly want more right?

"Excuse me Mr. Sunshine, I'm looking for my buddy Shadow. Have you seen him around?" Rouge called out to her ebony friend as she strutted over to the boys, "Chaos, what's gotten into you?"

"More like what's he gotten in to." Manic remarked, receiving an elbow in the gut from his friend.

"Just had a really good week." Shadow shrugged.

Rouge joined them on their journey down the hallway. She walked in between them as they all joked around and planned a smoke sesh after next period.

"I could use a damn cigarette, maybe a drink too." The bat sighed.

"Still hung up on the echidna?" Shadow asked.

"It's just so unfair." She groaned, "He hasn't spoken to me since…"

"Well, stop being a pussy and ask him what's good." Manic suggested.

"I tried that, and don't get snarky with me." She eyed the shaggy-quilled hedgehog.

"Oh Rougeikku, I would never."

"Stop joking about your sister in law." Rouge pushed him playfully.

"Sonic and Amy are a thing?" Shadow questioned.

"Sort of. He's gotta ask Blaze first or something." The bat shrugged, "Honestly, I think Sonic and Blaze sort of have something going on the side."

"No way." Manic laughed, "Blaze is totally fucking Silver."

"Silver?" Rouge looked back toward him, "The kid with the weird hair?"

"Yup." He smirked, "He texted me last week that he asked her out."

"Wow." Rouge gasped,

"What's going on over there?" Shadow asked, pointing toward his locker.

At the locker next to his was Mighty. He was leaning on his locker as a few of his friends stood around him, trying to console him. Manic tried to grab Shadow, but the ebony hedgehog was too quick. He slowly stepped toward the group, listening in on their conversation. Rouge and Manic walked behind him as they listened in too.

"Don't be upset? My sister tried to commit suicide! Why the hell am I here? I should be with her…" Mighty wailed in a frantic panic as frustrated tears escaped him.

Shadow's heart broke the second he heard that word. Suicide. It brought him back to the very day he watched Maria throw herself off the school roof. That's when he knew he had to tell, even if it meant going to prison. Before he could call out to the armadillo, Manic had already walked past him and pulled Mighty by the shoulder.

"We did it." The green hedgehog confessed, "We spiked the punch that night…the night of the accident. We're the ones who nearly killed your brother and sister, and I'm so sorry."

"You…You did this…" Mighty stuttered, hands shaking with visible anger.

"Mighty, don't…" Julie-Su tried to soothe his anger with her voice as she saw the uncontrollable rage spilling out of him.

"We're sorry." Shadow apologized as he stepped toward the two boys.

"You're sorry? **MY SISTER HAS NO ARMS, AND MY BROTHER HAS NO VOICE!** "

Everyone screamed in fright as Mighty delivered a powerful punch in the face to Manic, sending him down to the floor. Shadow quickly tried to restrain Mighty, but his strength paled in comparison to the armadillo tremendously. The angry brother grabbed Shadow by the neck, squeezing tightly as he delivered countless blows to the hedgehog's face before throwing him toward the lockers. No one dared to restrain the armadillo, fearing they'd suffer the same fate. Everyone in the halls could only scream and watch in horror as Mighty rammed his foot into the ebony hedgehog's chest, literally stomping him into the lockers until they begun to dent under the force.

Shadow gasped for air as blood spurted from his lips. Everyone cringed, but all Mighty could think about was his siblings, and how their lives had been ruined forever.

"Shadow!" Rouge cried as she ran to his aid once Mighty had ceased his assault.

He soon turned his attention back over to Manic, who had just staggered to his feet. He put his hands up frantically, showing he had no desire to fight, but Mighty didn't care. He stormed over and pulled Manic by the shirt collar as he delivered a barrage of punches to his face. Even when Manic's knees gave out and he fell to the floor, Mighty only continued to savagely beat him. His knuckles became raw and sore, but he showed no signs of stopping.

"Let him go and get on the ground!" A security guard shouted as he ran over toward Mighty.

Someone had thankfully alerted Officer Zonic to the fight, but it proved worthless as he too was unable to restrain the powerful teen. He tried to pull the armadillo off Manic, but found himself thrown to the lockers with an almighty force. People screamed in agony, begging him to stop, but no one was brave enough to interfere.

Manic swore he was going to die. His nose and lip were pouring blood, and his eye had received one to many direct blows. He was in agonizing pain. He only wished that someone would come to his rescue, or that he would just fall unconscious already.

"Get the fuck off him!" Another voice screamed angrily.

As fate would have it, someone came to his rescue. He watched through blurred vision as Mighty was struck with a metal desk leg. The armadillo staggered back in pain. He looked up to see Scourge the Hedgehog holding a blunt object in a defensive stance.

"I said get the fuck off!" He yelled at the armadillo.

"Get out of my way." Mighty screamed back, "That fucker almost killed my family!"

"No he didn't." Scourge shot back. "Those idiots spiked the punch with some bullshit called Chaos Control, a cheap version of Anarchy Beryl. The effects only last two hours. It doesn't even matter because Tommy and Mellow never went inside the hotel."

"That's bullshit! They were high when they crashed!"

"Yeah they were, but not because of these idiots. They stood around in the parking lot the whole time getting fucked up on heroin. I know because I was there when Mogul gave them the shit." Scourge quickly lifted up the sleeve of his leather jacket to reveal old track marks, "You won't find a trace of anything else in their damn toxicology reports. Now you better stand the fuck down, or get this ass whoppin'."

Suddenly Mighty felt terrible about his indiscretion. He was quickly slammed to the floor and soon felt the cold metal cuffs lock around his wrists. Zonic stood up, wiping the blood from his lip before hauling Mighty down to the office, Julie-Su and Vector following quickly behind them. Rouge helped Shadow up, and attempted to lug him toward the nurse's office. Once the battle was over, the crowd quickly dispersed to find entertainment elsewhere. Scourge swung the desk leg over his shoulder as he began to walk off, thanking Chaos he wasn't arrested for hitting the armadillo too.

"Is that it?" Manic yelled after the other green hedgehog, sitting up from the floor.

Scourge turned around to look at the savagely beat up Manic with a blank expression, "Get to the nurse."

" **YOU CAN'T JUST IGNORE ME FOREVER!** " Manic shouted as Scourge walked away without another word.

* * *

This past week had been a dream come true for both Blaze and Silver. Now that they were dating, their lives just seemed to fall perfectly together with no effort. He made her laugh, and she made him blush. They snuck out to see each other when their roommates were around, and spent every minute of every day together for the past week. Blaze started to wonder why the hell they waited this long to date, especially after being best friends since childhood.

The two of them stood outside their English class, as they waited for the bell to ring. She had her arms draped around his neck, and his wrapped around her waist. They pressed their foreheads together as they swayed back and forth lightly.

"Why do we have to sit so far from each other?" He whined cutely.

"I don't even know how there's over thirty kids in that class." The cat sighed, "I'll miss you."

"I'm sure I'll miss you more though." Silver chuckled, before giving her a light kiss.

"Do you think your roommates will be out tonight? It is Friday."

"Thanks to Principal Acorns 'No Off-Campus Privileges' rule I highly doubt it." He groaned.

"Ugh." She whined, "I just want to be alone with you."

He felt his face begin to burn red. He knew what it meant for two teenagers to be 'alone together'. He hadn't experienced anything of the sort…but he knows she has. She noticed his embarrassment, adoring the shy smile before kissing him again.

The bell soon rang and the two reluctantly said their farewells before sharing one last romantic kiss. Unfortunately, another hedgehog just happened to walk by.

"What's goin' here?" Sonic asked a bit rudely with an eyebrow raised.

They both pulled apart to meet his skeptical yet disgruntled look. Silver immediately threw his head to the side, while Blaze rubbed her arm awkwardly. The white hedgehog spoke up, fearing that if he didn't it would be more of a reason for the blue hedgehog to be a jerk.

"Just kissing my girlfriend before class…" He shrugged innocently.

"Girlfriend?" Sonic looked at the blushing Blaze who stared at her feet.

"Yes…" She mumbled before looking up at him with confidence, "Silver and I are dating."

"Since when?" The blue hedgehog replied a little too aggressively and quickly.

"Last week."

"And you didn't feel the need to tell me?"

"Should I have to?"

"I think your best friend deserves the heads up on these kinda things."

"He is my best friend Sonic." She replied harshly before turning toward the classroom, "And now he's my boyfriend too."

She quickly walked inside. Sonic just glanced at Silver with a grimace before the white hedgehog darted into the room himself. He had no idea what the deal was with Blaze's attitude, but it was really starting to agitate him.

* * *

"Knock, Knock." Honey called out as she pushed away the curtain, revealing Shadow laying on a cot in the nurse's office.

He just smirked as she waltzed over to him, throwing her bag down and taking a seat by him on the bed. She rubbed his chest soothingly as she used her other hand to cup his injured face. She shook her head lightly along with a slight chuckle.

"Did you try to get kinky with some girl who wasn't into it?" She joked.

"Hmph, I'm not sleeping with anyone." He replied.

"I guess I'm not just anyone then." She giggled before kissing him.

"No, you're not…" He said through the kiss.

The cat pulled away and gave him a seductive smile before pulling the curtain closed. The nurse had stepped out for her lunch break, so she took the opportunity to straddle the dark hedgehog. He bit his lip as she looked down at him with those sexy cat eyes.

"Doing it in the nurse's office sounds fun." She purred, "It's on my Fuck It List."

"Fuck It List?" He questioned.

"It's like a bucket list, but specifically pertaining to any of my sexual desires."

"I don't think so…"

"C'mon." She whined, blowing into his ear. "Nurse Bernie won't be back for at least half an hour."

"Um **HELLO!** " A voice called out, "I'm here too!"

The cat looked over to see Manic giving her a toothy grin. His face looked a thousand times worse than Shadow's. She sighed before getting off the dark hedgehog reluctantly.

"I brought you some of the work from class." She changed the subject, setting down some papers on the table beside his cot.

"Thanks." He nodded.

She quickly leaned over and whispered in his ear once more, "Maybe next time. I'm not done with you just yet Shadow the Hedgehog."

* * *

 _'It was a rainy day. We couldn't play football, or street hockey like we were hoping. So me and Julie-Su decided to camp out in my room, praying the storm would pass over soon. We were about ten years old._

 _She got soaked on the walk to my house, so I let her borrow one of my dad's T-shirts so she didn't catch a cold. It looked like a dress on her. He was working that day as usual, so it was just us._

 _We laid sprawled out on my bed, watching my ceiling fan spin around as we talked about our parents._

 _"I miss my mom a lot…" I sighed._

 _"Why did she leave you here?" Julie-Su asked me, "Your daddy's never home. She should have taken you too."_

 _"Dad wouldn't let her take me. She said she just wanted to be away from him, but she still loves me."_

 _"I hope she comes back soon. I want to meet her someday."_

 _"She promised she'd come back to get me, but I think she forgot." I mumbled into my pillow, "When I grow up and have my own kids, I'm always gonna be there for them no matter what."_

 _"Me too…" Julie nodded, looking over at me with big violet eyes that matched my own._

 _"Where is your mommy Julie-Su?" I asked, "I've only ever seen your dad."_

 _"When I was smaller my mom was taken by a monster…" She said sorrowfully._

 _"A monster?"_

 _"Daddy called the monster, Leukemia." She explained, "One day my daddy came home and said the leukemia took her away."_

 _"I hate monsters."_

 _"I miss her a lot." She sniffled, "I'm never gonna let the leukemia monster take me, and when I grow up I'm gonna find my mommy and bring her back home."_

 _Sometime later our conversation led to the topic of future children. We had already planned out our 'grown up' wedding, of course we had to go the extra mile and add kids to our fairytale._

 _"We're gonna have a boy! And I'm gonna name him Mace." I laughed._

 _"Why Mace?" She asked._

 _"It's my favorite name."_

 _"Well what if we have a girl?"_

 _"We won't."_

 _"But what if we do?"_

 _"Hmmm…Then I'd want to name her….Lara-Le, like my mom."_

 _"Lara-Le is a pretty name, but I want to name her after my mom too! Mari-Su."_

 _"Well, how about Lara-Su?"_

 _"That sounds perfect!" She cheered, giving me a big hug. "I can't wait to have Lara-Su."_

 _Is that why I'm so irritated? Because she chose that name?'_

Knuckles got lost in his thoughts as he walked down the first floor hall of the girl's dormitory. He sighed before stepping in from of room 102. Chaos, it seemed like this was the only dorm he'd ever been to in this place. He knocked on the door and waited for Julie-Su to answer. She promised they'd spend some time together, specifically without her fiancé. Ever since he transferred in Knuckles has been the third wheel.

He heard some rustling before the door opened. His face turned beat red when Julie-Su stood at the doorway wearing a midriff hot pink tanktop with the both straps falling off each shoulder, and lacy black thong underwear. Her hair was a mess, and she was drenched in sweat. Knuckles quickly turned away.

"Oh thank Chaos it's just you." The pink echidna sighed in relief, "I thought you were Rouge. What the hell are you doing?" She asked curiously as he shielded his eyes.

"Look what you're wearing!" He whispered harshly to her.

"You act like you've never seen me in my underwear before." She shrugged, "Or like I've never seen you in yours."

"Not since we were kids!" He scolded her, "And you definitely weren't wearing anything like that…"

"Oh Knux. It's you." A voice called out from inside the room.

Thrash soon emerged from inside the room. He stood behind Julie-Su in the doorway, shirtless and just as sweaty. He wrapped his arms around her waist, nuzzling into the crook of her neck, and ushering her back into the room. Knuckles felt sick to his stomach as she giggled and backed up into him seductively.

"You mind standing watch while we uhhh, finish discussing our wedding?" The pink echidna asked.

"Sure whatever." Knuckles mumbled.

"Thanks bro." Thrash grinned before quickly pulling Julie-Su back into the dorm room and shutting the door.

The red echidna just sighed as he slammed his back against the door and slid down to the floor with a frustrated sigh. He didn't understand what he was feeling at all. At first he was a bit shocked that Julie-Su had a child and fiancé, but as time passed he started to feel more and more infuriated by the thought of it all.

He put his hand in his pocket, feeling the emerald as he thought about what his dad said earlier.

"Waiting for me?" A voice called out.

He looked up from his position on the hall floor to see Rouge standing over him with a half-smile. He'd been meaning to apologize to her about his little outburst in the hall, feeling that he was a bit harsh on her. She held out her hand to him and helped him off the floor. He then gave her a smile, clutching the emerald tightly in his pocket.

"Actually, yeah." He replied, making her drop the sly half-smile in favor of a genuine one.

* * *

Nicole, Espio, and Shard sat at the top of the bleachers on the football field. It was gym class and Coach Sleuth was feeling quite generous, allowing students to freely roam the football field as he made some phone calls. The three of them watched as their classmates littered the field, talking and laughing.

Nicole had done an amazing job using makeup to mask her injured face, and she wore a purple cap to hide what remained of her hair. She sat between the boys, holding her knees as she rested her head on them while she watched the lavender-haired girl twirl across the football field so beautifully. She sat up once she felt a comforting hand on her back. She turned to see Espio give her a half-smile accompanied by sympathetic eyes. She smiled back, brushing off any negative thoughts lingering in her mind. Espio was a gift from the heavens. He was kind and passive, just like her. He always knew just what to say and do to make her comfortable.

Shard didn't seem to notice their little moment. He was too busy staring at the mongoose himself. All he wanted to do was go up to her and put her on blast. He'd been saying it for the last week, but every time he went off Espio got in the way. The hedgehog just couldn't stand to see Nicole suffer in silence like this, and he absolutely couldn't stand watching Mina get treated like some innocent angel. Unlike his lynx friend, he wasn't passive at all. He had a big mouth, and was wildly known to be quite direct, blunt, and cold with his criticisms.

His hands started to shake with visible anger just looking at the mongoose's smug face. On instinct he stood up, intent on marching over to her, but Espio quickly grabbed his wrist. He looked back at the chameleon with an annoyed expression.

"Give me just one damn reason why I shouldn't go over there and cuss her out?"

"Nicole doesn't want us to interfere." Espio stated calmly, "We must respect her wishes."

"Well I can't just sit here and pretend like everything is a-oh-fucking-kay." Shard replied in a frustrated tone.

"Shard please…calm down." Nicole begged in a hush tone.

"Nicole, she could have killed you!" He shouted, "What she did to you was fucked up! We can't just let her get away with this shit anymore. You're roommates, who knows what she'll do next! We have to tell—"

"No please." The lynx begged, "I don't want anyone to know…"

He walked back over to her, cupping her cheek in his hand as he kneeled down to eye-level with her. "This isn't your shame to carry. It should be hers. I won't watch you suffer like this anymore. I've had enough of sitting around and doing nothing."

"Shard, please…"

"No." He shook his head, "When we moved to this country, my father always told me to **NEVER** let someone make me feel unwelcomed, because we fought for our right to be here. DigItalians and Mobians have been at peace for years. This ignorance has to stop."

He pulled away from her, leaving her jade eyes glistening with tears. She clutched the bleacher tightly, afraid of what the hedgehog might do. She adored him for his spirit and confidence, but she only wished he wouldn't be so hot-headed. He stomped down the bleachers and onto the field. His jade eyes caught sight of Mina twirling around in the center of the field and singing a song for a little crowd. Just before he could reach her, he felt his arm get tugged back again. He turned around to meet Espio's hard glare.

"Let me go." Shard commanded.

"I can't let you do this." The chameleon shook his head, "I know how you must feel but—"

"You have no fucking idea." The hedgehog cut him off, "You have no clue what it's liked to be persecuted for your race, and a war your people helped this fucking country win."

Espio just bit his lip, suppressing an image of his deceased father from his mind. "Think of Nicole. If you do this, she's the one who'll have to face Mina back at the dorms tonight, and neither you nor I will be there to protect her."

Shard thought for a moment, darting his eyes to Nicole and Mina. With a huff, he yanked his arm from Espio's grasp and walked off. The chameleon sighed in relief before returning to Nicole. She quickly embraced him, taking him a bit off guard.

"Thank you so much Espio." She pulled away and smiled at him with a blush, "I know Shard means well, but I don't want any confrontation…"

"I understand." Espio nodded, "But eventually you'll have to face this Nicole."

"I know." She sighed, "But I wish to do it in a peaceful way. There's no doubt in my mind Shard planned on something quite opposite."

* * *

Tails and Cosmo were sitting in the library at one of the tables for two behind all the shelves. They whispered about how their days had gone, although they've literally spent every day together since the incident with Fiona. The vixen occasionally lingered in his mind. He missed the connection between them quite dearly, especially during science class, but Cosmo had certainly been helping him get through the tough times.

He felt so comfortable with her, telling her anything, and asking for advice. As of lately, she seemed to be the only person he could talk to since all his friends were caught up in their own things. The gang had been quite distant these last few weeks. Thankfully he had this new friend to ease the pain.

"My brother's been acting really weird lately. A week ago he came back to the dorm around three in the morning. I think he was crying or something, he looked awful. I pretended I was asleep, but I listened to him sniffle in the dark." Tails sighed as he explained his concerns about Sonic, "He hasn't really been his peppy self since then. Now he just walks around with a blank expression and no real enthusiasm."

"Maybe you should try talking to him. Figure out what's bothering him." The green-haired girl suggested.

"I tried, but he's been unusually distant." The fox shook his head, "He won't even tell me where he was that night."

"He might have some girl troubles."

"Maybe…" Tails sighed, remembering he was the same way after the altercation with Fiona.

"If he's really troubling you, perhaps you should speak with his girlfriend."

"Sonic doesn't have a girlfriend." The fox chuckled.

"Are you sure?" Cosmo tilted her head and scratched her cheek, "I believe I overheard some girls talking about him dating the pink hedgehog who wears the gold bracelets."

"Amy?" He gasped, "No way! He hasn't told me anything!"

"I think so."

"I've gotta go Cosmo." Tails replied hastily as he got up to look for Amy Rose.

Shortly after he vanished, another figure appeared behind Cosmo. She felt someone's eyes on her, so she quickly turned around to meet the gaze of a little rabbit girl she'd never seen before.

"Hello?" Cosmo greeted in a bit of confusion.

"Hi." The rabbit waved awkwardly, "I didn't mean to frighten you. My name is Cream."

"Oh, aren't you one of Tails' friends?"

"Yes, I am." Cream nodded, shifting her gaze around uncomfortably as she dug her heel into the floor.

"Are you looking for him?" The seedrian asked sweetly, "My name is Cosmo."

"No, I just wanted to ask you something."

"Me?" She pointed to herself in surprise, "Um, sure."

"Well, I was wondering if you two were…um, dating."

The green-haired girl's face immediately brightened up with a pink glow. She squealed in surprise at the blunt question before fiddling with her fingers and looking away nervously. She knew they'd been spending quite a lot of time together lately, and understood how the rabbit could have gotten that idea.

"Oh no! We're not dating" She replied with a giggle, putting Cream's little heart at ease. "But…I'm hoping that very soon we might…"

* * *

"How did the assignment go with Sugah-Hog last week?" Bunnie asked as she walked Sally to her dorm room, "You haven't said much since. I'm a little worried about you. Did he try somethin'?"

"No Bunnie." The auburn-haired girl lied, "I never hung out with him. That guy is nothing but a jerk. Thankfully no one else did the assignment either, so Ms. Breezie wasn't too harsh on us."

"Sorry about the assignment Sugah. I know how much school means to ya'." The rabbit gave her a hug once they stopped in front of her dorm room. She returned the hug before saying their goodbyes.

Sally sighed as she dug the key out from her bag, thinking about the night she and the blue hedgehog were out by the secret lake. He hadn't spoken to her, or even looked at her since. Honestly, she felt a little guilty about verbally assaulting him, and pretty much forcing him out of his shell. She sighed, making a mental note of sending an apology text once she got inside.

When she opened the door, she was met with Fiona's envious scowl. Sally just groaned in frustration. Ever since the vixen's ex-boyfriend visited, she's made the chipmunk's dorm life pure hell.

Fiona just grumbled, digging her fingernails into her forearms as she stood standing with her arms crossed. She narrowed her eyes at the chipmunk. "Welcome home, skank."

"For the last time Fiona, I don't talk to your stupid boyfriend! I don't even know him!"

"Yeah right." She growled, "I saw the way he looked at you. I know you're sleeping with him."

"If someone's sleeping with him, it sure as hell isn't me." Sally shook her head, shoving her way past Fiona.

The vixen just bit her lip in frustration. She knew Scourge was sleeping with someone, he had to be. The thought was eating away at her cold heart. She was going to get him back no matter what, and once she finds out who he's been messing with she's going to destroy them.

* * *

 **Oh poor Amy, she has no idea what she's getting herself into...**

 **And her soon-to-be-boyfriend Sonic is feeling some type of way about her best friend having a boyfriend? How sketchy does that sound?**

 **Cosmo-Tails-Cream: Incoming the young love triangle.**

 **So Manic and Shadow weren't technically responsible for the crash, at least they're free of their guilt.**

 **Shadow's even begun to fall for the annoying sex-crazed cat.**

 **There's so much going on...**

 **I've finally settled on a semi-accurate upload schedule. I've gotten in the habit of uploading every two-three days, so now you know. I upload quick and a lot, but that's what some of you love about me. Of course I might slack off here and there, or run out of steam eventually.**

 **We've almost hit 100 reviews! Since the story is set in October as of right now, I'm thinking the 100th review special will be a Halloween one, and another chapter that shuffles the romances-because that's high school for ya', always changing.**

 **I'd also like to point out, that one theory I've gotten in a review, is crazy accurate and I NEVER thought anyone would be able to piece it together-But I won't say which!**

 **If you're bummed out about your couple not looking too good or like it'll never happen, don't fret. They've only been in school a month and a half, there's still a long way to go before I end the story. Everything can change in an instant. This story is supposed to teach open mindedness when it comes to couples.**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy**

 **Someone learns they're going to be a father**

 **With a little help from Sally, Elias finally works up the nerve to tell Sonia how he feels**

 **Amy and Scourge heat things up**

 **Rouge finally gets her chance to shine**

 **Shadow's world comes crashing down**

 **And so much more!**


	19. Chapter 19

**WARNING: Sexual themes, body shaming, racism, and teen pregnancy**

* * *

 **Chapter 19: We Could Be Somethin'**

Elias and Sonia walked hand in hand across the campus toward the picnic tables by the fountain. Things between them were just as they used to be. He was doing a fine job of mending her heart, and getting her out of those darker days. She even started to get back into her usual routines again. It seemed like her nights of crying over Knuckles were at an end.

They took a seat at the picnic table Sally and Nicole were. He always used to talk about his sisters, and was happy to finally introduce Sonia to at least one of them.

"She stood back in Moebius with our father." Sally informed Sonia, who was curious about the whereabouts of their missing sister.

"I see." Sonia nodded, "Well, it's nice to finally meet you Sally. Elias has told me so much about you."

"Likewise."

After some more discussion and laughter, Sonia had to say her farewells. She wanted to catch up with Coach Sleuth and ask for her position on the volleyball team back. Elias watched her walk off with adoring eyes, making both Sally and Nicole smile.

"So that's the famous Sonia my brother's so in love with." Sally remarked with a sly grin, earning a giggle out of Nicole.

"C'mon Sal. Don't embarrass me like that." Elias chuckled.

"At least you're not denying it." She laughed, "So when are you gonna let her know?"

"She's just getting over a break up."

"Sounds like old news to me." The chipmunk shrugged, "You two would be so cute together."

"She's right Elias." Nicole agreed.

"It's not that simple though." The prince sighed.

"It's as simple as you make it." Sally replied, "You need to stop being so passive about this Elias. That's how chances slip by you. Even if nothing comes out of it, you could at least let her know how you feel."

He was so thankful to have Sally back in his life. She was always giving him sage advice. If only she had been there always, maybe he would have made the right choices, and maybe Sonia would have already been his girlfriend.

"Maybe I'll tell her…."

"Maybe?" Sally rose an eyebrow.

"Elias." Nicole pleaded.

They both gave him those puppy dog eyes, the ones he always had trouble resisting ever since he was young. He sighed in defeat before rolling his eyes.

"Fine, I'll tell her the next time I see her." They both cheered excitedly before he spoke again. "I didn't call you both here to talk about me! I want to know how my little sisters are doing. Nicole, what's with the new look? Trying to impress someone?"

Nicole blushed awkwardly, looking away as Sally tried to study her face. The chipmunk hadn't noticed the extra makeup before. The lynx shifted uncomfortably in her seat as her brother had turned the tables on her.

"No." She bit her lip nervously, "I just wanted to look…nice."

"Is this about Shard?" Sally smiled.

"Shard?" Elias shot up.

"Bunnie is convinced you two are dating." The chipmunk added.

" **DATING?!** " The prince yelped.

"We're not!" Nicole assured them, frantically waving her hands in dismissal. "He's just my friend."

"Do you like him?" Sally asked.

"I…umm…well…" Before she could give an answer, she caught sight of a purple walrus waving at her. "I've gotta go, Rotor needs me." She quickly scurried off to her friend, thanking Chaos for the save.

Sally and Elias sat across from each other, sapphire eyes locked, and auburn fringe whisking over their foreheads as they smiled.

"So, while we're on the topic of love lives." The prince grinned, "Have you met any boys you might be interested in?"

"Not a one." She laughed.

"Any girls?" Elias rose an eyebrow curiously.

"Seriously Eli?"

"Just had to check." He laughed, "It's good to have you back Sally…"

* * *

Sonia strutted down the hall of the electives building, finally back in her peppy mood. She smiled and waved to all the familiar faces, greeting people with compliments and hugs just the way she used to. Things finally seemed to be getting better for her, until her jade eyes caught sight of her ex-boyfriend.

Knuckles stood in the doorway of the gym, hands firmly gripping Rouge's waist as she whispered something to make him blush. It took her right back to a little over a month ago, where she was with him in that same position. It hurt, but she wasn't broken.

Not until he pulled something familiar out of his pocket. It was the over-sized green emerald that once hung from her neck. She watched as Knuckles twirled the bat around cutely, and placed it on her. The magenta girl felt sick to her stomach, like she was going to convulse. She staggered her way to a nearby bathroom, praying to Chaos that neither of them had noticed her.

She tossed her bag to the floor instantly as she darted over to the sink. She steadied herself with her hands flat on the counter as she studied her reflection. Tears had been brimming her eyes, and her face was red from forcing them back. She turned on the faucet, cupping her hands under the cool water before splashing her face.

She thought he was with her other roommate, Julie-Su, but apparently she was mistaken. It honestly hurt less when she thought he was with the echidna girl, but Rouge…the girl he used to say was so annoying and not his type. She started to wonder if everything he ever said was a lie.

Suddenly, the bathroom door swung open, throwing off her train of thought. She looked over to see Mina and Honey walking in.

"I heard she and Knuckles hooked up at Vec's party last month, but I didn't know they were dating." The yellow cat giggled.

"I think they just started dating last week." Mina replied, "Honestly, good for them. Those two have obviously had feelings for each other since like, forever. They're cute as hell."

The mongoose looked over to see a flustered Sonia eyeing them from the other side of the bathroom. Honey quickly ceased her giggling, while Mina just set her stuff down on the counter casually.

"Oh, Sonia…didn't see you there." The mongoose said awkwardly before pulling out her makeup bag.

"Hi…" Sonia mumbled, voice full of angst.

"I'm guessing you heard about Knuckles and Rouge…" Honey spoke up, walking over to the hedgehog and patting her on the back.

"Yeah…" The magenta girl sighed, feeling all those negative emotions rising back up.

"Don't feel bad…" The cat cooed, "I'm sure there's someone else out there for you."

"Like, seriously girl. You need to get over it. It's been more than a month." Mina rolled her eyes.

"Mina!" The yellow cat scolded.

"What? I mean, I'm not wrong." The mongoose shrugged, "Knuckles clearly isn't hung up on it, so why should you be?"

"You could be a little more compassionate ya'know?" Honey retorted.

"No, she's right." Sonia interjected, "I can't let this bother me."

"Well, duh." Mina scoffed.

"I just really liked him…"

"Clearly the feeling wasn't mutual. You should have expected this actually. I mean your competition was freakin' Rouge!"

"What are you trying to say?" Sonia huffed.

"Um, have you seen her? She's hot! And you're….well….average."

"What do looks have to do with anything?"

"Everything!" Mina replied in annoyance, "Knuckles is a guy after all. He's sporty, so obviously he wants a girl with physical appeal."

"Are you trying to say I'm ugly?"

"Not ugly, just not that physically appealing." The mongoose spoke as she applied her mascara, "Look at Rouge. She's got an athletic body, and curves. She's also slim and toned."

"I play sports too. I'm just as in shape as her."

"No offense Sweetie, but the scale would tell us something different."

"Seriously Mina? Not okay." Honey interjected.

"I'm just sayin'!" Mina shrugged, "Knuckles is the kind of guy who wants his girls…thinner."

"Rouge is a size 9 in jeans, I'm only a size 7!" Sonia retorted, "I'm not even heavy."

"That's because Rouge has curves. You don't really have that excuse. It doesn't even matter because he's with her and not you. So who cares?"

Sonia didn't want to hear any more of the mongoose girl's bullshit. She picked up her bag from the floor and rushed out of the bathroom in frustration. To her relief, Knuckles and Rouge were no longer in sight, but Mina's words echoed in the back of her mind. She clutched her stomach, pinching the minimal amount of extra skin with a grimace.

* * *

 _'I've always had a crush on Knuckles, ever since we were little kids on the playground. I've never been good at showing my affections, I just hoped that he could see past my charade. Unfortunately, I didn't count on him being so dimwitted._

 _I used to be so jealous of him and Julie-Su, how they were so close. By no means was I insecure when it came to her, she was as ugly and flat as a board. I just wanted that closeness she shared with him. Sure, I used to tease her a lot, but I never really hated her. Not until she left…_

 _Because when she left…she hurt him._

 _Sometimes I used to climb the tree next to his window and watch him frantically pace his room, calling her, and begging her to come back. I didn't know how to console him, not that he'd want me to anyway. It was agonizing to watch poor Red drown in misery._

 _I was so happy when Sonic brought him to our little group for the first time. Of course our dynamic consisted mainly of teasing and arguments, but we were close. Just as I always wanted. I wanted to tell him dozens of times how I felt, but I just didn't know how to go about it. It's such an embarrassing topic._

 _Then he started dating Sonia, my natural enemy, and rival. Little Ms. Perfect, I never could really stand her. Not only did she have the same thing for Knuckles I did, but she had everything else too—even that stud muffin of a best friend, Elias Acorn._

 _I never told him directly about my feelings, not until that night of the party, and I only did so because I didn't think he'd remember or tell me something crazy like he felt it too. In a right frame of mind, I would have never let it get so far, but I knew it might be the only chance I got to be with him in the slightest romantic way._

 _When he told me to pretty much 'fuck off' in the hallway, I was devastated, but I'd never show it. Manic and Shadow are the only people who can relate to my dilemma. We're all so damn socially inept it's disgusting. We might as well already have a polygamous wedding because it's more than likely we'll only ever have each other._

 _At least, that's what I thought until I saw Knuckles waiting outside my dorm room last week. He looked so gloomy, I had to say something. To my surprise things picked up rather quickly from there. We got some coffee at the café, and he even apologized._

 _"I remember everything I said to you that night…" He mumbled, staring at his cup. "And everything you said to me…"_

 _"Yeah…" I sighed, "I remember too."_

 _"So were you for real? When you said…you've always liked me."_

 _"Were you?" I asked back._

 _He smiled at me, and I found myself smiling back. That little chat seemed to be the starting point of our budding relationship. And this morning, he sealed the deal by giving me the most beautiful gem I'd ever seen in my life! I know it used to be Sonia's, but who am I to say no to such a beautiful jewel?_

 _I've finally got him. Knuckles the Echidna is all mine.'_

" **BABY GIRL!** " A voice shouted, quickly snapping the bat out of her thoughts. She felt a pair of arms snake around her waist from behind, and a chin rest on her shoulder. She turned to meet Manic's playful smile, face still bruised from the other day.

"Manic, stop." She chuckled, "My boyfriend might kick your ass."

"Well, I can't beat up myself Rouge." He remarked playfully.

"I know, but Knuckles could." She smiled, unhooking his arms from her waist, and pushing him away lightly.

"Knuckles?" Manic rose an eyebrow, "Since when?"

"We started talking again last week, but today made it official."

"And he gave you this?" The green hedgehog asked, poking the green emerald resting on her chest. "Wasn't that Sonia's not too long ago?"

The bat just shrugged with a roll of her eyes, "Yeah, but then again…so was he, and look where he's at now."

"You make a good point." Manic chuckled, "Damn, now I'm gonna be the fifth wheel!"

"Fifth wheel?" Rouge questioned, "What are you talking about?"

"Didn't Shadow tell you?"

"Um, tell me what?"

"Oh….shit."

"Manic…"

"Would you look at the time?" He laughed nervously, pointing to an imaginary watch.

Just before he could scurry off the bat grabbed him by the arm tightly, forcing him to look at her. "What's going on with Shadow?"

"He's going to ask out Honey…."

"Honey?!"

"Well…they've kinda been….messing around for a while."

"Absolutely not." She shook her head, releasing Manic before turning around toward where she believed Shadow was. Manic quickly staggered after her, trying to talk her down.

"C'mon Rouge, chill out. Honey's a dime."

"Honey's a slut." She corrected, "I won't allow this shit."

"You're not his babysitter."

"No, I'm his best friend."

"So am I!" The hedgehog reminded her, "Shouldn't you be happy for him? Let's just talk about this."

"I can't."

"Can't what?" He asked, grabbing her arm.

She turned around with such a fierceness in her eyes, taking Manic a bit by surprise. "I can't let him get hurt again."

* * *

Fiona watched Scourge walk down the hall, phone in hand, and a big grin on his face. She hid around a corner, watching him intently with jealousy in her eyes. Who could possibly be making him smile like that through the phone? Obviously a new love interest.

She was extra curious when he opened the door to the library, a place he literally never goes. Her face twisted up in anger once she remembered her roommate was a volunteer at the school library. Without hesitation, she stomped into the library. She darted her eyes around until she caught sight of her auburn-haired roommate carrying a stack of books.

"Where is he?" Fiona yelled as she stomped over to the chipmunk, getting her hushed by the woodchuck librarian.

"What are you talking about this time?" Sally sighed, walking right past the fox. She didn't have the patience to deal with her today.

"Don't play dumb!" Fiona growled, swatting the stack of books out of Sally's hands to gain her attention. "I saw him come in here."

"Who?"

"Scourge!" She shouted again, making the librarian shush once more. "I know he came in here to meet up with you slut!"

"Oh Chaos, not this again. Listen, I don't have time for this. I've gotta get the science section back in order before next class. I don't know where your boyfriend is, so just leave me alone."

In a rage, Fiona grabbed the chipmunk by the collar, yanking her close so they were face-to-face. "No, you listen bitch. Scourge is mine, he's always been mine, and he'll always **BE** mine. **I'M** his queen. I won't let you ruin that **AGAIN**." She shoved Sally to the floor, "You're just an ugly slut. And if I find out you're the one fuckin' around with my boyfriend, I'll kill you."

The vixen then stormed out of the library, leaving a terrified Sally on the floor. Thankfully they were behind a few shelves, so the librarian hadn't witnessed the scuffle. She sat up from the floor and began to scramble for the books she had dropped. As soon as she went to grab a physics book, a hand came down on hers. She jumped at the contact, fearing Fiona had returned, but when she looked up she was greeted by beautiful blue eyes.

"You again." She groaned at the sight of the green hedgehog that had been unintentionally ruining her life, "Please just leave me alone. If Fiona sees me talking to you she'll kill me."

"I wouldn't let that happen." He replied quickly, handing her the book.

She gave him a curious look before taking it. He then proceeded to help her collect the rest of them. The hedgehog offered her a hand, helping her off the floor. He didn't let go right away though, opting to hold her hand for a moment while he gazed into her sapphire eyes. He mentally drowned in them before she pulled her hand back and turned away from him.

"Please don't stare." She yelped in panic, shielding her face with the stack of books.

Once he begun to walk away she turned back to peak at the mysterious green hedgehog. He stopped to throw his head back in her direction.

"Don't listen to her...You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen." He complimented before disappearing behind the shelves. She just stood there with her face glowing red.

No one had ever told her she was beautiful before.

* * *

 _'It's been a week since me and Scourge started our 'lessons'. So far we've covered first, second, and third base. Gotta admit, I was a terrified at first. I had no idea what to expect, and my only knowledge was based off romance dramas I watched with Mari-An._

 _I always pictured my darling Sonic, scooping me up on a white stallion and carrying me off into the sunset. But the movies don't tell you what happens after the sun goes down. If they did I wouldn't be in this position. I wouldn't be sneaking around with his worst enemy._

 _Tails told me he's been depressed, and that I should talk to him. What if he knows what I've been up to? Can he even be mad? We're not official yet, so it's technically not cheating right? Oh, I don't know. Maybe this was the wrong thing to do…but there's no turning back now. Tonight is my final lesson._

 _There he is, standing by his locker. Oh, he looks so sad. He probably misses me. My heart is just breaking at the sight of him in such a state. I want to turn around so badly and run, but I promised Tails I'd find out what's wrong. Maybe it has nothing to do with me…maybe he's just homesick…Chaos I hope he doesn't know. I never want him to know._

 _So I'm just gonna put on my cutest smile, and walk right up to him. Like I have nothing to hide.'_

" **SONIC!** " Amy screeched as she rushed over to the blue hedgehog with arms flailing about.

He pulled his head out of his locker to see who was yelling his name. The pink hedgehog quickly leapt onto him like a leech, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing tightly. For the first time in two weeks he smiled, inhaling the pink girl's cotton candy scent. Without hesitation he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Ames…where have you been?" He asked in relief. He certainly had missed her cheerful attitude.

"Me? Uhh…I've…been uhh…doing a lot of homework." She stammered, darting her eyes side to side nervously.

"Oh…" Sonic nodded in understanding, a bit skeptical. "Yeah, we've all been pretty busy I guess…"

"Is everything okay Sonic?" She asked with the utmost concern, "Tails told me you've been kinda mopey."

"Just have a lot on my mind…" He sighed, mind drifting back to the harsh words Glasses-Girl had said.

"Like what?" She persisted, "You can tell me anything."

"I've just been feeling….like kind of a loser." He admitted.

"A loser?" She scoffed, "That's the last thing you should ever feel like. You're the best! Why would you feel that way?"

"Of course you'd say that." He chuckled, "But I've done some pretty shitty things—"

"We all make mistakes Sonic." She cut him off a little too jittery, "No one is perfect…but you're the closest to perfection one can get." She gave him a big smile, taking both his hands in hers.

This is why he liked her so much. Not only did she make him feel like king of everything, she always knew exactly what he wanted to hear. With her, there's no such thing as a dull moment. Just one look from her drowned the self-loathing, and the doubt right out of him. There was just something about Amy Rose that made him feel like he could take on the world. Her devotion, praises, and love were the remedy to any trouble that ailed him.

"You really mean that don't you?" He asked, squeezing her hands lightly.

"Of course I do." She cheered happily.

"Well you know what?"

"What?"

"I think you're more than perfect." He smiled before giving her a passionate kiss.

She yelped in surprise, but soon got with the program. The kiss was light and sweet, so unlike Scourge's rough and aggressive kisses. He soon pulled away, and they were both blushing.

"You're the most loyal, honest, and trustworthy girl in my life. I couldn't ask for more. That's why I don't want to put it off any longer." He spoke up again.

"What?" She gasped.

"I want you to be my girl."

"What about Blaze's approval?"

"Fuck Blaze." He spat bitterly, "The only approval I ever need is yours…"

"Well….ummm."

She bit her thumb as she thought of a way out of this. If she said yes, she'd technically be cheating on him tonight with Scourge, not to mention she wouldn't be prepared to be his girlfriend. But if she said no, she might lose her shot all together.

 **INCOMING CALL**

Both hedgehogs sprang up at the sound of Amy's loud ringtone. She pulled out her phone to see Rob had been calling her. She thanked Chaos for the save, opting to wish Sonic a speedy goodbye before answering the call.

"This might be urgent. I'll text you later! Bye!" She bellowed as she ran away.

He just chuckled as he watched her walk off, admiring her figure.

"If it isn't Sonic the Douche." A voice cracked from behind him.

With a roll of his eyes he turned around to meet Jet's smug face. He was leaning against the lockers beside him.

"The fuck are you doin' standing behind me? Trynna get a look at my ass?" The hedgehog mocked, "Storm might get a little jealous."

"Just because Wave is into that faggot shit doesn't mean the rest of us are." The bird growled in annoyance, "Just wanted to know if you were ready to give up on that bet."

"Why would I give up?"

"Just face it dude, she has zero interest in you. For once, someone isn't fawning over your arrogant ass. You'll never get her, so just pay up."

"Oh I'll get her." The hedgehog grinned.

"If you're so sure of yourself, how about we raise the stakes?"

"Go on."

"If you get with her and record it like you said, I'll double your winnings, **AND** tell everyone you're the king of the GHA."

"I'm diggin' it." Sonic nodded, "But if I lose?"

"You pay me double winnings, **AND** I get to publicly shame you so bad you'll be a loser for the rest of your life."

"That's risky as hell, but you know what? I'm feelin' pretty Chaos-damn lucky." The blue hedgehog grinned, "Little do you know, I've got her right where I want her."

"Oh really?"

"Yep." He laughed with such confidence, "It'll take some time, but you'll have your video by Christmas, maybe even sooner if I play my cards right."

Just before Sonic could walk off, the bird called out to him. "Just out of curiosity…what do you plan to do to win her over?"

"Fake it til I make it." He laughed as he disappeared down the hall.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 ** _Sally:_** _Hey… I'd apologize in person, but you've obviously been avoiding me. So, here goes. I'm really sorry about what happened at the lake. I didn't know what you were going through, and I shouldn't have pushed you to your breaking point like that. I feel terrible about it. I'm also sorry I was so quick to judge you, but we both know you didn't really give me a reason to want to be your friend in the first place. I'm hoping we could put this behind us, and I'm willing to give friendship a shot if you're still up for it._

* * *

Shard carried a box of protractors and rulers out of class as instructed by his math teacher Professor Charles. The old hedgehog had been running him ragged with tasks such as this all day. He hadn't heard from Nicole much today either, only bringing his mood down further.

Meeting Nicole was the best thing that ever happened to him. Growing up in Soleanna—ground zero of ignorant racists—was very difficult, especially after his father died. The hedgehog always felt so alone. He was often teased for his heritage, and robotic manner of speaking. Unlike Nicole, he never could really hold his tongue, or take the passive road.

He grew up fighting—sometimes for his life. Against street thugs, schoolyard bullies, and everything in between. In the short time his father was in his life, he taught Shard to be strong, bold, and brave.

 _'The road to happiness is a difficult one, especially for immigrants such as ourselves. People will treat you like dirt, but only if you let them. No matter what they say or do, don't ever let someone make you feel unwelcome. Never back down.'_

That's why the order to stand down has been weighing so heavily on his conscious. He wanted to honor Nicole's wishes because he cared about her, but at the same time this wasn't how he was raised. He's not the kind of guy who can hold his tongue, or accept such intolerance.

In the midst of his stormy thoughts he forgot to watch where he was going, and smacked right into another student. They both fell to the floor with a thud, spilling the contents of the box everywhere.

"Watch where you're going you disgusting Nanite!"

Shard ceased rubbing his sore forehead to open his eyes and see Mina Mongoose getting up to her feet. She was wearing a black halter top and khaki cargo shorts. Her hair was held back by a simple black headband, and her boots a dark mint color. Designer name brand everything.

"Fuck you." Shard shot back, enraged by that demeaning word.

"Do we have a problem?" She growled, crossing her arms.

He quickly staggered to his feet, ignoring the protractors and other fallen objects. He glared hard at the mongoose girl. His efforts to keep his cool were proving useless as with every second he wanted to punch her in the face more and more. He clenched his fists in an attempt to suppress such cruel thoughts, telling himself to keep calm for Nicole's sake.

"Do you always point out obvious things and phrase them like questions?" He replied sarcastically.

She shoved him back with a huff, obviously not a fan of his sarcastic nature. He regained his composure quickly, enraged by the physical contact.

"Don't touch me." He warned her.

"Or what? You gonna hit me?" She scoffed, pushing him back again. "Gonna rape me too? Cause that's all you people do right? Beat and rape innocent Mobian girls?"

"Don't." He growled once more, brushing her hands off him.

Even with his warnings, she continued to aggressively shove him. She was testing him, and he was sure as hell going to fail, because his temper was rising like the morning sun.

"C'mon hit me!" She instigated, "Go on. Do it! Do it so I can put your Nanite ass in jail where you people belong."

"I'm not gonna hit a girl." He retorted, "Especially one I'm pretty sure has an array of contagious diseases."

"Too chicken shit? Just gonna let me push you around like you're ugly girlfriend." The mongoose laughed, "How'd you like her new haircut—"

Shard quickly grabbed her wrists with a near bone shattering grip. She yelped in surprise and pain as he squeezed tightly, "Don't fucking talk about her that way, ever."

"Or what?" She growled, narrowing her pretty jade eyes at him.

"I'm not gonna hit a girl." He repeated, shoving her away from him. "But I know someone who will." He quickly walked off, not bothering to pick up the protractors.

* * *

"Hey you!" Honey shouted, leaping into Shadow's arms.

He just smiled, holding her bridal-style as he sat at one of the picnic tables by the fountain. They'd been very close these last few weeks. Shadow found himself quite smitten with the cat called Honey. At first he found her incredibly irritating, but once he got to know her, things just took flight like an airplane.

Her upbeat attitude was refreshing, her rebel antics always interesting, and her intense sex drive was an incredible bonus. Overlooking the cat's fashion sense, she was almost perfect. Slowly but surely over these last few weeks he's found himself developing feelings for her—ones that he hasn't ever felt for anyone other than his first best friend and crush, Maria Robotnik.

He was so overwhelmed by these feelings, they were so familiar yet brand new. The dark hedgehog never wanted it to end. For once in his life, he didn't feel so damn lonely. He just had to make her his.

"Hello Honey…" He greeted, putting her down in his lap.

She quickly wrapped her arms around his neck, and poked at his nose. "So what did you want to talk about?" She asked.

"It's actually…quite difficult." He stammered, not sure how to go about the subject.

"More difficult than having sex in the middle of class under the science table without anyone noticing?" She joked, "Man I can't believe we pulled that one off!"

"Yeah…" He chuckled at the memory.

"C'mon!" She whined, "Just tell me already! I promise whatever it is I won't laugh."

"It's about…well….dating."

"Oh! You need some dating advice? I can for sure help with that!" She squealed happily, "So who is the lucky lady?" She asked with a big smile.

"You…" He said flatly.

Her smile instantly dropped into a look of horror. "Me?"

"Well, yes. These past few weeks have been very interesting to say the least, and I feel very comfortable with you Honey. I haven't felt like this with anyone for such a long time. What I'm trying to ask is…will you be my girlfriend?"

"Oh Chaos." She groaned, getting up from the picnic table. "Shadow look, relationships aren't really my scene. We were just a couple of goofballs having fun."

"Weren't you crushing on me?"

"Well yeah, but that doesn't mean I wanted to settle down with you." She laughed rudely, "I'm a free bird. I don't stay in one place for too long."

"So…this was all just for fun and nothing more?" He asked in disappointment.

"I'm sorry Sweetheart." She apologized, "I honestly thought you knew that."

"I should have shouldn't I?" He asked bitterly, dropping his gaze to the floor.

"You look like you need some time for yourself." She said before walking off.

He sat there by himself for a while, just staring at his feet. He felt so humiliated and stupid, not to mention he felt a giant void in what little remained of his heart. He cursed himself for even thinking for a second that he could be happy again…that he could love again. Angry tears threatened the back of his eyes but he repressed them with all his might, tightening his fists in frustration.

"Don't get too hung up on her." A voice called out, "She'll catch an STD and die before she ever finds love."

He picked up his head and turned to see a pink hedgehog sitting at the picnic table across from his. She wore all black everything from her shoes to the little headband in her hair. Her light brown eyes were heavily outlined in eyeliner, and she sported black arm-warmers laced up in bicycle chains.

"You're probably right." He agreed solemnly.

"The probability of me being right is not nearly as high as the chances of her catching a venereal disease."

The dark hedgehog chuckled lightly at the word play. He looked over at her curiously, not recognizing her. "Who are you?"

"Who cares?" She shrugged before walking off.

* * *

The school prince walked nervously down the hall toward his best friend's locker. He knew she'd be there because he had her schedule memorized. Sally's encouraging words had been rambling in his mind all day. She was right, he needed to stop being so passive. Even if Sonia didn't return his feelings, the least he could do was let her know. Who knows what could happen?

As he turned the corner he bumped into another student. He quickly regained his composure, and caught the other student by the arm before they could go tumbling down.

"I'm so sorry." The prince apologized, "I should have been more careful I—"

"Elias?"

"I'm sorry, but do I know you?" He questioned.

The student was a brown female squirrel with dark green eyes. She had long light brown hair that feel past her shoulders, and rosy cheeks. She was quite cute, but he had no idea who she was. She sported a long white peacoat, black slacks, and black flats.

"Megan the Squirrel, from Vector's party last month." She explained with an adorable smile and hopeful eyes.

"Oh…" He bit his lip, trying his best to remember that night. "I'm sorry if I did anything to offend you that night. I was really messed up, and have no idea what I did. The whole night is actually one big blur to me."

"Really? Hold on, I think I have something that might help." She perked up, retrieving a tablet from her pink tote. She fiddled with it a bit before turning the screen to him. "Maybe these videos will jog your memory."

He took the tablet from her hand, and with mortified eyes he studied the images. The first one was a video of his outrageously sexual table dance. The second was a video of sixteen or so girls lined up, topless, and cupping red wine with their breasts as he made his way down the line lapping at each of them like a dog. He swiped right, each picture raunchier than the last. He finally came to the final video of him walking off upstairs with a yellow cat, and the girl standing before him. He quickly handed her back the tablet, face burning red.

"Did I…Did I take advantage of you?" He stammered, terrified of her reply.

"Oh no, nothing of the sort!" She assured him, putting his heart at ease. "But we did have sex…"

"We did?" His voice cracked with nervousness.

"I've been meaning to talk to you about it for a while Elias." She told him.

"Please don't tell me I drunkenly took your virginity?" He blurted out in a hushed whisper, fearing someone might overhear.

"No." She assured him, "But I am…pregnant." The squirrel then opened her peacoat, revealing her five week baby bump.

He looked up and stared right passed her at the magenta hedgehog standing by her locker. His eyes widened in shock as he processed the information before falling over.

"Elias? Are you alright!" She yelped, kneeling beside the passed out prince.

* * *

It was around midnight. The leaves on the trees were now all deceased, resting peacefully on the ground as the cold wind brushed and rustled them. A bright half-moon hung lazily in the night sky, and owls cooed in the distance. Amy couldn't stand the autumn season. Everything was so lifeless and dead. She missed the green leaves and beautiful flowers so much.

She thought about turning back, about running back to her dorm, and calling Sonic to give him the green light on their relationship. She thought about it, yet here she was…in Scourge's Hummer, lying underneath him on her back. Her cheeks were flushed as she shifted uncomfortably beneath him. She felt so dirty, and although she kept telling herself this was for Sonic…a little piece of her knew she wanted this.

Scourge was a lot more straightforward than her blue crush, and he was very compliant. She's used to her lovers being a lot more…dodgy. Although the green hedgehog had a familiar attitude, the two were so different. Sonic was gentle, sweet, and always wanted confirmation. Scourge was aggressive, rough, and took what he wanted when he wanted it.

He was dangerous, and so not good for her. He was like candy before bed, she knows she shouldn't but it's so hard to resist. It's true what they say, a bad boy could stop a girl's heart.

"Don't get shy on me now Pinky." He chuckled in that rugged husk voice, stroking her lips lightly with his thumb as he caressed her cheek.

"Aren't you supposed to wine and dine me first?" She huffed, remembering how this scene usually plays out in her favorite dramas.

"Well, I drank a 40oz before I got here so that's wine" He grinned, hiking up her cute pink nightgown. "And I'm about to dine on you so…"

Before she could stall any further, he had already slipped off her white panties, and dove head first between her thighs. She whimpered and cooed softly as he lapped at her little flower. She bit her lip hard, as she felt the cool steel of his tongue ring flick against her. Of all the lessons she had taken from him, this was her favorite. Sometime later he finally came up for air, gliding his tongue across his lips as he gave her a devious smirk.

"Looks like you're ready for the last class." He told her, pulling off his jacket.

Then he pulled his shirt over his head, revealing his entire upper body to her. Her jade eyes widened, and an incredible blush formed on her face. She sat up and glided her fingers across his abs with amusement, admiring the shiny medallion hanging from his neck. The green hedgehog was incredibly lean, but built. His body would be perfect…if it weren't for those disgusting scars.

"What happened to you?" She whispered sympathetically.

"What's the matter?" He changed the subject quickly, "Don't think they're sexy?"

"Oh they are…" She nodded with enthusiasm as she danced her fingers all the way down to his belt.

He cupped her cheek and forced her to look up at him. She was adorable. He pulled the red headband out of her hair and tossed it to the side before ruffling her hair with his fingers. He purposely styled it in a fashion similar to when Fiona let's her hair down. His ice blue eyes held her gaze, she could just stare at them all night they were so Chaos-dammed beautiful.

"Can you just do me one tiny favor?" He whispered.

"Ugh, please no more blowjobs." She groaned, "I think we've already established I have a terrible gag reflex."

"Not that." He replied. The green hedgehog held her face, catching her gaze again. "Could you…call me your king?"

"Why?"

"Just do it…please?"

"I guess, only because you've helped me out so much." She rose a skeptical eyebrow at him.

There was a long pause before she said the words he desperately wanted to hear.

"My King…" She cooed adoringly. Without hesitation he quickly pounced on her.

* * *

Sally was standing by the Lake of Rings once again, looking out at the beautiful water as she thought about what had coaxed her into coming here. She felt drawn to this place. Ever since Sonic had shown her it's location she's been coming back to it every night. It was so beautiful, and peaceful.

She adored the outdoors all year round. To her, every season was beautiful. Autumn seems so gloom and doom, but to her it's not the season of death. Its mother-nature packing up her leaves and flowers to wait out the harsh winters approaching.

The chipmunk kneeled by the water, cupping it in her hands as she studied her reflection. The green hedgehog's words from earlier echoed in her mind. He called her beautiful, a word she's never heard anyone use to describe her. She tried to wrap her head around why he would think such a thing. Her clothes were two sizes too big, her hair was plain, and she wore gigantic bifocals that made her look bug-eyed. On top of all that…he's seen her real face, what lies beneath the glasses.

He saw the scars, the hundreds of tiny tears across her flesh that had glossed over and formed scar tissue. Without the glasses one would find her even more unappealing. But even after seeing her scarred face, he still called her beautiful…

"Are you stalking me now?" A voice called out, as a figure stepped out from the shadows.

Sally quickly stood up and whipped her head around to see Sonic walking over to her, both hands in his pockets as the wind pushed his quills to the side. She crossed her arms over her chest, shifting her gaze to her feet.

"No." She retorted, "I just came to think."

"Me too." He sighed, getting down to the ground to lay in the grass. He patted the area next to him, ushering her to lay with him. Of course she would do no such thing, so she just took a seat next to him. Just like that first night they came here.

"So have you told anyone about this place?" He asked curiously, arms propping up his head as he looked at her in the barely lit night.

"I haven't." She shook her head.

"Good." He smiled, looking up to the sky. "I've known about this place for three years now. I found it my freshmen year. You're the only person I've ever shown it to, so I'll know if you spill the beans."

"I won't." She swore, "But why did you show me this place? Why not your friends?"

"They can't keep a secret to save their lives honestly." He chuckled, "Plus, they'd probably wreck the vibe and trash the place with cigarettes and beer cans. No one really knows this, but I've got kind of a crush on mother-nature."

"Oh really?" She giggled.

"Yup." He smiled, "I brought you here because I got the feeling that you appreciated nature the same way I do."

"I do love the wilderness." She admitted, admiring their surroundings. "If I could, I'd build a tree house in the middle of a forest and spend the rest of my days there."

"So if I built a tree house here would you spend the rest of your days here with me?" He inquired, making her face blush. He laughed at her embarrassment. "I'm just teasin' ya' Sally."

She turned her head toward him, giving him a big smile. He caught her look, tilting his head in confusion.

"What?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing. It's just…you got my name right."

"Guess there's a first time for everything." He chuckled, sitting up from the grass to mirror her position. They stood close, but not close enough to make her uncomfortable like last time, and he was actually being really sweet tonight. The dynamic between them had certainly shifted.

"I guess so." She agreed, returning his smirk.

"I got your apology text earlier. But I think I'm the one who needs to apologize. I'm sorry for being such an ass, and trying to kiss you. I just got caught up in the moment is all." He lied, "I'm not mad at all about what you said, it actually kinda resonated with me a bit. I think I needed that extra push. Sometimes I just fall off track, ya'know? I try not to show my emotions. I feel like I have to be the strong, tough, carefree hero because that's what people expect of me."

"You should just be yourself." She replied, "When you are…you're not so bad Hedgehog."

"You're the only one I feel comfortable like this with." He chuckled, "So I hope you were serious about that friendship thing." He put his hand on top of hers in the grass. Fireflies danced around them as he gave her a seemingly genuine smile.

"We'll see." She chuckled lightly before leaning over to give him a friendly hug.

He wrapped his arms around her and he smelt her hair. She always smelt like lavender. He grinned evilly over her shoulder into the darkness, feeling satisfied as his devious scheme begun falling perfectly into place. Once she pulled away from him, their eyes got caught up. She paused, just inches away from his face. Things certainly didn't feel like they did two weeks ago.

But before any questionable thoughts could snake their way into her mind, her phone began to buzz violently in the grass.

 **INCOMING CALL**

They both jumped at the sound. Her phone lit up in the grass, making it easy to find. She snatched it up, raising an eyebrow as she noticed the unknown number. She quickly picked up, curious as to who would be calling her in the dead of night.

 _"Hello?"_

 _"Hello? Sally?"_

 _"Shard?"_ She questioned upon recognizing that robotic tone. _"Are you alright? It's midnight."_

 _"I'm fine."_ He assured her, _"But I need to talk to you about something important."_

 _"Can it wait until morning?"_

 _"Actually no…it's about Nicole. Can I swing by your dorm real quick? I'd feel better if we talked in person."_

 _"Sure. Meet me over by the library instead. I have the keys, so we won't get caught by security."_

 _"Great."_ He said before ending the call.

Sally stood up from the ground, dusting the leaves off the back of her pants as Sonic watched from his sitting down position with interest.

"Boyfriend?" He questioned curiously.

"Why? Jealous?" She looked back at him with a smirk.

"Only if you make me." He chuckled, "Let me walk you back." He added as he got up from the ground.

* * *

The morning sun beamed through the windows of Scourge's Hummer, irritating the pink hedgehog laying in the backseat. She attempted to shield her eyes with the black leather jacket draped over her, but it proved unhelpful because she was already stirred awake. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand as she squinted through the sunlight to view her surroundings.

She was still in the back of the green hedgehog's car, naked, and extremely sore between the thighs. Once her eyes adjusted to the light, she sat up, and looked around. Scourge wasn't in the car, but all his stuff was. Amy sighed heavily, assuming he had fled sometime in the night. As she gathered her clothing she noticed his cellphone sitting on the dash. Without even thinking, she moved forward and grabbed it.

She sat back and fiddled with the device, wondering why a guy like him wouldn't have a passcode. His texts showed nothing of interest, most being deleted, and what few remained were from her. She clicked on the photo album icon, curious as to what kind of pictures a bad boy had in his phone. Most were of him at parties, his car, and concerts he had attended. What really peaked her curiosity was a locked album that had a 6-digit passcode.

Curiosity was her drive as she repeatedly typed several different passcodes in, all of which were wrong. A guy like him must have some interesting secrets. The pink hedgehog thought back to last night, how riled up he got when she called him her king…

 **PASSWORD ACCEPTED**

That was it! She was in, and what she found was quite shocking, but more so extremely creepy. Over four hundred pictures of a girl who clearly didn't know she was being photographed. Amy recognized the girl as the chipmunk from English class that sat beside Sonic. She tilted her head in confusion as she scrolled through the images. Putting away books at the library, eating lunch with her friends by the fountain, and some were even taken outside her window.

" **WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?** " Scourge's angry voice shrieked as he opened the backdoor to find Amy creeping through his phone. He quickly swiped it from her.

"Sorry." She apologized, "What's with all these photos though?"

"None of your fucking business." He growled.

"I thought you left."

"I went to take a piss." He informed her, "That doesn't give you free rain to go through my shit."

"I said I'm sorry alright." She growled back, "Why do you have all those pictures of Glasses-Girl?"

"Do you know her?" He turned around and glared at her with curiosity.

"Not really, but we're in the same English class." Amy shrugged, "She's always saying the rudest things to my Sonikku, which is why I don't like her."

"Heh." He chuckled lowly, "Of course she'd give him the business. She never could stand losers."

"So what, are you like stalking her?"

"No…" He said, putting his phone away. "I just like looking at her…"

"Why?" Amy pouted, "Do you have a crush on her?"

"You sound jealous." He smirked, "Don't you have a boyfriend to catch?"

"Very funny."

"Whatever." He shrugged, putting his jacket back on. "Just get the hell out of my car already."

* * *

 **Elias the daddy! Who honestly saw that coming? Who even remembered his crazy antics at heartbreak hotel?**

 **Poor Shadow, the guy just can't catch a break**

 **What about Sonia though? Some characters seem like they exist only so I can hurt them.**

 **Oh Scourge, why you be creepin' on Sally like that? What the hell happened to her face?**

 **It feels like with every chapter I answer one question, only to raise up three more.**

 **Also, yes Rosy the Rascal has brown eyes, because Classic Amy originally had brown eyes in conception art. Plus, there are just too many characters with green eyes in the story already lol**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy**

 **Sally becomes public enemy number one**

 **Shard comes face-to-face with the ultimate racist, Arthur Mongoose the second highest ranking officer in the Mobius Army**

 **Child Services makes their move**

 **Silver and Blaze face a new challenger**

 **And so much more!**

 **Fun Question: If you went to school at GHA, which character do you think you'd be good friends with?**


	20. Chapter 20

**WARNING: Violence, bullying, and extremely sensitive topics such as: bulimia, abortion, and racism**

* * *

 **Chapter 20: If They Only Knew…**

 _"Good morning students. I hope you're all well. I've got some very exciting news for you today."_ Principal Acorn spoke into the intercom on her desk, _"The nationwide test results are in, and I'm pleased to announce that GHA placed in the top three most intellectually gifted schools in the country! Meaning that we get our school funds doubled! Seeing as how you all have done a great job with your studies, and have followed the new rules relatively well…I'm rewarding you by uplifting the 'No Off Campus Privileges' rule, and starting the extra circulars back up. Have a great rest of your day."_

She then sat back in her chair as she smiled to herself upon hearing the roars and cheers of over five-hundred happy students across the campus. It had been a little over a month since the incident, and they've behaved relatively well since. She hated being strict, and felt like they had earned their freedom back.

"Excuse me, Principal Acorn?" A voice called out beyond the closed door to her office.

"Rosemary please come in." The older chipmunk replied.

The door then opened, and the fox receptionist came staggering inside with a gigantic bouquet of roses that threw off her balance. Alicia quickly got up and rushed to her aid, helping the fox to set them down on the desk.

"These came in for you just now." The tan fox informed her, "A gift from your husband perhaps?"

"I doubt it." Alicia chuckled, searching the vase for a card. "I'm divorced."

"But isn't your last name his?" Rosemary questioned.

"I kept it for political reasons, nothing more." The chipmunk shrugged.

She finally spotted a card nuzzled deep into the mass of roses. She scooped it out and opened it, smiling as she read the short message.

 _I know how much you despise jewelry, so I got you these. –Locke._

"Locke the Echidna? The man who owns the Master Emerald?" Rosemary gasped as she eyed the card as well.

"The very one." Alicia smirked, "We've been best friends for ages."

The chipmunk smiled to herself, reminiscing on all the times she and the echidna had in their younger days. Lately he hasn't been so busy, and they've been spending a lot of time together just like they used to.

* * *

 ** _Sonic:_** _Yo Sal! You totally left me hangin' last night!_

 ** _Sonic:_** _Hellllooo?_

 ** _Sonic:_** _Did I do something?_

The blue hedgehog sighed in frustration as he slipped the phone back in his pocket. He hadn't heard from the auburn-haired girl ever since he dropped her off at the library last night. He's shot her over ten texts since, but she hasn't responded once. Chaos, he hated being ignored.

He suddenly began to shudder as he felt a pair of unknown arms snake around his waist. He nearly freaked, until he looked back and saw Amy nuzzling into him from behind. He quickly relaxed in her grasp.

"My Sonikku!" She squealed, making him cringe.

 _'We're gonna have to work on new pet names.'_ He thought to himself before turning around to hold her.

"Hey you." He greeted.

"Sorry I had to run off on you like that yesterday." She spoke all jittery, "Rob just gets **SUPER** mad when I don't answer his calls right away. I swear he thinks he's really my dad or something."

"Are you okay Ames?" He questioned skeptically, "You seem kinda…out of it."

" **ME?** Out of it! No, certainly not!" She laughed nervously, "I'm just feeling a little overworked is all."

"Okay then…" Sonic nodded, "Anyways…you never answered my question yesterday."

"Question? Oh yeah…that."

"Well? What do you say?" He asked, brushing a stray quill away from her face.

"Of course I'll be your girlfriend Sonic…" She mumbled shyly before getting on her tiptoes to peck his cheek, "It's all I've ever wanted."

"Good." He smirked before kissing her lips.

Just as they were pulling apart from their first kiss as a couple, students began rushing down the hall. They both looked at each other with an eyebrow raised before calling out to one of the students running toward the newly formed crowd.

"Hey! Vector! What's goin' on down there?" Sonic asked the big crocodile.

"Yo man, I heard some chick with glasses just started wailing on the Songoose for like no reason! People are pissed!"

"Glasses? Sally?" Sonic gasped.

"I don't know man." Vector shouted as he ran for the crowd, "I heard somebody gettin' fucked up bad though!"

An immense worry washed over Sonic. He quickly followed Vector down the hall, going at a much faster pace than the crocodile. He left Amy by herself, pouting as she chased after him.

"Wait up Sonic!" She yelled after him.

* * *

Sally rounded the corner, a cold scowl on her face, and Shard right behind her. He directed her to the café, where Mina sat surrounded by a group of friends. The mongoose was giggling at someone's joke as she poked at her salad with a plastic fork. Once her jade eyes caught sight of Shard, her face scrunched up in disgust. He simply smirked, mouthing the words _'Payback's a bitch.'_ As he pointed behind her.

Before she could turn around to investigate, she felt someone grab a handful of her beautiful hair and slam her face repeatedly into the table. Everyone screamed and scattered like roaches before whipping out their cellphones to catch the savagery on video.

Mina gasped and cried for help as she kicked her legs out violently while the chipmunk dragged her out from her seat. Shard looked on with satisfactory as Sally flung the thin mongoose around like a ragdoll. The auburn-haired girl wasn't one to be so cruel, but after finding out what Mina had done to her little sister…she couldn't think rationally.

Nicole is such a sweet and innocent soul. She wouldn't even blow out a dandelion let alone defend herself against a bully. How could anyone even think to hurt such a girl?

"Get off of her!" Honey shrieked.

"What the hell is her problem!?" Another voice from the crowd shouted, "Why the hell is she beating on Mina like that for no reason?!"

The angry howls of the crowd directed at Sally didn't stop her from bludgeoning the mongoose. With every punch she threw an image of Nicole's fake smile lit up in her mind. She felt like such a fool, for not noticing or further investigating after Nicole said she was uncomfortable around the wannabe popstar. She wished she could be hitting herself.

"Sally!" Nicole yelped as she pushed her way to the front of the crowd. Espio followed close behind her.

She looked on in horror as she watched her older sister's fist come down on her tormentor's face like a meat mallet. Mina sobbed underneath the chipmunk, calling out to anyone in the crowd for help. The lynx clasped her hands over her mouth as tears trickled down her face. She scanned the crowd until she spotted Shard across the way with his arms crossed. A satisfied smirk plastered on his face.

" **HOW COULD YOU!** " Nicole screamed as she stomped over to him. He jumped up in surprise that she was in the vicinity. He hadn't planned on that. "I trusted you."

"Nicole, I had to." He told her, trying to calm her down by holding her arms. She quickly flung her arms out of his grasp.

"You promised me you wouldn't tell her." She cried again.

"So was I supposed to wait til Mina stabbed you with those fucking scissors and killed you before I said something?" He retorted back, losing his cool.

She just shook her head as she backed away from him, leaning into Espio before he led her out of the crowd. The DigItalian hedgehog just clenched his fists in frustration, somewhat regretting his decision to tell Sally. But once he turned to see Mina begging for mercy he felt a little better.

Mina started to notice Sally become increasingly tired. She took advantage of the moment by feeling around on the nearby table for a plastic lunch tray. When she finally had a good grip on one she used all her might to swat it across the chipmunk's face. The sharp edge of the tray caught her lip, tearing it open to spatter blood all over the white-tiled floor. Sally's glasses flew off her face, immediately getting her to retreat as she used both hands to cover her face from view. The crowd gasped and praised Mina for the action.

"Sally!" Sonic yelled as he pushed people aside, rushing over to where she stood kneeling on the ground with her hands clasped over her face.

A jealous Amy just bit her lip and watched with envious eyes as the blue hedgehog kneeled beside Glasses-Girl, touching her forearm gently, and calling out to her with such concern. Mina took advantage of the intermission to run over to a few of the security staff to explain the situation.

"Sally? Are you okay?" Sonic asked. That's when he noticed blood oozing from her lip.

She shook her head in dismissal, clenching her teeth tightly as she heaved with frustrations. She was in a panic. Without her glasses she felt exposed, and on top of that she realized that everyone had been…staring.

"Let me see." He demanded, grabbing her wrists to pull them away from her face. "You could be really hurt—"

" **NO!** " She screamed at the top of her lungs. She quickly jumped up in fright.

"Sal, please." He begged, getting up to grab her hands one more time.

Out of fear that someone might catch a glimpse of her face, she sent a high kick to the hedgehog. He whirled around before hitting the floor as the heel of her boot made contact with his face. Everyone gasped and roared with anger. She had just struck the coolest guy in school. But no one was more furious than his pink girlfriend. Amy quickly stomped over and shoved the chipmunk to the ground.

" **WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!?** " Amy screamed, "He was just trying to help you!"

Thankfully Amy had shoved her in the direction where her glasses were. As soon as Sally felt them by her side, she quickly put them on in a split second. She then looked around at all the disapproving looks, the heaving pink hedgehog, and Sonic sending a glare her way as he cupped his sore cheek.

"See!" Mina sobbed in a fake innocent tone, "I told you that crazy chipmunk girl was beating people up! And that DigItalian kid is the one who told her to do it!"

Suddenly, Shard and Sally both found themselves being picked up, slammed onto a lunch table, and cuffed. The security guards dragged both of them out of the café as the crowd howled and threw food at them for abusing innocent little Mina Mongoose, and the king of everything, Sonic the hedgehog.

* * *

No matter what she did, Sonia just couldn't focus in any of her classes today. Not only that, but it seemed like everywhere she went Knuckles and Rouge were just around the corner either making out, or being cute.

She sighed to herself as she walked into the bathroom and dropped her bag to the floor. She felt so unhappy. She missed being the object of someone's affection—his affection. He was her first boyfriend ever, and it only ended in chaos. Elias had also disappeared again. She hadn't heard anything from him since yesterday morning. Misery seemed to be her only company.

Her ears picked up on a sound. She quickly grabbed her things and fled into one of the stalls, slamming it shut behind her as she held her back against it.

"Like oh my Chaos, Rouge and Knuckles are just too cute!" A high-pitched voice squealed.

"For sure!" Another replied, "If only I could have a body like Rouge! Then I'd get all the guys."

"Remember that girl he was dating last summer? He certainly traded up."

"Like totally! Talk about zero to one hundred, am I right?"

Sonia suppressed her urge to sniffle or whimper as she let the tears trickle down her red face. She balled her fists so tightly that her long fingernails drew blood.

She never realized how much shit people talked behind her back, or how people were always secretly rooting for Rouge when it came to Knuckles. She looked down at herself, studying her petite frame. She didn't have gigantic breasts, or an hour-glass figure like the bat. She was just average.

She was athletic, but still carried a bit of pudge, nothing extreme. She's seen Rouge undress before, the girl was practically a goddess with no visible flaws. Everyone only seemed to praise her for having such a figure.

What does a girl have to do to get a body like Rouge?

The magenta hedgehog dropped to her knees before the pearl-white toilet. All the negative thoughts pooling her mind as she took her fingers and forced them down her throat.

* * *

"Dude, check this out." Scourge nudged the dark hedgehog walking beside him before he stuck his foot out in front of a couple walking by.

The cat noticed his foot and hopped over it with ease, unfortunately her boyfriend wasn't so coordinated. Silver had tripped over the green hedgehog's foot and fell flat on his face. Blaze gasped in fright before helping him off the floor. Scourge howled with laughter as Mephiles gave a low chuckle of amusement.

"This idiot falls for it every time!" Scourge laughed, "It's like his legs are pipe-cleaners or something!"

"Why do you have to be such a jerk!?" The cat growled at the green hedgehog, getting in his face.

"Down Kitty." Scourge hummed with amusement as she glared at him.

"Blaze, let's just go please." Silver mumbled, pulling Blaze away by the arm.

"Never really could stand up for yourself could you Slipper?" Mephiles spoke up as he stepped out from behind Scourge.

Both Blaze and Silver looked mortified as his reptilian eyes shot open, darting back and forth between them. Mephiles the Dark, their childhood bully from Soleanna. He made both their childhoods miserable.

"Mephiles? You go here too?" Silver shrieked.

"Where else would I be besides your nightmares?" He grinned, "I can tell by the shaking of your hands that neither of you are too happy to see me. But oh how I've missed both my little punching bags."

"We're not your punching bags." The cat shot back, "This isn't the playground anymore. Just try and push me around, I dare you."

"You always were a feisty one Blaze the Cat." He cooed, holding her chin with his index finger. "But your insecurities make it so easy to see through you."

"Don't touch her!" Silver yelped as he swatted the dark hedgehog's hand away.

"Chaos, I can barely tell which one's the girlfriend." Scourge laughed.

"So you two are dating now huh?" Mephiles rose an eyebrow, darting his eyes at both of them. "How interesting. You think you've finally got your fairytale don't you Silver?"

Blaze tensed up a bit at his words. She couldn't tell if he was trying to read her or not. Mephiles was such a mystery card. She knew if she let her guard down or made any strange movement even in the slightest he'd be all over it with analysis. One tiny movement could unravel all her secrets to him.

"C'mon Blaze." Silver spoke again as he directed his girlfriend away from the two.

She looked back at Mephiles with a scowl as he smirked and waved her off nonchalantly. Scourge stepped back up to his side, eyeing the couple walking down the hall.

"Well?" The green hedgehog asked curiously.

"She cares for him quite deeply…but there is another." Mephiles grinned.

* * *

Cream walked down the hall, a giant stack of books in hand as usual. She sighed heavily to herself as she thought about how distant her group of friends had been these past few weeks. It seemed like no one got a long anymore, or were just too damn busy to care. She was more so upset at how little time she spent with Tails, her crush.

Thoughts of him and the seedrian loomed over her head. The fox was sweet, smart, and so very kind. It didn't surprise her that Cosmo felt the same way she did.

She started crushing on Tails very recently, last summer in fact. He used to come into the bakery she worked at for the same old sugar cookies. Sometimes he'd even sit at one of the tables doing his summer classwork. They talked a lot, and really got to know each other then. She so desperately missed his smile, and the way he used to laugh at her jokes.

With the way things were going now, it seemed like her chances were slim to none, but Cosmo had ample opportunity.

While deep in thought, the little rabbit forgot where she was going and absentmindedly tripped on her own feet. Just before she could go tumbling down with all her books she was caught in midair. When she looked up Ray was helping her back to her feet, a big goofy smile plastered on his adorable face. She smiled back, thankful for the save. He took half the stack of books and walked with her to their lockers as usual.

Their walks weren't as talkative as they used to be, but just having him walk beside her again was enough to keep the rabbit content. She opened her locker and loaded it with the books. Out from the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of Tails and Cosmo walking by. The two were standing quite close together, laughing and smiling.

Ray immediately noticed the disheartened expression on her face. He desperately wanted to console her, but without a voice he was useless.

* * *

Julie-Su was just in the midst of changing when Rouge strutted into their dorm room. The echidna girl hadn't really been around these last couple days and Sonia hadn't been very talkative, so there really were no more dorm squabbles between the three…until today at least.

Out from the corner of her eye, Julie-Su noticed the giant emerald resting on Rouge's chest. She quickly leapt up from her bed and attempted to swipe it away, but Rouge's reflexes were too quick.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" The bat hissed.

"Why do you have that?!" The echidna growled, "Wasn't it enough to steal the poor girl's boyfriend? Do you really have to steal her jewelry too?"

"I didn't steal anything." Rouge huffed, crossing her arms. "Well, at least this time. My boyfriend gave this to me."

"Boyfriend?"

"Mhmmm." Rouge purred, eyeing that echidna for a reaction.

"You and Knuckles? Since when?"

"For a while now." The bat shrugged, "Hasn't being away these last few years taught you anything about being a better best friend?—"

"Don't play with me Rouge." Julie-Su warned, "I'm not Sonia or any of those other bitches you fuck around with. I'll beat your ass."

"Why are you so worked up about it? Don't you have a man?"

Julie-Su's face twisted up, but she couldn't find enough vulgar words in her brain to throw so she just let it go with a frustrated sigh. She quickly walked back to her bed, grabbing her things before heading off.

"I'm going to find Knuckles." She huffed.

Rouge just watched her go with a smirk of satisfaction until Sonia stepped into view. The magenta hedgehog had a dead look in her eyes, and reeked of vomit.

"You smell like shit." Rouge commented, holding her nostrils closed.

* * *

"We can't do this." Elias shook his head.

"You don't know that!" Megan shouted at him.

The prince paced his room back and forth as Megan sat on his bed, clutching one of his pillows tightly for comfort. All of his roommates were out, so it was just them. They were arguing about their situation; who to tell, what to do, and how to stay sane.

"I don't even know you!" He shouted back at her in frustration, "You're just some girl I met at a party!"

"You weren't saying that in the hotel room!" She retorted, standing up from the bed to be face-to-face with him.

"I was drunk! Not even remotely sober!" He shot back, "This isn't how things are supposed to be…"

"You act like I wanted this."

"I was gonna get my life together! I was gonna graduate with honors, look at colleges, and finally tell the girl of my dreams how I felt."

"Sorry to rain on your fucking parade." Megan huffed, hormones clearly driving her up the wall. "Not like I had dreams of my own."

"I'm barely seventeen! How the hell am I gonna support a family?"

"This isn't easy for me either Elias!"

"I know, and it never will be. We're just kids Megan. How can we raise a kid ourselves? We barely even know each other." He bellowed, "How can we bring a child into this world when we don't have shit to give them?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"We've gotta weigh out all the options."

"What, like…abortion?!" She gasped.

"It's a way out."

The female squirrel quickly delivered a cold slap to his face, forcing his entire head to the side with an eardrum-shattering whip. He looked back at her with a shocked expression as he cupped his cheek.

" **DON'T FUCKING TALK TO ME ABOUT ABORTION!** " She screamed in his face, "I just knew you'd act this way, so fucking typical. School prince my ass. You're just another asshole! This is a life in my stomach, **OUR** child. Who are we to take a life? Fuck you, I'll just do this by myself, because regardless if you want to be in the picture **I'M GOING TO LOVE THIS BABY**. And you can go to hell."

The pregnant teen quickly grabbed her purse and rushed out of the room in tears. Elias just collapsed to his knees on the hardwood floor.

"Eli? Everything okay man?" Silver spoke up as he walked in, going over to the squirrel to put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I'm gonna be a father…" He confessed with zero trace of emotion.

"Sonia?"

"No…"

* * *

It had been sometime since the incident with Mina. Both Sally and Shard were dropped off in Principal Acorn's office. They both explained the situation before the principal called both Nicole and Mina in to hear what they had to say. Mina's parents were to arrive shortly, something Alicia was not looking forward to at all.

The older chipmunk dismissed Sally, sending her back to her dorm for the rest of the day. She'd deal with her later. Right now it was just Nicole, Shard, and Mina. Of course as a mother Principal Acorn was furious to hear all the horror stories of her daughter's assault, but as a professional she had to keep her cool, even when the prestigious Arthur and pompous Isabella Mongoose busted through the doors.

"Mina come here my little angel!" Isabella cooed as Mina rushed into her for a hug.

"Oh Momma! I was so scared." She whimpered like a child.

Both her parents were mortified to see her bruised up face. Arthur was furious, instantly turning his head to the two immigrant children in the room.

"Which one of these mongrels is responsible for this!?" He shouted at Alicia.

"Have a seat Arthur." The chipmunk gestured calmly to the three empty seats in front of her desk. Shard and Nicole stood behind her. The Mongoose family all took a seat, Mina in the middle of course.

"I demand an explanation." Isabella bellowed.

"It seems that this was a retaliation after your daughter harassed and bullied two DigItalian students." Principal Acorn explained, "She repeatedly taunted one, and even assaulted another. I could have her expelled for such actions."

"Expelled?!" Mina's father boomed, "Over nothing but a couple of Nanites?"

"That Nanite she assaulted is my daughter." Alicia retorted, rising up from her chair to loom over all three of the mongooses. She was losing her patience, their intolerance was working her nerves.

"Daughter?" Isabella gasped, glaring at Nicole. "I know you were very ungrateful of Maximillian, but infidelity? You were a wild card in our younger days, I should have guessed you'd—"

"Max and I adopted her from DigItaly together." Alicia cut her off, annoyed by the satisfied tone of the mongoose as she jumped to ridiculous conclusions.

"Disgusting." Arthur shook his head, completely repulsed by the idea. "Bringing trash into the country after such brutality. All the lives they stole on the battlefield—one of which my senior—and they're still allowed in this country."

"Fuck you." Shard blurted out, no longer able to keep up the silence.

"Shard…" Nicole reprimanded him.

"What did you say to me Nanite?" Arthur stood up from his seat.

Without hesitation, Shard stomped over from behind the desk. He stood in front of the older mongoose, toe-to-toe with no trace of fear in his eyes. "I said, fuck…you."

"Do you have any idea who you're talking to boy?" The mongoose growled in his face, "I've snapped the necks of a thousand Nanites. I've protected this country from your kind for years."

"Shard." Alicia spoke in a warning tone, urging him to step down, but the hedgehog would do no such thing. His father's words echoed in his mind.

 _'Never back down.'_

"You're nothing but a racist. A bitter old man stuck in the past. You can't make a life for yourself now that the war is over because you don't have shit to offer but sob stories about a war that ended ages ago. You try so desperately to cling on to your stupid beliefs and praise yourself on your army rank because we all know in the real world you'll never be shit."

" **I'M THE SECOND HIGHEST RANKING OFFICER IN THE MOBIUS ARMY.** "

"You're a washed up bastard who turned his daughter into a bigot."

Arthur scrunched up his face as he seethed with anger. "You people have no place in Mobius. The commander and I fought to keep people like you out of here! Murderers, rapists, thieves, you're all scum."

"Your commander?" Shard repeated, fists shaking.

"Captain Metal. One of the bravest son of a bitches I've ever met in my life. The man was Chaos-sent, a true hero. A model Mobian. He gave up his life to preserve the peace that your kind threatens. He'd be so disgusted to see you on Mobius soil."

Alicia walked over to Shard, putting both hands on his shoulders as she smiled at the upset father. "Mr. and Mrs. Mongoose, I'd like you to meet Shard Metal. Son of the highest ranking officer in the Mobius army, Captain Metal—who was also 100% DigItalian."

Mina and Isabella both gasped, cupping their mouths in shock as they looked to Arthur whose eyes went wide with disbelief. He respected his superior officer so much, the man who saved his life on the battlefield…

"If only you could see how visibly stupid you look right now." Shard spat, brushing off Alicia to get in the mongoose's face once more.

"Shard, that's enough." Alicia commanded.

"My father, a DigItalian man is your fucking war hero! The man who saved this country from invasion of his own people, because he didn't believe in their cause. My father died! He sacrificed himself so that our countries could find peace. And it was all for nothing, because of idiots like you."

"That's not…It can't be." The more he tried to deny it the more Shard's face looked like his superior officer's, and an immense guilt pooled in his heart.

"My father gave his life for this county! For you people…and it ruined mine." The hedgehog continued, glaring at everyone in the room with tears of frustration blurring his vision. "You've all got your freedom…you've got your families….but, what am I left with?"

"Shard…" Nicole whimpered.

He just couldn't handle being in that room anymore, his emotions started getting the better of him. He quickly stormed out the door past the Mongoose family. Mina stared at her feet, feeling the same pang of guilt her father did. Arthur just took his seat, doing his best to compose himself. Alicia did the same.

"Surely we can come to an agreement that appeases both of us as parents." Isabella broke the awkward silence.

"This is grounds for expulsion Isabella." Alicia replied.

"I'm the best lawyer in the country Alicia." The mongoose woman reminded her, "If we take things to court I could get her off with a simple slap on the wrist while your daughter rots in jail for a good eight months."

"Mother please" Nicole begged, "I don't want this to go on…"

Alicia bit her tongue as she contemplated what to do. As a mother, she wanted nothing more than to throw the little mongoose girl in jail for what she's done, but at the same time she knew Isabella wasn't bluffing.

"She'll have to go into consoling, and attend racial tolerance seminars for three months. On top of that she must do community service around campus."

"We'll agree to these terms as long as you sign a confidentiality agreement. My darling Mina has a career ahead of her. We can't have something like this on record."

Alicia looked to Nicole for an answer, who nodded in compliance. She sighed before pulling out a pen from her drawer. As their parents worked things out, Mina stared at the sorrowful looking Nicole who had her eyes fixed on the floor.

* * *

"Oh poor baby." Nurse Bernie cooed as she held an icepack to Sonic's eye, "How did that happen?"

"Some bitch just whacked him for no reason!" Amy answered her.

Sonic was just too deep in thought to speak. He was silent the entire walk to the nurse. Amy did most of the talking for him. The purple hedgehog nurse noticed his disheartened expression and put a comforting hand on his cheek. He looked up at her curiously and she offered him a warm smile.

"You look just like your father…" She said.

"I get that a lot." He shrugged before hopping out of the chair, "Thanks a lot Bernie."

"Anytime Sonic."

"See ya' around!" He cheered before linking arms with Amy and walking off.

"Aren't they just adorable?" Bernadette told herself as she cleaned up her work station.

The hedgehog couple walked out of the nurse's office to see Cream waiting for them outside. She quickly rushed over to the two, immediately offering her sympathies to Sonic.

"Oh Sonic…" She whimpered, "How could anyone think to hurt you or Mina Mongoose?"

"That girl is crazy." Amy huffed.

"Does it hurt still?" Cream asked Sonic.

"Not too bad anymore." He smiled, holding the icepack to his face. "I'll be just fine Cream, honest."

"I guess you wouldn't be interested in getting the gang back together now." The rabbit sighed, "I was planning on getting everyone together again. It's been so long—"

"Of course! You know me! I'm always up for the party." He assured her, "Set it up! Cause I miss the gang too."

"Really?" Cream squealed, "Okay!"

* * *

Sally trudged her way across campus, hanging her head in shame as an angry crowd spit in her direction and threw food at her. An apple struck the back of her head, and a banana peel hung off her shoulder. Someone even threw juice in her hair. They all chanted obscenities and crude remarks. Mina and Sonic both had tons of adoring fans, this was just a mere taste of the repercussions.

Someone had stuck their foot out, tripping her. She's usually much more agile, but the stares of a hundred angry people spiked her anxiety level beyond belief. She shook like a leaf on the ground, praying for them to all just turn away from her. More food was thrown at her, more taunts were chanted, and someone had even kicked her side.

She felt so humiliated, and wanted nothing more than to run away, but she froze.

Thankfully her gang of friends had come to her aid. Rotor and Antoine shoved everyone away as Bunnie picked up the startled Sally and rushed her into the girl's dorm.

* * *

 ** _Cream:_** _Hey everyone! I know we've all been really busy, but I wanted to get the gang together again. I miss you all so much._

 ** _Sonic:_** _C'mon, we could all use a break! I'm certainly down._

 ** _Amy:_** _It'd be really awesome to hangout again you guys!_

 ** _Tails:_** _Of course! That sounds like a great idea!_

 ** _Blaze:_** _I'd love to, but can I bring my boyfriend?_

 ** _Sonic:_** _No._

 ** _Cream:_** _Of course you can! Silver is very nice._

 ** _Tails:_** _Can I bring my friend along?_

 ** _Cream:_** _Eh, It's more of an 'us' thing…_

 ** _Sonic:_** _Of course you can! Cosmo is very nice._

 ** _Manic:_** _How could I refuse my funny bunny?_

 ** _Shadow:_** _I guess._

 ** _Rouge:_** _Me and Knuckles are up for it. When though?_

 ** _Cream:_** _I was thinking we could all have lunch tomorrow._

 ** _Sonia:_** _I can't do lunch._

 ** _Amy:_** _That's too bad. I miss you Sonia!_

 ** _Sonia:_** _Miss you guys too. Just have fun without me._

 ** _Cream:_** _Meet up at the signature lunch table then?_

 ** _Sonic:_** _Alright!_

* * *

Back in Metropolis Child Services office sat two women in a tiny little office. They were both seated at desks directly across from each other, both of them drowning in paperwork. Cassia and Clove the Pronghorn, two child service workers who also happened to be sisters.

"Did you read this? Two of our kids were near fatally injured last month at a hotel party their guardian was present at." Clove sighed in frustration, slamming her fist on her desk. "I knew we should have fought against his claims for guardianship."

"Maybe it was an accident." Cassia inquired, "You shouldn't think the worst of people so quickly Sis."

"Accident or not, he shouldn't have allowed them out of his sight for a minute."

"He's just a kid."

"Once he signed for guardianship of those two he should have stopped acting like a child." Clove shot back in anger.

"You of all people should understand how complicated his situation is." Cassia retorted, "After all, you adopted me when you were eighteen."

She caught her older sister in a vice, forcing her to opt out of the argument. Clove just took a deep breath as she continued pushing her pencil on papers. "Even so, I cannot allow any further potential harm to come to them. One of them even attempted suicide after the incident. When I told him I'd take them back at even the slightest hint of failure to care I meant it."

"What do you intend to do?" Cassia asked her older sister.

"We're going to Metropolis hospital to issue the order of removal tomorrow." Clove explained.

"But the care system is full right now."

"Matilda the Armadillo's previous foster family was just in the midst of filing for adoption when her brother took custody. I'm sure they'd be glad to have a second chance. We've also located the father of Ray the Flying Squirrel. I'll have to discuss with him the possibility of getting his son back."

"What about our other cases?"

"We'll have to take a trip to Green Hill Academy in two weeks."

"Which cases do we have all the way over there?"

"Let's see." Clove scavenged around her clutter of papers for a binder. She opened it up the files section and read through her notes. "Tails Prower, his biological mother has reemerged and is seeking her parental rights."

"I remember him!" Cassia perked up, looking through her own notes for the fox's picture. "Cute little bugger. I thought he was adopted from Metropolis Sanctuary by…umm…oh! Aleena the Hedgehog?"

"That is correct, but his biological mother is claiming an error in the system and wishes to have her son back. She's even hired the best lawyer in the country, Isabella Mongoose."

"That's gonna be chaos." The younger pronghorn sighed, "Ms. Aleena was more than happy to take him. I doubt he even knows he's adopted."

"Not nearly as chaotic as the Amy Rose case." Clove sifted through papers, "Apparently her parents feel they're stable enough to care for her now."

"Amy Rose…" Cassia gasped, "Rob O'Hedge would never let her go."

"Which will make things all the more difficult." Clove moved on, "Then there's Fiona Fox."

"The youngin' we found on the streets of Mercia?" Cassia questioned with a disheartened look as her sister nodded, "That was a terrible case. By the time we got to the poor girl she was already damaged beyond repair."

"Her parents are both out of prison. From their records it seems that they've behaved themselves and wish for visitation rights."

"Those monsters who left that poor girl on the streets to die?!" Cassia shouted, "Absolutely not! You think she'd want to see them after everything they put her through?"

"It's not our call Cass." Her sister reminded her, "They've followed regulation. We must do our jobs and follow up."

"This is exactly why people hate us so much ya'know."

"I understand." Clove frowned, "I hated Child Services myself. Chaos knows how I ended up one of them."

* * *

 **Yay! 20 chapter milestone, and 100 reviews! Thank you guys so much! I promise I'll get that Halloween chapter up eventually, but the next chapter is actually going to focus heavily on some of the more disliked characters such as Wave, Nack, Scourge, Fiona, Child Services, etc.**

 **Also, next chapter might be very triggering or emotionally devastating because we'll be delving into one of the most heart wrenching backstories of any character. This is just a slight pre-warning.**

 **If you haven't already pieced it together, Sally suffers from extreme anxiety and doesn't like to be looked at because she's insecure about her face scars. Sonia has also developed bulimia, a very common eating disorder among teen girls.**

 **Captain Metal is also a reference to Metal Sonic-who is called Captain Metal in the Sonic Universe Arc: #55**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy**

 **Mighty has a run in with Child Services**

 **Wave offers advice to an in-closet LGBT student**

 **Fiona's hunt for Scourge continues**

 **Mina corners Nicole**

 **And so much more**

 **Review Replies:**

 **PoeticLover1996: Don't worry, the rating is back up to M where it originally was. At least now I'll have more freedom.**

 **Wavetty: I made Wave gay mainly because it fits her character. I never really specified that she was full lesbian, so she does have the potential to end up with a boy, but who knows. **

**Fairlyodds: Sonic is just thinking about himself and his social status-as most high school boys do. He's got the potential to change, but right now he sees no fault in anything he does. But as you know, Green Hill Academy tends to fuck everyone up one way or another. I've got VERY extreme plans for Sonic. **

**ZeroPhoenix230: Don't worry, I handled that!**

 **BlazeOfVenus: Shadow and Rosy? Perhaps, but you know I just love ruining lives so... We've barely scratched the surface of Rosy's character...she's got so much to bring to the table.**

 **Twotailedfox: Don't worry Shadow will get his moment of happiness at some point...maybe.**


	21. Chapter 21

**WARNING: Homophobia, sexual themes, bullying, and EXTREMELY dark topics such as childhood sexual/physical abuse. **

* * *

**Chapter 21: Fragile**

After the assault on Manic, Shadow, and Officer Zonic, Principal Acorn had no choice but to suspend Mighty for three weeks. He wasn't to go anywhere else on campus but his dorm room, not that it mattered. He was always off at Metropolis Hospital with Matilda. Being suspended gave him a little more time with her.

"I still can't believe you did that Mighty." The little armadillo girl shook her head, "You're not a fighter."

"I know. I feel so bad." He sighed, "But when it comes to you and Ray…I'll do anything."

"I don't want you going around and hurting people. What happened at the party was an accident. Tommy and Mellow paid with their lives…I think that's enough."

"I just wish…I could have been there for you guys." Her older brother admitted as he laid next to her on the tiny hospital bed.

"It's not your fault Mighty." She assured him, nuzzling into his side. "I just want you to be happy, and normal."

"Are you saying I'm a weirdo?"

"I'm being serious!" She whined, whacking him with her foot. "I know you take care of us, but I want you to do normal things too…"

"Like what Tilly?"

"Like get a girlfriend!"

"We've talked about this!" He whined, "I'm not interested in any girls."

"You're such a liar!" Matilda pouted, "What about neighbor girl? I've seen her around school too!"

The red-shelled armadillo looked like a strawberry at the mention of their neighbor. Apparently he also noticed her around campus. Matilda just smiled with delight at the potential for normalcy.

"Tilly!" He groaned, "Why can't you be one of those little sisters who tries to keep girls away from their big brother? It's like you're shoving me to the wolves!"

She just laughed at his accusations. He tried to be stern, but ended up busting into laughter with her. It felt good to laugh together, even after everything they'd been through this last month and a half. They ceased their laughter as a knock sounded on the door. They both sat up as they watched the door open to see their social workers walk in.

"Ms. Clove, Ms. Cassia." Mighty greeted, more shocked than pleased.

"Hello Mighty, Matilda." They offered their own greetings in unison.

Matilda hid behind Mighty's shoulder. The only time Matilda had ever seen either of them was when they took her away to a new home. She had a habit of trying to evade them.

Mighty stood up and walked over to them. "What's this about? I thought our checkup wasn't for another six months.

"We're not here for a checkup Mr. Armadillo." Clove said flatly, handing him a white envelope. "It's an order of removal. We're taking Matilda and Ray back."

" **WHAT!?** " Mighty screeched, tearing open the letter. She wasn't lying, it was an order of removal signed by Judge Nega himself. "You can't do this!"

"I told you I'd be back if you couldn't care adequately." The pronghorn stated sternly, "You nearly killed them."

"No. No, no, no." Mighty shook his head, backing away from them to take hold of Matilda. "She needs me."

"She needs an adult to look after her, they both do."

He just shook his head in disapproval. Matilda looked up to him fearfully. She was terrified of being lost in the system again. Cassia stood behind her sister, wearing a look of disapproval herself. She didn't like how serious and by the book Clove did the job, even when she knew it was wrong.

"Don't make this any harder than it has to be." Cassia sighed sympathetically. Mighty stood his ground, holding Matilda tightly.

"We have a restraining order against you for both children as well. You won't be allowed back here, or anywhere near Ray the Flying Squirrel until after trial." Clove said, crossing her arms as she tapped her forearms impatiently.

"Trial?" What trial?" Mighty questioned in a panic.

"A custody battle. One of Matilda's previous foster family's is seeking her out, and Ray's father wants him back—"

" **FATHER?** " The armadillo shouted, "I'm the one who's taken care of him damn near his whole life! No one is going to take them away from me!"

"You did this to yourself." Clove shot back, snapping her fingers to signal security. "Remove him from the vicinity." She commanded the officers.

"Mighty!" Matilda cried as the eight officers approached him.

" **YOU CAN'T DO THIS!** " He screamed as the officers pried him off Matilda and dragged him out the door. He reached out to her desperately as he used all his strength to fight them off, but there were just too many of them. " **MATILDA!** "

" **PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME.** " She sobbed frantically, shattering his heart to pieces.

"Clove, that was cruel." Cassia scolded her sister as she rushed to the armadillo girl's side and held her.

"Maybe so, but it's done now."

Mighty was physically thrown out of the hospital, instructed not to return until they were given approval. He stood on the cold ground outside for a long time, sobbing and heaving with anger. He just wanted to be with his siblings, it's all he's ever wanted, and it seems like everything in the world wants to get in the way of that.

After some time he managed to pick himself up. Dirty, crying, and clutching the white envelope. He got in his car, repeatedly slamming his head on the steering wheel as he screamed at the top of his lungs. He didn't know what to do. He picked up his cellphone from the cup holder and dialed a number.

 _"Hello?"_

 _"Principal Acorn…"_ He sobbed, _"Please help me."_

 _"Mighty? What's going on? Are you alright?"_

 _"They took them, Matilda and Ray."_

 _"Who?"_ She questioned frantically, _"Mighty? Who took them?"_

 _"Child Services."_ He wailed, _"Please, you said you'd help us."_

 _"I will Mighty, I promise."_ She assured him. _"I'll meet you back at the school."_

She ended the call, sitting up from her laying down position. The man beside her sat up as well, wrapping his arms around her as he nuzzled into her neck.

"Can't you stay the night?" He cooed.

"I've gotta go to work." She turned to give him a sly grin before kissing him.

"Isn't that my line?"

"I just need to borrow it." She teased before getting up, "Goodbye Locke."

"For now Alicia."

* * *

Wave rolled her eyes as Blaze and Silver snuggled up in the bed beside hers, whispering cutely and giggling like morons. She closed her book before grabbing her bag and walking out the door. She made sure to slam it extra hard so they knew she left.

"What's her problem?" Silver asked the cat.

"She's just…jealous."

The swallow walked across campus, taking note of her surroundings. She finally spotted one of her friend's sitting at a picnic table by the fountain. She quickly made her way over to him, taking a seat beside the green hawk.

"Trouble at home?" He questioned.

"What ever gave you that idea?" She muttered, setting her stuff down on the table.

"You're usually cooped up in your dorm until classes are over." He chuckled.

"Blaze is in there with her…boyfriend." The purple bird grimaced.

"C'mon Wave." Jet groaned, "You've gotta good lookin' guy like me sittin' right beside you. No need to be jealous of the stupid cat."

"I'm not jealous of her." Wave corrected him.

"Chaos-dammit Wave!" He scolded her, "You need to get over this faggot phase already!"

"Who says it's a phase?" She retorted in annoyance, "Maybe I'm not gay at all. Has it ever crossed your mind that maybe I just don't like **YOU** like that?" She picked up her stuff and left as quickly as she came.

He was a good friend—with an obvious crush on her—but she didn't see him in a romantic light. He was immature, arrogant, and above all not attractive to her—not like girls. It's something she can't control. She's always preferred girls since as long as she can remember.

She's never been in a relationship, but she didn't hide her sexuality either. The swallow has yet to find a girl worthy of claiming…well at least a lesbian one. Blaze the Cat was the only girl that really interested her, and that sure as hell didn't work out.

She's had a crush on the cat since they met last year. Blaze is beautiful, athletically gifted, and so down to earth. Just the sight of her made Wave's heart flutter. With the way the cat acts, dresses, and carries herself, it was easy for anyone to mistake her for a lesbian. Sadly, she was not.

There's nothing more heartbreaking than wanting someone you know you'll never have.

"Ow!" Wave yelped as she bumped heads with another student. She looked up to see she had accidentally bumped into an old friend. Rotor the Walrus.

"Sorry Wave." He apologized, "Didn't see you there. I was too busy looking at…"

His voice trailed off, as did his gaze. Wave followed his eyes to see he was staring at Cobar the Echidna. President of the LGBT committee. A smile quickly formed on her face.

"He's single ya'know." She cooed.

"Yeah I know." Rotor sighed, "But…I can't."

"C'mon Rotor." She whined, "You've been in the closet way too long! You're not a damn sweater."

"You know how people like us get treated…" He mumbled, "And my father would never—"

"Who the hell cares? Seriously, stop caring about what others will think. My friends bitch about my orientation all the time and I'm still proud of who I am! Not to mention I'm very happy with my choice of coming out, and you would be too, because being out means freedom."

"You think so?"

"I know so." She assured him, "I'm sure Cobar would think so too. He'd love to see you at one of our meetings." She added, waving over to Cobar who smiled at the both of them. Rotor's heart did backflips.

"I'd need to talk to my dad." The walrus explained, "If I'm coming out, I should at least let him be the first to know."

"Well, second actually." Wave grinned, "I'm number one."

"Right." He chuckled, "Thanks for the encouragement Wave. I'll think about it."

* * *

 _'My parents were both hardcore junkies. My mom never stopped using, even when she was pregnant with me. She said she was hoping the drugs would cause a miscarriage. Too bad they didn't._

 _When I was five my dad started touching me, then at seven he started raping me, and by the time I was nine so were all his friends and dealers._

 _My mom hated me. She was so jealous. Chaos knows why, I hated every damn minute of it all. She'd beat me, use me as an outlet for all her frustrations. One time she nearly drowned me in a tub of boiling hot water because she thought I was trying to steal her husband…my father._

 _I couldn't wait for Child Services. I took my own way out. At ten I was out on the streets of Mercia all on my own. I stole from grocery stores, sucked off truck drivers for rides, and slept in alleyways. It wasn't glamorous, but it was better than being with those two. They didn't even bother looking for me._

 _To me, hell is a place called home, parents are the devil, and no one is trustworthy. Everyone is scum._

 _Finally Child Services found me when I was twelve. By then I'd already been prostituting, and hustling on the streets for two years. Who the hell would ever want me in their homes? I jumped from foster home to foster home like a damn kangaroo. No one wanted to keep me for more than two weeks._

 _An elderly couple from Moebius kept me and nine other kids. They were the kind of people who were more concerned about the federal checks than the kids, so they let us do whatever. That's where I met Mighty and that fucker Ray._

 _He was such a weirdo, always stuttering and crying like a baby. His innocence made me so angry. I bet he never had to worry a day in his life like I have. I used to beat him up, and yell at him. I wanted him to hurt the way I did. It could have gone on that way forever, until Mighty showed up and changed my world._

 _"Leave him alone!" The armadillo shouted, yanking my ponytail._

 _"Ouch!" I screeched, shoving him away from me._

 _He then scooped Ray up in his arms and hauled him away. I was so mad._

 _Sometime later that night, I was sitting up on the roof like I usually did. I was twelve, and after being out on the streets for so long I really didn't care about my appearance. I wore rags, and jaggedly cut my hair myself. I purposely tried to make myself unattractive in an attempt to keep people away._

 _"I'm sorry." A voice called out. When I turned around, Mighty was taking a seat right next to me. Back then he wasn't nearly as built, and had braces. "I didn't mean to pull your hair, but you shouldn't tease people like that."_

 _"And why not?" I huffed, "People used to hit me all the time, sometimes worse."_

 _"Well, they shouldn't have." He replied, "Can we be friends?"_

 _"No."_

 _"Why?"_

 _"Cause I don't know how."_

 _"I can show you." He smiled, digging in his pocket for something. "Here, I want you to have this." He then handed me a little yellow bow._

 _"Why?" I asked skeptically, "What do you want for it?"_

 _"I want you to smile."_

 _"What?" I rose an eyebrow, "Why?"_

 _"Because you're pretty when you smile."_

 _His proclamation made my face go red, and my heart flutter. I'd never met a person as nice as him, or any guy who didn't want me to bend over. Mighty the Armadillo was my first friend, and the first person to ever show me any true kindness._

 _After that we hung out all the time. He even introduced me to Ray, and told me about his speech issues. We became so close-knit. I finally felt like I had a family of my own…until he abandoned me._

 _One day he just up and left. Child Services shipped him off to Mobotropolis. He swore he'd come back for me…but he never did._

 _Once again I was alone in the world. In another shitty foster family on the other side of the country, wondering every night when Mighty would return. Eventually I gave up on him._

 _I hate him. He showed me what true happiness and trust were….only to take them away from me._

 _Later that same year, I met Scourge. He was in seventh grade when I was in sixth. He immediately caught my eye. He was rugged, cruel, and had that deviant streak. He was defiant, loud, and angry all the time. I knew I wanted to make him mine the minute he rescued me from a gang of thugs I was trying to hustle._

 _He scared them all away before helping me off the sidewalk. His eyes were such a magnificent blue, so unreal. I was star-struck._

 _"Th-Thanks." I stammered, blushing like crazy. Something not usual for me._

 _"No problem Babe." He grinned, "But you better step your game up. I don't like to play hero and save random girls. You're just lucky you're cute."_

 _I just had to make him mine. He's everything I've ever wanted in anyone. A boy version of myself. Someone I could keep in my pocket forever._

 _But…he was in love with someone else._

 _The auburn-haired girl from the rich side of Moebius._

 _He used to follow her around like a lost puppy. Sometimes I'd catch him standing outside her house in the bushes. He practically melted at the sight of her in the schoolyard. I hated it. It took forever to snag him. But I managed to tame his wild heart for myself._

 _I've been with him for almost four years of my life. I'm not letting him get away…not again.'_

"Hello Nack." Fiona cooed as she swung the door to the senior's room open.

"Well, well. If it isn't my best customer." The weasel grinned, "What can I do ya' for Love?"

"I need some info."

"You know my services aren't free." He reminded her, tipping his brown hat to her.

"Neither are mine." She purred seductively as she unzipped her leather vest, revealing she wore nothing underneath.

He just flashed her a sly grin before gesturing her to come forward. She strutted over to him, taking a seat on his lap as he laid in bed with his arms propping up his head. Thankfully he had no roommates. She worked on undoing the buckle of his belt as they spoke some more.

"So what do you want to know?" He asked curiously, voice pitched higher when she began stroking him.

"Scourge? Is he seeing anyone?"

Nack quickly sat up to give her a knowing smirk. He knew she'd come to him for info on her ex-lover sooner or later. Unfortunately for her, he was going to milk it for all it's worth.

"Actually…yes."

" **WHO?** "

"I won't finish…until I finish." He joked, gesturing to his groin.

Fiona sucked her teeth in annoyance before rolling her eyes and diving down onto him. After years of doing such a thing the fox has learned to tune out the process all together. She went into her own little world where everything was perfect. She only came back to reality when he finished in her mouth. She swallowed the substance before sitting up to look at him. He appeared satisfied.

"Her name is Amy Rose." He smiled, "Fifteen year old sophomore girl who transferred here this year from Mercia. She's cute, but has a bit of a freaky side. I saw them mess around in his car a few times. She's rich, happy, and pretty much everything you're not."

"I'll kill her." Fiona stated as she got up from the weasel's bed.

He quickly grabbed her wrist, preventing her from leaving. "Wait, I've got a proposition for ya' Love."

"I've got my info." She snarled, "I don't need to play your little game."

"Nothing sexual Love." He chuckled, "I know a better way to get revenge than beating the poor girl up."

"Like what?"

"The gossip well has been a bit dry lately. I'm thinkin' if we stir up a bit of mischief things will pick up again." He explained, "Amy Rose was messin' around with ya' hedgehog a few days ago, today she's dating Sonic…and I doubt he knows."

"So what? You want me to expose the slut?"

"Yes, but not to her boyfriend."

"Then who?" Fiona questioned, "I'd much rather pummel her into oblivion."

"Come." He gestured her back toward him, "I'll tell you all about it."

* * *

Mina removed the yellow rubber gloves from her hands and threw them in the wastebasket once she was done with today's dishes. She sighed heavily, wiping her semi-wet hands on her skirt as she trudged out of the school kitchen. She was grateful that she wasn't expelled, but boy did she loathe her new chores.

The café was empty, except for the lynx girl wiping down tables. It was Nicole, smiling to herself as she sang a lovely tune. Mina's heart tore at the sight of her. Ever since the meeting she's felt differently about the DigItalians. Especially after finding out her father's war buddy—and her first celebrity crush—Captain Metal was DigItalian himself.

She slowly realized that she never really cared about their ethnic backgrounds…she was just programmed by her father to be intolerant of their people. The mongoose felt horrible about everything.

"Um…Nicole?" Mina spoke up, walking over to the table Nicole was cleaning.

The lynx jumped up in surprise, startled by her sudden appearance. "Oh, Mina…I didn't see you there." She backed away nervously.

"No please." Mina waved her hands in dismissal, "Don't be afraid. I just came over to apologize…for everything."

"Apologize?" Nicole questioned.

"Yes. I'm sorry about everything I've done to you. You didn't deserve any of this…" Her eyes began to well up with tears, "Look what I did to you." She sniffled as she brushed her hand against the lynx's cheek.

The utter sincerity was just oozing from her voice. Although the mongoose had touched her cheek, she felt no fear. Mina was actually being apologetic. Nicole smiled warmly at the sudden turn of the tides. The things Shard said must have broken through.

"I forgive you Mina Mongoose."

Mina was overjoyed. She wrapped her arms around Nicole, sobbing into her shoulder. "Thank you. I'm so sorry Nicole. I'm not a racist, I swear."

"I always knew you weren't." The lynx assured her, "You were just misguided."

"I'm really so sorry Nicole, I am."

"I should apologize as well." Nicole spoke up, pulling away from the hug to lock their jade eyes. "I didn't mean for you to be harmed. I don't believe violence is the right road to peace. Shard just doesn't know any better."

"Shard…" Mina mumbled, "Do you think he'd ever forgive me?"

"Absolutely not." The lynx shook her head, "He's as stubborn as they come."

* * *

The bell had finally rang, signaling Scourge that naptime—more commonly referred to as history class—was over. He grumbled as he stirred awake and walked out of the classroom. He arched his back and stuck his arms out as he let out a sleepy yawn. The day had been going by way too slow.

He began the walk to his car, craving one of his beloved cancer sticks. On his way out of the main building he noticed a mob of angry students down the hall. They were chanting words like _'bitch'_ and _'whore'_ , certainly peaking his interest. He turned heel and walked over to the commotion, curious as to what was going on. He shoved his way through the crowd until he was close enough to see four angry girls shoving a cowering chipmunk between them.

"Stupid bitch! How the hell could you do that to Sonic's perfect face!?" One of them sneered. Scourge recognized her as Tiara Boobinski, a mink girl with another crazy Sonic obsession.

"Or Mina? She's a fucking angel!" Another shouted.

The green hedgehog tightened his fists as he watched the helpless chipmunk get shoved and taunted. It was four against one surrounded by an angry mob. There was no way for her to defend herself even if she tried. She must have known that, because all she did was try her best to keep herself steadily on her feet.

"Move it." Scourge commanded as he shoved people aside.

He quickly scooped Sally up in his arms and darted down the hall. The crowd roared angrily, not satisfied with their taunting. They began chasing the two. He let out an amused laugh before kicking it into high-gear and zooming through the maze of hallways. Sally looked up at him in confusion as the wind whipped her hair across her face. He just gave her a genuine smirk before coming to a screeching halt in front of the janitor's closet. He quickly flung the door open and tossed her inside before shutting it behind them.

Once they heard the angry crowd go by they finally let out a sigh of relief. He waved his hand around before he got hold of a string. He pulled it down and a dim lightbulb turned on. It wasn't very bright, but it was enough from them to just barely see each other. She sat on the ground with her legs underneath her. He slid down the door, taking a seat in front of her. The closet was extremely small and compacted.

"I'm starting to think you're purposely trying to get me killed." She groaned, looking at Scourge through the darkness.

"Hey, I saved ya' back there didn't I?" He grinned.

"Only for Fiona to kill me later."

They both laughed at the semi-true statement. She stared intently in his direction, trying to decipher his features in the darkness. All she could really make out were his beautiful blue eyes that almost seemed to illuminate the darkness themselves.

She shook the blush forming on her face before standing up to go, he quickly mimicked her action.

"Thanks for the save, but please stay the hell away from me. If Fiona ever finds out I've been within fifty feet of you she'll literally bite my head off." Sally chuckled.

"I can do that." He nodded in agreement, "But can you do me a little favor?"

"What kind of favor?" She asked skeptically.

He grinned before plucking the glasses off her. On instinct she immediately shielded her face, embarrassed of her disfigurement. He grabbed her wrists and pulled them away with ease. She looked up at him with nervousness, wanting so desperately to crawl under a rock. She never allowed anyone to see her face.

The darkness made her scars nonvisible to him, and even if they were he wouldn't mind. He brushed her bangs to the side, shielding one of her eyes in a messy fashion similar to Fiona's when she let her hair down. Then he tilted her head up to him while he caressed her cheek.

"Call me your king…" He whispered.

She just gave him a perplexed look, not sure what to make of his request. "My…king?"

When the pink hedgehog said it he didn't get much of a rush the way he had hoped, but the chipmunk sent his heart into overdrive. She was perfect, she was the one, and he knew it.

The auburn-haired girl from the rich side of Moebius.

To her surprise he had swooped in and closed the space between their lips. Her eyes widened in shock at the sudden action as an immense blush formed on her face. She quickly brought her knee up with a powerful force, ramming it right into his groin. He pulled away and gasped, holding himself as bile threatened to come back up his throat. She swiped her glasses out of his hand and put them back on before she scolded him.

" **ARE ALL HEDGEHOGS COMPLETE PERVERTS!?** " She yelled, referencing the time Sonic had attempted to kiss her at the lake.

She stepped over him and pushed the door open before sprinting away, face still burning red. One day mid-October, inside a dimly lit janitor's closet Sally Acorn's first kiss was stolen…by Scourge the Hedgehog.

* * *

"Nice shiner." Manic complimented sarcastically as he pointed to his brother's eye. "Who graced you with that?"

"Don't want to talk about it—"

"Some stupid bitch he was trying to help!" Amy huffed, cutting off her boyfriend. "Ugh! I didn't like her before, but now I really don't."

"You should thank her actually." Shadow piped up, "It's quite fitting with that douchebag look you go for."

"Shadow." Rouge wagged her finger at him, "Play nice."

"What?" The ebony hedgehog whined, "He probably deserved it anyway."

"He was just trying to make sure she wasn't hurt." Tails informed him, "She hit him for no reason. I saw."

"Can we talk about something else?" Sonic asked in annoyance.

"Poor Mina." Cream sighed, "I heard she's stuck on community service duty, and her face is bruised up pretty badly."

"Yeah, and I heard that other girl didn't get any punishment." Rouge added.

"Ugh, the injustice is crazy." Amy pouted, "I just want to go slap that girl up myself."

Sonic just grumbled something under his breath before getting up from the table. They had all gotten together like they planned yesterday, with a few running late. As much as the hedgehog really wanted to spend time with his friends he just wasn't up for it at the moment. He didn't want to talk about yesterday, but it's all they seemed to want to talk about.

Amy just watched him walk off with sad eyes, feeling so bad for him and assuming he must be really upset about the ordeal. She turned back to the rest of the table occupants; Manic, Shadow, Cream, Rouge, Knuckles, Tails, and newcomer Cosmo.

"My Sonikku." She moped, "He was just starting to feel better."

"I dislike anyone who just beats people up for no reason." Tails added, "Especially my big brother."

Manic just rolled his eyes at the fox's words, holding back a few choice words of his own.

"Same." Knuckles agreed.

"Mina's a saint." Cream reminded the table, "She didn't do anything to deserve that."

"Jealousy does crazy things to girls." Rouge shrugged, "Glasses-Girl just better not get hot-headed and think she can take me on."

"If jealousy was the motive, than you'll probably have to sleep with one eye open." Knuckles poked the bat's side. She smiled before giving him a kiss. Manic just rolled his eyes in annoyance, as did Shadow.

"I wish she would come at me sideways like that." The pink hedgehog huffed, "I'd beat her down."

"Needless violence is so wrong." Cosmo shook her head.

"Maybe if she had asked nicely Mina would have given her some makeup tips." Rouge joked, "What a spiteful bitch."

"Yup." Knuckles agreed, putting his arm around Rouge.

"I think she's awesome." Shadow shrugged.

"Of course you do." Amy pouted, sticking her tongue out at the ebony hedgehog. "You hate Sonic."

"Damn right." He nodded.

"Let's be for real though. You can't lie…that girl kicked ass!" Manic howled, slapping his hand on the table. "That kick to Sonic's face was on some Mortal Kombat shit!"

On his way out the café Sonic nearly bumped heads with supposed best friend, Blaze the Cat. They both staggered back before they collided. Her eyes went wide with pity as she caught a glimpse of the hedgehog's blackened eye. He quickly cupped his hand over it.

"Sonic…" She gasped.

He wanted so desperately to spin away with her like he used to, to confide in her all of his frustrations, but the urges subsided when he realized she was holding hands with that loser. Her boyfriend Silver. He just shook his head before rushing past them out the door. She looked back at him with a hurt expression, old feelings stirring in the back of her mind.

* * *

Jet skulked through the halls, an expression of boredom plastered on his face. Storm was at the gym, and Wave was off somewhere avoiding him. He's very restless, the kind of person who needs to be doing something all the time, but with both of his main friends out he had nothing to do.

He dragged his hand across the lockers as he walked past them, whistling as he thought about how the school year had been playing out so far. Nothing of particular interest had really occurred, except the bet with Sonic. It had been over a month and the hedgehog has made zero progress, not to mention the chipmunk girl had publicly humiliated him again yesterday.

The hawk salivated at the mouth just thinking about how awesome it's going to be when he puts the final nail in Sonic's coffin.

He never could stand that hedgehog. Jet started attending Green Hill Academy last year. His main goal was to make it to the top, to be the most popular guy in school, and he could have done it too…if it weren't for that damn blue hedgehog always outshining him.

Sonic wasn't even nice about it, he'd rub it in the hawk's face every time. It seemed like he could never win, but the tides seemed to be turning this year.

"Hey loser." Jet called out once he spotted the blue hedgehog coming in his direction down the hall. "The bet was that you'd sleep with her, not let her beat you up." He laughed hysterically, but Sonic didn't seem to be in his usual playful mood.

"Don't you have a dick to go eat?" He retorted, unusually aggressive.

That's another thing Jet loathed. Ever since Wave had come out as a lesbian two years ago everyone has associated him and Storm with her orientation, constantly making gay jokes about them. It was quite infuriating, especially because neither of them were actually homosexual.

In fact, Jet was actually quite smitten with his good friend Wave, but of course she showed no interest. Another thing that infuriated him. Being the homophobe that he was, he couldn't stand her interest in girls. She should like him! He's been her friend for years, he knows everything about her, and more importantly he's a guy! But every time he tried to explain that to her she'd just brush him off.

He grew quite restless of waiting for her to get over what he called her _'faggot phase'_. He wanted a girl by his side for more than just friendship. One of his main goals this year is to find a girlfriend, but so far none have peaked his interest.

That is until he spotted a Rouge the Bat walking out of the café.

* * *

Shadow once again took a seat at one of the picnic tables by the fountains, the very same table where Honey broke his heart. He sighed heavily to himself. The school year had proved nothing but misery for him. He thought he accidentally killed people, he and Manic are just as estranged, and he got his heart broken by a girl in a Lolita dress. Safe to say that he hated the direction his life was going in. It's times like this where he missed Maria the most, times of loneliness.

"Hey Tiger." Rouge cooed as she strutted over to him. To his surprise, she wasn't clinging on to that echidna.

"Lost your master?" He asked sarcastically.

"Please." She rolled her eyes, taking a seat on the table with him. "I am the master."

"Then why do you wear the collar?" He pointed to the emerald around her neck.

"Touché Mr. Doom." She crossed her arms.

"Don't call me that." He grumbled, "You know I hate that."

"I'm just teasin'." She giggled, poking his cheek. "What do I have to do to get a smile out of you?"

"For starters you could send me the video of Sonic getting his face kicked in."

"Done." She smiled, pulling her phone from her bra to text him the video. "Why do you hate him so much anyway?"

"Because he's got everything, and he knows it, but still chooses to be an ungrateful prick."

"Point taken."

"I tried to ask out Honey…" He confessed. He couldn't stand keeping secrets from Rouge, but he knew she'd never allow it. If only he had told her straight up, she would have prevented his heartache.

"I know." She sighed, putting a comforting arm around him. "I almost kicked her ass, but Manic made me realize that you are your own person. I'm not your keeper, and I shouldn't baby you so much…"

"Don't listen to him." The ebony hedgehog turned to look at her with all seriousness, "I need you always. You're like my compass, you always point me in the right direction when I feel lost."

She cupped his cheek lovingly. "No matter how many skanks break your heart, in the end you'll always have me by your side."

"Hmph." He gave her a semi-smile, "You just better not start ignoring me for that echidna."

"Never that." She laughed, "Speaking of him, I've got to go catch a ride with him into town. I need to do some serious shopping. You wanna come?"

"And get stuck carrying your bags like I used to? Hell no." He waved her off.

"Darn." She pouted before bursting into a fit of laughter. "See ya later."

He waved until she was no longer in view. He felt a little better. Talking with Rogue is easy, especially because she already knows so much, but once she left he was forced to face the loneliness again. The wind blew hard, whipping his quills and making the leaves on the ground dance. A random leaf caught his eye, and he watched as it danced away in the wind before landing on the ground beside the fountain. That's when he noticed two black boots rested on the ground. He traced them up to see that pink hedgehog from the other day.

She sat on the ledge of the fountain, circling her fingers in the water as the wind blew the quills out of her face. He got up from the table and walked over to her, studying her the entire time. He'd never noticed her before. Her makeup was heavy, her style very grunge, and her quills very short and jagged.

"Are you stalking me?" She asked without even looking at him.

"I was going to ask the same thing." He retorted in his monotone voice.

"Were you?" She challenged, "Hello seems like a nicer way to start a conversation." She got up from her position on the fountain.

"Who says I wanted to start a conversation?"

"Well you sure as hell didn't walk over here to tell me I'm beautiful." She snorted.

"You're just full of assumptions aren't you?"

"Isn't everyone?"

They both broke out in satisfied smirks. He appreciated that wordplay of hers very much. Not a lot of girls know how to carry a conversation with a cynical pessimist. He actually did come to strike up conversation though, he was just so curious about her.

She eyed him up and down before walking right past him. He jumped up as he felt her hand snake down his back pocket.

"You could at least buy me dinner first." He turned around to narrow his eyes at the girl. She just continued to walk off nonchalantly, swaying her hips lightly. In the midst of his staring he realized something was missing.

He dug his hand in his back pocket only to find it empty. He looked back out to the pink hedgehog. She looked back at him with a victorious grin as she waved around his cherished pack of cigarettes.

"Rosy." She called out to him.

"What?"

"You asked me my name the other day." She reminded him, "its Rosy Rascal."

"Rosy Rascal…" He mumbled to himself as she disappeared from sight.

* * *

Sonic held his knees as he angrily chucked rocks at the lake. It was late as usual, and he had snuck out to his sanctuary again, the Lake of Rings. The air was cool, and the moon wasn't so bright. The only sounds were the rocks bouncing a few times off the water.

He was made a fool of once again by Glasses-Girl. Another stupid video was circling around campus, only of him getting kicked in the face this time. People offered sympathies to his face, and mocked him behind his back. He hated being laughed at.

Worst of all, he didn't understand why she kicked him. He was really only trying to help. He was genuinely worried about her. He tried to suppress the thoughts out of his mind, he didn't want to think about it.

"Are you stalking me now?" A voice called out.

He looked over into the darkness to see the very girl he'd just been thinking about emerge from the shadows. She wore baggy gray sweatpants and a blue hoodie. He grimaced at her appearance before looking back out to the lake.

"This is my lake." He reminded her.

She walked over to him before sitting beside him in the grass. She leaned forward to catch a glimpse of his blackened eye. An immense guilt washed over her. She really didn't mean to hurt him like that.

"Did I do that?" She whispered sympathetically, using her hand to move his face toward hers so she could get a better look.

He quickly swatted her hand away in a fit of frustrations. "I don't get you. You tell me to stop being a jerk, but the second I try to be nice you go and knock me on my ass!"

"I'm really sorry." She apologized, "I just got scared."

"Yeah well, you could have said that instead of cracking my eye socket."

"I didn't mean to."

He peered over at her. She was tearing up, and nuzzling her face into her propped up knees. He didn't like that hurt expression.

"I'll forgive you, but you gotta promise you'll stop kicking me in the face!" He chuckled, lightening the mood. "Like seriously, who taught you how to fight? Chun Li?"

She giggled at his jokes, brushing her face against the sleeve of her hoodie to wipe away her tears. "My sister did actually."

"You have siblings?" He asked curiously.

"Mhm." She nodded, "A brother and two sisters."

"Are you all professional kick-boxers?"

"Well, Nicole's a pacifist, and Elias isn't much of a fighter type."

"Wait, Elias Acorn? And Nicole the Lynx?" He gasped, "They're your sibs?"

"Nicole is adopted, and Elias is my older brother." She explained, "I've also got a sister in Moebius. She's the brawler one."

"I had no idea he had a sister." Sonic rose an eyebrow, "He never mentioned it to me. He's good friends with my sister actually, and Nicole used to be a good friend of mine…"

"Your sister wouldn't happen to be Sonia, would she?"

"Yes sir!" He laughed.

"Oh boy." Sally giggled, "By the looks of it, you and I might be in-laws one day"

He smiled at her in the darkness. "I'm really hoping that's not the case." He said in a charming manner.

She looked back over at him and smiled before shoving him playfully. They stood there talking for what felt like hours. Sally was a special case. While most girls flocked to him, she was that 1% that didn't. She proved to be the ultimate challenge, with defenses like the Great Wall of China. Never has anyone made him work this hard in his life, but he was going to tear down her walls.

With his decline in the social latter, this bet with Jet is just what he needed to sky-rocket back to the top. He had no interest in her, or getting to know her personally. All he needed was Jet's word, and he'd be the coolest kid in school again. These talks, these late night rondeaus, they were nothing more than a tedious grooming process.

"Remember when you asked if I'd ever been kissed before?" She spoke up after a long silence.

"Yeah." He looked over at her curiously, thinking she might actually ask him to kiss her.

"Well…I had my first kiss this morning…."

"Really?" He rose an eyebrow.

She nodded, "This guy, he kinda stole it."

"Stole? What's that supposed to mean?"

"He saved me from a group of bullies. We hid in the janitor's closet, and well…he took me by surprise with a kiss."

"Did you kick him in the face too?" The blue hedgehog pouted, crossing his arms.

"No…I kicked him in the balls."

"Ooh." Sonic cringed, "That's probably the last place I'd ever want to be kicked by you."

"I hope he's alright." The chipmunk sighed, "I didn't mean to hurt him. I was just so upset. I always pictured my first kiss to be with someone I like…in a place like this. Not some closet with a stranger."

"You had your chance." He whistled, referencing their first encounter here.

"I said _'someone I like'_." She used her fingers as quotations, "I feel kinda bad though, because I think he really likes me."

"So who is this guy anyway?"

"I think his name is Scourge."

" **SCOURGE?!** " Sonic jumped up to his feet, " **THAT FUCKER KISSED YOU?!** "

"Do you know him?"

"Do I know him? Of course I fucking know the clown! He's an A-Lidt bastard, a scumbag, a loser who preys on innocent girls like you!" The hedgehog ranted angrily, " **HE'S THE BAD GUY!** "

"He didn't seem so bad to me." She shrugged, "He saved me."

"Listen to me Sal." Sonic said, pulling her up from the ground before putting both hands on her shoulders. "Scourge is bad fucking news. Don't think for a second that fucker has any real feelings. He probably just made a bet with one of his friends that he could get in your pants because he's a fucking scumbag loser like that!"

Sally was taken aback by his description of the green hedgehog. He certainly didn't come off that way when he saved her. A little creepy maybe, but not a scumbag. Sonic looked quite serious though, so she didn't take his words lightly. She nodded in understanding before their conversation went back to normal.

* * *

Amy, Marine, and Wave had all gone to the showers, leaving Blaze all alone in the dorm. Things had really picked up for her since the beginning of the year. She was doing excellent with her classes, planned on joining some school activities, and was more than happy in her new relationship. However, a dark cloud loomed over her head.

Sonic, she felt horrible about seeing him in such a beat down state. He didn't even look her in the eye. The cat swore her feelings for him were gone…but something in the back of her mind still gnawed at her with persistence. She shook it off though, things were finally the way they were supposed to be. She had Silver, her wonderful boyfriend.

So why did that thought still bug her? She was happy, and in love, but the thought of Sonic having a girlfriend bothered her.

Maybe she just missed the closeness between them. They haven't really hung out or even talked since the party last month. The more she thought about it, the more she missed his company.

"Knock, knock." A voice called out.

The cat sat up in her bed to see a red vixen standing in her doorway. She rose a skeptical eyebrow.

"What are you doing here Fiona?" The cat growled, not too fond of the vixen.

"We've gotta have a little chat about your slutty so called 'friend'." Fiona said as she slammed the door shut behind her and walked over to the curious feline.

* * *

 **Don't worry, that Halloween special will come along eventually I swear I haven't forgotten.**

 **Rotor the Walrus is another gay student, and in the closet. The only person who knows of his orientation is Wave. There is an actual reason Rotor is homosexual. It's because in the old continuity of the comics he was actually confirmed gay. He even married an echidna named Cobar in the XYearsLater comic.**

 **Fiona is not just mean to be mean, she actually has legit reasons to be angry at the world. She's been abused, neglected, and abandoned. Her cruel ways and evil behaviors are a result of living a dark life. Perhaps knowing her history has changed your perception of her.**

 **To answer your question Twotailedfox: Yes, the Child Services arc will write a character(s( out, but it's more so to get an in-depth look at some characters and why they act the way they do. For example, Amy Rose is unrealistic, obsessive, and extremely aggressive. (How she actually is in canon) There is a reason behind her behaviors, but you'd have to know her history with her parents to understand.**

 **The confidentiality agreement Alicia signed with Isabella prohibits any of them from speaking of Mina's previously intolerant deviant acts against Nicole and Shard, meaning no one knows why Sally beat up Mina which led everyone to believe jealousy was the motive.**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy**

 **The parents of Tails and Ray are revealed**

 **Sonia's condition only worsens**

 **Amy-Sonic-Blaze: The love triangle is back**

 **Mina has a new suitor**

 **Mighty struggles with the loss of his siblings**

 **And so much more**


	22. Chapter 22

**WARNING: Topics such as child abuse, bulimic behaviors, light sexual themes, and domestic violence **

* * *

**Chapter 22: To Care For Another**

 _'Principal Acorn called Ms. Clove, but she couldn't do much. Child Services have deemed me unfit to care for Ray and Tilly. They also issued a restraining order that keeps me away from them. Principal Acorn had just switched Ray into my room…but now he's back to his old room…far away from me._

 _The security officers don't let me anywhere near him. I'm at least grateful Principal Acorn let me talk to him one last time._

 _It was agonizing. He couldn't speak, but he clung to my shirt and sobbed. He was so furious, so in disbelief…to hear that his father had finally come for him. He kept shaking his head no and trying to yell, but no sound escaped him._

 _"I'm not gonna give up, I swear it Ray. I'm gonna fight this. I won't let them take you guys away from me. Not now, not ever again." I told him, "I love you…don't forget that. Don't ever forget that."_

 _He shook his head, refusing to leave my side. Even when Officer Zonic pried him away from me, he still reached out to me. Mentally calling out to me, I could feel it._

 _That was two weeks ago. I feel so empty, so drained, and so dead. I go to work like a zombie, and not much else. I feel like I've lost my drive to live….'_

"Mighty…" Julie-Su cooed as she held the armadillo to her chest like a child. "Everything's gonna be alright. I promise."

The two of them laid on his bed. He had his head on her chest as he sobbed. She ran a comforting hand over his back, rocking him back and forth in her arms the way she does Lara-Su after a night terror. She could only imagine the anguish he's going through. The echidna girl was there every step of the way as he built a life for him and his younger siblings. For him lose everything he's worked so hard for is devastating.

After some time of comforting him, he finally gave her the okay to go. They said their goodbyes, and she promised she'd be back to check up on him before kissing his forehead. As soon as she walked out the door and shut it behind her she was greeted by her not-so-pleased fiancé.

"What the hell was that?" He huffed, pointing his finger toward Mighty's dorm.

"Don't start with this jealousy bullshit." She growled aggressively, "Mighty's my best friend, and he's going through a lot right now. He needs support."

"Seems like every fucking dude here is your best friend." The devil retorted in the same aggressive manner, "And what do you mean by support exactly?"

"Fuck off." She held her hand up to him like a stop sign, "I'm not in the mood for your bullshit." Just as she tried to walk off he grabbed her forearm, squeezing extra tightly.

"Yeah well, while you were off 'supporting' other guys our daughter called." He informed her coldly, "Dimitri's dropping her off on Sunday."

* * *

Amy and Sonic stood outside of their English class. She had him pressed up against the lockers as she made out with him, running her hands from his stomach to his shoulders so sensually. Much to his surprise, she's been quite frisky compared to how she was before they began dating.

As eager as he was to have her in such a way, he couldn't help but feel it was a little too fast—even for him. They'd only been dating a couple weeks, but in that short time she's given him many signals.

The pink hedgehog just couldn't help herself. She was always curious, but after the loss of her virginity she's craved that intimacy much more. Her mind constantly drifted back to Scourge and those little 'lessons'. She missed the way he used to caress her, that lustful look in his beautiful blue eyes, and especially his…

"Amy!" Sonic yelped, removing her hand from inside his trousers with a chuckle. "We're in public, remember?"

"I wish we weren't." She pouted, "How about we continue this behind the bleachers tonight?"

"Don't you think it's a little soon?" He questioned, "I mean, I'm sure as hell not complaining, but I don't want you to feel rushed."

"Rushed? If anything you're too slow for me." She giggled, "I think you've kept me waiting long enough Sonikku."

 _'Ugh, please stop calling me that!'_ He screamed in his mind, _'Talk about a mood killer.'_

"Hey!" A voice called out. Both hedgehogs turned to see Blaze and Silver walking up to them. Amy ran up to Blaze with a hug while Sonic just crossed his arms.

"You guys are dating?" Silver asked curiously.

"Yeah." Amy cheered happily.

"Good for you guys." The white hedgehog offered her a high-five, "I'm gonna head in. I'll meet up with you later Blaze." He said before pecking her cheek and rushing inside.

"I should head in too." Amy jumped up, kissing Sonic's cheek before following Silver.

The cat cringed at the sight of Amy kiss him goodbye.

Now it was just Sonic and Blaze in the hall. They stood across from each other. His eye looked much better, but they didn't seem as bright as it used to be.

"You didn't tell me you were going to ask out Amy." She broke the silence.

"Should I have to?" He remarked, a phrase she once used against him.

"We need to talk about something Sonic."

"Can't." He replied before turning away from her, "I've got plans with my girlfriend later."

He walked inside the classroom, leaving a burning Blaze standing in the hall with her fists clenched, and a frustrated look. She was not fond of the cold shoulder, or the new couple. Especially not after what Fiona had told her. The cat quickly stomped inside, not even realizing that a pair of reptilian eyes were watching her the entire time.

* * *

"Gotta say Red, being your girlfriend sure as heck beats bullying you around." Rouge giggled, snuggling into Knuckles.

They laid cozied up in her white-sheeted bed. He had his arms wrapped around her, holding her close as their legs intertwined underneath the fluffy comforter. He loved being like this, just lazing around with a beautiful girl, and not a care in the world.

Dating Rouge felt like the best decision of his life. She had no expectations like Sonia, and being with her was just so simple.

"I don't see a difference, considering you still bully the hell out of me." He chuckled.

She gasped playfully before swatting his chest. "I do not! You just need to be told what to do sometimes."

"No one does it better than you."

"I know." She winked before pulling him into a kiss.

Just another thing to love about the relationship. The bat loved teasing, but in the end he always got what he wanted. The pairing almost seemed too good to be true. Never in a million years did he ever think they'd get together.

Alas, with all good things comes a price.

Julie-Su, she was furious when she found out about them dating. She had confronted Knuckles, scolding him for being so idiotic. He wouldn't hear it though, he was finally happy and feeling good about himself. They argued and once again left things off on extremely negative terms. He had no idea why she was so worked up about it, but he didn't care.

All he felt like he needed in the world was Rouge.

"You should probably head over to math." Rouge nudged him to get up.

"Can't we just stay like this for a few more hours?" He groaned.

"Professor Charles is gonna kill you."

"Ugh, Chaos I **HATE** math."

"But you love me so you have to do it."

"True." He chuckled before getting up.

He stretched before heading over to the door. He looked back at her with a smile, knowing full well that he'd return. She just gave him a wink as she waved him off. Just as he opened the door, his eyes caught sight of familiar jade ones…only they weren't as bright as they used to be.

"Sonia….Hi…" He greeted awkwardly upon seeing his ex-girlfriend.

"Hey…" She replied just as awkwardly.

She would have waved or something of the sort, but her hands were preoccupied with holding up her jeans. She had lost an incredible amount of weight since the last time he saw her. If it wasn't for the signature hair-style he probably wouldn't have recognized her.

She looked so frail and sickly. He remembered that blue tanktop she was wearing, it used to be very fitting, but now it was practically sliding off her. Her collarbones were much more prominent, as well as her ribcage. Her cheeks were almost sunken in, and her breathe smelt rancid.

He cringed at the sight of her. She wasn't herself, not the beautiful sporty girl anymore. He edged his way awkwardly around her in the doorway before waving both girls goodbye.

Sonia noticed the disgusted look he gave her. In her mind it only confirmed the claims of her unattractive appearance. She tightened her grip on her jeans, the urge to purge again rising up in her stomach.

 _'Still too fat…still so ugly.'_

* * *

"Excuse me." Rosemary called out as she walked into the nurse's office. "Bernadette? Are you busy?"

"Not really." The purple hedgehog shook her head, "Come on in Rosemary!"

The tan fox walked over to the purple hedgehog seated at an L-shaped desk in the corner. She took a seat in one of the chairs across from the desk. Nurse Bernie took off her tiny glasses, brushing her golden blonde hair from her face. She smiled warmly at the fox, setting her glasses down on the table before clasping her hands together.

"What can I do you for?" She asked sweetly.

"I needed to check up on a student." The fox rubbed her arm shyly, "Tails Prower."

"Ahh, the sweet little kitsune." Bernie nodded as she typed away on the computer, "Tails Prower. He's been in here twice this year."

"Twice?"

"Once because he apparently tripped in the hallways, and another time he came in here for an STD check requested by his sister, Sonia."

"STD?" The foxed gasped, clasping both hands over her mouth. "He's just a baby!"

"No, not anymore." The nurse chuckled, "Your son's almost all grown up."

"How…How did you know he was my—"

"Please." Bernie snorted, "He looks just like your late husband, Amadeus. I'm no fool Rosemary."

The tan fox hung her head. She didn't count on Nurse Bernie being so perceptive. The hedgehog just sat back in her chair, folding her arms as a knowing smirk crossed her face.

"Does he know who you are?" The hedgehog asked curiously.

"No." The fox shook her head, "But he will soon."

"Aleena the Hedgehog adopted him a long time ago."

"I know." Rosemary replied bitterly.

"You shouldn't trudge these waters. No good will come of trying to get your son back. Take it from someone in your same situation—"

"Same situation?! You gave your son up by choice! I didn't get to choose!" The fox retorted defensively, "And I will get him back. I don't care what it does to Aleena. He's my son."

"Easy, you might offend someone." The blonde nurse warned her quite sternly, "Your motherhood isn't the only thing Aleena has robbed. In the end, that woman always gets her way. From a realistic stand point, you'll never get him back Rosemary, trust me."

"That's not true! Isabella Mongoose is taking my case on free of charge! The best lawyer in the country." Rosemary stood up furiously from her seat. She marched over toward the door, too infuriated to continue the conversation. "I'm getting my son back no matter what."

"Before you go…I just have one more question." Bernie called out, standing up from her chair to glare intently at the fox who turned to face her. "Medical records say you have two sons…so why do you seek out only one child?"

* * *

Rosy crossed the parking lot as she pulled her black leather bag off her shoulders. She dug her hand inside it until she came up with three beers. She smirked devilishly as she hopped into the backseat of a Hummer H2.

"I brought some party favors." She cheered as she handed a beer to the two other occupants of the vehicle. In the driver's seat sat Scourge, and sitting beside her in the backseat was Mephiles.

Scourge twirled the bottle around in his hand. "Good shit Psycho."

"Don't call me that." The pink hedgehog hissed.

"Thanks Rose." The gray-striped hedgehog grinned before cracking the bottle open.

"Maybe you should take nickname lessons from him, Snot." Rosy joked before taking a swig from her beer. She then kicked the back of Scourge's seat while he drank, making him keel over and spit up all over himself.

"What the fuck!" He growled, turning back at her with furious eyes. She just gave him the finger, sticking her tongue out at him.

"You're such a fucking brat." He grumbled, searching the car for napkins.

"That's what they call me." The pink hedgehog joked in a mock-girly voice.

Mephiles just sat beside her, smirking as he eyed her curiously. He had been quite fond of the little pink hedgehog since he met her two years ago, Scourge had introduced them. She was another one not-so-easy to read. Unlike most girls, Rosy didn't where her heart on her sleeve, and she was a lot more rowdy and rough than the average high school girl. He liked that about her…he liked a lot of things about her actually.

While they joked around and drank there was a knock on the driver's window. Scourge rolled down the semi-tinted window to see their good friend Nack. He and Scourge chatted about the school drama for a bit, exchanging booze and cigarettes.

Rosy leaned out of her seat and over Scourge to talk to the weasel herself. Mephiles sat back in his seat, admiring her backside in the tight black shorts as she wrestled her way to the window.

"So where's Fiona?" She asked the weasel.

"Who cares?" Scourge rolled his eyes, still trying to shove the pink girl out of his way.

"Haven't you guys heard?" Nack asked.

"Heard what?" Rosy tilted her head with interest.

"Child Services is here." He took a drag from his cigarette, "Word is Fiona's parents want her back."

" **WHAT?** " Scourge shouted.

Fiona had told him all about her parents, and everything they did to her as a child. The thought of them seeking her out sent a wave of anger through his heart. He might not be dating her, and adoring the single life, but that doesn't mean he stopped caring.

Mephiles eyed the green hedgehog with great interest, very amused by his reaction. It was quite hard to get reactions like that out of Scourge.

"Can they even do that?" Rosy growled, "After everything they did to her?"

"Get off me." Scourge said, shoving Rosy back into Mephiles before stepping out of the car.

"Where ya' goin?" Nack asked curiously.

"Gotta find Fi."

* * *

Principal Acorn sat at her desk, fingers intertwined as she stared intently at the green pronghorn women standing before her. Cassia and Clove had made an unannounced visit to her office. Cassia stood beside the door while her older sister stood in front of the chipmunk. The two seemed to be in a stare down, both wearing cold stern looks of distaste.

"Never thought I'd see you again." Clove spat coldly as she dropped a file down on the wooden desk, "I see you've made the best of your situation. Principal of a renowned academy. Very unfitting."

"I could say the same of you Clove." The chipmunk smirked, skimming over the manila file. "So tell me, what have you two come for exactly?"

"We require a visit with three students. Tails Prower, Fiona Fox, and Amy Rose." The green-haired woman informed her.

"I'll have Rosemary send for them." Alicia sighed, picking up the office phone. After a quick chat with the receptionist she hung up and turned her attention back to Clove. "Mighty the Armadillo is a wonderful guardian. The accident was a mistake—"

"When children are involved there can be no mistakes."

"You adopted your sick sister when you were his age, how can you have no compassion for his situation?"

"Compassion wouldn't nullify the severity of his actions." The pronghorn retorted, "Being in a position such as principal, surely you can understand the term _'professionalism'_. My personal opinions and emotions have no bearing on my duty as a social worker."

Alicia stood up from her chair, trying her best to keep cool after such a blow. The two pronghorns wore black pants suits, standing in the same position with their weight on one leg and arms crossed. Clove appeared sterner than Cassia, who looked more sympathetic.

The chipmunk just glided over to the bay window behind her desk, looking out over the campus grounds as she turned her back to them. "Clove the Pronghorn. The principal's right hand girl. Senior class president, and a star athlete. Raised in foster care herself, and after turning eighteen legally adopted her own sister who suffers from chronic illness."

Clove just gritted her teeth, annoyed at how the chipmunk continued to bring up her past. "Alicia the Chipmunk, the delinquent with a short fuse. Constantly fighting, antagonizing, and arguing to her last breath. I remember you giving Principal Julayla such a hard time. How ironic is it that you sit in her shoes today?"

"As ironic as your occupation of choice considering your constant run ins with Child Services."

Their squabbling continued until they got into the topic of the students the workers had requested. Clove informed the principal that Ray and Tails' biological parents wanted their children back, while Fiona and Amy's parents requested visitation rights.

"So tell me, where did you come across Ray's biological father?"

"He actually contacted us, seeking out his son." Clove explained, "Ray's mother died during birth due to complications. His father couldn't handle raising him due to depression, poverty, and having his hands full with a toddler already. Now he feels like he's in a well enough place to have his son back."

"Kids aren't cars. You can't just repo them."

"I'm just doing my job. It's nothing personal."

"Who is he?"

"Joss the Squirrel. I'm sure you've met him. His oldest child attends this school."

"And Tails Prower? Are you aware he was adopted by a loving family?"

"Tails was adopted due to an error in paperwork. He was never meant to be up for adoption."

"An orphanage isn't a daycare." Alicia growled in frustration, "He was abandoned."

"His father died in a DigItalian terrorist attack, and his mother was put into a coma for three years when he was only one. They had no friends or extended relatives to care for him, so we took him as well as his older brother. We set them up in Metropolis Sanctuary until she recovered."

"Why wait until now? He's thirteen years old. The only mother he knows is Aleena."

"She didn't know she still carried any maternal rights. Not until she talked to a lawyer last month after seeing him for the first time in this very school."

"She saw him in my school?" The chipmunk rose an eyebrow, "Who is this woman?"

"It's me." A voice called out, "I'm the biological mother of Tails Prower."

They all turned their heads to see Rosemary walk through the doors. Alicia's eyes widened in shock. The tan fox had never mentioned anything about children.

"Rosemary—"

"No. I do not wish to hear how this is a mistake. I love my son, and I wish to have him back with me. I do not care for his adoptive family. He was never supposed to be adopted in the first place." The tan fox held up her hand in dismissal, "The children you requested are sitting in the main office."

* * *

"Ugh, look at my face! How the hell am I supposed to perform at the Halloween show in Station Square tomorrow?" Mina cried as she studied her still bruised face in the little mirror attached to her locker.

"I told you not to mess with that poor lynx girl." Honey remarked slyly, "Maybe you could pass it off as Halloween makeup." She giggled. Mina just gave her a cold look that quickly shut her up.

The mongoose turned her face back to the mirror, enraged by the blemishes caused by one too many jabs by that ugly chipmunk girl. Although she had made peace with Nicole, she would never forgive Glasses-Girl for striking her for all the world to see, especially before her first legit gig.

Mina was personally requested by the mayor's daughter in Soleanna to play a show at Station Square for the girl's Sweet Sixteen Halloween bash. She was so excited to finally jump start her career. Everything had to be perfect.

"So how are you and Mr. Shadow?" The mongoose sighed, wanting to at least hear some good news.

"We're not." The cat shrugged.

"What?" Mina gasped, slamming her locker shut. "You let a hottie like that get away? Are you stupid?!"

Honey just chuckled, twirling around as she sighed. "Life's too short to be tied down. I prefer my freedom."

"Yeah I bet. If freedom means hoeing around."

"Love you too bitch." The cat winked and blew a kiss, "I gotta go. Apparently Bark's up for round two. Catch ya' later!"

"What a skank." Mina rolled her eyes as she chuckled to herself.

 **INCOMING CALL**

She jumped at the sound of her cellphone, forgetting she even had it on volume. She pulled it out of her skirt pocket and checked the caller ID. It was the drummer of her band, Mach the Rabbit.

 _"What's up Mach?"_ She answered.

 _"Okay, okay. Don't freak out…but I can't make it to the party tomorrow."_

 _"_ _ **WHAT? ARE YOU INSANE! THIS IS OUR FIRST REAL GIG!**_ _"_

 _"My parents are taking me on vacation to DigItaly. I'm so sorry Mina. Please don't hate me!"_

Once upon a time a remark like that, or even the mention of DigItaly would have sent her flying into a frenzy of rage, but now that she has broken free of her bigot-ways she didn't blow a gasket. She just slid down the lockers to the floor, eyes brimming with tears. The 'Forget Me Knots' might not get their big break after all.

 _"No…it's okay."_ She sighed, _"I just wanted this really bad, but I understand."_

 _"Mina, I'm sorry. Don't cry."_

 _"I'm gonna go."_

She gave him a bitter farewell before ending the call. She tossed her phone to the floor beside her and began wailing as she cupped her hands over her face. Lately it seemed that nothing had been going right for her.

A figure from across the hall spotted her crying on the floor. Without her knowledge, the person crept up beside her, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder to alert her to their presence. She looked up, startled until she was met with a smile.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked with concern, offering her a hand up off the floor. "My mom says pretty girls shouldn't cry." He added sweetly, offering her a tissue from his pocket. She took it in her hand, quickly wiping her face.

"Thanks." She smiled weakly, "Things are just really messed up right now."

"Boyfriend troubles?" He asked curiously, "I heard you talking on the phone with a guy."

"No, nothing like that." She shook her head, "That was my drummer. He says he can't make it to our first gig tomorrow. I'll probably have to cancel…at this rate I'll never break into the music industry."

"I used to be a drummer ya'know." The boy smiled, pulling out drumsticks from his jacket pocket. He twirled them around effortlessly, showing off his skill. "I could probably help you out."

" **REALLY?** I mean are you good? I need someone who's as good as Mach. He's the only drummer I know who compliments my voice."

"Mach? That noodle-armed rabbit? I'd destroy him in a breakdown."

"Are you for real? Please say yes." Mina gasped, taking his hands in hers.

"For sure." He laughed, "I'm Manic the Hedgehog, greatest drummer to ever grace this shitty planet."

"Oh thank you so much!" She squealed, leaping at him with a hug.

Just as she pulled away something caught her interest. He bore a striking resemblance to her long time crush, only he was a lot less cute, and a lot more rugged. Nonetheless, he was cute, and had that same smile she lusted after—that Sonic smile.

"Aren't you Sonic's brother?" She asked curiously, a big smile growing on her face.

* * *

Amy, Fiona, and Tails littered the main office, each of them taking seats as far away from each other as possible.

Tails shifted his gaze around the room, anywhere but Fiona. He'd been avoiding her ever since she struck him. He didn't want to look at her, fearful that he might fall helplessly to his knees for her. She was no good for him, he knew that now thanks to Cosmo. The girl who has shown him the beauty in life, the seedrian that put the pieces of his heart back together.

Amy glared at Fiona with a cold scowl. She knew what the vixen did at the party with Tails. She didn't know Fiona personally, but she knew Tails, and how badly he was hurt. Not to mention her good friend Cream was in love with the kitsune.

Fiona snarled at both of them, disgusted at being in such close proximity with them. The slut that slept with Scourge, and the fox that had obstructed her from Scourge.

An awkward silence hung in the air. Finally, Fiona had been called into the office. She rolled her eyes before getting up and walking into the principal's private room. She figured she was in trouble for skipping class. She didn't expect to see Child Services workers. She eyed them skeptically, and cautiously before taking a seat.

"What the hell is this about?" Fiona hissed, disgusted at the sight of Cassia and Clove.

"Hello Fiona." Alicia greeted calmly, careful with her next words. "Ms. Clove and Ms. Cassia are here on behalf of your…parents."

"Parents? I don't have fucking parents." The fox retorted angrily.

"Yes you do." Clove walked over from the windowsill, "And they want to see you."

"Those fuckers are in jail, and they were **NEVER** parents." Fiona jumped up, scowling at the pronghorn before her. "I'd rather drown in a bucket of piss than see them."

"But you will see them." Clove responded coldly, handing the girl a white envelope.

Fiona looked up at her before tearing into the envelope, seeing the order of visitation. She quickly tore it to shreds, stomping on it angrily before glaring at Clove. "Are you out of your fucking mind? I'd never agree to this shit."

"It doesn't matter." The green-haired woman dismissed her, "You're only sixteen. You don't have a choice. They've requested a meeting this upcoming vacation next month. We'll be back to pick you up."

Fiona's eyes went wide as a thousand images of abuse at their hands fluttered through her mind. The idea of seeing them, of potentially going back to that dark place in her life sent her mind into panic mode. She unknowingly shook like a leaf, her palms began to sweat, and her heart raced. Alicia quickly got up from her desk, going over to hug Fiona, somewhat calming her panicked state.

"Fiona…" She whispered sympathetically.

"No!" The vixen pushed her away, shaking her head frantically. " **NO!** They beat me! He raped me!"

"It doesn't matter." Clove replied, "They've cooperated with all their requirements. It's out of our hands."

The vixen quickly turned heel, shoving Cassia out of the way as she bolted for the door. Her vision was blinded by tears and she ran across the office. Tails watched her go, a hurt expression on his face. His heart ached at the sight of her. He couldn't bear to see it, he had to follow her. He got up from his seat and ran after her, finding her curled up into a ball in a nearby empty classroom.

"Fiona?" He called out nervously.

She sobbed and shook her head, not wanting to speak. Her throat felt tight, and her hyperventilating restricted her ability to do so. She was so terrified. He didn't give it a second thought, he just threw his arms around her and held her as she sobbed frantically into his chest.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." She repeated over and over as he stroked her hair soothingly.

* * *

"Amy Rose, please join us." Principal Acorn called out.

Amy hopped out of her seat and walked into the office. Her eyes went wide with shock just as Fiona's did when she saw Ms. Clove, and Ms. Cassia.

"Hello again Amy." Cassia greeted kindly.

"Hi…" She muttered.

"Amy, what we're about to discuss might be a little hard okay?" Principal Acorn warned in the nicest manner she could.

"I'm not a baby." Amy huffed, crossing her arms. "What is it already?"

"Amy." Clove spoke up, "Your parents have requested a visit. They'd like to see you next month."

Her breathing hitched in her throat. She had almost forgotten she had real parents. She looked over to Principal Acorn, then back to Clove as she shook her head.

"No."

"It's not a choice. You're only fifteen."

"No."

"Amy—"

 **"NO, NO, NO!** " The pink hedgehog screamed at the top of her lungs, throwing herself on the floor as she thrashed violently.

"Amy please." Alicia begged, completely understanding of Amy's reaction.

" **ROB!** " She screamed angrily, " **I WANT ROB!** "

* * *

 _'My father was murdered during an armed robbery when I was nine. After that, I was sent off to live with my aunt and her family, the Roses. She was a fortuneteller, or at least thought she was. She swore she could see the future, but in hindsight she was just psychotic._

 _Her husband was quite ruthless, cruel, and disrespectful. He hated me. My aunt was pregnant when I arrived. I cared for her most of the time while he got drunk, and watched TV. Sometimes he would go into a fit of rage and beat her just because. I tried so hard to protect her, but I was just a kid._

 _He'd beat me until I couldn't walk sometimes, and constantly reminded me that my father was dead._

 _I cried every night, praying my father would come back from the place they called 'heaven'._

 _Talking to my aunt was useless, she was crazy._

 _She always used to say she had visions of the future after his beatings. His abuse was her portal to the spiritual world. That there was a sense of euphoria for her after brutalities._

 _I remember this one night we were both beaten and thrown outside by her husband. We laid on the grassy lawn looking up at the stars through blackened eyes. She rubbed her stomach as she told me what the spirits told her._

 _"Robbin my dear nephew." She cooed sweetly, "The spirits tell me you will grow up to be a kind, strong, and powerful young man. Your life won't be like this forever."_

 _"I don't believe in spirits Auntie."_

 _"Do you not believe in your father?"_

 _I turned to look at her, all the hope in my heart springing to life at the mention._

 _"He is the one who speaks to me child. He says you will grow up to be grand."_

 _"Really?" I asked._

 _"Yes." She nodded, "And there is something important he wants me to tell you."_

 _"What is it Auntie?!" I sat up in the grass, helping her up as well._

 _"This baby inside me," She began, rubbing her stomach. "This child is your destiny Robbin. You must hold her dear to your heart, otherwise she will fall into the devil's hands."_

 _Amy was born when I was ten. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen in my life. I remember holding her for the first time, how scared I was, but how I loved her so instantaneously._

 _Every time her father ripped her from my grasp I wanted to die. I feared so badly for her, that he'd treat her the way he did me. Surprisingly, he never struck Amy, his assaults on her were strictly verbal. He saved the beatings for me and his wife._

 _As much as I loved her, I couldn't bear to live in misery like that anymore. When I was fourteen I fled to Green Hill Academy. That's where my life truly began. I was no longer beaten, or ridiculed. I made a life for myself. I graduated, met Mari-An, and started a multi-million dollar business called O'Hedge Estates._

 _Although my life was seemingly perfect, something still weighed heavily in my heart._

 _One day I got a call from Child Services informing me that my aunt had a psychotic breakdown and attempted to kill Amy with a sledge hammer, claiming the devil had his hands on her and she needed cleansing by death._

 _When she fell back into my care the heaviness in my heart only grew. She wasn't the joyful pink toddler I left behind. She was an eight year old little girl that never smiled, that never laughed, and never felt loved._

 _I love my dear cousin more than words could say. I needed that smile back, I needed to hear that laugh, I needed her to know she was loved._

 _I'd do anything for her, anything to keep her smiling._

 _I bought her everything, took her anywhere, and did anything she asked at the drop of a hat._

 _Seeing them again would destroy her, I know it. I won't allow this. They will not see her, and I'll be dammed if they try to take her from me._

 _She needs me. I have to protect her._

 _She is my destiny.'_

"Robbin please!" Mari-An screeched from the passenger seat as the hedgehog swerved at incredibly high speeds. "You need to slow down—"

" **I CAN'T!** " He shouted back, "Amy needs me."

"You don't know this is trouble. Maybe her parents have changed."

"They'll never change." He retorted.

She eyed him curiously. "I remember you mentioned you used to live with them. You never talk about your childhood…"

"Because I'd rather not." Rob mumbled, "Nothing worth remembering."

"Robbin." Mari-An cooed sympathetically, reaching out to him.

They had just pulled up into the driveway of Green Hill Academy. He wasted no time rushing out of the car, leaving his wife behind as he flew at lightning speed into the main building. He skidded across the tiled floor, darting through the corridors until he reached Principal Acorn's office. He nearly broke the door off the hinges as he swung it open.

Amy was sobbing, twisting around violently on the floor. He quickly scooped the poor girl up from the ground, clutching her tightly in his arms. She clung to him like a baby, heaving into his chest as he kissed her forehead.

"It's okay Amy. I'm here, I'm here." He assured her.

"Rob." She sobbed, "They said I have to see them again. I don't want to! Please tell me I don't have to."

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to." He told her, calming her.

"That's not your call Rob O'Hedge." Clove reminded him.

He glared at the pronghorn viciously, a warning in his eye. She had no fear, but did cease her talking. He then carried Amy out of the office, leaving Principal Acorn and the two social workers alone.

"Any other lives you'd like to ruin today?" Alicia asked.

"That's up to you." Clove turned to the tan fox in the corner, "Rosemary, do you wish to make yourself known to your son today?"

"No. My lawyer says I should wait." The fox explained, "School isn't the proper setting for this."

"No lawyer would ever aid in ripping a family apart." The chipmunk spoke bitterly.

"I'd beg to differ." A voice called out.

They all turned their heads to see a purple-haired mongoose step into the room. She had dark blue eyes, and sported casual business attire. She strutted up to Alicia until they were toe-to-toe. The chipmunk grimaced at the sight of the mongoose, obviously not very fond of her.

"Isabella Mongoose."

"I'm personally taking on the Tails Prower case."

"Of course you are." The chipmunk smirked, "Ruining families is your specialty after all."

"Don't be so bitter Alicia. You should be glad. If I remember correctly, you weren't exactly an Aleena fan in our younger days."

"I have no animosity toward Aleena whatsoever."

"Sure you don't." The mongoose snarled before turning to Rosemary, "Trial is set in four weeks. Until then, you shouldn't tell your son who you are. I have already notified his adoptive mother."

"What about the other two cases." Cassia asked.

"Ray and Matilda's trials are set for the same day. Someone give this to Mighty." She handed the social worker a white envelope containing a court order.

Alicia just looked on with disgust, glaring at the pompous mongoose until she was finally out of the room.

* * *

Thankfully, Sally had been away with Sonic at the lake again tonight. Scourge climbed the side of the girl's dormitory stealthily until he reached Fiona's window. He knew she never locked it. The hedgehog pushed it open before swinging himself inside. It was dark, but he could just barely make out her silhouette on the bed. She was curled up in a ball, crying to herself softly.

"Fi…" He whispered in the dark.

She gasped, sitting up to meet the beautiful eyes of her ex-boyfriend. She quickly rubbed her eyes on the back of her hand, trying her best to not let him see her cry. He walked over to her bed, taking a seat beside her.

"What are you doing here?" She asked bitterly, "I thought you never wanted to see me again."

"I heard about your folks." He put a comforting arm around her. She just collapsed into tears at the mention. She nuzzled into his jacket as he held her.

"I'm scared." She admitted.

"I know." He laid back in her bed as she laid on his chest. He stroked her back in an attempt to comfort her. "But I'll be here for you…"

She sat up to look at him with hopeful eyes. She wanted to make sure he wasn't playing a cruel trick, because she needed someone now more than ever. He nodded, confirming her thoughts before pulling her into a kiss. She was overjoyed, turning the innocent little kiss into something much more.

He soon kicked off his shoes and eventually the rest of his clothes went too. He knew Fiona only ever wanted one thing to be happy, and it was him. She might be jealous, cruel, and bitchy as hell, but the girl knows her way around the bedroom, and he did carry a bit of a soft spot for her.

After his sessions with Amy had ended, he hasn't gotten any action. He missed the attention, the companionship, and assured-sex of a relationship. Strangely, he's quite fond of long-term relationships. One night stands, and short-terms were just to tide him over.

Fiona and him had been together far too long for him to just quit cold turkey. Their relationship wasn't glamorous at all, quite toxic actually, but it was something.

He eventually fell asleep in her arms, awaking only when the sun beamed through the window he forgot to close. He fluttered his eyes open weakly.

In the bed across from the one he slept in with Fiona was where he really wanted to be.

He wished he could be there, sleeping right next to the auburn-haired girl from the rich side of Moebius.

* * *

 ** _Mom:_** _How are my babies doing this time around? I've just flown back from DigItaly._

 ** _Manic:_** _That's awesome Ma! I'm doing great._

 ** _Mom:_** _Wonderful my sweet, but how about your grades?_

 ** _Manic:_** _I'm workin' on it!_

 ** _Sonic:_** _Glad to know you're home! Miss you so much._

 ** _Mom:_** _Miss you too Little Hero._

 ** _Tails:_** _I've been okay Mom. I aced the nationwide test with flying colors!_

 ** _Mom:_** _That's what I like to hear!_

 ** _Sonia:_** _Mom, I'm so glad you're home! I need you to send me some money for new clothes._

 ** _Mom:_** _Didn't I do that two weeks ago?_

 ** _Sonia:_** _Yeah, but those clothes don't fit anymore._

 ** _Mom:_** _How could you lose so much weight in two weeks?_

 ** _Sonia:_** _Working really hard for volleyball._

 ** _Mom:_** _Well, I'm actually coming to pick you guys up for vacation next month._

 ** _Manic:_** _REALLY? Sweet! Can we take Shadow too?_

 ** _Sonic:_** _No._

 ** _Mom:_** _Of course, if his parents are okay with it._

 ** _Tails:_** _I'm so excited! I miss being all together as a family._

Aleena just put her phone down on the coffee table as tears spilled from her eyes at Tails' last message. Her poor baby had no idea that Pandora's Box had just been open and chaos was on the rise for their little family.

Child Services called her earlier to notify her of the error in paperwork, and the upcoming trial she'd have to face if she wanted to keep Tails as her son. It tore at her insides, thinking of a life without her precious baby boy. She cried softly to herself, cupping her face in her hands to prevent herself from looking at the family portrait on the wall.

"Aleena." A voice called to her.

She looked out toward the front door to see another hedgehog walk in. A tall blue hedgehog with green eyes and brown hair. He wore a military uniform, taking his hat off and tossing it to the side as he walked over to her with his arms stretched out. She rushed over to him, allowing him to sweep her up in a loving hug.

"Jules." She cried.

"I came as soon as you called." He whispered to her, "No one is ruining our family. I promise you that."

* * *

 _ **Halloween party next chapter! I'm gonna try and do the party in one go, so it'll be a bit longer, but I promise I'll make it interesting.**_

 _ **I bet you didn't expect the adults to be just as important as the students lol They've got some interesting history behind them that was lightly hinted at.**_

 _ **Tails has a biological brother he doesn't know about, Sally's got an unnamed sister, and Ray has a biological sibling he doesn't know attends the same school. How interesting...**_

 _ **Amy's mother tried to kill her as a child, resulting in Child Services taking her away. Rob's guilt is why he spoils her rotten. He was abused by her parents in his younger days, and blames himself for leaving her by herself in such a place. Her aggression, obsession, and demanding-nature are learned behaviors from her abusive parents.**_

 _ **Again, all the characters that have names are canon from somewhere in the franchise. If I refer to them as only 'mother, father, aunt, etc:' without an actual name, they are not canon, just filler characters.**_

 _ **Relationship Status Report**_

 _ **Sonic and Amy: DATING**_

 _ **Blaze and Silver: DATING**_

 _ **Elias and Megan: PREGNANT**_

 _ **Rouge and Knuckles: DATING**_

 _ **Sally and Scourge: KISSED**_

 _ **Manic and Mina: ATTRACTION**_

 _ **Scourge and Amy: FLING (Ended)**_

 _ **Shadow and Honey: FLING (Ended)**_

 _ **Fiona and Scourge: DATING (Again)**_

 _ **Julie-Su and Thrash: ENGAGED (Still)**_

 _ **Cream and Ray (ONE-SIDED)**_

 _ **Cosmo/Cream and Tails: CRUSH**_

 _ **Next Time On Green Hill Academy **_

_**We delve into Manic's past, and why he stopped playing music**_

 _ **Shadow finds himself playing hero for a girl who might get him killed**_

 _ **Sonia is caught**_

 _ **Elias gets a reality check**_

 _ **Cosmo and Cream have the same objective tonight: The pursuit of Tails**_

 _ **And so much more**_


	23. Chapter 23

**WARNING: Violence, sexual themes, and bulimic behaviors**

 **Song: Miley Cyrus-Party In The USA**

* * *

 **Chapter 23: Happy Halloween**

Saturday, October 31st. Everyone's favorite holiday was finally here! Mina got the okay from the mayor of Soleanna's daughter to invite as many people as she wanted. Of course being the attention-seeker, the mongoose invited the entire school. Not only that, but she also rented out twenty-five large party buses to transport all of her adoring fans and fellow classmates to Soleanna. The only requirements were that they wear a costume.

Mina had invited Nicole and Shard as special VIP guests, offering them backstage passes. The lynx was very happy to accept the invitation, and promised she'd bring Shard along.

The mongoose did an excellent job of concealing her bruises, hiring four professional makeup artists to work their magic. Everything had to be perfect tonight. This gig would potentially make or break her career as a popstar. She just prayed the green hedgehog wasn't one of those morons who swears they can drum-but actually suck.

"Yo!" Manic called out to her as he entered the party bus.

She turned around and gave him a nervous look. He just set down his bag on one of the seats and waltzed over to her with arms out stretched in exaggeration.

" **WOW!** You look great. Well, more so than usual." He smiled.

She had her long purple hair tied off in two pigtails with a black pirate hat resting on her head. Her top was an extremely waist-cinching red corset with gold trimming. Her white sheer skirt was incredibly short, almost appearing see-through if you stared hard enough. On her right leg was a lace black garter with a little pirate sword attached, and she sported knee-high combat boots that matched her corset. Both her ears were pierced with three silver hoops, and her makeup was incredible.

"Thanks." She smiled cutely, twirling around for him. Her short skirt nearly flew up to her waist, almost revealing what she wore underneath. He bit his lip and blushed as he tried to push the suggestive imagery to the back of his mind. She shot him a mischievous grin. "You don't look so bad yourself. Hopefully you play as good as you look."

He rubbed the back of his head shyly, not used to being complimented. The green hedgehog was dressed as his favorite superhero, Spiderman. He had the mask slid up and resting on his forehead. She scanned him over curiously. He was quite thin, not built like Sonic at all. His quills were long and messy in the front, not well kept like his popular brother. The only feature they seemed to share is that trademark smile.

"Believe me, I'm pretty good with my hands." He chuckled.

"I hope so." She winked, instantly turning an innocent statement into one of a potentially sexual nature.

She swayed her hips as she walked past him and out of the party bus. He watched her with a lustful expression until she was out of view. He then collapsed on one of the chairs, face burning as red as his suit.

 _'Chaos she's so fine.'_ He thought to himself.

* * *

"Nah man." Vector shook his head, "I can't handle a party, not after what happened. Besides, I don't think Mighty would like it if I just let you go."

He was talking to the silent Ray, who held up a dry-erase board to him with a desperate expression on his face. The little squirrel was dressed as Jack from his sister's favorite movie, Titanic. His costume was complete with the white dress shirt, suspenders, and he had his hair combed off to the side in a similar fashion.

 _Please Vector, I've just gotta go. What happened last time was just an accident. I'll be more careful I swear. Please!_

"How you gonna ask something like this of me? Last time I went to a party some of my best friends nearly died…you Ray. Why the hell do you want to go to this thing so badly? Mina's a good singer, but her style whack as fuck."

 _I'm not going for the music, I'm going for a friend._

"A friend? What friend?" Vector questioned, getting up from his laying down position to eye the squirrel as he quickly wrote on the board.

 _Her name is Cream._

"Ohh, I get it. This is about a girl." The crocodile grinned, making Ray blush awkwardly. "As much as I'd love to help you out, I just can't. Mighty would kill us both."

 _I know he'd be there. There's no way Julie-Su would go without him. This could also give me an opportunity to see him without the guards prying us apart. Please Vector…in a month I might not ever be able to see him again._

The crocodile just bit his lip as he thought of what to do. Ray had just put him in a corner. Although quite loud and abrasive, he was very sensitive, especially towards Mighty, Matilda, and Ray; being a foster kid once himself and all. He sighed in defeat before nodding his head in compliance.

"Alright, alright." He sighed, "Just let me change into my M.C. costume."

* * *

Rob had insisted on taking Amy home after the meeting yesterday, but the pink hedgehog was intent on staying right here with her boyfriend—whom Rob instantly didn't approve of. With a little help from his wife Mari-An, the two girls had convinced him into letting her stay, much to his reluctance.

The news of possibly being forced into seeing her parents again was pushed into the back of her mind and locked away, just for tonight. All she wanted to do was have fun with her friends, and be with Sonic.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 ** _Sonic:_** _So why'd you blow me off last night Ames?_

 ** _Amy:_** _I'm so sorry. Just got tired that's all._

 ** _Sonic:_** _Boo, got me all worked up for nothing Lol._

 ** _Amy:_** _Nothing? Just you til I get you alone Sonikku._

 ** _Sonic:_** _We need to have a serious talk about petnames at some point._

She just threw her phone to the bed before reading his last text. She smiled at the full-length mirror as she studied her appearance. She wore a Chibi Moon cosplay outfit, a character from one of her favorite shows as a child. The little pink and white sailor outfit was just her style. Her quills were tied off in little pigtails complete with the little hair accessories. Once again Rouge had done her makeup beautifully, making her green eyes really defined.

"Thanks again for the makeup help Rouge." The hedgehog giggled, striking several cute poses in the mirror.

"Don't mention it girl." The bat smiled before turning her attention back to the little rabbit she had in the makeup seat. "There! All done Creamy." She cheered, handing the little rabbit a compact mirror.

Cream touched her face in awe. She wasn't used to wearing makeup, but thought to go all out for Halloween. She looked like a completely different person, a much older one too. Maybe Manic wouldn't tease her about being so little tonight.

The rabbit was dressed as Alice, from her favorite Disney movie Alice in Wonderland. She had on the baby blue apron dress, and white stockings accompanied by little black shoes. The makeup hid all her blemishes, and gave her an almost doll-look.

"Thank you so much!" She squealed excitedly.

"I'm sure Tails will love it." Rogue winked at her, making her blush.

It's honestly what she was hoping for. Tonight she was determined to tell the kitsune how she felt. Even if nothing came out of it, she just wanted him to know he held her heart, and hoped that maybe he'd return her feelings as well.

"Knuckles will sure as hell love your look." Amy chuckled from behind Rouge.

Rouge sported her typical makeup look, only tonight the eye shadow was black. Her hair was wavy and messy underneath a tall witch hat, and she wore an incredibly long, form-fitting black dress that showed off her hourglass frame. The dress touched the floor, a long slit all the way up to her waist on the right side. It was also cut incredibly low, showing off her large chest, and the beautiful green emerald.

"Oh I know." She laughed, looking around the pink hedgehog's room. "Where's Blaze? I'm surprised she didn't want me to do her makeup tonight."

"She already left with her boyfriend to the buses." Cream spoke up.

"I didn't see her outfit!" Rouge pouted.

"She's dressed as Minnie Mouse, and her boyfriend is dressed as Mickey." Amy giggled, "I wish me and Sonic would have done something cute like that."

"Those two are just too adorable." Cream smiled.

"All that glitters is not gold ladies." Rouge sang to herself.

* * *

Tails sat on the edge of Sonic's bed as he stared at his shoes. The blue hedgehog was combing his quills while the fox waited for him to finish up. Tails wore a white lab coat over blue scrubs, all of which splattered with fake blood. He also carried around a beaker of red liquid. He was a mad scientist for Halloween.

Sonic was dressed in a white and black striped tuxedo with skull hands for a bow, and a Jack Skellington mask resting on the side of his head. What title would suit him more on Halloween than the Pumpkin King?

As he set his brush down on the dresser he noticed Tails' disheartened expression. He walked over and took a seat beside his little brother, slinging an arm across his shoulders.

"Everything okay Tails?" He asked with a concerned expression.

Tails just looked up at him, debating whether or not to tell his brother how he was feeling. "It's nothing, just a little nervous."

"No need for all of that!" Sonic chuckled, "I'm not gonna let you out of my sight tonight, you hear me? You won't have to worry about that skank Fiona this time."

The mention of the red vixen immediately made his heart plummet into the ground. The last time he spoke to her she was sobbing in an empty classroom. She had apologized, and explained why she thought what she did was normal. It broke his heart to hear of her violent past, but it hurt worse to know it yet hear those who didn't call her cruel words such as 'skank', and 'bitch'.

Maybe if people knew of her tragic history they would understand the way he did. He saw the good in Fiona like no one else, the potential to be a kind soul underneath the hate and anger. He saw her through rose-colored glasses.

"Thanks…" He muttered, not wanting to argue her case. Sonic would only dismiss him, and scold him for even thinking there was anything more to her.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 ** _Cosmo:_** _Can't wait to see you tonight!_

Sonic leaned over Tails' shoulder, catching the message before the kitsune could put his phone away. He grinned with delight before nudging the fox's side.

"Cosmo the Seedrian, now there's a cute little potential girlfriend for ya'." He chuckled, "I think she likes you too."

"Cosmo? No way." He shook his head, "She's just really nice."

"Especially to you." The blue hedgehog winked, getting up from the bed. "Just be careful. I think our little Cream might like you too. You're getting to be a real Casanova just like your bro!"

"Quit teasing me." Tails pouted playfully before walking over to the door. "We should get going."

* * *

 ** _Sonia:_** _Elias, I miss you. You've got a bad habit of disappearing on me._

 ** _Sonia:_** _Are you gonna be at the party tonight? Please text me back when you get the chance._

 ** _Sonia:_** _Are you mad at me?_

 ** _Sonia:_** _Eli_

 ** _Megan:_** _Seven weeks old. Your child is seven weeks old._

 ** _Megan:_** _My belly is getting a lot harder to hide. I'm gonna have to tell your mother soon, whether you like it or not. I just thought I'd let you know._

 ** _Megan:_** _Don't worry, I won't tell her who the scumbag father is._

Elias just sighed tossing his phone to the side. He sat on the floor of the boy's bathroom, head in his hands as he sat in the corner. He hasn't spoken to Megan since the lash out, and Sonia since he found out of the pregnancy. He didn't know how to handle any of this.

How could he tell Sonia, the girl he's madly in love with that he's having a baby by somebody he barely even knows? How would his parents react? He hasn't spoken to his father in eight years, this would be one hell of a conversation starter.

He sat in the corner, running his hands through his messy hair as he exhaled in frustration. His grades were slipping, he was being distant, and he felt like the lowest lifeform on the planet.

"Hey." A voice called out, "Eli? You okay?"

He looked up to see Mighty walking over to him. The armadillo sat on the floor beside him, looking at him with a concerned expression. The two had been good friends for a long time. Not the kind that hung out all the time, but the kind that offered a helping hand whenever needed.

"Just going through some crazy stuff." The prince sighed.

"Talking helps." Mighty shrugged, offering an ear.

"I don't want to bother you with this kinda stuff."

"I get it." The armadillo nodded, "Do you mind if I bother you with my stuff?"

Elias just rose a curious eyebrow, taken a little off guard at the armadillo's sad tone. "Sure."

After hearing Mighty's story, the news of how me might potentially lose both Ray and Matilda sent a wave of sorrow over the already depressed squirrel. Mighty's voice cracked, and tears brimmed his eyes as he confessed the inner turmoil he felt about losing them, about how much it meant for him to care for them.

Something in Elias told him that Mighty was the one, the best person to confide in. Silver knew, but couldn't be of much help. Mighty though, he knew what it meant to be a teen parent.

"I got someone pregnant." He finally admitted.

Mighty just gave him a skeptical look with a mix of shock. "Sonic is gonna kill you."

"It's not Sonia…" He mumbled in heartache.

He then went on the tell Mighty everything. The armadillo felt so bad for the poor squirrel. Everyone knew he was hopelessly in love with Sonia the Hedgehog—except her. The prince even told him of how he suggested abortion, how not prepared and unsure he was.

"I'm not ready for this..." He shook his head, "This wasn't how things were supposed to turn out."

"Believe me, no one's ever ready." Mighty replied, "Especially teenage boys. But Megan is right. That's your child. As much as you're afraid to, you've got to take responsibility Elias, or you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

Mighty got up off the ground, leaving Elias to contemplate his words. The armadillo dressed in a mummy outfit continued to talk about how terrible he felt, but Julie-Su was dragging him along to the party.

"I know its shitty time for you right now, but maybe Julie's right. This party might ease the stress, even just for a night. I hope to see ya' there."

* * *

"C'mon Sally-Girl! **PLEASE!** " Bunnie begged as she pulled her chipmunk friend toward her closet, "I'm sure there's an outfit in here that'll fit ya'!"

"It's not that I don't have a costume Bunnie. I just wasn't invited, remember?" Sally sighed, struggling to get out of the rabbit's grip.

Literally everyone on campus had received an invitation wristband except for Sally. Something told her that the mongoose hadn't forgiven her about the scuffle.

"Who cares? I just want muh friend to go and have a good'ole time with me!" The rabbit huffed, pulling out costumes from the closet. "C'mon Sugah! Rotor already canceled on me. You can't do me like that neither!"

Sally turned her head toward the walrus sitting on Bunnie's bed with his legs crossed. She rose a curious eyebrow at him. He wasn't one to opt out of parties.

"Rotor? How come you're not going?" The chipmunk asked.

"Well, you know my dad is a pastor. He'd kill me if I celebrated Halloween even in the slightest!"

"I keep tellin' him his daddy won't know!" Bunnie pouted.

"I'd feel disrespectful going, even if he didn't know." Rotor shrugged.

"I understand." Sally nodded, turning her head back to Bunnie. "That leaves me with no choice does it?"

"Not a one!" Bunnie squealed, "And I found the perfect outfit for you!" The rabbit cheered as she pulled out a dress from the closet.

Bunnie was part of the theater club, her specific passion being dance although she had a knack for hair and makeup. She designed outfits for the actors, so her closet was crammed full of outfits ranging from all sorts of media.

The rabbit was dressed as a cowgirl, sporting her signature brown hat and matching boots along with a very sexualized rodeo outfit. Her long blonde hair was tied in two braids that fell to her waist, and her belt was made of rope. She even carried two plastic pistols on her sides. Antoine was dressed as a stereotypical Indian, with a feather headband, face paint, and plain brown clothes. The two wanted to pay homage to their being an odd pairing in real life.

"What is this?" Sally questioned, picking up the dull-looking dress.

"You're gonna be Sally!" Bunnie exclaimed.

"I am Sally." The auburn-haired girl rose an eyebrow.

"Yes, but tonight you're gonna be Sally the Ragdoll! From my favorite movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas."

* * *

Nicole and Espio walked the halls of the boy's dormitory as they searched for Shard's room. The lynx was very apprehensive about giving Shard his invitation alone, so Espio offered to tag along. The DigItalian hedgehog had been quite distant, making her feel very down.

After his little outburst in Principal Acorn's office, she understood why he was so hot-headed and angry. He just missed his father, and felt completely alone.

"Nicole." Espio spoke up, taking her hand in his.

"I'm fine." She assured him with a smile.

Nicole was dressed up as a zombie, sporting ripped up old clothing, and fake blood. Espio was dressed as Leonardo of the Ninja Turtles. A blue headband, a plastic turtle shell, and a plastic sword. DigItalians didn't celebrate Halloween, but it's one of the many Mobian things Nicole grew quite fond of while living here.

They finally came to a stop at the hedgehog's room, knocking lightly on the door. They heard some shuffling, before the knob clicked. Nicole quickly snatched her hand out of Espio's grip, making him raise a curious eyebrow. Shard soon opened the door, a blank expression on his face.

"What?" He asked coldly, not caring that it was his favorite lynx girl at the door.

"Can I come in?" She asked.

He looked toward Espio standing at her side before shaking his head. Just as he was about to close the door, she put her foot in the way.

"Just me." She assured him, making Espio tense up.

"Fine." Shard sighed, gesturing her inside.

She walked in, leaving an envious Espio standing outside with his ear pressed against the door. She took a seat on his bed as he stood with arms crossed before her.

"Are you sure you can trust me?" He asked bitterly.

"Shard, I'm sorry. I just didn't want things to get hectic like that." She apologized, "I didn't want anyone to get hurt."

"I know." He sighed, "You're too nice for your own good. As much as I hate it, it's one of the things I love about you."

"And your short-temper and blatant nature are a few things I hate to love about you as well." She smiled, standing up to face him.

They both exchanged shy smiles as he slowly started to let his guard down around her. They were quite opposite, but forged in the same fire. They brought a sense of belonging to one another that couldn't be explained.

"Mina wanted me to give you this." She spoke up, handing him the wristband and card.

"Why the hell would I want anything from her?"

"She's sorry." Nicole informed him. "She wanted to apologize and give you this herself, but she's afraid you won't accept."

"You're damn right I won't." He scoffed, tossing the wristband and card into the trash. "Sorry doesn't fix anything."

"It's a start Shard." She cupped his face in her hands in an attempt to calm him down.

He eased up in her grasp. She always had such a calming effect on him. There was a long silence as they just stared into each other's eyes. He wanted to continue bickering, to refuse the invitation, but he was so helpless when it came to Nicole the Lynx.

"I guess I could wear my Iron Man costume." He mumbled, "But this doesn't mean I forgive her."

"So you'll come then?" She asked hopefully.

"Only if you'll be my date." He smirked, making her face flush underneath the makeup.

"But, Espio has already asked me."

* * *

Scourge and Fiona walked hand-in-hand to his car. Waiting next to the Hummer were the rest of their gang; a pink hedgehog dressed up as Harley Quinn, and a reptilian-eyed hedgehog dressed up as the Joker.

"Fiona!" Rosy squealed as she ran over to the fox, giving her hug. "Missed ya' bitch!"

"Missed you too whore." She greeted, returning the hug.

"Where's your costume Snot?" The pink hedgehog snarled at Scourge.

"I don't play dress up." He shrugged.

"At least you look good Fi." Rosy turned her attention back to the vixen dressed up as a naughty nurse.

"Save the lesbian shit for after we're all fucked up, alright?" Scourge joked, jingling the keys as he walked over to his car. "C'mon, we've got some havoc to wreak in Soleanna."

"It'll be fun seeing home again." Mephiles smirked in the backseat.

"You're from Soleanna?" Rosy asked, taking a seat next to him.

"Born and raised." He nodded, "You?"

"Moebius."

"Watch out Fi." Scourge nudged the vixen beside him in the passenger seat. "I think Psycho and the Creeper might start making out back there."

"Chaos I can't stand you!" Rosy pouted, kicking Scourge's chair.

* * *

Mina and her band were the first to arrive at Station Square. They stepped out of the party bus and looked on in awe. The mayor had rented the section of town out, blocking off all the streets for the bash. It was so beautiful. Strings of tiny orange lights hung from building-to-building, the makeshift wooden stage was setup with beautiful strobe lights, and Halloween decorations of bats, skulls, and pumpkins littered every corner. It was the spot to be!

"Mina!" A human red-head called out as she dashed over to Mina with open arms.

"Elise! Hey girl! You look so good!" She cooed, hugging the girl before they exchanged cheek kisses.

"Thanks Mate." She winked as she put on a fake pirate accent.

"Of course Princess Elise." Mina carried the joke, referencing her friend's princess costume.

Elise looked around, greeting the other band members before stopping at the green hedgehog in the Spiderman costume. She rose an eyebrow.

"Mina, where's Mach? And who's this?"

"This is Manic. Mach couldn't make it, so he's the stand-in."

"I was promised the Forget Me Knots." The princess huffed angrily.

"Don't worry Elise." The mongoose assured her, "We're still the Forget Me Knots. Trust me! We'll rock the house—or should I say square?"

"You better." Elise warned, "This is my Sweet Sixteen! Everything has to be perfect. You hear that newbie?"

"Crystal clear, your highness." Manic nodded, giving her the okay gesture.

Once Elise was gone and out of sight Mina quickly turned back over to Manic, shoving a bony finger at his chest as she gave him an intense glare.

"You better not mess this up for me!" She growled, "That's the mayor's freakin' daughter!"

"Explains the bitch attitude." He shrugged.

"She's also got some major record label connections." Mina reminded him, "So you better be as good as you keep saying you are. Ugh, I wish we would have had time to practice."

"Please." Manic chuckled, "I'm better than I say I am."

His cocky attitude when it came to his drumming skills certainly turned her on, reminding her so much of his brother, but all her focus was on this gig. This was make it or break it time for Mina Mongoose, and it all mainly depended on Manic, and how well he could preform. It was a good thing he neglected to tell her he hadn't played in years.

* * *

The party was well and alive. The streets of Station Square were flooded with hundreds of party goers, all of them dressed up either in a scary costume or a sexy one. The music blared loudly through the tall speakers as everyone danced the night away. Somewhere amongst the crowd of dancing bodies were Silver and Blaze, both sporting a pair of Mickey ears, and smiling like goofballs.

They moved to the upbeat music, twirling each other around, and laughing as if no one were watching. He always brought the laughter out of her with ease. In the midst of their joyful dancing, she managed to surprise him with an unexpected kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him in.

"What was that for?" He asked, blushing.

"For being you." She replied.

Across the way, glaring at them in annoyance was an old friend. It was Mephiles, studying their every movement. He could tell how happy they were in their little relationship. It sickened him really. Rosy, Scourge, and Fiona stood beside him, completely oblivious to his staring.

"Chaos Mephy, you just can't keep your eyes off that little boy." Scourge remarked, finally noticing the dark hedgehog's intense stare.

"Funny." He replied flatly.

"Seriously though, you've been creepin' on them for weeks." The green hedgehog pointed out.

"No more than you do your little friend." Mephiles retorted.

Fiona and Rosy both rose their eyebrows in curiosity as Scourge covered the dark hedgehog's mouth and dragged him to a corner. "You know about that?"

"Of course I do. I know everything."

"Well, you better keep your mouth shut. I don't need Fi bitching out again."

"You seem quite obsessed with that auburn-haired girl. If there's nothing to it, where's the harm in telling Fiona?"

"No games Meph, I'm serious." Scourge growled.

"If you insist." Mephiles smirked. "But I'd like to know something. Who is she to you?"

"I thought you knew everything." The green hedgehog retorted.

"Everything except you my friend. You're a walking mystery."

"And I'd like to keep it that way." Scourge replied coldly, shoving Mephiles out of his way. "Prey on someone else."

"That…I shall." The dark hedgehog nodded, eyeing Blaze from where he now stood.

* * *

Sonic and Tails met up with the rest of the crew. They all exchanged compliments and comments on each other's outfits. Cream immediately went over to Tails, intent on telling him how she felt. Just as she grabbed his shoulder, someone else grabbed the other. The young kitsune looked up to see both Cosmo and Cream with a hand on each of his shoulders. The two girls then peered over to each other, noticing they were wearing the same Alice in Wonderland costume.

"Tails, I have to talk to—" They both stopped mid-sentence to look at each other.

"Whoa, uhh…Hi Alice…and…Alice." Tails chuckled nervously.

Both girls immediately pulled their hands off him, opting to stare at each other with perplexed looks. Both of them had the same agenda tonight, and the other knew it.

Before either of them could turn back to Tails and attempt to steal him away for a moment, he was already gone. They both spotted him being tugged over to the dance floor by another fox girl.

"My name's Zooey." She giggled cutely as both girls watched her drag him away with envious pouts.

"Ahh, young love." Rouge smirked, watching her little rabbit friend in a position similar to what she had been in with Sonia, not anymore of course. She had won over the heart of her love.

"Poor Tails." Knuckles shook his head, "He has no idea what he's in for."

"Wasn't the end result worth it though?" Rouge cooed cutely.

"Damn right." He smiled, kissing her tenderly on the lips.

"Enough of that." Shadow growled in annoyance.

"Ugh, does he really have to hang on your coattail all right?" Knuckles grumbled.

"Manic's off doing something." The bat sighed.

"Whatever, I'm gonna go get something to drink."

"Knuckles, wait." Rouge whined.

"Just let him go." Shadow huffed, "A werewolf costume, seriously? How overdone."

"You're one to talk Batman." The bat put her hands on her hips, narrowing her pretty eyes at him. "Better be careful, one might take your sass as jealousy."

"Jealousy? That's a laugh." The ebony hedgehog grimaced, "I'm gonna go find entertainment elsewhere. Have fun looking for your master." He then walked off in search of a new crowd. Being without Manic at a party sure was lonesome.

"Ugh, he's such a brat sometimes."

* * *

" **HE CHEATED ON YOU?** " Rosy gasped, clasping both hands over her mouth.

"Technically we were broken up, but he was seeing that bitch, and didn't even tell me." Fiona huffed, crossing her arms.

"Snot has always been a fucking scumbag." The hedgehog remarked bitterly. "So knowing you, you're probably gonna beat her ass."

"Nah, I'm not."

"What? Why the hell not?"

"I made a deal with Nack. I've gotta wait this one out…but that slut will get what's coming to her, one way or another." Fiona smirked, eyeing Blaze on the dance floor.

"Ladies." Scourge came up to them, setting three beers down on the table. "What are we talking about?"

"Oh, just ruining a few lives." Fiona shrugged, "The usual." She then leaned over to kiss him, making Rosy extremely uncomfortable.

"I'm gonna go." She mumbled before grabbing her drink and walking off.

She looked around, hoping to find someone interesting to annoy. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Well, almost everyone. From across the way she spotted a familiar black hedgehog dressed as Batman. She smirked before snaking her way through the crowd and over to him.

"Guess who!" She giggled, covering the hedgehog's eyes from behind him.

"How the hell should I know?" He snapped in annoyance, turning around to see a pink hedgehog dressed as Harley Quinn. "Rosy?"

"You didn't even try to guess." She pouted playfully.

"At least we both seem to be in fitting attire." The black hedgehog chuckled lowly, "But I doubt Harley Quinn annoys Batman nearly as much as you annoy me."

"You're probably right." She played along, "Plus, Harley finds Batman kinda sexy. That certainly doesn't work here now does it, Shadow the Hedgehog?"

"I never told you my name." He smirked, "You really must be stalking me."

"We've got English together." She shrugged. "I'm the one who sits behind you while you hide your boner from Ms. Breezie."

"Front row seats to the best show in town, lucky you."

"I wouldn't say best….average maybe."

"You get off on verbal torture don't you Ms. Rascal?"

"Believe me, you have no idea what gets me off."

He lived for this kind of thing, this back-and-forth banter had him on his toes. He loved to poke fun and joke around with someone who got his humor—which was incredibly rare. Conversations with this Rosy girl seemed to be the only satisfying ones.

Before their little show could go on any further, another figure approached. Someone dressed as the Joker. Shadow grimaced at the sight of those reptilian eyes, more so at how the hedgehog put his arm around the pink girl's waist and pulled her in close.

"Is he bothering you Rose?" Mephiles asked.

"Nope, just having a little fun." Rosy giggled.

"You know this clown?" Shadow scoffed, narrowing his eyes at the other striped hedgehog.

"Well he is the Joker." The pink hedgehog laughed, referencing their attire.

Mephiles just shot Shadow a victorious grin, accompanied by warning eyes. The hedgehog just shivered in disgust before walking off. Rosy pouted as he left, a little disappointed at their conversation being over.

"Boo. Look what you did Mephy, you made my special friend go away."

* * *

Mina, Manic, and the rest of the band finally finished setting up their equipment on stage. All there was left to do was give the cue to the D.J. to switch over the speakers. The mongoose shook like a leaf as she stood on the stage, too nervous to start. A million thoughts of how horrible this could go rushed through her mind, and with the luck she's been having recently one of those horrible scenarios was bound to happen.

"C'mon Mina, start the show!" Manic cheered her on.

She turned around to look at him. He had his mask on, but gave her an assuring nod. She smiled at him before turning around and starting the show. Suddenly, there was a screech of the speakers, making everyone in earshot groan with distaste.

"How are we all doing tonight?" Mina cheered through the speaker excitedly, pumping her fist in the air as she received a loud roar in response. "Get set! Because here we come! The Forget Me Knots!""

The guitarist picked up first, and soon the rest followed, the last one being Mina's gorgeous singing voice. The mongoose sounded like an angel, so sweet, and so powerful. She twirled around on stage as she sang her heart out, adoring the feeling of a thousand gazes on her. She was in her element, where she felt most comfortable, and it was evident in her now confident voice.

 _I hopped off the plane at L.A.X. with a dream and my cardigan  
Welcome to the land of fame, excess, whoa! am I gonna fit in?  
Jumped in the cab, here I am for the first time  
Look to my right, and I see the Hollywood sign_

 _This is all so crazy, everybody seems so famous  
My tummy's turnin' and I'm feelin' kinda homesick  
Too much pressure and I'm nervous  
That's when the taxi man turned on the radio_

The crowd was in a mixture of divided responses. There was no doubt the mongoose girl was grand, but the drummer of the band was surely fumbling. Manic was a bit rusty, failing to keep up with the rest of them. He could feel Mina's occasional glare at him every once in a while, and picture the furious Elise somewhere off in the crowd demanding his head on a stake.

His palms began to sweat, and he was getting a little nervous. He needed to pull this off, not only for her, but for himself. Once upon a time he loved music, couldn't go a second without it. Drumming was the only thing he had utter confidence in, the only thing he knew he was better at than Sonic, Sonia, or Tails.

 _' "We can't play Manic. Sonia and I are taking Tails to the park. Elias is waiting for us." Sonic told me._

 _"But what about our band?"_

 _"Sonia and I have been talking about that, and well with Tails getting older we just can't find the time to kid around anymore. We've gotta look out for our little bro."_

 _"He's_ _ **NOT**_ _your brother!" I shouted angrily, "I am."_

 _I think that's the first time Sonic ever struck me in the face, and the first instant I began to really fucking hate him. To me Sonic Underground wasn't a little kid game, it was everything. Music was our connection, our thing, then…along came Tails to ruin everything._

 _I felt completely pushed out by everyone. Not only did Ma dote on him, but Sonic and Sonia began to prefer him over me most of the time…until it finally became all of the time. Hell even that dude whose supposed to be our 'dad' preferred him over me. Every time that guy came around from one of his oversea missions he'd barely even look in my direction._

 _Alone and lost, fourteen and angry as shit. That's who I was. Sonia and Sonic didn't wear the medallions I made them anymore, opting to wear whatever the hell Tails would give them instead. I lost all faith in us being as close as we were before he ever came into our lives, along with my interest in drumming._

 _One day I was kicking over trashcans and screaming in an alleyway somewhere in Metropolis. It was ninth grade and Sonia took us to the city for some pizza. I thought we'd spend some much needed quality time together, but they just FaceTimed Tails and forgot me._

 _I just had to vent. Once all the trashcans were down I tore open my orange vest and ripped the medallion from my chest and threw it. I knew something was wrong when I didn't hear it hit the ground. I turned around to meet a pair of fiery-blue eyes similar to my own. Ones full of hate, anger, and above all…loneliness._

 _"Trouble at home?" The figure asked, stepping out into view. He was green like me, wore a leather jacket, and fingerless gloves. He dangled my medallion in his hand._

 _"Who are you?" I asked nervously. He looked intimidating._

 _"Scourge." He grinned confidently, "We've got the same music class. Haven't seen ya' there lately."_

 _" I quit music."_

 _"Yeah right, and the pope's quit preaching."_

 _"I did." I shouted in frustration, "If Sonia and Sonic don't care about the band anymore, then neither do I! Music is dead to me."_

 _I took a seat on the mucky floor, shaking my angry fists in my lap. I tried so hard to prevent the tears, but I couldn't help it. I was just so angry. That's when I felt a hand on my shoulder. Scourge had pulled me off the floor._

 _"I've heard you play." He told me, "You don't need those losers. Hell, they were only holdin' you back. If they wanna stay home and play mommy and daddy that's on them, but you….you're gonna go far kid."_

 _I looked up at him, trying to find any trace of lying in his eye, but I came up empty handed. He really believed I could be something. He handed me back my medallion before walking off._

 _That was the first time I ever talked to him._

 _You're gonna go far kid…_

 _He said that, and he meant that.'_

Amongst the crowd Manic's eyes caught sight of a familiar pair. That fiery-blue. It was Scourge, staring up at him in the crowd. Although Manic sported a mask, and didn't tell a soul he was playing tonight Scourge could easily make out that drumming style.

The drumming hedgehog suddenly felt a rush of energy flow through him. Just knowing that Scourge was out there somewhere finally listening to him sent his adrenaline skyrocketing. He quickly picked up on the beat of the new track, stealing cheers from the crowd as he wowed them with the sudden change in flow. Mina was in shock herself, purposely doing twirls so she could get a peek at the hedgehog on drums behind her. His music was raw, emotion-filled, and powerful.

Scourge wouldn't speak, but he'd listen…he'd have to listen as his old friend pounded on the drums, speaking to him in a language only they could possibly understand.

"You're gonna go far kid…"

* * *

Megan had been dragged out tonight by some of her friends, although she had zero desire to be at the party. She wore a large clownfish costume to mask her belly bump. She stood by one of the tables where the refreshments sat.

She was so angry, at Elias, and everything else that had been going downhill in her life. She only wished that her mother was alive to guide her through the horrid fate of being a teenage girl. She eyed one of the drinks on the table. A strange spider-web covered wine glass with a back alcoholic substance. It must have been something incredibly strong, because she could smell it from where she stood.

 _'If he doesn't car why should I?'_ She thought angrily to herself as she picked up the glass.

Just before she could bring the glass to her lips, it was quickly swiped out of her hand. She opened her eyes to see Elias dressed as Prince Charming setting the glass back down on the table. She didn't know whether to be shocked or furious, so she opted for both.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She huffed.

"Guess you found me Nemo." He joked, poking fun at her clownfish costume.

"Prince Charming, really?" She pouted, "Given the recent circumstances it's not a very fitting choice now is it? Should have put on your beanie and wife-beater shirt instead, asshole."

"We need to talk Megan." He sighed, putting a gentle hand to her cheek. "I was wrong to suggest such a terrible thing. This is my child, and I'll do whatever I have to for the both of you."

"You will?" She asked, unsure of whether to believe him or not.

"Of course I will." He nodded, giving her that trademark smile she so desperately adored. "But first, you have to say yes."

"Yes to what?"

"Be my girlfriend…then eventually my wife…"

" **WHAT!? REALLY?** " She yelped, " **YES ABSOLUTELY YES!** "

She threw her arms around him, sobbing tears of joy into his shoulder. He just frowned into the darkness. Mighty's words had encouraged him to be a better man, but at the cost of his heart. For in the back of his mind he was secretly wondering where Sonia was tonight.

* * *

Sonic tried his best to keep an eye on Tails like he promised, but Amy's suggestive dance moves were making it quite hard to keep his eyes off her. As the upbeat techno-styled music played she practically drilled her hips into his, making him bite his lip in frustration. She clearly intended to make up for leaving him high and dry yesterday.

"Soo…I think the party buses are unlocked, and empty." She cooed, tracing a circle on his chest with her finger, a bright blush forming on her face.

"Yeah, so?" His attention was more on Tails, who seemed to be having a jolly time dancing with a fox girl dressed like a ballerina.

Amy leaned in close and whispered something in his ear that sent all his blood rushing south. His face burned red as he nodded frantically to her request. She smiled to herself before taking his hand in hers and leading him to the parking lot.

"Oh shit!" He cheered excitedly, loosening the skeleton tie on his suit.

He had completely forgotten his main objective, which was to look out for Tails tonight.

* * *

Mina and the Forget Me Knots finally wrapped up their last song before bowing to the crowd who screamed out in adoration. They were weak the first couple songs around, but once Manic picked up they were incredible! The boys gathered up the equipment as Mina blew kisses goodbye to the crowd.

Manic watched her shine under the limelight. She was so beautiful.

They all went back to their bus, loading everything back up. The two other bandmates went off back to the party while Manic and Mina stood behind for a much needed rest. She threw herself on the fluffy read seat with an exhausted sigh while Manic took a seat on the one across from her. He laughed hysterically as he admitted how terrified he had been the first couple songs.

"Man, I swear I thought you were gonna kill me! Or that Elise chick was gonna snipe me from somewhere in the crowd!" He spoke through laughs, slapping his knees. "I'm sorry. Shoulda told you I was a bit rusty."

"That's okay." She sighed, "You really came through for me. Thank you."

She laid down on the seats, peering over to him with her sincere jade eyes. She truly was grateful that he helped her out. There's no doubt that both Elise and the mayor were impressed with their performance. His drumming even had her starstruck herself.

He removed the mask from his head, breathing in fresh air that wasn't filtered through the sweaty fabric. He caught her eye and offered her a smile back, that lovely smile that made her knees weak. A devious thought crossed her mind, something more inclined for Honey to be thinking.

With his eyes on her she started arching her back, and using her thumbs to slide up her skirt in a suggestive manner. He didn't know whether to turn away or keep watching. It was like she was putting on a little show just for him, and he had no idea how to react. He'd never been put in such a position. Skirt-chasing was usually Sonic's thing, aside from Rouge he hardly ever talked to girls really.

"Are you shy?" She cooed in a playful manner as she sat up from her laying down position on the seat. "Oh no, I hope the rumors about you being gay aren't true!" She added with an embarrassed gasp.

"No…no, they're not." He stammered, attempting to cross his legs to shield the evidence.

"Then come over here." She gestured him over with a curl of the index finger. "I'd like to repay you for all your hard work…and see if those hands are as good as you say."

The temptations were just too hard to resist. She was gorgeous, and obviously wanted him. Who was he to deny the queen of everything? He slowly sat up and walked over to her. She stood up to put her hands on his face, stroking his cheeks with her thumbs until he gave her what she wanted.

That Sonic smile.

* * *

"There he is!" Cream squealed excitedly as she finally caught a glimpse of Tails seemingly alone. "Tails!—"

But before she could run over and profess her affections toward him, her hand was grabbed preventing her from any further movement. She tried to pry her hand away, eyes still fixed on the yellow kitsune. To her misfortune, Cosmo had swooped in like a vulture, whisking the fox away with her somewhere off in the crowd. The rabbit was upset, holding back tears the best she could. She knew Cosmo had the same intentions as her tonight, she knew she had lost him.

She turned back with an angry pout at the person holding her hand. It was Ray. He pulled his hand away to give her a wave as a greeting.

"Why did you do that!?" The rabbit exclaimed in an upset tone, "Tails was right there!"

His smile quickly fell. He hadn't realized what she was doing. Ironically, his intentions were the same as hers. He had approached her to finally profess his affections. Ever since he first met her he's felt this desire to be near her. Everything about her was perfect to him, and she brought out the best in him. He's never had this kind of connection with anyone, and hasn't ever liked a girl before. It's all so new to him.

He used his hands to sign the phrase ' _I'm sorry'._ The rabbit had been studying sign language to communicate with him better since the accident. She understood, but huffed in irritation. Her eyes began to shimmer with newly forming tears.

"I'm sorry." She sobbed slightly, "I just wanted to tell him I like him, but now he's off with Cosmo. She likes him too, and is probably asking him out. I'll never get my high school romance now…"

She took a seat on curb, hands cupping her face as she moped. Ray took a seat beside her, feeling terrible about intruding, but it was now or never. He shook her shoulder lightly so she'd look up at him, that's when he held his hand out. Her eyes went wide as she read the messy note scribed on his palm in shaky ink.

 _I like you_

She looked up at him in shock. She had no idea he had any of those feelings for her. His nervous look only fell into one of heartache as she shook her head.

"Oh Ray." She cooed sympathetically, "You and I will always be great friends, but I just don't like you in that way. I'm so sorry." She got up from the curb, picked up her dress and took off.

Ray just sat there alone, rubbing his hand on his pants leg to erase the words from his palm. He felt pathetic, and so heartbroken. He couldn't even tell anyone.

"Ray." A voice called out. He looked behind him to see Mighty with a comforting hand on his shoulder. His older brother had witnessed the entire scene between him and the rabbit. "We should talk while we still can…"

* * *

"I'm getting kinda bored." Rosy pouted. She and Mephiles had finally regrouped with Fiona and Scourge after hours of touring around for some sort of entertainment.

"Me too." Fiona huffed, "Scourge?"

"Don't worry Babe." He grinned evilly, "You know I always get the party started."

"Well, get on with it." Mephiles grumbled, eyeing Silver and Blaze just a few feet away.

"Someone's a little impatient." Scourge chuckled.

The green hedgehog stood up on the table, sliding his shades back up to his forehead as he kicked a skateboard he stole up into his hands. Fiona, Rosy, and Mephiles all took defensive stances, evil grins crossing each of their faces.

" **MOSH FIGHT!** " Scourge screamed as he dove into the crowd, striking several party goers with his skateboard.

Mephiles quickly slithered through the angry crowd until he got to the couple he'd been glaring at all night. He sent a quick jab to Silver's face, taking him completely off guard. Blaze gasped before turning her angry attention to Mephiles.

"What the hell!?" She scolded him, throwing a punch his way. He caught her by the wrist with ease, pulling her toward him as he gave her a satisfied smile.

"I know what you did last summer." He whispered into her ear before throwing her to the ground.

She looked up at him with eyes widened in shock. Just before she could get trampled by the upset crowd, Silver scooped her up in his arms and set her steady to her feet before pulling her away from the chaos. She looked back where Mephiles once stood, only to see that he had already disappeared.

 _'How does he know?'_ She thought to herself.

* * *

Rosy zoomed through the crowd doing flips, and kicking whoever got in her way. She felt the adrenaline rush through her blood as the screams of terror filled her ears, giving her a sense of euphoria. She loved chaos, it was her passion, and nobody did it better than Scourge. The only reason she stuck around him to this day is for the mayhem he brought wherever he went.

"Nicole!" Espio gasped as he pulled the lynx out of the cartwheeling hedgehog's way. "Look out!"

The pink hedgehog pouted, angry that she didn't get to see the lynx girl's nose crack under her foot. She quickly turned around and came at them again.

"Please, stop this!" Nicole begged, but Rosy just lunged at them both with eyes hungry for destruction.

Just before she could land a punch on either of them, her wrist was grabbed and she was tossed into a table. She winced in pain as her back made contact with the hard surface. She looked up to see a black hedgehog with yellow stripes standing before the chameleon and lynx. He had the same excited grin on his face, as he bobbed back and forth with fists raised.

"Alright!" He cheered, "Now it's a fuckin' party!"

Rosy gave him an amused smile as she got up from the now broken table. She spit blood to the side, not paying any mind to her possibly missing tooth.

"Shard, she's a girl." Espio reprimanded him while Nicole clung to the chameleon in terror at the chaos ensuing around them.

"Rule one of mosh-pitting: There are no genders." The DigItalian hedgehog scoffed, "Just get Nicole out of here."

The chameleon just sucked his teeth in disapproval before picking Nicole up bridal-style and rushing her out of the crowd. She looked back toward Shard with a worried expression. She couldn't stand his lifestyle, how he loved fighting so much…but she now understood where the drive came from.

"C'mon Princess." Shard antagonized, "Let's dance!"

"Ooh, aren't you a sexy one?" Rosy taunted, racing toward him until their forearms collided. "I've got a thing for hedgehogs."

* * *

Fiona ripped a loose wooden board out of the stage, swinging it around like a mad woman as she stormed through the crowd. She caught sight of Rosy tangled in a heated battle with someone dressed as Iron Man. She smirked, knowing full well Rosy was probably loving this.

"Fiona!" Someone in the crowd called out.

She looked around only to be met with the pleading eyes of Tails. She groaned in annoyance. He had a bad habit of ruining her good times. What really caught her interest was the seedrian holding his hand, and the little rabbit girl clutching his other arm.

"I really made you a man didn't I Sweeite?" She smirked.

"What is she talking about Tails?" Cream asked the flustered kitsune.

"Fiona please, you don't have to do this." Tails whimpered, "I know there's good in you somewhere."

She bit her lip in anger, remembering he's the one who always seems to find her in her most vulnerable states. In a fit of rage she swung the wooden board at him. Tails ducked out of the way, only for the board to strike Cosmo in the head. She instantly fell unconscious, but just before she could hit the floor Cream caught her by the shoulders.

Tails was fuming. He wanted to believe so desperately that there was more to Fiona than meets the eye, but her actions surely didn't show it. Cream dragged Cosmo out of Station Square in panic, while Tails stood his ground in front of the fierce vixen.

"Oops." Fiona mocked, putting a finger to her lips.

He immediately shoved her. She lost balance and fell to the ground, the piece of wood slid from her hands. Her mind instantly flew back in history, recalling a day where her father had shoved her back into her bedroom when she was younger. The vixen began breathing heavy, palms shaking as she dug her nails into the cement of the street.

"You'll never change…" He spat bitterly. "You hate your parents so much…but you've become them—"

Before Tails could finish scolding her for her actions, the wheel of a skateboard collided with his forehead, sending him flying clear across the crowd. Fiona looked up to see Scourge, dusting off his jacket, and looking back at her with a wink.

"Chaos that little fucker is annoying." He chuckled, "Get up Fi! You're missin' all the fun."

"Right." She nodded, shaking off the intense flashback. He helped her up off the ground before disappearing off into the crowd again.

* * *

"I wish you would have let me at least give you a little makeover Sugah." Bunnie whined as she walked between her boyfriend and best friend.

"I'm not a fan of makeup." Sally shrugged.

"Well, you could at least take off them glasses! They throw the whole outfit off!"

"I need to see don't I Bunnie?" The chipmunk chuckled.

"Relax my love." Antoine sighed, throwing an arm around Bunnie. "We should juz be glad she iz here with us, no?"

"You're right." The rabbit sighed, putting her metal arm over Sally's so they were all linked. "You just don't know how much we've missed you."

Sally smiled at them both, thankful that they hadn't changed one bit since she's been gone. The only thing changed was their relationship status—much to Sally's relief. In her absence the two begun dating, sometime in the sixth grade, and they're just as in love today as they were all those years ago. An odd pairing sure, but a match made in heaven.

Bunnie's ears picked up on a lot of ruckus. Not the upbeat happy kind either. There was a lot of screaming and angry cries in the distance. She rose her eyebrow in confusion as they got closer and closer toward the crowd.

"What in the heck is goin' on?" She questioned.

Once they were close enough, they realized the crowd was in a frantic rage. The party looked more like a mosh pit. People shoved and beat on each other. Pieces of wood were being thrown around, and screams of terror were heard throughout the square.

"Zomething iz not right." Antoine shook like a leaf as he twirled his fingers nervously.

" **HEY LOOK! IT'S THAT GIRL WHO BEAT UP MINA!** " Someone in the crowd gasped, pointing to Sally.

"The one who hit Sonic too?" Another asked.

Sally stepped back nervously as tons of angry glares pointed at her. She felt a wave of anxiety come over her with all the eyes fixed on her. Bunnie and Antoine stood in defensive stances before her.

"Let's beat her ass!" Someone shouted, followed by a roar of agreement.

The three Freedom Fighters quickly dispersed in different directions. They knew better than to try and take on a crowd of angry people holding broken bottles and wooden boards. The mob had their sights on Sally, not bothering to chase after Antoine or Bunnie. The chipmunk stumbled and staggered, wearing slippers that weren't good for running. She quickly kicked them off into the crowd behind her, only fueling their rage. She screamed for help as she stormed down one of the parking lots.

They were right on her tail.

* * *

Sonic and Amy were finally alone together in one of the empty party buses. She had him right where she wanted him, in the very same position she found herself in with Scourge only weeks ago. He was leaning over her as she laid underneath him, both of them barely clothed.

She squealed excitedly under his foreign gentle touch. He wasn't like Scourge at all, he took his time, and waited for confirmation before doing anything new. She grew quite restless, ushering him to get to it already.

"Are…Are you sure Amy?" He asked again, getting a groan of annoyance out of her. He just wanted to be sure that he wasn't rushing things.

"C'mon Sonic…please?" She whined cutely. He just chuckled, nodding in agreement.

"First I've gotta put this on." He pulled away from her to dig through his pants pocket for a condom. Better safe than sorry, but the pink hedgehog snatched it from his hand and threw it off somewhere.

"That'll take too long." She pouted, pulling him back over her.

"Are you on the pill?" He questioned cautiously.

"Yeah, yeah. Sure." She nodded before pulling him into a kiss.

He just took her word for it before diving back down onto the soft red seat with her. Thankfully there were no armrests to get in the way as he laid her flat on her back and pried her legs gently apart. That's when he noticed something odd.

There were bruises on her inner thighs. He rose an eyebrow, but continued his actions anyway. He figured she just went horseback riding last summer and was still recovering, or something like that.

He expected her to cry out, or even whimper, but she did nothing but enjoy him. Usually the first time's awkward, but Amy looked right at home, completely comfortable to the new sensations and foreign actions. Unbeknownst to her lover, she was not new to these things anymore.

" **HELP!** " Someone screamed outside.

Sonic quickly sat up, pulling away from her to listen in. The shriek of a fearful girl sounded again, this time followed by angry screams. Amy whined in frustration, pulling him back over her.

"Did you hear that?" He asked.

"No." She lied, "Can we please get back to it?"

"That sounded like Sally."

"Who?"

Before he could reply, the door to the bus was swung open. The two hedgehogs were caught in an awkward position by Glasses-Girl. Her face instantly flushed when she saw the two naked hedgehogs still attached at the hips.

"Sally!" Sonic yelped, quickly hiding his nudity. Amy just pouted in annoyance. It seemed like the chipmunk girl had to always ruin their alone time in some form or another.

Something didn't feel right. The chipmunk felt a foreign emotion, one she had never really felt before. She turned heel and rushed out of the bus, tears threatening her eyes. She wiped her face, confused as to why she was crying in the first place. As she ran down the sidewalk in the dark, the realization finally hit her.

She was jealous…

"Sally!" Sonic called out, jumping out of the party bus as he staggered to zip up his pants.

She turned around on cue, only to be struck in the face with a piece of wood from somewhere in the crowd. Her glasses shattered into pieces, falling into a pile around her. She quickly covered her face on instinct as she fell to the floor.

Sonic wanted to rush to her aid, but something held him back. He looked back to see the now clothed Amy holding him by the arm, squeezing extremely tight. She gave him a warning look, gesturing to the crowd with her eyes.

"You wanna be trampled next? That crowd is pissed!"

"I've gotta help her."

"Sonic here!" A girl called out from the crowd, handing him an apple. "Now's your chance to get back at her for humiliating you!"

" **YEAH!** " The crowd roared, " **DO IT, DO IT, DO IT.** "

Sonic bit his lip as he thought of what to do. The crowd was finally cheering for him instead of laughing at him. Finally it seemed that everyone was on his side again. He didn't want to let them down…

He rolled the apple in his hands as he darted his eyes to all their eager faces, then back to Sally who peaked through her fingers at him with hopeful eyes. He knew what the right thing to do was, but that didn't stop him from chucking that apple.

 **BAM!**

He threw it.

But it didn't hit the poor chipmunk girl like everyone was expecting.

The apple was caught in the hand of a green hedgehog on a skateboard. He tossed the apple up in the air a few times, fixing his cold blue eyes on Sonic's green ones. The blue hedgehog gritted his teeth in annoyance, scowling at the figure standing between him, the crowd, and Sally.

"Picking on little girls Blue?" Scourge growled coldly, tossing the apple back at him. "To think your mama calls you ' _Hero_ '."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sonic caught the apple with ease, speaking through clenched teeth.

"Good to see ya' again Babe." The green hedgehog winked at Amy, completely ignoring Sonic's question. "How'd those lessons hold up?"

Sonic quickly stood in front of the now blushing Amy, preventing Scourge from talking to her any further. He just shrugged before going over to Sally and scooping her up off the floor. She kept her face covered as he hopped back onto his skateboard with her in his arms. He kicked with a powerful force, sending them zooming down the sidewalk past Sonic, Amy, and the angry crowd.

For everyone, it seemed so quick, but for Sonic it was like slow motion. He watched as Scourge gave him a sharp-toothed grin.

Sonic stared after them, even when they were completely out of view. He glared angrily into the darkness. Something didn't feel right. He'd never felt this way before, about anyone or anything because he always had everything.

He was jealous…

Sally and Scourge flew down the sidewalk. The only light source being the few streetlights they past. He looked down at her with sympathy as she sobbed quietly into the hands covering her face.

"No one else is here, you can come out now." He whispered to her.

She sniffled before pulling her hands away, revealing her scarred face. She looked up at him with her innocent blue eyes. He just smiled down at her.

"Why do you keep doing this…You keep saving me." She mumbled, "You're supposed to be the bad guy."

"I am the bad guy." He reminded her as they flew into the night.

* * *

Station Square had quickly turned into a riot. Cars were being tipped, people were savagely beating on one another, and the makeshift stage had been torn to bits. It was complete and utter chaos. Shadow quickly fled into one of the nearby grocery stores. The moshing from the streets had even found their way into the stores. Everyone screamed as party goers bursted through the doors and swarmed the markets, destroying everything in their path like an inferno.

It was only a matter of time before the police would be called. Shadow knew that, so instead of running the risk of getting caught in the arrests he opted to lay low and wait it out. He only hoped that Manic and Rouge were somewhere safe as he ran into the single stall bathroom and locked the door before three people dressed as clowns could attack.

"Fucking hate clowns." He growled as he held the door shut.

He finally sighed in relief, sliding to the floor at ease. That's when his crimson eyes caught a pair of bony looking legs underneath the only stall in the room. Soon after he heard gurgling sounds and puking. He assumed someone had one to many beers. He grumbled in annoyance before getting off the floor to investigate.

He trudged over quietly, slowly peering through the crack on the door to see his best friend's sister slumped over the toilet with her fingers down her throat. He watched silently as she continued to purposely make herself violently purge until bile refused to rise in her system. She cried to herself, cursing under her breath.

She looked half-dead. The magenta hedgehog was dressed up as Cinderella, and although the ball gown was the smallest size possible it still slipped off her shoulders. The gown was backless, revealing her weak looking skeletal frame. Her skin appeared dry, and her hair looked like brittle straw.

Seeing her in such a way, so hopeless, and so fragile…it struck a nerve in him. Shadow quickly pushed open the door, revealing himself to her. She jumped up in fright, quickly wiping the saliva from her mouth.

"Shadow!" She gasped, "Get out of here."

"I saw you…" He whispered, "How long have you been doing that?"

" **LEAVE!** "

"Sonia…"

She whimpered under his intense scowl. He wasn't going to let up and she knew that. She bowed her head in shame, clutching her dress tightly.

"I just wanted to be beautiful."

"What?" He growled, "So you think throwing up will make you pretty? Is this about the echidna?"

" **I'M FIXING MYSELF.** " She shouted at him through tears, "I hear what they say…how ugly I am compared to Rouge, and how he left me for her because she's so beautiful. He never looked at me the way he does her…"

"You're not fixing yourself, you're killing yourself! Look at you!" He exclaimed, pulling her out of the stall and shoving her into the mirror above the sink. The ebony hedgehog felt a sting in his heart at using that phrase. "All for that dumbass who can barely handle quadratic formulas. If this is really all for him than you're not nearly as smart as the test scores say you are."

She touched her face as she gazed in the mirror, slightly horrified at her sickly appearance. She hadn't realized she'd been causing herself extreme physical damage these last few weeks. All she cared about was that number on the scale dropping rapidly.

"I really liked him…" She whispered to herself, "I just wanted him back….I wanted him to tell me I was beautiful again. I just want someone to tell me I'm beautiful again, not laugh behind my back."

Without hesitation he quickly cupped her face in his hands, forcing her emerald eyes to meet his ruby ones. He just had this overwhelming feeling to help her. She was so emotionally damaged, so broken, and he knew very well what came after that.

He just wanted so desperately to save her from the same fate, the fate of Maria Robotnik.

"You are beautiful." He assured her, look as serious as ever. "And if you need someone to tell you that every single day for the rest of your life, I'll be that someone."

She blushed madly as tears escaped her. That's all she wanted to hear. She embraced him without a second thought, and to his surprise he held her as well. The magenta girl was so thankful that he of all people had found her, even though he was the last person she'd ever thought she'd hear anything like that from.

Shadow the Hedgehog, her brother's best friend. He's always been a quiet one, not much of a socialite. He's incredibly attractive, in a gothic fashion. She didn't peg him to be the sympathetic type, or the romantic type at that. Until now, he's always just been one of her brother's friends….but tonight that changed.

Because she kissed him.

And he kissed her back.

He didn't care that her breath wreaked of vomit, or that she felt like all her bones would crush if he put too much pressure into the hug. All he cared about was that she was safe, and with him.

It's funny how one's life can change so quickly. Not too long ago he was heartbroken over a slutty cat with a pelvic tattoo, and tonight he's making out with his best friend's sister in the bathroom of a grocery store dressed as Batman and Cinderella.

 _'Those two are gonna murder me when they find out about this…'_ He thought to himself as Manic and Sonic crossed his mind.

* * *

 **Sorry about the incredibly lengthy chapter, it's just a special, and hopefully it'll tide you guys over for a while as I cook up the next arc. The next part of the story will focus around the child services drama, and a few new students will also be introduced to shake things up for certain couples and friendships.**

 **Fun Question: Should Tails continue to hold out hope for Fiona to change? Or should he chose between Cosmo and Cream? Or no one at all?**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy**

 **Two students never made it home**

 **Tails tries to deal with matters of the heart**

 **Sonic and the Freedom Fighters have a not-so-pleasant reunion**

 **Knuckles gets an unexpected visitor**

 **And so much more**


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24: MIA**

Another party ended in utter disaster. Thankfully the cops had arrived to disperse the riot, making several arrests, none of which being anyone from GHA. Aside from a few concussions and bruises, everyone came back in one piece—except for two.

Sally Acorn and Scourge the Hedgehog never made it back to campus. His car was brought back by his friends, and no one remembered seeing where they ran off to. Principal Acorn was worried out of her mind, frantically pacing her office back and forth and running her hands through her hair. Elias and Nicole stood behind her desk, watching her with concern. They all shared the same worried feeling.

"Are you sure neither of you saw her?" She asked her children.

They both shook their heads.

"I was in the exclusive area all night." Nicole mumbled sorrowfully.

"I was with my girlfriend. We left before the riot." Elias explained himself immediately after.

"Then maybe Sonia had seen her before leaving with you?" Principal Acorn inquired hopefully.

"I'm…not dating Sonia…"

Both his mother and sister gave him puzzled looks before turning their attention back to the mattes at hand. They discussed the possible whereabouts of Sally, but came up with nothing. The ride from Soleanna to GHA was an hour and a half long. She could be anywhere. Police couldn't be of much help really. They told Alicia that there was nothing they could do until she had been missing for more than forty-eight hours. It had only been seventeen.

* * *

Cosmo had finally woken up after being unconscious for some time. She fluttered her eyelids open until she adjusted to the florescent lighting of the room. She instantly sat up in a panic, believing she was still at the Halloween party. A shooting pain snaked its way up to her forehead, making her wince in discomfort. She touched her forehead to find that she had stitches along her hairline.

"Careful!" A voice called out, prying her hand away from her head. "You might rip them."

She turned to be met with the worried gaze of Cream the Rabbit. She had been sitting by the seedrian's side all night. The poor rabbit looked so sleep deprived.

"You've been waiting here all night with me?" Cosmo asked in confusion.

"She sure has!" The purple hedgehog nurse called out as she strolled over to take the green-haired girl's vitals. "She hasn't left for a minute! Great little helper really. Cream volunteered to help me last night when some of the kids came back all bruised up. You were one of the more severe cases, but it was nothing out of my league."

"Thank you Cream." The seedrian smiled at her weakly, "I appreciate the help. Where is Tails? Is he okay?"

"He's fine." The rabbit assured her, "He's got a few bruises but he's relatively alright. I just texted him you were awake."

As if on cue, Tails busted through the door and ran to the bedside. He quickly picked up Cosmo's hand and squeezed it tightly, fighting back tears of guilt. He couldn't sleep a wink either, not with the thought of her being injured so badly.

Bernadette just smiled at his sincerity, reminding her so much of his deceased father in their youth. However, she couldn't help but notice the disheartened look on the rabbit girl behind them. It brought the nurse back to a time where she was that girl, watching her love care for another.

"Cosmo I'm so sorry." Tails apologized, "I shouldn't have dragged you into it. I just wanted to help her."

"It's okay Tails, really. I know you care for her a great deal…"

After watching Cosmo be struck in the head by the cold vixen, it was as if all the hope he had for Fiona vanished. You can only care and be let down by a person so many times before you give up on them. Fiona was a lost cause, and as much as he wanted to save her…he couldn't. He knew that now.

"Not nearly as much as I care about you Cosmo." He replied sympathetically.

Cream could only watch on and bow her head in sadness. There was such a loving atmosphere in the room, but she knew it was not for her. She clenched her hands tightly, careful not to make a scene. She wondered if this is how Ray had been feeling.

* * *

Rouge, Shadow, and Manic littered the dorm room of the two hedgehogs. They each had a cigarette in hand as they sat scattered around the room, commentating on last night. Manic had deactivated the smoke detector a long time ago, so they had no worry of getting caught.

"Last night was fucking awesome!" Manic exclaimed, throwing his drumsticks to the ceiling as he fell back into his bed, catching them with ease.

"Still can't believe that was you on the drums." Rouge smirked, taking a drag from her cigarette. "Thought I'd never hear you play again."

"Do you know how badly you sucked the first few songs?" Shadow grumbled.

"Cut me some slack! It's been a long time." The green hedgehog narrowed his eyes at Shadow. "You're overlooking the part where I killed it out there!"

"You told me you were finished with music once. What prompted the sudden change?"

"A sexy girl, with a sexy voice." Manic smirked, recalling the intimate night with the mongoose.

Rouge laid on Shadow's bed, while he sat on the floor, and Manic laid in his own bed. She rolled to her side to shoot a curious look at Manic. He seemed to be 100% smiles and rainbows today, it reminded her of Shadow's upbeat attitude after he and Honey…

"Oh my Chaos you did not!" She yelped, sitting up in the red-sheeted bed.

Shadow immediately got on board with what Rouge was insinuating. "You slept with the Songoose?"

"Guilty!" The green hedgehog confirmed in a playful mock-girly tone, adding a sassy wave of the hand.

Rouge instantly shook her head with disapproval. Mina might have this good-girl image, but then again so did Honey, and that skank only took her best friend's heart for a joy ride. She didn't like the sound of this, not one bit.

"So you finally lost your virginity." Shadow nodded, "Good for you."

"How'd you know that!?" Manic yelped in embarrassment.

"I didn't." The ebony hedgehog chuckled.

"You're such a dick!"

"Boo, thought you were saving yourself for me." Rouge pouted playfully.

"You had that chance." He flashed her a sly grin, "But seriously you guys, I'm really feelin' this girl."

"Does she feel like a burning itchy sensation in your groin?" Shadow remarked, "That's what she kinda looks like."

"Dude, that's just cold." Manic laughed, "Who the hell are you texting anyway? We're all right here!"

"Maybe we're not the only ones who got lucky last night." Rouge smirked, eyeing the now blushing Shadow.

"We?" The green hedgehog turned to give Rouge a grossed-out look. "Ew, echidna dick."

"Don't mock it til you try it Hun." The bat chuckled.

"You both are complete morons." Shadow sighed.

"So who ya' textin'?" Rouge asked playfully.

"None of your business."

"Is she hot? Does she have a fat ass? C'mon, I wanna know!" Manic whined, "Who is she?!"

"Both of you can fuck off." Shadow stated bluntly before finishing up his last text and sliding his phone back into his pocket.

 ** _Shadow:_** _Here's your wake up call—or should I say text? Whatever. Good morning beautiful._

Just as he did so, the door to their room flew open. In stepped a smiling Knuckles, who instantly pinched his nose in distaste at the rancid smell of cigarettes. Rouge quickly tossed hers in the ash tray before getting up to give him a kiss, which he rejected.

"You said you'd quit."

"Saying something, and doing something are two different things."

"C'mon Babe, that shit is disgusting."

"So is how sweaty you get after football, but I don't try and force you to quit."

"That's different. Do you know how bad those things are for your health?"

"Uh, you guys?" Manic piped up, an awkward look on his face.

"How about all those potential concussions just waiting to happen on the field?"

"You can't compare football to smoking, that's so stupid!"

"Hey, you guys…seriously." Manic tried again.

"Oh, so you're calling me stupid now?"

"I didn't say all that! But if the shoe fits…"

" **EARTH TO THE IDIOT-COUPLE!** " Shadow yelled in a booming irritated tone, " **NEWS FLASH, YOU'RE BOTH FUCKING STUPID, AND HAVE YOU NOTICED THERE'S A FREAKIN' KID ON YOUR TAIL?** "

"A what?" Knuckles asked in confusion before looking down at his feet to see a little echidna girl clutching his leg.

"Hi Mr. Knuckles!" The little girl squealed excitedly as he picked her up from the floor.

"Lara-Su? How long have you been following me?"

"I dunno." She shrugged cutely, "What's a cig-a-wet?"

* * *

Sonic laid in his bed, a miserable look plastered on his face as he stared off into the ceiling. Principal Acorn had informed everyone on campus that Scourge and Sally were missing, and was practically begging for any information on their possible whereabouts. No one seemed to care too much aside from the handful that knew them, a majority of the school hated them both so it wasn't a big deal to most.

Sonic however was devastated. He couldn't get that image out of his head, the one of Scourge flying off with her into the night, and that smug grin. A million horrible scenarios raced through his mind of what that bastard could possibly be doing to her at this very moment. He clenched his fists in anger at the thoughts, an immense wave of worry and guilt cast upon him.

There was nothing he could do though. The masses had made it abundantly clear last night that they wanted him to hate the chipmunk as much as they did. He wasn't going to run the risk of losing the vote of the people again, no matter how guilty he felt. His reputation is something he prides himself in very much. Sally had been nothing but a nuisance since the first day he met her.

So why did he feel so bad?

Lying next to him in bed was his adoring fangirl turned girlfriend, Amy Rose. She laid on her side, wrapping both arms around him as she stroked his quills soothingly.

"I should have stopped them." Sonic shook his head in frustration, "I shouldn't have thrown that apple at her…"

"The crowd was hyping you up. It was a natural reaction to the adrenaline Sonic. You're not at fault here." Amy assured him, "Please don't worry yourself over them. They'll turn up eventually."

"Yeah, and she might be beaten bloody, dead, or raped." Sonic retorted.

"Scourge wouldn't do that!" The pink hedgehog yelped, pulling away from him as they both sat up.

"Stop talking like you know him! Scourge is a fucking scumbag. Believe me, I'd know."

"I do know him!" She shouted back, almost letting her secret out herself. "We…We have the same math class! I know he wouldn't hurt her."

"What makes you so sure? The way he does long division makes you think he's such a standup guy?"

" **HE'S IN LOVE WITH HER!** "

"What?"

"He told me he liked her, or something along those lines…." The pink girl lied. She was going solely based off the pictures she found in his phone.

" **YOU TALK TO THAT FUCKER?** "

"I just needed to borrow some notes!"

Before their arguing could continue the door to his dorm swung open, and in walked two of his roommates Rotor and Antoine. Alongside them were Bunnie and Nicole. They all looked furious. Sonic gulped as a sharp pain spiked through his heart at seeing his old team, The Freedom Fighters.

"Who are you guys?" Amy questioned.

None of them answered. They all looked as if they'd been crying. Before Antoine could make a grab for Bunnie's arm she stomped over to the two hedgehogs, picking Sonic up by the throat with her bionic limb and slamming him to the wall. He winced in pain before opening his eyes to meet her enraged scowl.

"Bunnie please, you said we'd handle this peacefully." Nicole pleaded, as Rotor held her back in the doorway.

"Everyone's talking about how you tried to take a shot at Sally-Girl!" Bunnie shouted in Sonic's face, "How could you do that? Isn't bad enough that you've already hurt us? I've always went up to bat for you Sugah-Hog, even when I shouldn't have. I knew you changed, but I never would have expected this from you…"

He gasped for air as her metallic hand started to force his esophagus closed. She was unconscious of how hard she'd been squeezing, her mind was still fixed on her missing friend. He kicked his feet out, and pulled with both hands at the one she had linked around his throat.

"That's enough! You're gonna kill him!" Rotor shouted.

" **GET AWAY!** " Amy screamed, pulling out an interesting artifact from the purse she had set beside his bed.

It was a rusted old sledge hammer. In a frenzy of rage, recalling millions of memories from her childhood of her father choking her mother nearly to death, the pink hedgehog swung the hammer down on Bunnie's metal prosthetic. It broke in half, smashing to bits on the floor. Bunnie staggered back in shock, as Sonic fell to the floor desperately breathing in oxygen.

Amy then took a defensive stance in front of Sonic with the hammer. An aura of rage and hate surrounding her. Bunnie showed no fear though, the rabbit just tore the broken prosthetic arm off like it was nothing, still glaring at the pink hedgehog ready for a fight.

"You should mind your own little girl." The rabbit warned her, "I wish you'd try me just so I could check you—"

"Enough my love, thiz isn't what we came here for." Antoine reminded his girlfriend, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Sonic please." Nicole begged, sliding on the floor over to her old friend, right out from under Amy. "We just want to know where Sally is. You were the last person to see her right? Was she okay? Was she injured? Please Sonic, my mother is worried. We're afraid something terrible has happened."

"Scourge….He took her. I don't know where they went. I'm sorry Nicole." He mumbled, coughing every once in a while. She just gave him a sorrowful look along with a nod. Just before she could pull away from him he grabbed her wrist. She looked back at him and saw the utmost sincerity in his eyes. "I'm sorry." He repeated in a much more dramatic tone before letting her go.

The lynx got up from his side, looking back to all of her friends as she shook her head. Once again they had come up empty handed. They all began to file out of the door in sadness and frustration as Amy fell to the floor by Sonic, cupping his face with concern as she examined him.

Antoine stood behind, watching the two hedgehogs with a distasteful look.

"If something iz to happen to Sally it will be on your head, just az Tommy's death." The coyote remarked bitterly before turning his attention to Amy, "You shouldn't get zo invested. In ze long run, he will only hurt you."

* * *

Elias ran his hands worriedly through his hair as he frantically dialed the numbers of all the people he remembered seeing at the party, hoping any of them had any clue where his sister was. Unfortunately, every time he tried to ask they were either fangirling about the fact that he called them, or had no idea who Sally Acorn was.

He sat outside on the front steps of the main building. Tears of frustration built up in the corners of his eyes as he slammed his phone down beside him. He clasped his hands over his face as he thought of what to do. It scared him, all the possible things that could have happened to her. He had already lost her once to his parents' divorce, he couldn't bear to part ways with her again….

"Elias!" A voice shouted, making him pick up his head.

Rushing over to him from across the way was his beloved best friend, Sonia. She wore a sympathetic look as she ran over. He stood up immediately, welcoming her embrace with such desperation. He hadn't spoken to her in so long, and right now he needed a friend more than ever.

"Sally…My sister…." He whimpered, holding back all his emotions the best he could.

"I heard." Sonia shushed him, "They'll find her. I promise she's okay."

"What if she's not?" The prince began to sob lightly as the aching in his heart only grew.

"She is Elias, I'm sure of it." The magenta hedgehog assured him, "I'm here for you Eli, always…"

He tightened his grip on her as he cried into her shoulder. If he weren't so distraught, he would have noticed the tremendous weight loss, but he felt so overwhelmed just in her presence. He clung to her like a security blanket, too afraid to let her go.

As the two best friends stood on the front steps holding one another, a pair of furious jade eyes glared at them from across campus. It was Megan, enraged at how the prince had his arms so tightly wrapped around Sonia, and how the hedgehog ran her fingers through his hair.

Practically everyone and their momma knows Elias is hopelessly in love with Sonia. The pregnant girlfriend was livid.

* * *

"Grandpa dropped me off, but he had to leave. So the nice fox lady gave me cookies and told me to wait for my daddy and mommy to come get me, but they took too long, and I ran out of cookies!" Lara-Su explained to the four teens in her adorable kid voice, "So I went to find them! I saw you walking down the hall so I chased you. Do you know where my mommy and daddy is?"

"Jeez Lara-Su, I actually have no clue." Knuckles admitted, a hint of sorrow evident in his voice. "Your mommy and I haven't talked in a while."

"Maybe she's back at your dorm." Shadow peered over at Rouge.

"She wasn't there when I woke up, but she might be there now I guess."

"How bout you text her?" Manic suggested, picking up Lara-Su and holding her up in the air.

" **WEE!** " The little echidna girl cheered.

"I guess." Knuckles muttered before pulling out his cellphone and shooting his best friend a text. After some time there was still no reply, so they had to go back to the drawing board.

"She's not answering."

"What should we do with her then?" Rouge asked the group.

"'We' sounds like too many people." Shadow replied, getting up from his sitting down position on the floor, "I've got gym."

"Yeah, I've got somewhere to be too." Manic lied, handing the echidna girl over to Rouge. "You guys can get some parent practice in before that next condom breaks. Have fun!"

Both hedgehogs exited their own room, leaving Rouge and Knuckles alone with Julie-Su's toddler.

"So I get to stay with you?!" Lara-Su asked Knuckles with hopeful eyes.

"I guess." He chuckled warmly, "Only until we find your mommy."

" **YAY!** " She cheered, "Are you staying with us too?" The echidna girl looked up at Rouge.

"I suppose so." The bat smiled awkwardly.

"C'mon Lara, you want a piggyback ride?"

"No! I want her to carry me!" The toddler commanded.

"Me? Why me?"

"Cause you come with pillows." Lara explained with a smile, nuzzling her face into Rouge's large breasts. Knuckles bursted into a fit of hysterical laughter as Rouge turned red with embarrassment.

* * *

"At least they can't punish us for this fucked up party." Rosy snarled as she threw herself back onto Fiona's bed with a satisfied smile. "Even though we kinda kicked things off."

"Kind of?" Mephiles smirked.

"Alright, alright. We totally crashed that shit-fest! And I had a blast!"

"You look a bit scuffed up? Did someone give you a bit of trouble out there?"

"Mmm." The pink hedgehog licked her lips as she thought about the throw down with that foreign hedgehog last night. "I wouldn't call it trouble. I believe the correct term is orgasm."

"You're so disgusting." Fiona spat from the edge of the bed.

"C'mon, don't be such a prude." Rosy nudged Fiona with her foot, "Some girls like a romantic dinner, I just so happen to like a little roughhousing."

"Interesting." Mephiles noted in a bit of an irritated tone, "Was Shadow the one you were toying with?"

"Pshh, I wish!" Rosy laughed, "Why? Does that make you jealous?"

Mephiles just ignored the pink girl's taunting. He peered over at Fiona who seemed to be a bit distraught. Rosy stopped her frantic laughter to sit up and look at Fiona too.

"Hey, don't worry about Scourge." The hedgehog girl rolled her eyes, "I'm sure he's fine."

"I know that." Fiona hissed.

"Then why so nervous Vixen?" Mephiles questioned.

"Because she's missing too." The fox growled angrily, staring at the empty bed across the room.

* * *

Julie-Su and Thrash sat in the front seats of his car as they drove down the long dirt road back to Green Hill Academy. The two had been out shopping in Metropolis for some wedding essentials as well as a few things for their little girl. Everything had been going smoothly, until the echidna girl started receiving several text messages.

 ** _Knuckles:_** _I know we're not really talking, but I need to see you._

 ** _Knuckles:_** _Where are you?_

 ** _Knuckles:_** _Julie-Su, c'mon. I've got class soon!_

 ** _Knuckles:_** _Call me!_

Thrash just looked at her phone light up with a picture of her and Knuckles' holding up their very first sports trophy as preteens. He was waving to the camera, a big goofy smile on his face as she had both arms wrapped around him and the same ridiculous smile. It really irritated the purple devil.

"He sure seems eager to talk." The purple teen huffed, "Probably wants some of that 'support' you love to throw around."

"Can you not?" She whined, "We were having a good time."

"I just don't like how dependent these dudes are on you." He sighed, "You're **MY** girl."

"You need to relax with that possessive shit." The echidna growled, "Seriously, you don't see me going ape shit when you hang around Barby the Koala."

"You don't see her calling, texting, and asking me for 'support' all the time right?"

"Stop saying 'support' like it means something more than it is! I'm not fucking anyone."

"Clearly!" Thrash remarked bitterly.

"What-the-fuck-ever." Julie-Su rolled her eyes, "Just take me back to campus. I want to see my baby."

"Who Knuckles?"

"Fuck you."

* * *

Rouge and Knuckles sighed heavily as they did their third lap around the gigantic campus. They'd been wandering around for hours looking for Lara-Su's parents but haven't come up with anything. They also both missed two classes, which would bite them back in the long run.

Rouge's arms were going numb from carrying the little girl for so long, who was just as cheery and energized as she was this morning. Lara-Su sang and pointed out obvious and shiny things every time they walked passed them. The two teens felt so drained, mentally promising themselves they'd never have children.

"What's your name stranger-lady?" Lara asked Rouge as they walked around the main building.

"It's Rouge."

"Roo-ge?" The little girl repeated slowly, "Mommy used to call Daddy and say Rooge!"

"Is that so?"

"Mhm! She used to say Rooge is a bee-itch. Daddy told me that was a bad word for bad girls, and that I shouldn't say it."

Knuckles snickered to himself as Rouge just gritted her teeth in annoyance. The little girl just gave them both a big innocent smile. The bat handed over Lara-Su to Knuckles, her arms just couldn't take the weight anymore. Lara pouted a bit before going back to her cheery nature.

"Look! That's a pretty flower!" She gasped excitedly.

"Hey Red, I've gotta head over to science right about now." Rouge informed Knuckles.

"C'mon, I can't handle all this by myself!" Her boyfriend groaned, holding up the little girl.

"I've already missed a ton of classes today!" She whined, "Robotnik isn't one to play with either. I'm not getting detention for babysitting the kid of someone I can't stand!"

"Ugh, why did we pick up weekend classes again?"

"Because we wanted more free time during the week, remember?"

"You can't just leave me with her!"

"Sorry!" The bat laughed as she waved them both goodbye.

"Bye pretty lady!" Lara-Su waved back.

"She is pretty huh?" Knuckles smirked, watching Rouge walk off.

The little girl nodded before they picked up their walking again. Knuckles carried her in his arms as they did another lap around campus. The sun was going down now, and there was still no sign of Julie-Su or Thrash anywhere.

"Ugh, your mommy is so difficult." Knuckles sighed.

"Daddy says that too."

"I'm sure he does."

"Then he goes **BAM!** " The little girl exclaimed, slamming her fist into her other hand.

"What do you mean?"

"It's supposed to be a secret. Shhh." She whispered, putting a finger to her lips.

"C'mon, you can tell me!" Knuckles assured her, "I'll tell you one of my secrets."

"You has a secret?"

"Yep." The older echidna nodded, "My dad doesn't know, but sometimes I used to sneak out of his house at night to go see my little brother. His name is Mace."

"Sneaking out is a no no." Lara-Su shook her head.

"It sure is, and you should never ever do it." He agreed, "Now you tell me a secret."

"You promise you won't tell? I'll get in trouble…"

"Cross my heart."

"Well, sometimes Daddy gets really mad at Mommy and hits stuff."

"Why does he get mad at her?"

"Because he doesn't like her talking to boy people." The little girl explained timidly, all her confidence and cheer completely gone. "He doesn't like when Uncle Ray and Uncle Mighty come visit. He yells really loud and breaks stuff."

"What kind of things does he yell?"

"Bad words. He makes Mommy cry sometimes."

Knuckles just tilted his head in confusion as the little girl went on. He felt an anger rising in him as she explained her father's aggressive antics. It took him by complete surprise. The purple devil seemed so normal, and they seemed so in love…

He decided to cease their walking. He took a seat at one of the picnic tables by the fountain as he set her down on his lap.

"Does your daddy ever…hit your mommy?"

"You won't tell?" She asked again.

"I promise I won't."

"Sometimes he pushes her, and squeezes her really hard." The little girl admitted, tears brimming her eyes behind the little glasses. "He gave Mommy a booboo right here." She added, pointing to her eye.

"Does he ever hit you?" Knuckles asked, knowing full well that if she said yes he would freak the fuck out. Lara-Su hung her head and twirled her fingers nervously. "Lara-Su it's okay…"

"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers." She sniffled, "Daddy was mad when I talked to you when you was a stranger. He yelled at me, and squeezed me really tight. I got an ouchie." The toddler then lifted the sleeve of her pink shirt to reveal a cuff-cast around her wrist. Knuckles was fuming with anger.

" **LARA!** " A voice called out.

They both turned to see the little girl's parents rushing over to them. Julie-Su immediately scooped up the little girl in her arms, twirling around with joy. Knuckles studied his friend's face hard, examining it for any truth behind her daughter's tales. Julie-Su was never one for makeup, being a huge tomboy, so of course she wasn't good at blending the concealer in well enough for him to not notice.

"Mommy! I missed you." Lara-Su cheered, hugging her mother tightly. "Mr. Knuckles took good care of me. We couldn't find you anywhere."

"Mommy and Daddy had to run to the store. We brought you back some toys!"

" **YAY! TOYS!** "

Knuckles glared over in the direction of Thrash, who seemed to be wearing a disgruntled look himself. Julie-Su turned her attention to Knuckles, nodding to him. "Thank you for looking after her Knuckles."

"She should have stayed in the office like she was told." Thrash spoke up in an irritated tone.

"I'm sorry Daddy." Lara-Su apologized, climbing out of her mother's arms to run over and hug her father.

"We need to talk Julie." Knuckles stood up, grabbing his friend by the arm.

She darted her eyes from him to Thrash before wiggling out of his grip. "I just got back. We'll talk later."

She then walked off with her family, leaving a disheartened Knuckles drowning in a pool of emotions just as she had the very first time she left. What tore him apart even more was how Lara-Su looked back at him from over her father's shoulder, pressing a finger to her lips in reminder of his promise to her.

* * *

Alicia sighed, throwing herself in her chair as she heaved in frustration. She was terrified at the thought of her little girl somewhere out there. She had lost Sally once before, and it nearly destroyed her. She was a nervous wreck.

The older chipmunk pulled out her phone, scrolling to a number she hadn't dialed in years. As much as she loathed speaking to him, she felt obligated to alert her ex-husband of their daughter's disappearance.

 _"What do you want?"_ The male voice on the other line snarled.

 _"A simple hello would have sufficed_." The chipmunk retorted in annoyance, _"Of course hospitality was never one of your strong suits, Maximillian."_

 _"We're long past formalities Alicia. What is it you want? I'm a very busy man."_

 _"I called to tell you our daughter is missing. Sally went to a party yesterday and—"_

 _"I have no daughter by that name."_ Her ex-husband cut her off, ending the call.

Alicia just let the phone slip out of her hand, it fell to the desk with a thud as she tried to process her ex-husband's cruel dismissal. She finally understood what the price for Sally's freedom was from her father.

He had disowned her.

Tears streamed down her face as she clenched her teeth tightly. She hated that man with all her heart, and only felt sickened at the fact she had married him. He was despicable, cruel, and so heartless. The chipmunk picked up her phone and dialed another number, one she called very often.

 _"Hello? Alicia, is that you? Are you crying?"_

 _"Locke…I need you…"_ She whispered into the phone before hanging up.

He pulled the phone away from his ear, ending the call himself. A wave of worry washed over him at the tone of her voice. Alicia Acorn was not one to be so emotional, she was like a mountain that couldn't be moved. He figured something really bad must be going on, and he acted hastily. For the first time in his career, he closed up shop early, and left to her aid.

* * *

Blaze and Silver sat snuggled on the couch in the lounge of the boy's dorm. She sat on his lap with her arms around his neck as her head rested on his shoulder. He held her by the waist, kissing her forehead lightly as they just sat there enjoying each other's company.

"We've almost been dating for a whole month ya'know?" He smiled at her, "And I couldn't be happier Blaze."

"Maybe you could." She winked, giving him a more satisfying kiss.

"I've got the girl I've always wanted, SyFy convention season is around the corner, and today they served pizza. How does it get any better than this?"

"How about this?" She purred before whispering something into his ear that made his head nearly explode.

His face was burning red at her one month anniversary special suggestion. He laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head as he tried his hardest to keep cool. She just giggled in response to his shyness. His upbeat mood quickly deceased as he remembered bits and pieces of her journal, how she had slept with Sonic last summer…

"Silver? Are you alright?" She questioned, noticing his sudden shift in mood.

"Sorry, I've just…I don't really know much about that kinda thing." He stammered awkwardly, "Do…Do you?"

"Not at all." She lied through her teeth, "But I'd like my first time to be with you…"

Blaze leaned over and kissed his cheek. Although very endearing, he knew she did not speak the truth, but he couldn't let her know that he knew. The white hedgehog just nodded his head and gave her a warm smile, blush still on his face.

"I'd like that too Blaze…"

* * *

"Sonic? Where are you going?" Tails grumbled as he sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes.

It was around midnight or so, and the kitsune had been awoken by the sound of Sonic buckling his shoes. It was dark, but the little fox could make out the pained expression on his older brother's face. The hedgehog just got up and walked to his side, setting him back in a laying down position before ruffling his hair.

"I'm just going for a walk." Sonic whispered to him, careful not to wake up Rotor or Antoine. "Go back to bed. I'll be out for a bit."

"You look sad…"

"Me? Nah, I'm just fine Bud." The hedgehog smiled, giving him a thumbs up. "Just need some air. Lot on my mind, that's all."

"If you say so Sonic."

"Night Tails."

The blue hedgehog then vanished out the door, and as stealthy as possible he escaped the boy's dorm. He made a run for his sanctuary, careful to not be caught by the security officers making their rounds. He needed a breather, he needed one of their late night talks.

The air was chilly, and the moon was bright, just like that first night he brought her out here, to the Lake of Rings. He expected to see her sitting by the pond, surrounded by fireflies, and smiling to herself as she circled the water with her fingers…but she wasn't.

He stood by the lake alone.

* * *

 **Antoine with that foreshadowing though. There's certainly a lot of interesting things to kick off this next arc. I personally believe this one will be the saddest and most heart wrenching of one so far.**

 **The domestic violence between Julie-Su and Thrash may seem so out of left field, but it's really not. I purposely tried to portray him as a nice guy because that's the kind of facade abusers play until they get behind closed doors. Poor Julie-Su, and little Lara-Su.**

 **Yes, Amy carries around the sledge hammer her mother tried to kill her with when she was little. You'll see a lot more of her soon, and maybe she'll finally smarten up, or not...**

 **Special Message**

 **I just wanted to say that this story is not meant to change your minds, make you hate, or love a certain pairing. It's to show you that just because you're a die-hard fan of one couple doesn't mean they're perfect or better together in every single story. What I'm saying is to break away from your OTP for a little bit and open your minds to the possibilities.**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy**

 **Scourge plays the hero?**

 **Ray's older sibling is revealed!**

 **The person seeking guardianship of Matilda is revealed!**

 **Knuckles confronts Julie-Su**

 **Six new characters make their appearance!**

 **Manic...dies?**

 **Fun Question: Who do you think these six new faces are? **

**HINTS:**

 **Student 1 is a female from the game canon. She only appears in one game.**

 **Student 2 is a female from the newer Archie Comics with a name that compliments a character already mentioned. Both of their names were Pokemon game titles.**

 **Student 3 is a male from the newer Archie Comics who is biologically half-related to a character mentioned. Their color schemes somewhat match up, and they both have stripes.**

 **Student 4 is a male from the older Archie Comics. He was referred to as 'King of The Free People' and had a brief fling with a princess.**

 **Student 5 is a female from the UK's Sonic the Comic. She was Amy's best friend.**

 **Student 6 is a male from the old Archie Comics who has been repossessed by Ken Penders, and was a good guy turned villain. Spoke with an English accent.**


	25. Chapter 25

**WARNING: Child neglect, mentions of domestic abuse, and a possible death?**

 **Song: Taylor Swift-Love Story (Male version)**

* * *

 **Chapter 25: A King, His Queen, And A Thief**

 _'My mom split when I was three, didn't even bother to leave me at a fire station or Child Services. She just left me all by myself in that ratty rundown apartment on the shitty side of Moebius. I survived two months by myself, eating cockroaches, and drinking the dirty bath water she forgot to drain._

 _Scumbag Daddy was always off somewhere fuckin' around. Mom couldn't take his bullshit anymore so she bounced. Thankfully that time he came home early. He usually only came around every six to seven months. He didn't stick around though, and he didn't want any charges pressed on him or Mom for child neglect._

 _So he left me in that shitty apartment after he took off, paying a few prostitutes in the area to come check up on me every now and again._

 _I grew up in a dangerous area, surrounded by dangerous people, and dangerous drugs. I didn't choose this life, it was chosen for me. I was selling drugs at six, and doing drugs at eight. I fought in underground street fights, and robbed a few places from time to time._

 _I hate my parents, and I hope to Chaos they're dead._

 _I had to keep up with appearances so Child Services wouldn't get all up in my ass, so I was forced to go to school. I beat up kids in the schoolyard, stole food from vending machines, and skipped class on the regular. I had a best friend named Geoffrey St. John, and he was just as shitty and angry as me. Whenever we got in trouble for our antics, his dad would come in and pretend to be my dad too. I used to wish he was honestly._

 _At nine I met my first crush. She was a star in my eyes._

 _Her auburn hair, those sapphire eyes, and that caramel color…everything about her was perfect._

 _The new girl, from the rich side of Moebius._

 _She had everyone falling to their knees for her, practically throwing their hearts at her._

 _A true queen.'_

"Mmm." Sally grumbled in her sleep as she shivered.

After the incident at the party, the chipmunk didn't want to go back to Green Hill Academy, not without her glasses. Scourge refused to leave her out by herself, so he stood with her. The two found refuge in an alleyway. He laid out some old newspaper on the ground for them to lay on. When they fell asleep they were far apart from one another, but now they laid together.

He was cuddling up to her from behind, both arms draped around her in an attempt to shield her from the cold air. The sun was just rising, making the sky a pretty pink color. Her grumbling had stirred him awake.

He took advantage of her sleep state to scope her out. When he first met her he wasn't sure if she was the girl. Her demeanor and confidence had drastically changed, but her physical appearance led him to believe otherwise. There was no mistaking it, she was the one. He nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck, inhaling that lavender scent he so desperately missed. His hand trailed along the side of her body, from her shoulder to her knee as he reveled in the feel of those familiar curves.

He was finally right where he's secretly always wanted to be. He closed his eyes, savoring the moment.

The green hedgehog quickly pulled away as the chipmunk tossed and turned, to his relief she was still asleep. Now she faced him, and his mouth fell into a sympathetic frown. The once flawless face he remembered from youth was now covered in a series of nasty scars.

The chipmunk's eyes soon fluttered open, and she immediately shoved him away with a blush creeping on her face.

"Don't!" She yelped, "Don't stare."

He scooted his way back over to her, cupping her face in his hand, forcing her to look at him. She looked terrified.

"What happened to you? You used to be so confident, and bold." He told her, "This whole timid and shy shit is cute, but we both know it's not you."

"You don't know me." She snapped, swatting his hand away as she sat up. He did the same. They now sat across from each other, eyeing one another down.

"You moved to Moebius with your dad and sister when you were eight. You went to Kintobor Scholars for grade school and junior high. You're ambidextrous, and you used to stand out on your balcony late at night." He poured out almost every bit of information he knew about her, trying so hard to convince her that he knew so much more than she realized. "You've also got this birthmark shaped like an acorn **WAY** high on your inner thigh—"

She cut him off by slamming her foot into his groin again, a deep blush on her face. He winced in agony before holding himself. Chaos she had some powerful legs. When he felt strong enough he lifted his head to see the livid Sally standing over him.

" **YOU LOOKED UP MY DRESS WHILE I WAS SLEEPING?!** " She screeched.

" **NO!** " He yelled back, getting up off the ground to face her. "You…You really don't remember me do you?"

She tilted her head in confusion, staring hard at him to come up with any possible clues, but to no avail. It was so strange, because he couldn't have possibly known any of that if she had just met him.

"No…I don't."

"Not even this?" He asked, pulling the sleeve of his leather jacket up to reveal an obviously home-done tattoo of the letter 'K' on his wrist.

"Should I?" She asked confused.

He was getting so frustrated. She didn't remember a thing, and it honestly had him feeling a little disheartened, but he just shook it off. The chipmunk girl noticed his sorrowful demeanor and felt bad. She wished she could remember him, just so things would make a little more sense. Right now he just seemed like some obsessive psycho.

"C'mon." He sighed, waving her in his direction. "We've gotta catch the next bus back to school."

"I can't go back!" She yelped, shaking her head frantically. He looked back at her. She had her hands over her face again. "Not without my glasses."

"Why the hell not?"

"I don't want anyone to see my scars…"

"You let me see."

She picked her head up to look at him. He just smiled back in her direction, making her blush immensely. The hedgehog just chuckled at her before sliding down his shades.

"If you want new glasses, I got you."

* * *

Cream arrived at her locker extra early this time around. She hadn't seen Ray since the party, and had the snaking suspicion that he was avoiding her. She sighed heavily, leaning against their lockers as she waited for him to stroll around the corner with a smiling face.

She felt so guilt-ridden about up and leaving him at the party, right after tearing his little heart to pieces. She didn't mean to be so cruel, but she couldn't handle the awkwardness of sitting there with him and trying to explain to him why they could never be.

Being mute meant that she would not hear him coming down the hall, so she kept darting her eyes back and forth until she spotted him rounding the corner. She sat up with hopeful eyes, and an apology mentally sitting on her brain. When his gaze finally met hers his smile dropped, in replacement of a sad frown.

He turned to round the corner and scurry off, but she had called out to him. " **RAY!** "

He froze, not sure of what to do. She sounded so desperate, and so sad. It made him feel weak. He turned around just as she had come up to him. He took the dry-erase board from his backpack and started writing to her.

 _What is it?_

"I wanted to apologize, for running off on you at the Halloween party. I also wanted to apologize for breaking your heart…" Her voice trailed off into sorrowful mumbles, "I'm sorry I can't return your feelings Ray, but I don't want anything to change between us."

 _You didn't break me. I was already broken._

"Please don't say such things." She cried, cupping his face in her hands. "I want you to be happy."

She was so sincere and hopeful. He always felt so positive in her presence, even now. After she had broken his heart, and crushed his dreams. He still wanted so desperately to be cared for by her.

Just as he went to write something new on his board, a figure had strolled up behind them, poking Cream's shoulder. They both turned around to see Tails. For once he was all by himself.

"Tails?" Cream questioned.

"Hi Cream, can we talk?" He asked.

She looked back at Ray, who wore his best poker face. He didn't want to make a scene, but he felt so frustrated as the rabbit girl walked off with the fox, leaving him all alone. Tails pulled Cream to the side, rubbing his arm as he stood in front of her.

"What is it?" The rabbit asked.

"I just wanted to say thank you, for looking after Cosmo in the infirmary."

"There's no need. It's just part of my character Tails."

"I know." He smiled sheepishly, "If only more people were like you…" The fox's mind began to drift back toward the red vixen.

Ray just stood there off to the side, burning holes into the two of them with his eyes as he watched how they blushed and laughed. It made him sick. In a fit he stormed off, slamming his little board to the ground. Tails and Cream jumped up at the sound before looking up and realizing he was gone.

Cream rushed over, picking up the board as she looked around to see where he ran off to. There was no sign of him. She sighed, looking down at his last message on the board.

 _Enjoy your high school romance._

* * *

It was late afternoon. Sonia, Julie-Su, and Rouge sat at their respective beds, all fixing their hair and makeup. This was the first time Sonia had left Elias' side in the last twenty-four hours. She had come back to change, but planned to drop by his dorm room right after to check up on him.

Lara-Su had been sent back to her grandfather's early this morning. Now her mother was finally at ease, taking a bit of time to doll herself up. Her fiancé loved when she was decked out. She personally couldn't stand makeup, and was terrible at it, but wanted to be a good girlfriend and please her boyfriend.

Coming back to the dorm to do makeup and hair touch-ups is part of Rouge's daily routine. Her mother always told her that a girl must always look her best. She took that quote to heart.

" **OUCH!** " Julie-Su cursed as she pulled the eyeliner pencil away from her face.

"You're holding that wrong stupid." Rouge scolded.

"There's a right way to hold a pencil?"

"If you want your eyeball intact, yes."

"How the hell?" The echidna growled, twirling the pencil in her hand. "Makeup is so frustrating."

"It's easy with practice, which you clearly haven't had. Just look at that concealer job! So tacky."

"Fuck off."

"How about I just help." The bat sighed, putting her eyelash curler down and getting off her bed.

The bat took a seat in front of Julie-Su. She picked up a cotton ball and patted the concealer away. The echidna had used way too much, caking up her face. Julie-Su's cheeks were flushed, embarrassed at needing help with such a simple task. As she patted the concealer away, something caught Rouge's eye.

Underneath the heavy layer of makeup, the bat noticed the echidna's skin was a dark purple color. She tilted her head in confusion before looking up to Julie-Su. Before she could start questioning, the door to their room flung open. All three girls turned their heads to see Knuckles barging in.

" **GET OUT!** " He commanded, glaring at his girlfriend, and ex-girlfriend.

"Whatever, I'm not dealing with this." Sonia rolled her eyes, "I've gotta go check on Elias." She then shoved Knuckles out of her way to leave.

"You too." The red echidna turned back to Rouge.

"What's your problem?" The bat huffed, getting up from Julie-Su's bed.

"Leave Rouge." He commanded once more.

"This is my room. And I don't appreciate the fucking tone." She growled, narrowing her eyes at him.

He was desperate, enough to grab her forearm and manually throw her out of the room before slamming the door shut and locking it. She pounded on the door, shouting and cursing. He made sure he was gentle enough not to hurt her, but he knew he was gonna get an earful later.

"What are you doing?" Julie-Su jumped up.

"What am I doing?" He repeated dramatically before running over to her, wiping her makeup away with the back of his sleeve to reveal her healing black eye. The sight of it almost tore his heart. He cupped her face as tears of anger brimmed his violet eyes. "What the hell is he doing?!"

She shook her head frantically, refusing to give him a direct answer. "He's a good father."

" **WHAT IS HE DOING TO YOU?** "

"He loves me."

"Julie-Su…"

"We have a child together…"

" **TELL ME!** "

" **IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!** " She cried.

" **THAT'S BULLSHIT!** " Knuckles shouted, " **HE HIT YOU.** "

" **WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU CARE?** "

"What the fuck do I care? You're my fucking best friend!"

"I used to be." She hissed, shoving him away from her. "Now leave. Your girlfriend is waiting for you, and my fiancé is one his way."

" **FUCK THEM!** " The red echidna shouted in anger, "Right now, right here, it's our world. Just us two." He added, grabbing hold of both her forearms.

"He doesn't like me around other guys."

"Well he can suck my dick, because I'll always be the number one man in your life, and he better recognize."

"What about her?" Julie-Su retorted, nodding toward the door where Rouge continued to yell. "Who's your number one really?"

"You already know." He replied, loosening his grip on her. "That's why I came. Talk to me Julie…like we used to."

She bit her lip, opting to stare at the floor as she debated on what to say next. His intense stare was full of concern and worry for her. She didn't expect him to find out, or to call her out on it. She looked back up to him, putting on her best smile.

"I'm getting married in three weeks. I have a loving husband who just gets a little upset. We have a beautiful baby girl, and I'm perfectly happy."

Before he could pry any further, the door to the room was literally blown off the hinges with a powerful kick. They both turned to see Thrash rushing over to them, quickly grabbing Julie-Su by the arm.

"The hell is going on here?" He questioned suspiciously.

Knuckles had a few choice words for the devil, but one look from Julie-Su shut him up. "Just having a friendly chat."

"Yeah, well we've got places to be." Thrash grumbled, practically dragging Julie-Su out of the room. She looked back at Knuckles with a hopeless expression, fueling the burning rage within him. Once they were out of the room, he was met by Rouge's scowling face as she stood by the broken door.

* * *

Scourge and Sally wandered the streets of Soleanna until they finally found the shopping center. He dug around in the pocket of his jeans before pulling out four wallets. Sally rose an eyebrow from behind the red-framed sunglasses he allowed her to wear.

"Are those yours?" She asked, noticing a purple one with an LGBT charm on it.

"Nope." He laughed, pulling out a gold credit card from a pink one. "I pick-pocketed a few people at the party, and one just so happens to be a very rich and very easy dumb bitch."

"You can't use other people's money! That's wrong."

"Relax." He rolled his eyes as they continued to walk toward the stores, "This girl in particular actually owes me."

"Owes you for what?"

"I tutored her for a while." He replied, recalling his many 'lessons' with the pink hedgehog. "She was awful at the start, but thanks to me she's a pro now."

"Really?" Sally looked over at him curiously, "What did you tutor her in?"

"Anatomy." Scourge chuckled, "Maybe I could give you a few lessons some time."

"I don't need tutoring. If anything I should tutor you on a few thing, starting with manners."

"I wouldn't mind a few lessons from you." The hedgehog grinned. She was completely oblivious to what he meant.

They finally reached a fancy glasses store, but before she could push the door open and sound the little charm Scourge pulled her back.

"What?" She whined, desperate to get her hands on some new glasses.

"They wouldn't sell you anything wearing a dress made of rags!" He scolded her, gesturing to her Halloween attire. "You'll need some new threads."

"Fine." She pouted, marching over to a clothing store across the street.

He sat in the dressing room area as he waited for her to finish trying on outfits. She tossed every single one he suggested to the side, finding them way to revealing and uncomfortable. She finally came out dressed in a simple over-sized dress shirt, knee-high jean shorts, and white flip-flops. He rolled his eyes at her plain attire.

They then walked back over to the glasses store, where the chipmunk picked out the exact same gigantic bifocals she had previously. She squealed in relief and excitement as she put them on while they exited the building. She was once again comfortable with her face.

Without warning she jumped into Scourge's arms for a hug. He took in her lavender sent once more as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Thank you." She whispered, making his heart flutter. The chipmunk then pulled away with a clear blush on her face. He just smiled at her.

"C'mon, we're gonna miss this next—" Before he could finish his sentence, his voice was cut off by a guitar. They both looked over to see an old human man sitting on the sidewalk with a guitar case open. He looked quite sickly, but not as bad as the little pup beside him.

On instinct, Sally immediately rushed over to them, drawn in by the beautiful music. Scourge just rolled his eyes before following her. The old man ceased his playing to greet them.

"That's beautiful." She applauded him.

"Thank you kindly Ma'am." He smiled.

"Isn't it a little too cold for you and that kid to be out here like this Old Timer?" Scourge pointed out, staring at the shivering purple puppy.

"Of course, but we've gotta earn a living somehow." The old man laughed weakly, "I used to be a scientist, but I was barred for malpractice. Everyone calls me Pickle, and this here is my son, Chip."

"You poor things." Sally sighed, "I wish I had something to give you…"

"Maybe you could lend us a hand. That is if you know how to sing. We just need to draw some attention from these wealthy folk walking by. Maybe they've got something to spare."

"Sing?" Sally gasped, "Well…I.." The chipmunk stammered nervously, her crippling shyness preventing her from wanting to agree. There were so many people around, and drawing attention to herself terrified her, but she wanted to help so badly.

Scourge looked around, noting most of the people in the shopping center were female. He then looked back to the distraught Sally, and the desperate old man. He sighed in irritation.

He hated playing hero, but for her…he'd do anything.

"Gimmie the guitar." He commanded the old man, who gave him a perplexed look. "Just do it."

"What are you doing?" The chipmunk asked as the hedgehog took the guitar.

He positioned his hands as he tuned her out, trying his best to recall the cords needed. He started to strum the guitar lightly, before picking up a steady beat, a familiar one most girls in the center turned their heads at.

Sally's eyes widened as he got down on one knee and serenaded her. His voice was raspy and husk, yet so beautiful. It was an interesting choice of song, coming from a 'bad boy', and it certainly gathered a crowd of swooning females.

 _We were both young  
When I first saw you I closed my eyes  
And a flashback starts I'm standing there  
A balcony in summer air_

 _See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns  
See you make your way  
Through the crowd and say "Hello"  
Little did you know_

 _That I was Romeo I was throwing pebbles  
And your daddy said "Stay away from Juliet"  
You were crying on the staircase  
Begging me please don't go, and you said_

 _Romeo take me, somewhere we can be alone  
I'll be waiting, all that's left to do is run  
I'll be the prince and you'll be the princess  
It's a love story, Baby just say "Yes"_

He had changed the lyrics up to suit his gender, but the fact that he was an attractive male with an attractive voice singing the song of a famous country star had the crowd cooing. The guitar case by the old man was almost full to the brim. Sally smiled at the happy man and his son who hugged before turning her attention back to Scourge.

 _'How could he possibly be the bad guy?'_ She thought to herself as she smiled adoringly at him.

He soon wrapped up the song, and dispersed the crowd. Of course a few girls slipped him some phone numbers, which he gladly took before heading back over to Sally and the old homeless man.

"Thank you both so much." He cheered, "Looks like we'll be able to afford a room for a few weeks."

"Don't mention it." Scourge waved in dismissal before heading off toward the bus stop. "We've gotta catch this bus. It's the last one."

"Your welcome. Bless you both." Sally bowed respectfully before chasing after Scourge.

Pickle and Chip smiled as they waved after their two heroes. They then turned around to leave, but were called back.

"Hey Old Timer!" Scourge shouted. They turned back as the green hedgehog tossed something to them. It was Amy's gold credit card. "Whatever you do…stand by your damn kid."

The old man looked like he was ready to burst out in tears of gratitude. Scourge didn't want to see all that, so he turned around and continued his walk. The auburn-haired girl smiled at his action.

"Taylor Swift? Really?" She chuckled.

"What? You think cause I'm bad I don't get my Swift on?"

* * *

 ** _Mina:_** _Hey you. Mach is still out of the country, and we've got a few gigs lined up. It would mean the world to me if you helped us out again._

 ** _Manic:_** _I'm not really into music like that, to be doing it around the clock._

 ** _Mina:_** _But you're into me aren't you?_

 ** _Manic:_** _Well…yeah. Enough to do you around the clock Lol. But seriously, I don't want to get mixed up in the music biz._

 ** _Mina:_** _Pretty please? We'll get to spend a lot more time together that way._

 ** _Manic:_** _You want to spend time together?_

 ** _Mina:_** _Of course! I don't just sleep with anyone in the back of a party bus ya'know._

 ** _Manic:_** _I guess I could find the time…_

 ** _Mina:_** _Good! Can't wait to see that smile. Bye!_

The green hedgehog just fell back into his bed, a big smile spreading across his face. Mina had finally texted him after their little 'intermission' at the Halloween party. He almost broke and texted her first, but Sonic always says the girl should be the one to message you first, otherwise you look desperate.

She wanted him around her, to spend time with her. No girl's ever really taken much of an interest in him before, but he was loving the attention.

Mina's cute, funny, and chill. Pretty much everything he'd want in a girl. They had skipped the whole dating phase and jumped right to sex, but he found himself wanting to backtrack.

In the bed across from his sat Shadow, sitting upside-down with his legs along the wall as he texted away on his phone.

 ** _Sonia:_** _Knuckles just like, freaked out on me and Rouge. It was so bizarre._

 ** _Shadow:_** _What happened?_

 ** _Sonia:_** _I have no clue honestly. He just barged in and shoved us out to talk to Julie-Su._

 ** _Shadow:_** _Did he hurt you?_

 ** _Sonia:_** _No, I was on my way out anyway. I just found it so strange. You should probably check up on Rouge though. When I was walking off I could hear her screaming down the hall._

 ** _Shadow:_** _Those two are always in some sort of squabble. I've learned to not concern myself much with it anymore._

 ** _Sonia:_** _He was always so problematic. They might actually make the perfect pair._

 ** _Shadow:_** _So…we should talk. About what happened the other night…_

 ** _Sonia:_** _Like now? I can't. I've gotta go check up on Elias. His sister is still missing._

The dark hedgehog sighed heavily before tossing his phone to the other corner of the bed. He couldn't get the magenta girl off his mind. After finding out about her bulimia, he couldn't stop worrying about her. He had kept his word and for the past two mornings has texted her a sweet message. They texted back and forth quite frequently throughout the day, but every time he tried to bring up the kiss she immediately shut down.

She was beating around the bush and he couldn't stand it. He didn't understand why, but he wanted to talk about it.

The two hedgehogs sighed heavily as they thought of their respective potential romances.

* * *

"Knock, knock." Rosy bellowed as she opened Mephiles' room door without warning.

The gray striped-hedgehog was laying on his bed, arms propping up his head as he scanned his eyes over her. Most people cowered under his stare, but she just twirled and struck suggestive poses to mock him. He smirked in satisfactory.

"Came to see if Scourge was here?" He questioned.

"No, I totally came to talk about floral patterns for my room." She rolled her eyes, "Of course I came to see if he was here. He's the only one who knows where the booze are."

"Or perhaps you're worried about him?" Mephiles suggested.

"Nah. I'm more worried about my blood alcohol content being below the legal limit on a fucking Monday."

She strolled over to the green hedgehog's empty bed and plopped down on it. She swung her legs around in the air as she groaned in annoyance. The dark hedgehog tilted his head over to her, a grin on his face. Rosy was another fun puzzle. She wasn't as difficult as Scourge, but she was difficult nonetheless.

"Tell me something Rosy, why do you hang around him the way you do? It's as clear as day that you can't stand him. I'd even go as far as saying you hold great animosity toward him."

"Nothing better to do. Those two are the only other people from Moebius, and if I want to hang with Fi he's always around."

"I've also noticed the distaste on your face whenever he and Fiona get a little more intimate." Mephiles rose an eyebrow, "You've known him a lot longer than she has correct? Perhaps there was once something between you two—"

The pink hedgehog unwrapped the bicycle chain from her arm and whipped it at him, striking his cheek. She drew blood, but he was not phased. In fact, he was quite pleased by her outburst. She looked infuriated at his insinuations, but said nothing. She rewrapped her bicycle chain and stormed out without another word.

* * *

Matilda laid in her hospital bed. She had just gotten through another grueling day in occupational therapy. Her legs hurt, and her pride had been scorned. Not only did she feel helpless and pathetic, but without Mighty or Ray visiting she felt so lonesome.

The nurses were terrible company, most of them barely talked, or not at all. The armadillo girl felt like she was trapped behind these four white walls, and that her life would be like this forever now.

Tears began to trickle down her face as she thought about her brothers, how dearly she missed them. The last time she saw Mighty he was being torn away from her.

"Now, now. None of that." A voice called out.

Matilda lifted her head to see an older rabbit standing in the doorway. He wore a long brown trench coat, and set his brown cowboy hat on one of the nearby tables before walking over to her. Her eyes widened in shock as she recognized him, and a big smile formed on her face.

"Uncle Beauregard!" She exclaimed joyfully.

"Hello Tilly." The rabbit smiled, taking a seat beside her. He pulled a tissue from the box resting on her bedside table and dabbed her cheeks lightly, wiping away her tears. "Sorry I couldn't come sooner Darlin'. I had to take care of a few things before I came to get ya'."

"Get me?"

"That's right." He nodded in confirmation, "After your brother came to get you, me and Aunt Lulumae tried to let you go, but neither of us had the heart to say goodbye. You came into our lives when you were just a little girl. We were only supposed to be your foster parents, but somewhere along the line you stole our hearts. We would have adopted you sooner, but we know how much your brother meant to you."

"Mighty…"

"Child Services contacted me, told me I had another shot. They said they wanted to remove you from his custody, and couldn't find a home for you. I knew I had to come."

"You might have wanted me way back then, but I'm…I'm broken now."

The rabbit just put a comforting hand on her cheek, forcing her to look up at him. Uncle Beauregard and Aunt Lulumae, the only foster family to ever truly care for her.

"We can fix you Matilda." He told her, "Just like we fixed Bunnie…"

* * *

"Thanks for stopping by again." Elias spoke as he gave his best friend a long goodbye hug, "I just can't handle all this. I'm under so much stress."

"I know Eli, but you've gotta keep it together." The magenta hedgehog replied as they held their embrace in the doorway of his room. "It'll be alright."

"What the hell would I do without you?"

"I could ask the same thing…" She smiled up at him, pecking his cheek. "I've got to go check on Sonic now, I'll catch you later."

"Sonic? What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know. Tails is worried about him."

"Well, text me when you can Princess." He smiled, so grateful for her help through these trying times.

She waved goodbye before vanishing down the hall. He sighed before shutting the door behind him. He looked up to the ceiling with a frown. Sally was weighing heavily on his mind. If something did happen to her, he wouldn't forgive himself, because he never would get to tell her she's going to be an aunt.

He was rudely pushed out of his thoughts as his door was swung open, swatting him like a fly. He looked back to see his pregnant girlfriend, whose still such a stranger to him. She looked very angry. The prince had been reading up on pregnancy, and some of the effects it had on the mother.

"Megan, are you feeling alright?" He asked with concern, "Is the baby okay?"

"I saw you with that girl." She grumbled, "You've barely called me."

"Sonia? She's just making sure I'm okay. My sister still hasn't been found…" He could see the envious look in her green eyes. He read somewhere that pregnancy causes emotions to run amuck. "She's a good friend, nothing more—"

"Cut the shit!" She snapped, "Everyone knows you like her! Do you wanna sleep with her? Get her pregnant too? Maybe our kids could play together while you pay child support."

"Megan please." He pleaded, putting both his hands at her sides. "Don't stress yourself out like this. It's not good for the baby. You don't need to concern yourself about such things, trust me."

"Trust you? I barely know you and I'm about to have a kid with you…"

"What do you want me to do?" He asked, "How can I show you I'm serious about this?"

"Don't ever talk to her again!"

"But, Sonia's my best friend." He replied sharply, "You can't stop me from seeing her."

"Maybe not, but I can stop you from seeing this child." The squirrel girl replied coldly, turning to walk away.

"You can't do that to me!"

"Watch me."

She was giving him an ultimatum, a very cruel and terrible one. The prince found himself stuck between a rock and a hard place. He bit at his lip hard as he watched her walk away with his child inside her. He loved Sonia more than words could say, it was hard to break away from that, but this baby was everything to him.

"Alright." He caved, pulling her back. "I won't talk to her."

"Good." Megan smiled before pecking his cheek. "I'm sorry about your sister Elias. I wish I could stay and console you, but I've got a meeting with Child Services."

" **WHAT?** "

"Don't worry. No one knows I'm pregnant yet. They're coming to prep me for trial."

"Trial? What trial?"

"My father is finally going to reclaim my little brother." She smiled warmly, "I haven't seen Ray in such a long time."

* * *

Alicia decided to let Rosemary take over touring the new students around. She was just too distraught about Sally to perform her usual tasks. She sat in her office, sighing heavily to herself as she watched the clock. Forty-six hours had passed since Sally's disappearance. Her heart sank deeper and deeper with every hour. The worst part was not being able to do anything about it.

Suddenly, a knock on the door had her shoot up in her chair. In came her daughter, along with the other missing student.

"Sally!" She gasped as she ran over to the younger chipmunk, pulling her into a hug.

"Mother." Her daughter replied, welcoming the embrace.

"Mother huh?" Scourge grinned, looking back and forth at both of them. "I'd buy it."

"I need to call your brother and sister. They've been worried sick about you!" Alicia scolded the auburn-haired girl as she texted her other children. "Where have you two been? I want an explanation."

"Forgive me Mother." Sally apologized.

She then went on to tell her mother that they had gotten lost at Station Square. The last thing she needed was her mother worrying about her getting harassed. Scourge said his goodbyes before heading back over to his dorm, knowing full well that he'd get an earful from Fiona and Rosy.

Elias and Nicole made their way to their mother's office as soon as they got her message. They both cheered at the sight of their sister before falling into a blissful group hug. They weren't complete, but they were content for now.

"I thought something terrible happened to you." Nicole sobbed.

"I'm perfectly fine Nicole."

"You had us scared out of our minds." Elias added.

"I'm sorry I made you all so worried." Sally apologized again.

They all pulled away from their hug to exchange relieved smiles. Elias was so thankful she had returned in one piece. The thought of her never returning frightened him. As he looked around at each of their smiling faces he felt almost compelled to tell them of Megan.

"Now that you're all here…I have something to tell you."

"What is it Elias?" His mother questioned.

"Mother…I" He looked at all their faces once more, nervousness growing. "I'm going to be a father."

" **WHAT!** " They all screamed.

"Sonic is going to rip your head off." Sally exclaimed.

"I didn't get Sonia pregnant." The prince sighed.

' _Chaos, why's that always everyone's first assumption?'_

* * *

Shadow, Manic, Tails, and Sonic once again littered the lounge of the boy's dormitory. This time they were all scattered on the sectional couches. Sonic seemed to be the only one not engrossed in texting, he was still worried about Sally, and where Scourge had taken her. Tails was texting Blaze about possibly joining the debate team together, Manic texted Mina about band stuff, and Shadow was trying to convince Sonia into meeting up with him at some point to talk.

The only sounds coming from any of them were the tapping of their cellphone screens, and the occasional crunch of the candy bar Shadow had been eating.

The blue hedgehog hadn't eaten in the past two days. He shook his leg violently, completely anxiety ridden. The sounds around him irritated him, especially Shadow's chewing.

"Do you really have to eat now?" He growled at the ebony hedgehog sitting across from him.

"Well, I am hungry so…yeah?" Shadow retorted aggressively, "Problem?"

"Yeah, you chew like a fucking cow!"

"Your mother."

"Yo, yo, everyone chill alright?" Manic piped up, trying to defuse the situation. "And she's my mom too asshole."

Shadow just grumbled before relaxing in his seat, eyeing Sonic from where he sat. They've always had bad blood and disputes, but Sonic wasn't one to be so irritable over simple things. The dark hedgehog suspected something to be wrong, but said nothing. He just went back to eating his candy bar, extra loudly this time.

"Chaos, it's like you purposely look for trouble." Manic narrowed his eyes at the black hedgehog.

"Don't you?"

"Not on a Monday." The green hedgehog shook his head, "I'm hungry as fuck. Can I have some of that?"

Shadow just shrugged, passing his candy bar to Manic who speedily chomped down on it. Sonic just huffed in annoyance. He couldn't stand Shadow's glare.

"You want a kiss or somethin'?" The blue hedgehog spat.

"Don't you wish, fag." Shadow snarled.

"Sonic…is everything okay?" Tails asked worriedly, putting his phone down. "You seem a bit…upset."

"I'm fine Tails. How many times do I gotta keep telling you that before you get it?" Sonic redirected his anger at the fox, making him cringe.

"Leave the kid alone." The black hedgehog growled, defending Tails. "He's just looking out for you."

"Fuck off Shads. I'm seriously not in the mood for your petty bullshit."

"Bullshit?" Shadow questioned as they both stood up. They walked over to each other until they were toe-to-toe. "The only thing bullshit here is your fucking attitude."

"Don't test me Shadow." Sonic warned.

Just before the two could lunge at each other's throats, there was a loud thud that made both of them jump in fright. They both turned their heads to see Manic on the floor.

The green hedgehog's face was a beat red, washing over into purple as he clutched his swollen throat and gasped desperately for air.

"Manic!" Tails cried as he rushed to the hedgehog's side. "He can't breathe!"

" **TAILS GO GET HELP!** " Sonic shouted as he picked up Manic from the floor and set him on the couch.

"What's wrong with him?" Shadow questioned, obvious concern in his voice.

"I don't know!" Sonic wailed, shaking his brother. "Manic, Manic what happened?"

* * *

Tails darted out of the dormitory, screaming for an adult to come help, but none were in sight. He ran so quickly he begun to trip on his own feet and tails as he searched for help. He started crying in panic, blurring his own vision as he screamed at the top of his lungs. He couldn't keep up with his movements, and found himself smacking into someone's chest. When he looked up he was met with the devil's blue eyes.

"Watch where you're going brat." Scourge snarled, shoving him off. "What the hell are you whining about this time?"

" **IT'S...IT'S MY BROTHER!** " The fox yelled, " **HE'S TURNING PURPLE, HE NEEDS HELP! I THINK HE'S…HE'S DYING!** "

"Good. Your brother's a fucking prick." The green hedgehog shrugged, "Call me when Sonic's croaked so I can throw a party." He added with an evil chuckle as he walked past the crying fox.

"It's not Sonic!" Tails shouted after him, making the hedgehog stop in his tracks. "It's Manic…"

Scourge quickly turned heel, grabbing Tails by the shirt collar before growling in his face. He had no idea what came over him. " **WHERE IS HE?** "

Tails explained what was going on at the dormitory before rushing off to find an adult. The green hedgehog ran across campus and back to the dorms as quickly as he could. When he got to the lounge, Shadow and Sonic were standing over the now unconscious Manic freaking out.

Manic had lost consciousness, and his cheeks were almost completely purple. It didn't sound like he was breathing anymore either. Scourge quickly shoved both Sonic and Shadow out of the way, pulling Manic off the couch.

Sonic gasped at the sight of Scourge, mind in a frenzy. He sure as hell had some words for him, but his mind was too focused on Manic right now to argue.

" **WHAT DID YOU GIVE HIM?** " The blue-eyed hedgehog shouted angrily at Shadow.

"We weren't doing any drugs." The black hedgehog replied as calmly as he could, "He just fell!"

Scourge looked around the room, hoping to find an answer. That's when he saw it. On the floor next to the couch was a half-eaten candy bar. He picked it up, examining the label on the package.

"Did you give him this?"

"Yeah, he took a bite."

"You fucking moron." Scourge growled as he sat Manic upright in his lap.

He then proceeded to hastily roll up the right leg of the unconscious hedgehog's shorts, all the way up to the thigh. Sonic and Shadow didn't know what the hell was going on, but they watched as Scourge lifted up the left leg of his own black jeans to reveal a strange vial that had been concealed at his ankle. He quickly pulled it up, biting the cap off.

It was a gigantic needle, and he plunged it right into Manic's thigh without warning.

Then they waited.

* * *

 _'When I found him again he was sitting on the hood of some random car in the parking lot all by himself. He had a cigarette in one hand, and a beer in the other._

 _I was so terrified of approaching him. After our first encounter I asked around about him, and everyone only told me horror stories. He once cracked a kid's skull with a prop in drama class for trying to talk to his girlfriend, some said he was into hardcore drugs like heroin and cocaine, and some even said he killed someone before._

 _I started shaking nervously, although I tried my best to keep it cool. He heard my footsteps, and looked over at me with piercing blue eyes. I almost shit myself._

 _"You shouldn't be out here this late at night kid." He shrugged, taking another swig from the green bottle. "It's dangerous."_

 _"You're out here." I replied, taking a seat next to him on the hood of the car._

 _"Well, I am the danger." He chuckled, handing me the cigarette. "You smoke?"_

 _"Yeah, for sure." I lied, taking the cigarette in my fingers like a pencil. I tried my best to act like I knew what I was doing, but I ended up coughing my fucking lungs out._

 _"Sure." He laughed, taking the cigarette back._

 _"My name's Manic by the way." I spoke once my coughing had subsided. "I never got to tell you before."_

 _"So what'd you come out here for 'Manic'?" He asked curiously, "Won't your brother get all worried and cry if you're not in your comfy little cradle?"_

 _"Yeah right." I huffed bitterly, "He doesn't care. None of them do. All they care about is Tails."_

 _"So you think hanging around a delinquent like me will finally get their attention?"_

 _"No. I don't care about what they think of me anymore." I snapped, "I just thought you'd—"_

 _"I don't need a sidekick." He cut me off, "I don't babysit."_

 _"I want to be your friend."_

 _"My what?" He laughed._

 _I was so embarrassed. I hopped off the car, and started the walk back to the dorms. I don't know what compelled me to approach him. Maybe it was because he made me feel better that day in the alley, or because he had the same eyes as me._

 _"Wait." He called out, making me turn around. "I could use a friend I guess."_

 _I ran back over to him, nodding happily. We sat there in the dark for hours. We talked some, while he taught me how to smoke properly. When he told me about how both his parents split on him, it reminded me of how I felt after my family adopted Tails. Everyone just bailed on me._

 _"So, you didn't actually kill a guy….right?"_

 _"Nah, I only paralyzed him from the neck down." He shrugged. My face went pale white and he laughed hysterically. "I'm just messin' with you. I've never killed or paralyzed anyone dumbass."_

 _"You've got one crazy reputation around campus, ya'know that?"_

 _After that night we became close-knit. You wouldn't find him without me, and you wouldn't find me without him. Those days I spent with him were the best days of my life. I wanted them to go on forever…_

 _"Here, snagged you these." He grinned, tossing me a long wooden box._

 _I opened it up to see two high-quality wooden drumsticks. They were amazing! I'd never seen anything like them before. I immediately took them out and chucked the box. He nodded in satisfactory as I beat them on the lunch table._

 _"Sweet, but I don't play anymore."_

 _"Someday you might." He shrugged._

 _He was always supportive of my potential solo-music career, but I just wasn't into it anymore. Not without my siblings, and they showed no interest of getting the band back together._

 _I felt bad he wasted time and effort stealing such high-quality shit for me, even though we both knew I wouldn't be playing drums._

 _"Here." I said, taking off my medallion before handing it over to him. "Take this."_

 _"That's your necklace." He shook his head._

 _"You gave me these sick drumsticks, so I want you to have it." I handed him the necklace again, that time he took it. "It's a good luck charm."_

 _"Think it'll get me laid?" He laughed, clipping it around his neck._

 _"On second thought, Fiona might not like it if I gave you that." I joked._

 _"Thanks." He grinned._

 _Scourge...'_

" **WHAT THE HELL DID YOU GIVE HIM?** " Sonic shouted at Scourge angrily.

"Relax, it's just my EpiPen." The green hedgehog replied, putting his hand to Manic's cheek. His body temperature was going back to normal, but he still hadn't woken up. "He's allergic to peanuts you stupid fucks."

"How did you know that?" Shadow questioned curiously.

"How the hell didn't you two morons know that?" The green hedgehogs retorted, "Aren't you supposed to be his brother?" He narrowed his eyes at Sonic.

Before the blue hedgehog could freak out, Manic started gasping and coughing. He had finally woken up. They all breathed a sigh of relief. Scourge pulled Manic out of his lap to face him. Manic lazily opened his eyes to see Scourge standing over him with a concerned expression.

"Manic….Manic." Scourge called out to him.

He groaned in response, shifting uncomfortably under the harsh lighting. "Scourge? Is that you…?"

"Yeah, yeah it's me."

"Oh shit…" The weak hedgehog mumbled, "I died didn't I?"

"No, you're not dead kid."

"But…you're here…talking to me…"

"Get away from him!" Sonic screeched, shoving Scourge away from his brother. They both exchanged angry scowls before the green hedgehog took off.

Manic frowned as he watched Scourge's figure replaced by Sonic's. Shadow ran after Scourge, and caught him outside. He had just walked down the steps when Shadow opened the doors.

"Why are you doing this to him?" He growled at Scourge, "Why are you avoiding him?"

"It's none of your business."

"It is when my best friend is involved. You saved his life…only to continue hurting him. I saw that desperate look in your eyes when you thought he was gonna die. Tell me, what the hell is between you two?"

"You sound like Mephiles." Scourge grumbled in disgust. "Fuck off." He gave the ebony hedgehog the middle finger as he walked to the girl's dorm.

* * *

"I'm sorry Principal Acorn couldn't give you the tour herself, or be here to formally welcome you. She had to attend to an emergency in the boy's dormitory. However, she will schedule progress meetings with you all in the future." Rosemary explained to the group of new students.

She had finished touring the new group around campus, and was now preparing them for their first day. Tails ran into the office, begging Principal Acorn for help in the boy's dorm. Rosemary worried for her son, but she had to keep on task for now.

"These are your room keys and schedules." She smiled, handing each of the six students a key and paper. "Make your way to the dormitories and your adviser will escort you to your rooms."

Each of them took the materials, some appearing more excited than others.

"On behalf of Principal Acorn, I welcome you all to Green Hill Academy." The receptionist cheered happily. "Eclipse the Darkling, Gold the Tenrec, Shade the Echidna, Monkey Khan, Tekno the Canary, and Geoffrey St John."

* * *

 **A very Scourge oriented chapter, I know. He finally has a backstory! A heartbreaking one at that. You've also learned of his fixation with Sally, the auburn-haired schoolgirl from his youth, but she has no recollection of him whatsoever. Could her scarred face have something to do with that? Who knows.**

 **Poor Knuckles, his worry for Julie-Su is putting a strain on him and Rouge, and poor little Ray is just getting the bad end of everything.**

 **Rosy and Scourge?! Nah, Mephiles is just reading into things too deeply...but has he ever been wrong?**

 **Oh sweet Elias, no one should ever have to make such decisions. Will Megan's jealousy finally put an end to a possible Elias/Sonia relationship? Perhaps even their friendship?**

 **The Sally/Scourge fluff was real this chapter. I thought it to be quite adorable. The song he sings is based on his feelings towards her, and explains a bit of their history through his perspective, just like when any character sings in this fic. Silver sang about Blaze breaking his heart, and Sally sang about her father disowning her WAY before I even revealed it. Read very carefully when it comes to song, you might learn more than you think.**

 **Scourge was the one who gave Manic the drumsticks! What a call back from Chapter 3, and the medallion Amy saw when Scourge took off his shirt was Manic's.**

 **Also, if you feel like you know a song that might portray how a character feels about their situation or another person, recommend it to me! It might be just what I need. Any genre is okay, as long as the lyrics mean something and aren't just mindless drabble.**

 **Special Message**

 **Who is the ultimate villain in this story that you hate to love? It's a trick question. The answer would be me! The author. I'm aware I'm constantly ruining the lives of your favorite and most beloved characters. The amount of relationship drama is insane, but eventually as the story meets it's end I WILL start to make pairings permanent. With that in mind, I want you to think critically of what characters you'd like to be with each other. Putting your already favorite pairings and OTPs aside, I'd like you to base your decision solely on the story itself. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it though, I'm not done torturing everyone just yet.**

 **Lastly, a special shoutout to 1Darkness552 for getting every single new student correct, although some came incredibly close.**

 **And yes BlazeofVenus, I'm perfectly okay with you drawing any imagery from this story you would like, that goes for anyone! I'd like to see it as well! **

**Next Time On Green Hill Academy**

 **Amy offers all her friends one night of a great escape**

 **Manic meets an interesting new student...**

 **Yet another challenger approaches for Silver and Blaze**

 **An old ghost from Scourge's past surfaces**

 **Sally is starstruck by a new suitor**

 **Two relationships enter the danger zone, as a new one forms**

 **And so much more!**


	26. Chapter 26

**WARNING: Bulimic behaviors, bullying, and the topic of domestic violence**

* * *

 **Chapter 26: New Yet Old Faces & Surprise Kisses **

The next day things had completely went back to normal. Manic was back on campus after a check-up at Metropolis Hospital, Scourge was back to causing mayhem with his little group of rebels, and Sally was back to being the school punching bag.

Student volunteers had begun pulling down the Halloween decorations in replacement of turkeys, strung-up colorful leaves, and paper cutouts of various festive foods. Green Hill Academy was certainly getting into the Turkey-Day spirit, which was only a few weeks away, along with holiday vacation! During holiday break students had the option of staying on campus, or returning home to their families for two weeks.

Some kids were overjoyed at the idea of returning home to their loved ones, while some didn't have loved ones to return to at all, and were forced to reside on campus.

Sonic and all of his friends—as well as Silver the loser—huddled around their signature table in the back of the café. They talked about the upcoming vacation, and what plans they had.

"Mama has to stay on campus to watch the kids who stay behind for vacation." Cream explained to the group, a glint of sadness in her voice. "She is the girl's dorm adviser after all."

"That's no way to spend vacation!" Amy exclaimed in revolt.

"Don't worry Cream. We're actually staying behind too." Blaze consoled the rabbit, gesturing to her and Silver. The blue hedgehog across from them just grimaced at their hand holding.

" **WHAT?! WHY?** " Amy gasped.

"Soleanna is pretty far." Silver shrugged. "That's a lot of bus fair that could be used for SyFy conventions."

Sonic just rolled his eyes in annoyance, wondering to himself what the hell that feline saw in him. Ironically she bore the same disgruntled look at the way he had his arm wrapped around Amy's waist, and even had the same thoughts he had pertaining to his girlfriend of choice.

"Why don't you just buy a car?" The pink hedgehog questioned.

"Not all of us are rich out the ass." Sonia retorted, completely ignoring the food on her tray. Shadow chuckled lowly at her comment, offering her a half-smile when no one was looking. She blushed before turning her attention back to the untouched tray.

"Rich?" Manic questioned, scoping Amy up and down.

"Don't even think about trying to pick-pocket me Newport." The pink hedgehog pouted, crossing her arms. "My wallet was stolen at the party! Another credit card lost." She sighed.

"I had no idea I was dating an uptown girl!" Sonic chuckled, pulling Amy close and kissing her cheek. Her giggling infuriated the feline in front of them, who unknowingly squeezed her boyfriend's hand to bone-shattering levels in response.

"Ouch!" He pulled his hand away from her.

"I'm sorry!" She yelped.

"I will be staying on campus as well Cream." Cosmo spoke up. The green-haired girl had been sitting beside Tails, quiet as a mouse. She felt like she had been overstepping boundaries by intruding on the group like this, but they had been very welcoming.

"Don't you want to go home and see your family?" Tails questioned sorrowfully.

"I'm not from this country." She explained, "I'm a foreign-exchange student from the other side of the planet. I can't afford a plane ticket back home, and my parents would probably be working anyway. Maybe we could hangout this vacation Cream." The seedrian smiled over at the blushing rabbit.

"You poor things!" Amy cooed.

"My dad will probably be working the whole vacation too." Knuckles shrugged, "So there's not much point in going home for me."

"How about I tag along with you and make your vacation worthwhile?" Rouge purred, resting her hand on his thigh.

"And leave me home alone with your eccentric mother? I don't think so." Shadow grumbled.

"Mom said you're welcome to tag along with us if you want…" Sonia piped up, drawing Shadow's attention back to her. They stared at each other for a split second before quickly averting their gazes elsewhere, but not quick enough for Rouge to not notice.

"I've got a great idea you guys!" Amy yelped, clapping her hands excitedly. "How about you all come to my house! Just for one sleepover! It'd be so much fun!"

"How would we get home ourselves?" Rouge questioned, "Mercia is hella far from Mobotropolis."

"That's **A LOT** of bus fair." Silver mumbled.

"That's simple. I'll pay for all your cabs!" She cheered, pulling another gold credit card from her bag.

"How many of those things do you have!?" Sonia gasped.

"Hmmm…seventeen now I think." The pink hedgehog shrugged, "Anyways, what do you guys say?"

"We'd have to call Ma and see if it's chill." Manic pulled out his cellphone.

"That's eleven people Amy!" Cream exclaimed, "Are you sure there's enough room?"

"It'll be fine Cream! Rob won't mind if we occupy one of the manors."

"One of the manors?" The rabbit gasped.

"What does your cousin do for a living exactly?" Silver questioned.

"He owns several apartment complexes called O'Hedge Estates all around the country. He's also got four manors in every corner of Mercia. He'd let me borrow one if I just asked."

Everyone cheered, agreed, and squealed in excitement at her suggestion…except for two. Knuckles had just seem Julie-Su walk by the open door to the café. His mellow mood completely taken over by frustration. Rouge tried to reach out to him, noticing his upset expression, but he just swatted her hand away and stormed off.

Sonic too had spotted someone familiar walking past their table. Glasses-Girl had just been shoved out of the lunch line, spilling the contents of her tray everywhere before she could even sit down. He caught her gaze. She shot him an angry glare while walking out of the café, not before someone had tripped her and started a riot of laughter.

The blue hedgehog felt so bad, but as much as he wanted to rush to her aid, he couldn't. He just sat back in his chair, listening to everyone boom with laughter…everyone except for one.

"What the hell is wrong with you guys?" Silver snapped at all the people laughing at the table. Even Cream, Cosmo, and Tails offered their chuckles. He yanked his hand from Blaze and rushed over to the poor chipmunk, picking her up off the ground.

"She deserves it. Especially after what she did to my Sonikku and Mina." Amy huffed, annoyed at Silver's outburst.

"Hey, are you okay?" The white hedgehog asked the girl. She adjusted her glasses before looking up to meet his concerned expression. "I remember you…" He breathed, shocked that he finally found her again.

"Piano-Boy." She mumbled before the cruel comments of the crowd became too much to bear. Her anxiety spiked rapidly, causing her to go into flight mode. She fled out of the café before he could speak with her any further. All he wanted to know was her name.

* * *

On the other side of the café sat Ray, all by himself. Without Mighty to defend him, or scare off the bullies he was easy prey. He hung his head in sadness over his untouched lunch tray. He desperately missed having his siblings around, not even the rest of the Chaotix had the time to hangout anymore. They had all once again gone their separate ways.

"Oh hey there Stuttering-Stanley." A voice snarled, "Or should I say Silent-Bob now?"

The squirrel looked over his shoulder to see three birds standing behind him. He gulped at the sight of them. The over-weight gray one took hold of the squirrel's head, who cowered underneath his hand.

"You gonna eat that?" He asked, "Silence means no!" The bird bellowed before swiping the piece of chocolate cake off Ray's tray.

The green hawk then took a seat by Ray. Storm still held the squirrel's head up, forcing him to look at Jet's smug face.

"Tell ya' what, if you can say one little word I'll let you keep the rest of your food." The hawk smirked.

"Go on! Say something!" Storm snorted.

Wave just stood behind the three of them, eyes narrowed, and arms crossed. She stuck her nose up in the air at how demented her two friends were being. Everyone knew the poor kid couldn't talk, but they chose to harass him anyway. She's no goodie-goodie, but she didn't like to pick on the weak. There was never any fun in that. But her friends sure seemed to adore it.

Ray shook like a leaf. As much as he wanted to say something, he couldn't. He opened his mouth put no words came out. The two birds just laughed hysterically at his attempts. The poor squirrel was getting aggravated, more so at himself for not being able to speak than their taunting.

"C'mon Jet. This is the shit I'm talking about. You're so pathetic it makes me sick. Like really? Picking on some little kids." Wave growled.

In a rage, Ray made a fatal mistake. He got so worked up and angry, that he was bold enough to snort up, and spit right in Jet's face. The bird was fuming with anger. With the snap of his fingers, Jet commanded Storm to slam the young boy's head face-first into the table. Wave cringed as the blood oozed from the little boy's nose before Storm released his head, causing it to rest on the table. The two birds both left the table in satisfactory, Wave chasing after them.

"That wasn't cool Jet!" She shouted angrily at him, "If Mighty finds out about that you're as good as dead."

"Whose gonna tell on me?" Jet snarled, wiping his face with the back of his sleeve. "Him?" He added with a cruel laugh.

"Then you wonder why I won't date you." She rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Honestly, I couldn't possibly give a fuck anymore Wave." He retorted, "In the end it's your fucking loss. I'm a king, and you won't do any better, trust. I've got my eyes on a new prize." The bird grinned, looking over at Rouge.

"You're a piece of shit." The swallow growled. Just as she was about to lay into him one more time, her eye caught something.

Sitting by herself in the corner was a beautiful canary girl. She had her hair swooped across her face, punk-rocker clothes, and giant gold hoop earrings. Jet seemed to have noticed her too, because he stopped his gawking of Rouge, and turned his attention over to the green canary.

"Who is that?" He gasped, completely mesmerized.

"I don't know…but I want to." Wave mumbled, a deep blush on her face.

"I doubt she's into that faggot shit." The hawk cursed, shoving Wave back as he ran over to the new girl. "Aye yo girl!"

* * *

Manic stood outside of his history class with Mina. He had her pressed up against the lockers, sneaking in some kisses before anyone could see. She wanted to keep things as private as possible, fearing that she might disappoint some fanboys. He didn't mind though, he found sneaking around to be quite hot.

"I had no idea you were allergic to peanuts." She murmured through his kisses.

"Yeah, I am. Found out when I was six." He chuckled.

"You went six years without peanut butter?" She gasped at his biting of her neck, "I think I'd die."

"I love the stuff, too bad I can't have it."

"Remind me never to eat peanuts before we meet up like this."

"Ahem…" A voice sounded, attempting to get their attention.

They pulled away to be met with the narrowed crimson eyes of Shadow, who looked a bit displeased at the sight of them. Mina quickly shoved Manic away, fixing her hair to cover her bruised neck.

"Sup Shads." Manic smiled, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

"We've got to go on a beer run." The dark hedgehog replied, arms crossed.

"Just go grab some from the stump. I showed you where it was."

"It's all gone."

"Gone? We just went on a run like two weeks ago!"

"Yeah well, we need to go on another I guess. Some flickys must have gotten to it."

"Chaos dammit." The green hedgehog sighed before turning back to Mina, "Sorry Babe, we're gonna have to cut this short."

"That's okay." She laughed awkwardly, being unusually distant all of a sudden. "See ya'. Bye Shadow."

They both watched her walk off into the classroom. Shadow shuddered in disgust, while Manic just smiled goofily. They then turned their attention back toward each other.

"You shouldn't trust her." Shadow warned.

"Just because Honey played you doesn't mean she'll do that to me. She really likes me."

"Yeah, when she needs some help with band shit." The black hedgehog growled, "Everyone knows she's another airhead with an obsession on your loser brother."

"No way!" Manic spat, "She doesn't even talk to him."

"Honey told me all about her closet-obsession. She's not the girl you think she is."

"Honey's just some jealous skank."

"Yeah, but not a liar."

Just before their bickering could go any further, Shadow shuddered at the feel of arms link around his waist. Manic rose an eyebrow as he watched some random kid cuddle Shadow like a teddy bear. The green hedgehog said a mental prayer for the boy, as he knew Shadow would probably kill him.

"Big bro!" The kid cheered.

"Oh no…I recognize that voice…." Shadow grumbled before turning around to be met with a pair of citrus eyes.

"I can't believe I found you so fast!" The kid smiled.

"Big bro?" Manic questioned.

"Eclipse, what the hell are you doing here?" Shadow scolded.

"I go here now! Dad transferred me from Space Ark Academy to be here with you!"

"More like to get you out of his hair." The black hedgehog grumbled bitterly, "Curse that bastard."

"Uh Shadow?" Manic questioned, "Who the hell is this kid, and why haven't you killed him yet?"

The black hedgehog sighed before tugging the younger boy off of him. Shadow sighed heavily as he explained. "This is Eclipse the Darkling…my brother."

"You…You have a…a brother…"

* * *

Blaze and Silver met up outside of his science class as usual. Dr. Robotnik had been conditioning him to hate science more and more as the semester continued, and Blaze had been there every step of the way to make sure he didn't completely lose his mind. The two walked hand in hand down the hall as they talked about their possible plans with Amy for the sleepover.

"How could you not know your best friend was loaded?" He asked her.

"She never mentioned it." The cat shrugged, "And she's the one always visiting me. I've never been to her house."

"It's a manor Sweetie. That's like, ten houses put together!" He exclaimed.

"Whatever." She chuckled, "I just hope we get our own room together."

"Uh…Ri-Right." Her boyfriend stammered.

"Silver? Silver is that you?!" A voice shrieked.

They both turned around to see a cute golden-quilled girl running up to them with arms flailing about. She wore a white T-shirt with a black gamer logo on it, a plaid red skirt, and combat boots similar to Silver's. Their styles were one in the same. She even sported matching eyeliner.

"Gold! Oh my Chaos!" The white hedgehog screeched, darting over to scoop the girl up in an embrace.

Blaze was obviously annoyed, but smiled anyway. Gold the Tenrec, a girl they often encountered at the SyFy conventions Silver had a habit of dragging the feline to.

The two quickly became engrossed in conversation, completely ignoring the cat standing behind them. Silver was just so excited to see her again.

"I didn't think I'd be seeing you until the next con!" He exclaimed.

"Well, now you'll see me every day." She cheered, "I just transferred here!"

"Chaos! I'll finally have someone who gets me!" Silver laughed, "Have you gotten any convention tickets yet?"

"Of course!" The tenrec smiled, "I even won a pair of tickets to see Crush 40 in a radio contest next month!"

" **CRUSH 40?!** I think I just died!"

"I know! That's how I felt when I was caller eighteen and they told me I won!" They squealed, "You can totally come with!"

"Don't play with my heartstrings like that! You know they're my favorite band of all time."

"I'm not playing, I swear."

"Ahem…" Blaze coughed, making her presence known.

The two turned their heads to see Blaze putting on her most genuine smile. Silver chuckled awkwardly before returning to the cat's side, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Blaze!" Gold smiled awkwardly, "You go here too…"

"Hello again Gold…" The feline greeted half-heartedly.

"Guess what Goldfish, Blaze and I are a couple now!" Silver laughed.

"That's…That's wonderful."

* * *

"So what were you doing out there?" Fiona growled, "You were gone for two days! So was she! Were you sleeping together?"

"C'mon Fi, let's not do this please." Scourge groaned.

"Were you?"

"Of course not Babe." He assured her, getting up from his laying down position on the hood of his Hummer to take her by the waist. "I'm all about you. I just got lost during the riot and passed out. By the time I woke up everyone was gone. I never saw the bitch, nor do I care. Have you seen her? She's ugly as fuck."

"What an ironic choice of words, considering she's—"

"Enough Fi." He cut her off, cupping her face in his hands to make eye contact. She practically melted at the sight of his icy-blue eyes. "I love you. You're my queen…no one else."

Before she could continue her argument for the hundredth time the loud chime of the bell had signaled her it was time to go. He had free period, while she was stuck going to science. He kissed her goodbye before getting into his car. He sighed, lighting a cigarette in the driver's seat.

"You know you didn't mean all that." A voice growled from the backseat. He looked in the rearview mirror to meet Rosy's scowling face. "She's not your queen."

"Ugh, don't you have someone else to annoy Psycho?" He groaned.

"You stay lying to her. It's not right." The pink hedgehog huffed. "You and I both know who the queen is."

"Yeah?" He turned around to meet her angry glare with his own furious gaze, "Well, in case you've forgotten, you're the reason I'm fucking stuck with her. This is all your fault."

"My fault?" The girl repeated angrily, brown eyes full of disgust.

She was just about ready to leap over to his side of the vehicle and strangle him, but the knocking on the window beside him ceased their arguing. He pulled away to roll down the window. A shocked expression crossed both their faces as they were met with a familiar smile.

"Long time no see." The skunk before them chuckled, plucking the cigarette right out of Scourge's mouth before taking a drag himself. "I was told these weren't allowed on campus when I got here. Glad to see you haven't changed." He smirked.

"Geoffrey?" Rosy gasped from the backseat, feeling so small all of a sudden.

"Good to see ya' Love." The new student nodded to her, "Pretty funny to see you two still together. I woulda thought you'd move on to the fox by now."

"We're not together." Rosy growled.

Scourge said nothing, opting to stare intently at his old friend. The skunk just let a big grin cross his face, as Scourge mentally murdered him over and over in his mind.

* * *

Sally ran out of the main building in a frenzy of various emotions. Angry that she had to endure such cruelty, sad that she could do nothing to help herself, and anguish for even believing for an instance that she could be friends with a guy like Sonic.

She peeled the skin of a banana off her shoulder as she jogged away from the sounds of people snickering behind her back. She found herself wishing that she had never come back, that she and Scourge could have ran away and never returned—

She quickly shook the thoughts out of her mind as she continued to run. The poor chipmunk couldn't keep up with herself, tripping over a pebble and colliding with another student. She fell over, assuming she'd hit a wall, but when she opened her eyes she noticed a pair of arms holding her steady.

"Are you okay?"

The chipmunk looked up to see a strikingly handsome monkey holding her up. She quickly regained her balance, blushing at being so intrusive.

"I'm sorry." Sally apologized shyly. The monkey was quite handsome, not on Elias Acorn levels, but pretty high up there. Long brown hair held back by a gold headband, beautiful baby-blues, and a muscular lean frame.

"No need." He smiled, "My name's Ken."

"I'm Sally."

"Are you in a rush?"

"No, not really." She chuckled awkwardly, "I was just heading back to my dorm."

"Sorry to bother, but I was hoping you could show me to the library. I'd like to volunteer there."

"Of course." The chipmunk nodded, blush still clear on her face. "Ms. Woodchuck would love some extra help. I volunteer as well."

* * *

Mighty sighed heavily, adjusting the tie of his suit. He stood outside the door to Isabella Mongoose's office. He was about to meet the bastards seeking custody of his siblings, and face both Clove and Isabella. The armadillo was nervous, sweating, and trying his best to keep calm. Today was just a meetup. Trial was just around the corner.

In the midst of his terrible thoughts, a comforting hand came down on his shoulder. He had arrived alone, but when he looked back he was met with the smiling face of his principal.

"Principal Acorn." He gasped, turning to face her as she brought him in for a hug. "You came…" He was so overwhelmed, yet thankful for her presence.

"I told you I would be here for you Mighty." She replied kindly.

When she pulled away from him, she gave him an assuring nod. He didn't feel as nervous as before, and found the courage to open up the door. Isabella sat at her desk, behind her Clove and Cassia. Three unknown figures sat in the seats before the mongoose, all with their backs turned to the chipmunk and armadillo.

"Glad you could join us Mr. Armadillo." Isabella smiled coldly.

"We have no time for you passive aggression Isabella." Alicia retorted, squeezing Mighty's hand. "Let's get this underway."

"Your presence is unneeded." The mongoose growled, "He's an adult, and does not need a guardian."

"She's here for support." Mighty cut in.

"Very well." Isabella grumbled in irritation. "Mr. Armadillo, I'd like to first introduce you to the loving family you ripped Matilda away from, only to physical and mentally destroy her—"

"Isabella." Alicia warned.

That's when the first figure stood up. He pulled off his hat before turning around to face Mighty. He was an older rabbit dressed in a long brown trench coat. He offered the armadillo a warm smile, holding his hat to his chest.

"Hello Mighty. My name is Beauregard Rabbot. I was Matilda's foster father for about seven years in Sand Blast City. I'm sorry things have come to this, and I mean you no disrespect in the slightest. All I want is to give Tilly a good home, just like you—"

"No!" Mighty shook his head, "You're not taking my sister from me."

"That's up to the judge Mr. Armadillo." Clove chimed in rudely, earning her a disapproving look from her younger sister.

"By no means am I trying to take her from you. You'll be able to visit any time you want. I value family in high regards. I'd never tear one apart." Beauregard replied, both of them ignoring Clove's statement. "I can help her. I'm a—"

"I don't care!" Mighty shouted, "She's my sister. She's not going anywhere! Tilly needs me."

"Mighty, relax." Alicia whispered to him, resting a hand on his shoulder.

"Beauregard, you're wasting your breath in trying to handle this by such trivial means." Isabella rolled her eyes, waving the rabbit out of the room. "He won't give up until the judge smacks the gavel down on his head."

"I don't believe in the justice system one bit." The rabbit sighed, putting his hat back on before walking past Mighty out the door. "I'm sorry it has to come to this son…" He whispered to Mighty before his exit.

"Moving on." The mongoose stood up, "Mighty, this is Ray's biological father, and his biological sister."

The last two figures rose up from their seats and turned around to face him. Mighty's eyes widened as he recognized the girl to be his classmate, Megan the Squirrel.

"Unlike that rabbit fellow, I only have bitter words for you Mr. Armadillo." The old squirrel growled, "Your carelessness led to the incident that nearly took my son's life. You're despicable in every sense of the word. As soon as Ray is back in my custody you'll never see him again—"

"I'm despicable? You abandoned him when he was only a week old!" Mighty shouted, losing his cool. "You shouldn't even be allowed to call him son! Don't ever call him that! He doesn't even know you. You don't know shit about him! I take care of him. **ME!** "

"And look how that turned out." The tan squirrel huffed in disgust.

"He's my brother for real." Megan spoke up angrily, hormones running high. "Not yours. Ray's birth took my mother's life. Unlike you, my father knew his limits. He knew that he could not adequately care for both of us. He made a choice based on rational thinking…something you clearly aren't capable of."

"You wanna talk about rational thinking bitch?!" The armadillo fumed, voice booming with anger. Alicia gasped at such language, not used to hearing Mighty of all people speak in such a way.

Her father quickly stepped in between them, looming over the armadillo whom he didn't realize was such a powerhouse. The squirrel was testing the waters, and Mighty was ready to knock him over like a tsunami.

"This has gone in a very bad yet entertaining direction." The mongoose sang from her desk, earning her a nasty glare from Alicia.

"If anyone's despicable here it's you Isabella." The chipmunk hissed.

"Don't speak to my daughter in such a manner, ever."

"Joss, relax." Cassia begged from where she stood.

"You two want to give him custody of Ray when he can barely control his other kid?!" Mighty shouted at Clove and Cassia who tilted their heads in confusion. Megan's eyes widened with worry as he drew closer and closer to the truth.

"What are you on about?" Joss growled.

"His daughter is fucking pregnant!"

* * *

Silver and Gold decided to catch up over slushies in the café, leaving an envious Blaze all alone to skulk around campus. She's never liked Gold. Always found her to be a bit overbearing when it came to Silver. Every time they met up at one of those conventions the tenrec practically swooped in and stole Silver away like a vulture. When they were just friends she didn't mind so much, but now that they're dating she found it much more infuriating.

The cat roamed the halls of the main building, until stumbling upon her old best friend…Sonic. She watched as he kissed Amy goodbye before turning away and scurrying off with a saddened expression. She wondered if he knew what she did. That Amy had slept with Scourge.

It pained her how distant they had been. They used to be so close before Amy had arrived and ruined their dynamic. She reminisced on the simpler times, when it was just the two of them running through fields of green. Her mind wandered back to that one summer night they made love…

"Blaze! You goof! Where's your boyfriend?" Amy called out, waving a hand in front of the cat's now blushing face.

"Amy?" She yelped, startled by the pink girl's sudden closeness. "He's, uh...with a friend."

"Oh. Sonic just went for a jog or something." Amy shrugged, "He's been a little blue. Well, more so than usual."

"Really?" Blaze sighed.

"Yeah." Amy nodded, "But I'm hoping our little vacation will cheer him up! And that we might finish what we started on Halloween."

"What are you talking about?"

"Well…" The pink hedgehog put a finger to her lips shyly, blushing madly as she stared at the floor. "Rouge already knows, and since we're best friends I totally trust you…"

"What is it then Amy?" Blaze questioned, curiosity killing her.

"Sonic and I kind of had sex at the party."

* * *

Sonia knocked on Elias' room door for about ten minutes before giving up. She sighed heavily, figuring he must have gone to the café without her or something. She picked up her purple bag from the floor and began the walk toward the stairwell. Just as she was about to head out she saw the vacant boy's bathroom. Her palms began to sweat as she saw an unoccupied stall with a pearly-white toilet calling to her. She bit her lip hard, trying to shake the hideous thoughts from her mind, but it proved worthless.

The magenta hedgehog turned heel and stepped into the bathroom, tossing her backpack beside the door outside as she closed it and made her way to the empty stall. She got on her knees, staring with vacant eyes into the toilet before her. In the water's reflection she saw her new face, sunken cheeks, and pale muzzle.

Although disgusted by the sickly appearance, she couldn't help herself. Even Shadow's words of comfort from the party playing on a loop in her head didn't stifle her urges. She plunged her fingers into her mouth, just as the door to the stall opened. She turned to see Shadow, swiftly kneeling beside her and yanking her hand away from her mouth.

Tears welled in her eyes as the shame started to wash over her. He embraced her quickly, stifling her wails and apologies. He closed his eyes, holding her tightly as she sobbed.

"Don't do this to yourself Sonia…" He whispered to her soothingly, "Please, just let me be there for you…I will care for you, better than that damn echidna ever could."

* * *

Over on the other side of campus was Julie-Su, walking down the hall to her art class when she was unexpectedly pulled into the janitor's closet. Before she could scream for help the dim light came on, revealing her best friend standing in front of her, still wearing that pained expression. She just let out an irritated growl before turning to open the door, but he pulled her wrist away from the knob, causing her to shriek in pain.

He didn't use much force, so her horrid reaction made him jump. He pulled her wrist toward the dim lighting, rolling up her sleeve as he did so. Bruises, so many bruises. From her wrist to her elbow, a trail of dark purple blotches every which way. Tears fell from his face and onto her arm before he looked up to show her his crying face. She ripped her arm from his grasp, shaking her head in an attempt to suppress her own tears.

"I'll kill him." The red echidna growled, chest heaving up and down in fury. "I'll fucking kill him."

"Why can't you just leave me alone Knuckles?" Julie-Su wailed, "You've got yours and I've got mine. Thrash isn't perfect but—"

"He's beating you Julie. Stop defending him! He's a jealous prick that hurts you!"

"Not nearly as bad as you!"

"What?" Knuckles gasped, raising a confused brow. "How the hell do I hurt you?"

" **YOU'RE DATING HER!** " The echidna girl shouted angrily, pointing toward the door behind her. "I hate her! She's the one who ruined my life! She's the reason I'm with him. She's the one who took me to that stupid party."

"Rouge isn't the fucking problem! When are you gonna realize this guy is no good? When he's got you six feet under?" Knuckles shouted back, "Or when you're picking out toddler coffins—" He was quickly silenced by a hard slap to the face.

"Don't ever talk about my daughter." Julie-Su warned, tears streaming down her upset face.

She turned her back to him, attempting to leave one more time. Once again he pulled her back, this time forcing her into his tight embrace. She tried to wriggle free of his grasp, but he clung to her like his last hope as he sobbed dramatically into her shoulder.

"Please Julie…I can't…I can't lose you." He breathed, "I already know what it's like to be without you, and its hell."

"You don't understand. He's Lara's father, and he does love me…" She replied, hugging him back in defeat.

"Not like I do." He pulled away, locking their violet eyes together under the dim lighting.

He stared sorrowfully at her, seeing all the bruises hidden under her poorly done makeup in his mind. A face that was once so flawless, and so fierce. The face of a girl he's known his whole life, the girl who became his whole world for years, the girl he wanted so desperately to keep by his side forever.

She looked so tried, and so defeated. So unlike the Julie-Su from youth, the one who'd beat all the boys at arm wrestling, the one who leapt off waterfalls with no fear, and the one who helped shape him into who he is today.

With Rouge and Thrash completely pushed out of his mind, the red echidna unconsciously closed the gap between their faces, pressing his lips against hers as he held her close. Her eyes widened in shock as she quickly shoved him away, flabbergasted at his impulsive kiss. Her face burned red, and he soon realized what he had done.

"I'm so, so, so sorry." He mumbled.

"I'm getting married." She restated, before finally opening the door to the closet and leaving.

"I didn't mean it like that!" He yelled, chasing after her.

 _'Just what the hell did I mean?'_ He thought to himself.

* * *

Sally spent the whole day showing the new student around. He was a breath of fresh air from the cruel small-minded followers of Sonic and Mina who constantly taunted and harassed her. Ken was kind, intelligent, and handsome. He kept her smiling and giggling the whole walk around campus.

Thankfully no one had bothered the chipmunk during their tour, saving her the trouble of explaining to him why she was one of the most disliked people at GHA.

The monkey was quite the gentlemen as well. After the tour he wanted to express his gratitude by walking her back to her own dorm before heading over to his. In hindsight, he just wanted to spend a little more time with her. Of all the people he's met so far he found her to be the most interesting.

She learned a lot about him in their short journey. He was an open book, with no problems answering just about anything. She appreciated his forward nature. He was a transfer student from Dragon City, which was located about seven hours away from GHA. His father Lau Khan is a famous MMA fighter who grew up very poor and uneducated. He wanted more for his son, so he sought to given the monkey boy the best education available in the country, which led him to Green Hill Academy.

"Well, here we are." Sally smiled, pulling her key from her purse to unlock her room door. "Thank you for walking me back."

"It was my pleasure." He smiled, making her blush. "I'll probably need a little more touring eventually, but for now I think I've got the layout of this place down."

"Well, if you ever need help with anything just shoot me a text." The chipmunk smiled, scribbling her number down on his hand with a pen.

"Hope a simple chat counts as anything." He laughed.

"Of course." She laughed along, the blush on her face growing deeper.

"Then I'm off." He cheered, walking away. "Have a good night Ms. Acorn."

"Bye Ken." She waved after him until he faded from view.

She sighed, a little disappointed at saying goodbye, but she knew she'd see him again soon. Especially after watching him walk down the wrong hallway. The chipmunk just chuckled lightly to herself before pushing the door to her room open. To her relief, Fiona wasn't back just yet, giving her some peace. She tossed her bag over to her bed, and attempted to shut the door behind her, but it didn't budge.

When she turned around she saw Sonic shoving his way inside, slamming the door shut behind him. He'd been biding his time, watching her walk around with that monkey kid until he finally caught her alone.

"Who was that dude?" He asked, quite envious.

"Just a new student." She grumbled, "Not that it's any of your business."

"You've been back and you couldn't give me a fuckin' heads up? Shoot me a simple text?" The blue hedgehog bellowed in frustration, "What kind of shit is that? Do you know how fucking worried I was when I heard you were gone? Aren't we supposed to be friends?—"

"Friends don't publicly shame each other by throwing apples." She remarked bitterly.

"Sally, I'm sorry." He apologized, stepping closer to her. "It wasn't my fault. The crowd was hyping me up, it was a natural reaction." He added the words Amy consoled him with.

"If you really believe that than you're a lot dumber than you'd like people to believe. You made a choice, just like you did with the rest of the Freedom Fighters." Sally shook her head, "This time it costed you our short-lived 'friendship'. Consider me another name on the list of people you've wronged for the sake of popularity, asshole."

Sonic suddenly felt a sting in his heart. He hated how right she always was, especially when she was laying into him about how much of a shitty person he was. He had all the confidence in the world, and she just knocked it down like a house of cards.

"What about our late night talks? Those walks in the forest? Our secret place?" He was clearly hurt, and visually distraught as he made his way over to her and touched her cheek. "You can't tell ne that's all done. Or that you want it to be."

She swatted his hand from her face, cheeks flushed red. He was just as frustrating to her as she was him. She's always been so careful to not get caught up in dangerous games with people like him, she grew up in Moebius for Chaos sake! But something about him made her want to throw caution to the wind, an unspoken bond had formed. He's everything she hates, but at the same time there was a charm to him she appreciated.

But not after what he did at the party. He showed his true colors then, not when he cried at the lake. If he cared as much as he led on, he wouldn't be so desperate for the appraisal of the crowds. She wanted to believe there was more to him than just being a douchebag, but in actuality that's all he is.

She shook her head, pointing to the exit. "Stop doing that!" She shouted angrily.

"Doing what?" He questioned, putting his hand to her face again, only for her to swat him like a fly once more.

"Stop trying to work your little charms! That shit doesn't work with me." The chipmunk hissed, arms crossed in a huff.

"It didn't bother you at the lake. You used to laugh…"

"You have a girlfriend." She retorted, "Have some Chaos dammed respect."

"You tell that to Scourge too? When he whisked you away to fairy-fucking-princess land!"

"Just get the hell out!"

"Is there something going on between the two of you?" Sonic's voice began to crack with rage, gripping her forearms tightly so she couldn't back away.

"Why does it matter!? You have a girlfriend!"

" **SO DOES HE!** "

"Just leave Sonic." The chipmunk shook her head, fighting back tears of frustration. "I don't want to see you ever again. I can't stand you! I fucking **HATE** you!"

"You hate me? Well guess what…" He followed his words with a hard and forceful kiss, shoving her into the wall behind her. Her eyes widened in shock as she tried to process what he had just done. All she could think about was his pink girlfriend murdering her a hundred different ways. Before she could find the strength to shove him off, he pulled himself away.

"I hate you too Sally." He finished before angrily stomping out of the room, leaving a breathless Sally sliding down the wall to the floor.

She touched her fingers to her lips, still in shock over the sudden and confusing impulsive move. When Scourge surprise-kissed her, she was more shocked than pleased, but with the blue hedgehog it was the other way around. She shuddered at her thoughts, quickly reaching over to her phone to dial a number. She got the voicemail again for the thousandth time, opting to talk to it instead of the person she called for. Then she gathered her things and scurried off to the showers, intent on washing away the frustrations of today.

Little did she know someone lurked in that room with them, watching the whole ordeal unfold. From inside the closet, peeking out the shutters with a satisfied grin was Fiona Fox.

* * *

 **Sorry for the wait! I had to go back and edited a ton of the old chapters and clean up a few simple grammar errors. I also noticed my computer continuously auto-corrected Cassia into Cassie. My apologies!**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was specifically to introduce some of the new students, and their connections to the already known cast, and also to explore some new possible relationship/drama routes.**

 **There's a lot of foreshadowing and history hints behind characters in this chapter. ;)**

 **Fun Question: Do you think Blaze should tell Sonic that Amy slept with Scourge?**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Knuckles x Rouge, and Sonic x Amy are seemingly on the brink of destruction, but only one will come out on top**

 **Tails must finally confront the situation of his civil love triangle. Who will he choose?**

 **Julie-Su slips further and further down a dark whole in her abusive relationship**

 **With the help of a complete stranger, Mighty finally comes to terms with letting one of his siblings go**

 **And so much more!**


	27. Chapter 27

**WARNING: Sexually suggestive scenes, homophobia, domestic violence, child endangerment, a brief mention of decapitation and severed limbs.**

* * *

 **Chapter 27: Tangled**

"Cream, what's wrong?" Tails asked, a concerned expression on his face as he took a seat beside the upset rabbit in the auditorium.

The two were in the same drama class. Both of them only knew each other in this class, so they always sat together, far away from the other kids. Standing atop the wooden stage was their drama teacher Ms. Rosie Woodchuck, who also happened to be the school librarian. She held a skull prop in her hand as she recited a few lines from their latest reading.

The room was dimly lit, but Tails could make out the sad frown that occupied the cream-colored rabbit's face. She stared at her feet, clutching her orange dress in her lap as she thought about Ray, and how horrid he must feel.

"I feel like a jerk." She mumbled.

"You? A jerk?" Tails chuckled. "That's a laugh! Cream, you're one of the kindest, and most caring people I've ever known! Why would you think that?"

"My friend Ray has feelings for me…"

"The shaky squirrel kid who doesn't talk? He's a nice guy. Shouldn't that be a good thing?"

" **NO!** " She yelped, turning to him with light brown eyes glossed over in tears. "It's not a good thing. I rejected him, and now he hates me."

"Why would you go and do something like that?" He asked, brows furrowed in confusion. From what he could tell, the squirrel was a decent guy, and Cream seemed to enjoy talking about him.

"Because…" She murmured, no longer able to keep her feelings bottled up. "Because I'm in love with you Tails." She looked over to him, an immense blush on her face, and a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

The fox's breath hitched in his throat as his eyes widened in shock. If it were anyone else, they wouldn't have been surprised in the slightest, but he himself had no idea she felt like this.

"Are you…Are you serious Cream? You like me…like, like me?" He stammered, a deep blush on his own face.

"Yes." She nodded, dropping a few light tears. "Ray is a nice person, and very sweet, but I just want you Tails. I have for a long time now, but I know you're in love with Fiona—"

"What? **WHO TOLD YOU THAT?!** " Tails shouted, flabbergasted by the statement.

"Mr. Prower, hush." The woodchuck teacher shushed him.

"Amy told me after the Halloween party." The rabbit sighed sorrowfully.

"I'm not in love with her." He shook his head, putting a hand to the rabbit's cheek. She looked up at him, his blue eyes shimmering in the dimmest lighting. "Honestly Cream, I have no idea what I want right now."

* * *

"So where do we go from here?" Sonia asked in a soft whisper as she ran her fingers through her bed occupant's red-striped black quills.

"Wherever you want." He whispered back, planting another light kiss on her neck. "It's your call."

It had been a few days since their encounter in the bathroom, where he claimed that he'd care for her unlike any other. Since then, they'd been doing this, coming back to his dorm when Manic was out doing band stuff with Mina to just lay comfortably in his bed. They cuddled, enjoying each other's presence with the occasional kiss or two.

Never in her wildest dreams did she ever imagine him to be the one to pick up the pieces of her heart, or to be the one she laid with, and the one calling her beautiful every day. His energy was dark, but not evil or cruel like one would expect. He caressed her gently, kissed her softly, and whispered words of romance. For someone with eyes full of such hate, he was so loving, attentive, and compassionate.

"What if where I wanna go is dangerous?" She asked, averting her eyes from his crimson gaze.

"I'm all in either way." He smiled, "I meant what I said Sonia. I will care for you…"

"If Manic and Sonic find out, you're dead."

"If Rouge finds out, you're dead."

"So what do we do?" She asked sorrowfully, "I don't want my brothers to freak out, and Rouge and I just got over this stupid feud."

"We'll tell them when the time is right." He assured her before pressing his lips against hers.

* * *

Rotor sat on one of the benches in the boy's locker room, eyes fixed on the ground and an uncomfortable glow to his cheeks. He sighed heavily, trying his best to keep his eyes averted from the plethora of manhood surrounding him. He had his head in his locker, pretending to look for his laces as he waited for the other boys to file out of the room.

Being in the locker room was a nightmare for him. He felt like a fish in a shark tank. Being gay in a male locker room wasn't awkward in the slightest, but being in the closet made it a miserable time. He was afraid somehow they could sense the gay in him, and might freak out on him.

"Rotor, are you alright?" A voice called out.

He poked his head out of his locker for a split second to see Cobar the Echidna, headliner of the LGBT committee standing before him in nothing but a thin white towel. The echidna smiled warmly at him, making the walrus' blush a bit more visible.

"Uh, Hi Cobar." He stammered shyly, "I'm doing just fine. Forgot where I put my laces that's all…"

"Hey look it's that faggot!" Someone shouted, making Rotor's heart jump. Then a shoe struck Cobar in the head, pushing him into the lockers he was leaning on. Rotor reached out to him with concern as he rubbed his head, wincing in pain.

"Come for a show homo?" A green hawk called out from a few benches over.

"I came to change, just like everyone else." Cobar replied calmly.

"You faggots are always up to some gay shit." The hawk snarled. Rotor recognized him to be Jet the Hawk, another famous asshole.

"I believe your statement is invalid, and highly recommend you do some research." The echidna shot back in a sophisticated manner that made Jet's blood boil.

"You callin' me dumb?" The hawk yelped, grabbing the echidna by the neck and slamming him face first into the lockers. "Stupid faggot."

"Leave him alone!" Rotor shouted, shoving the hawk away from the defenseless echidna.

"What, you a faggot too or something?" The bird growled, attention now turned to Rotor.

"No, I… **NO!** " Rotor stuttered in panic.

Just before Jet could lay into him with a long speech about how homosexuality is disgusting the door to the locker room swung open and in came Coach Sleuth. He looked angry, more so than usual. "Enough fiddle-fucking-around in here! Gym started ten minutes ago! You all owe me three extra laps around campus. Now, let's get it moving ladies!"

Rotor helped Cobar off the floor, a sorrowful expression on his face at seeing the echidna's swollen forehead.

"I'm sorry Cobar." The walrus apologized, for what he wasn't sure.

"Don't be." The echidna smiled, "Intolerance is one of the trivial things I have to deal with for being openly homosexual. I'm used to it."

"You shouldn't have to be. Sexuality shouldn't determine how others treat you."

"Yeah, well that's the society we live in." Cobar sighed before putting a kind hand on Rotor's shoulder, making his heart do flips. "But it's kind people like you that make it all worth it."

* * *

 _' "Don't hit my mama!" I cried angrily as my father loomed over my knocked down mother. When his angry gaze found me I cowered. He never struck me, but there were times I feared he might._

 _"Stay out of this you good for nothing brat." He spat, pointing toward the door. "Get out. This is between me and your whore of a mother." He yanked her off the floor by grabbing a fist full of her quills, causing a blood curdling scream to escape her._

 _"Mama." I whimpered._

 _"Amy, just go." She begged, tears making her makeup run._

 _I shook my head, refusing to leave. I was so afraid that if I did he'd kill her. Papa was furious, he flung her across the room before stomping over to me, taking hold of my quills. I cried out in terror as he swung the door open and threw me to the wet grassy lawn. I sat up to get a glimpse of my terrified mother as he slammed the door shut._

 _I was eight. I should have been used to it by then. Things like that happened many a time. They'd argue, fight, and toss me out. My presence only seemed to be an inconvenience._

 _Mama loved me, but she loved Papa more. I never understood why, he hurt us so much. Whenever I asked her why we couldn't run away like Rob she'd give me the same old speech._

 _"I took an oath to stand by your father through the good and bad. The spirits led me to him. I love him very much, and when you love someone, you can't give up. One day you'll understand. The spirits will show you the way, and whoever that is, you must abide by their wishes. Even if it hurts."_

 _I always thought her fortunetelling was bullshit, and that she was crazy like all the kids at school used to say, but then I met him. My destiny._

 _That day it was raining hard. The sky was a mucky gray color, and water poured down from the sky like bullets. I was soaked, shivering as I sat on the curb with nothing but my orange skirt and green blouse. I cried to myself as I listened to the faint cries of my mother, glass shattering, and angry grunts of my father._

 _My ears picked up on wet footsteps, coaxing me to pick my head up. My eyes widened in surprise as I saw him standing before me. A blue hedgehog with lime-colored eyes. It was the boy from down the street, the one the neighbors called 'Little Hero'. It was Sonic._

 _He looked terrified. Later I found out he had an intense fear of water, but he had come to my rescue anyway._

 _He handed me his green umbrella. "What the hell are you doing out here Little Amy?" He scolded me._

 _"I…I…" I couldn't speak, I was too starstruck by the fact that he was talking to me! Before that day it was just 'hi' and 'goodbye', but there he was, coming to my rescue._

 _"Whatever." He shook his head, desperately wanting to get out of the rain. "Just hurry up and get inside before you catch a cold!" He spoke fast before he scurried off back to his house._

 _I watched him run off, my face blushing madly as I felt the warmth of my heart burn brighter. I knew right then and there that I was in love. That he was my destiny._

 _The spirits had led me to him, Sonic the Hedgehog.'_

" **SONIC!** " Amy squealed, lunging at the blue hedgehog from behind with a tightly-gripped hug.

"This doesn't surprise me much anymore." Sonic chuckled, turning around to see exactly who he assumed it would be. "Hey Ames." He smiled, before letting it drop into a slight frown.

"I've been missing you." She whined, kissing him lovingly.

"Yeah, same here." He shifted his gaze uncomfortably to the floor. "Listen Amy, we should talk about…us and stuff."

"Can it wait?" She groaned, leaping into his arms as she locked her legs around his waist.

The two were standing in the stairwell of the boy's dorm. He was just on his way back to his room when she surprised him. She kissed him again, this time longer and more intimately, forcing a blush on his face.

He wanted to talk about calling things off before he ended up hurting her like Antoine had predicted. He kissed Glasses-Girl yesterday, and he was feeling so guilty about it. The blue hedgehog had no intention of doing it, but he did. He loved Amy, she was his rock, his number one fan, and he didn't want to gamble on losing all that with this relationship anymore.

"No, it can't wait Amy." He murmured through her persistent kisses.

"Pretty please?" She begged, trailing her lips to his neck.

He knew what she was insulating, and he knew the right thing to do was to resist, but at the end of the day he's only as resistant as a teenage boy possibly could be. He sucked his teeth in frustration before he began returning her lustful kisses as he carried her up the stairs to his dorm.

"I guess." He sighed.

* * *

"Nicole, I think we should go out. No that's dumb. Nicole, I have feelings for you. No, no that's wrong." Espio paced back and forth between the secluded desks at the library as he rehearsed his speech for the lynx girl. "Nicole—"

"Yes?" The lynx girl questioned as she appeared out of the blue, causing him to jump in fright.

His fear subsided at the sight of her, but his heart continued to beat rapidly anyway. The two of them had spent quite a lot of time together, and he felt that there was a possibility of more than friendship. The chameleon isn't one for beating around the bush, or being so nervous. He's usually the clam, collected, and blunt one, but Nicole made him feel like mush.

Her bright smile illumined the vacant dark depths of his heart. Her jade eyes sparkled like actual jewels, and her laughter was like the sweetest of music. The lynx saw the possibility of good in anything, even after all the cruelty she had endured, she somehow managed to come out of it with a smile.

He adored her kind nature. To him it was bliss. Before meeting her he never knew a heart could be so pure in a world so cold.

"I didn't see you there." He smiled shyly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Sorry to frighten you." She giggled, clasping her hands behind her back as she batted her eyelashes cutely. "You said you needed to speak with me about something urgent?"

"Um, yes." He nodded, a slight blush on his face.

There was a long silence between them as he studied her carefully. She was an innocent kind of beauty. Not a runway model, or a playboy covergirl. She was average, cute, and innocent. She had her own special charm to her, something he adored to almost no end. Even with her choppy short hair, and healing bruises, she was still the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his life.

"Well…?" She sang, ushering him to continue.

"Sorry." He apologized, "This is just, kind of hard for me."

"What is it Espio?" She asked, now voice full of concern. "You can tell me anything…"

"Well, it's just….We've been good friends for quite a while now, and I feel as though…"

"Have a done something to upset you? Do you not wish to be friends anymore? Espio I—"

"No! Nothing like that." He assured her, waving his hands frantically in dismissal. "Nicole…I like you."

"I like you too Espio." She smiled innocently, completely oblivious to his meaning.

"No, I mean…I like you. Romantically." He corrected himself.

"What? Me?" She questioned in shock, pointing to herself as he nodded in confirmation.

She thought to herself about him, how she felt towards him. A blush formed on her face, accompanied by a warm smile as she thought of a future for them. He was kind, caring, and quiet-natured. She adored his patience and understanding. If there ever was the perfect guy for her, it would be him.

"I'm honored, really. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have those feelings for you as well…" She mumbled shyly, digging her foot into the floor as she stared at her feet.

"Thank Chaos." He breathed a sigh of relief, "I called you here to ask if you'd be my girlfriend Nicole." He whispered, cupping her face in his hands to look up at him. Unconsciously, the gap between their lips began to close as they both tilted their heads and closed their eyes.

"Yes Espio. I would like that very much." She whispered just before their lips met.

Just as they pulled apart, their eyes caught sight of a familiar figure standing across from them. Nicole gasped as Espio grumbled under his breath at the sight of Shard, glaring at them both with a hateful expression before darting off.

* * *

"C'mon, can't I just stay a little longer?" Manic groaned as Mina forced his shirt back over his head.

"Nope." She shook her head with a giggle, helping him into his sleeves. "I've got class, and then I've got a rehearsal with the school drama club."

"Will you at least come to my dorm party tomorrow?" The green hedgehog groaned.

"You know I can't." She huffed, pulling her skirt back up. "Remember our privacy policy?"

"Sneaking around is so tiresome! Why can't we just let everyone know already? Sure people will be upset, but they'll get over it. Everyone got over Beyonce not being a single lady anymore!"

"It's not that simple." The lavender-haired beauty sighed.

"Why can't the whole world know I love you?"

"Love?" She looked back at him, "Manic, seriously we can't. Now leave! Nicole should be back any minute."

"Fine." The hedgehog sighed in defeat before walking back over to her to press his lips against hers one more time. "Call me when you're not busy I guess."

"Later." She smiled, waving him out the door.

He looked back at her and smiled before opening the door. Just before he could step out of the room, he tripped on something and face planted into the floor. He sat up, holding his nose as he winced in pain. Mina ran over, noticing a small box on the floor by her door. She picked it up in her hands, examining it for a name. In the top left corner it said _'From Shard, To Nicole.'_

"Dammit that hurt!" Manic whined, getting up from the floor to look over her shoulder at the box. "Whose it from?" He asked.

"Just a fan." She shrugged, hastily shutting the door. "Go! Before someone sees you."

"Alright, alright." He grumbled, pulling out his cellphone to text Shadow.

 ** _Manic:_** _Yo! Up for that beer run?_

 ** _Shadow:_** _Can't. Being forced to show my brother around campus today. Kill me._

 ** _Manic:_** _Sure, whatever._

 ** _Shadow:_** _?_

The green hedgehog had almost forgotten he met Shadow's younger brother. He did his best to push it out of his mind, but for some reason it was really bothering him.

Mina took a seat on her bed, the box firmly planted in her lap. She eyed the door before looking back to the small brown box, curiosity poking at her brain. Nicole must have been running late, because she hadn't yet returned.

The mongoose hadn't heard from Shard since the outburst in the meeting. She's sent him many apologetic letters, but he's never once returned them. Whenever she saw him in the halls he'd just turn the other way. All she wanted to do was apologize to him for everything.

What could he possibly need to send Nicole that he couldn't give to her in person? The question weighed heavily in the mongoose's head until she found herself cutting the tape off and opening the cardboard flaps. Her eyes widened as the sight of its contents nearly left her breathless!

She pulled out the tiny black box with an inner lining of red velvet. Resting comfortably on the velvet holder was a beautiful necklace of strung-together opal beads that almost glowed. It was gorgeous! An absolute treasure that would send Rouge into cardiac arrest.

Mina pulled the necklace from the box, holding it up to her own neck as she imagined what it would look like on herself. She knew she shouldn't but she just had to try it on. As she sat up to look for a mirror, the box fell from her lap, dropping a blue card to the floor. The card caught her eye instantly, coaxing her to lean over and pick it up. She examined both sides of it before opening it up to see a long and beautiful message that left her just as breathless as the necklace.

 _Dear Nicole,_

 _Since the first day I met you, I've always felt something so much more than what I lead on. Your kind nature, your hopefulness, and your innocence; it's all so not me, but I love it. Everything about you is perfect. I'm the furthest thing from that. In fact, I'm scum and I know it, but you make me want to better anyway. I've written this over and over again for the last three days, but finding all the right words is hard. I'm not used to this kind of thing, romancing isn't one of my strong suits, but here I go diving head first into the unknown for you._

 _These beads were my mother's. My father crafted them himself for her. She died giving birth to me during harsh conditions in DigItaly. The last time I saw my father he gave them to me, and told me to give them to someone truly special. I know you can no longer wear them in your hair, so I went to the Master Emerald jewelry store and had the owner string them into a necklace that you could wear always._

 _What I'm trying to say is, you are special to me, because I'm in love you Nicole._

The mongoose quickly closed the card and hid it behind her back along with the beautiful beaded-necklace. The door to her room had just creaked open, and Nicole had walked in with a sorrowful look.

"Nicole?" Mina questioned, "Are you okay?"

"No." She sighed, "I feel that I have just caused great harm to Shard."

"What? How?"

"Espio asked me to be his significant other, and I accepted."

"That's great news!" Mina scoffed, "Why would that make Shard upset?"

"Because I think he may have feelings for me as well…" The lynx mumbled, plopping down on her bed.

"Shard? Yeah right! Now there's a guy who can't be tamed." The mongoose chuckled, shoving the necklace and card underneath her pillow as she kicked the cardboard box underneath her bed.

* * *

Tails sighed heavily as he took a seat way in the back of the library, where he and Cosmo usually sat after classes. The seedrian had been running late, so it was just him for a while. He looked down at his shoes, thinking about Cream's confession this morning. To be honest, he's never seen her in a romantic light. The thought just never crossed his mind, until she put it in his head that is.

His only romantic experience was that one night at the hotel with Fiona, and that's hardly the appropriate term for it. His quest for mutual love with the vixen only left his heart in ruins. The thought of putting Cream in a similar positon made him mortified. He didn't want to hurt her, yet at the same time he was too afraid to pursue romance in general. That last heartache was enough to completely repulse him to the idea forever.

The only saving grace was that he got to meet Cosmo through his heartbreak journey, and how she had the ability to mend his wounds almost entirely. Sonic had been right about Cream having a crush on him, he wondered if the hedgehog might be right about the seedrian's crush as well. If so, he was in for a load of trouble.

His thoughts were finally casted aside when the green-haired girl made her appearance known, pulling out the chair beside him as she set books down on the table. She offered him a warm smile, but the fox's eyes were locked on the stitches imbedded in her head. A wave of sorrow washed over him as he remembered the vixen striking her, and how enraged he was by the action.

"It'll get better soon." Cosmo giggled, poking her stitches with a finger.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Tails yelped, "I didn't mean to stare." He added nervously.

"Is everything okay Tails?" She asked with concern, "You seem…distraught."

He thought about lying, telling her that he was fine, but he knew better. He sighed in defeat, knowing full well that she could tell something was wrong.

"You can read me like a book can't you?" He chuckled lightly.

"One of my favorite books." She smiled sheepishly, "So what's the matter?"

"Cream told me something this morning. She said she liked me…" He mumbled, staring at his feet again.

Cosmo became visibly uncomfortable, a little saddened that she didn't have the courage to tell him how she felt first. Her worst fear was that she might have lost her chance.

"Isn't that good?" The seedrian asked half-heartedly, "I mean, don't you like her too?"

"It's not that simple Cosmo." Tails groaned in frustration, "Especially because I know you like me too."

"You know? How?" She gasped, clasping both hands over her blushing face.

"So you do…" He whispered, remembering Sonic's accusations.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize for how you feel."

"I don't mean to put you in such a positon, especially after your ordeal with Fiona. I know you must still feel—"

"I don't." The fox growled, "I feel nothing for that girl. Because of her, I don't feel anything at all..."

"Tails…"

"I'm sorry. It's just….I'm afraid to put my heart back out there. It took so long just to feel better."

"I can wait Tails." She smiled, taking his hands in hers so he looked over to her. "I'll wait until you're ready."

"What about Cream? She likes me too…"

"I know she'll understand." Cosmo nodded, "We both care greatly for you, and wish you the best on whatever you decide to do."

"Thank you Cosmo." He smiled, pulling her into a warm hug. "Thank you for always being there for me."

* * *

Once again, the gang of rebels littered the interior of Scourge's car, passing cigarettes and chugging booze. Scourge sat in the driver's seat, grip tight on the wheel as they sat in the parking lot. Seeing Geoffrey again arose many unresolved feelings within him, feelings Mephiles could not see through as he glared intently at the green hedgehog with great interest from the backseat. Beside the dark hedgehog sat Rosy, legs kicked up on the back of Scourge's chair as she sank down with a beer bottle pressed to her lips. In the passenger seat sat Fiona, blowing smoke out the window as she thought of her upcoming visitation.

"Man I can't believe Geoffrey's here now too!" The pink hedgehog in the back snarled.

"Chaos, will you shut the fuck up about him?!" Scourge shouted angrily, turning back in his chair to raise a hand to the annoying pink girl. She was unfazed by his threatening hand, sticking her middle finger at him before he turned around.

"Who's Geoffrey?" Mephiles questioned, greatly interested by both hedgehog's reactions to the name.

"Some loser from grade school." Fiona rolled her eyes, "Who the hell cares? Never could stand the guy. Anyways, what are we gonna do tomorrow night?" The vixen changed the subject.

"I just want to get my drink on." Rosy pouted.

"As usual." Mephiles chuckled at how she poked out her bottom lip like a child, "A little party back at our dorm sounds fun, don't you think Scourge?"

"Sure whatever." The green hedgehog grumbled, mind clearly elsewhere.

"Sounds cool I guess." The red fox smirked, "I'd say we could chill in my dorm since it's a lot cleaner, but my slutty ass roommate might have another visitor tonight."

Scourge's ear immediately twitched at the mention, his attention being summoned back from wherever the hell it was. He turned back to Fiona, who was applying some maroon-colored lipstick.

"I don't think I've ever met your roommate before." Rosy scratched her cheek, "What does she look like?"

"Ugly as all sin." Mephiles shuddered. "Bug-eyed creature dressed in oversized bags."

"Really?" The pink hedgehog laughed, while Scourge's blood boiled in the seat before her. The whole time Mephiles eyed the green hedgehog, hoping to see him explode in a frenzy of emotion, but he was not moved.

"Mhm." Fiona agreed, "Ugly ass skank. You'll never guess who I saw her fucking around with though."

"Oh my Chaos who?!" Rosy jittered excitedly.

"The slut was totally getting manhandled by that loser Sonic." The vixen laughed, "What a slut right? He's got a girlfriend too. I think her name is Amy Rose, if any of you know her." She added, glaring at Scourge in the driver's seat.

His eyes were fixed on the floor, and he tried his best to not give Mephiles the satisfaction of a horrid reaction. On the outside he didn't seem too interested, but on the inside he was fuming with an almost uncontrollable rage the likes of which no one could possibly fathom.

"Ah yes, Little Ms. Rose." Mephiles cooed with a grin, "We've got math with her. Really sweet girl, really eager to learn…" His hideous eyes trailed over to Scourge, who glared at him through the rearview mirror.

"Ugh, not that bitch." Rosy rolled her eyes, "I swear that chick is so dick-whipped that her boyfriend's cock is imprinted on her fucking face. She makes me sick."

"I know right?" Fiona laughed, "But none of you go telling anyone alright? This is a scoop Nack would pay big bucks for. So keep your traps shut."

* * *

"Girl you look a mess." Rouge commented, strutting into her pink friend's room unannounced.

"Sorry." Amy giggled, pulling the sheets over her naked torso. "Sonic just left. You know how it is."

"I used to." The bat huffed angrily, taking a seat on Blaze's empty bed.

"What are you talking about?" The pink hedgehog asked, rolling over to her stomach as she eyed Rouge from her bed. "You and Knuckles are perfect!"

"Yeah, if perfect is a sexless, argumentative explosion." The beautiful senior pouted, crossing her arms. "We haven't had sex in almost a week. Shit, he barely even looks at me nowadays!"

"You don't think he's straying to someone else do you?"

"I don't know, but if he is I'll kill 'em both."

"Rouge…"

"Things are just so different now Amy. You don't understand. We used to be so inseparable when we started. The other day he went off in my dorm, kicking me and Little Ms. Perfect out to…"

"To what?" Amy questioned, fully invested in the gossip.

That's when the gears in Rouge's head started turning, and a metaphorical lightbulb went off in her head. She sat up, eyes widening in realization of a horrid scenario. Amy gave her a perplexed look, sitting up from her laying down position.

"Rouge?!" The pink hedgehog whined, waving a hand in front of the bat's face. "What the hell is up? Like, hello!"

"Julie-Fucking-Su." The bat breathed before being taken over by immense anger.

* * *

Knuckles skidded around a corner, finally catching a glimpse of the pink echidna putting books in her locker. He rushed over to her in a frenzy, pulling her shoulder to meet her gaze.

"Julie, I'm so sorry about what happened. I wasn't thinking. It didn't mean anything I swear. I was just—"

"I know." She cut him off, slamming her locker shut and continuing her walk down the hall without looking at him. He followed her, even after the clear attempt at trying to brush him off.

"Did you tell him?" The red echidna asked, worry evident in his voice.

"Worried about Rouge finding out?" The pink echidna asked through clenched teeth.

"No." He replied, tugging her forearm to turn her to face him. "I'm worried about what he'd do to you."

"No Knuckles, I didn't tell him. I'm not telling anyone. It was nothing."

"Right." He nodded, "But seriously Julie…I'm losing my mind here. I can't sleep knowing he's the one you'll have to spend the rest of your life with. I'm worried he might—"

"I'm getting married over vacation. I can worry about myself, thanks."

"Look at you. You sound like a battered wife. This isn't a game Julie. If you think he actually loves you than you're an idiot."

"He does." She snapped, turning back to glare at him.

"Love doesn't hurt Julie!" He scolded, losing his temper.

"Then you must really hate me." She remarked bitterly before stepping away from his face.

"Please Julie-Su." He begged, grabbing hold of her arm before she could run off. "I just want to help you."

"I don't need your help." She growled, yanking her arm away from him. The echidna girl proceeded to walk away, only for him to holler something that made the color drain from her face.

"If you don't want my help, fine! But I'll call someone we both know won't let this shit slide."

She quickly whirled herself around, stomping back over to him, and poking a sharp finger to his chest. "Don't you dare tell him!"

"If you won't help yourself…I know he will…"

"Knuckles—"

"Babe!" Thrash called out from down the hall.

They both turned their heads to see a very displeased purple devil beckoning her in his direction. She looked back to Knuckles, and he swore he could see terror in her eyes before she pulled away and left down the hall. He balled his fists as he wallowed in anguish, watching her scurry off with the one abusing her.

* * *

Mighty paced his dorm room back and forth, babbling in frustration to the secretary of Child Services on the other line. Espio and Charmy were off somewhere on campus, leaving him alone to make several useless phone calls.

"Please, if I can just talk to someone above Clove and Cassia—" The secretary only continued to cut off his ramblings with the same lecture on how no one else was available, "You don't understand I'm about to lose my kids—" The call ended, making him scream out in frustration and chuck the phone.

The poor armadillo sat back down on his bed, running his hands over his head as he did his best to stay calm. This school year proved to be nothing but problem after problem. His fairytale of finally having his own family was tearing at the seams, and he could do nothing.

In the midst of his meditation a knock sounded on the door. He picked his head up from his hands and looked to see a rabbit girl enter his room. She wore high-waisted cut off shorts, a purple crop top, and brown cowboy boots with a matching hat and jacket. Her blonde hair fell in two long braids down her back, and her purple eyeshadow was quite vibrant, making her green eyes appear so bold.

"Howdy." She smiled warmly, exposing the deep dimples of her cheeks. The southern belle was stunning. Even her voice gave off a pretty vibe.

"Bunnie? From drama class?" Mighty questioned from where he sat, "What are you doing here?"

"Sorry to be so intrusive Sugah. I just came to talk." She apologized before taking a seat next to him on his bed. Her smile quickly fell into a slight frown. "I heard about Matilda. I wanted to see how you were holdin' up."

"How do you know my sister?"

"She was my foster sister for a long time." The rabbit chuckled sweetly, "Cute little critter, really. Uncle Beau used to call her Little Dream Chaser, because she was always running off to find you—"

"If this is some sneaky attempt at getting me to sign her over to him then you can forget it and get the hell out!" The armadillo jumped up angrily, cutting her off mid-sentence.

"Relax Sugah, I'm no snake." She assured him, ushering him to sit back down.

"Then why did you come here really?" He asked suspiciously, "We've barely ever said a word to each other before."

"Truth is, I actually came to show you somethin'." The southern belle sighed before standing up and undoing the button of her shorts. Mighty's eyes went wide before he quickly shut them and waved his hands frantically as she yanked her shorts down.

" **WHAT ARE YOU** —" He peaked through his fingers, only to notice that her legs….weren't real. They were animatronics. She looked ashamed as she pulled her shorts back over her waist and buttoned up. A sorrowful frown edged its way onto the armadillo's face before he looked up at her again. "What happened to you?"

"I was nine." She sighed, plopping back down beside him on the yellow-sheeted bed. "My best friend had just moved away to Moebius, and I was so depressed. I didn't feel like celebrating my birthday, but my parents insisted. They took me out for a wonderful day of shopping, and bought me my first pair of dance shoes. I've always dreamed of becoming a dancer since I was small. I remember wearing my shoes on the ride home. They were these little black slip ons, cute as a button. I had almost forgot my sorrows until…" Her voice trailed off, as she looked to the floor with a pained expression.

"Until what?" Mighty breathed, captivated by the cliffhanger.

"A drunk driver. He collided headfirst with our car." She clenched her fists, fighting back bitter tears. "They say both my parents were decapitated instantly. I was catapulted through the windshield, sent flying eighty feet in the air. I swore I could touch the clouds. I thought I died too, and that I was flying my way to heaven, but then I crash landed on the gravel road. Both my legs were shattered to pieces. Paramedics said my arm never made it with me, and that they found it pinned to the windshield. I thought I'd never dance again." She pulled off her brown jacket to reveal her left arm to be robotic as well.

"So how? How can you be so happy?" The armadillo asked.

"It's all thanks to Uncle Beau." She smiled, "I was bed ridden for months, occupational therapy was a struggle, and I had made more than three attempts on my own life; the last one cuttin' it really close. I was miserable. I felt like all my dreams had been taken away, like there was no point in going on. I was orphaned, broken, and my spirit was slowly dying. Then Uncle Beau got word of the accident a month or two later, and quickly came to get me. He saved my life Mighty. That man gave me back my dreams."

"How did he do it? Please, tell me." Mighty begged, taking Bunnie by the shoulders. "I want to save Tilly."

"He pulled me out of the hospital, gave me a loving home, and these nifty one-of-a-kind prosthetics." She smiled, flexing her robotic fingers to demonstrate their use. "He's an engineer, and Aunt Lulumae is a neurosurgeon. He built the prosthetics, and she surgically attached them to my nervous system, making them just as useful as the real thing. Sometimes I forget they're not real myself. Uncle Beau breathed new life into me, he gave me a second chance, and I know he'd do the same for Matilda."

"He'd…He'd really do that for her?"

"Of course Sugah." Bunnie smiled, "He loves that girl more than words could say. Of all the foster kids he took in, she was always his special one."

"How could I just give her away?" The armadillo shook his head, "I love her…"

"It's because that love Mighty…" The rabbit slung an arm around his shoulders. "You'll be giving her a chance to be happy again. Uncle Beau has no intention of ripping you two apart. You can see her anytime. He has no ill will towards you, he just wants to save her life…"

"What about me?" He asked, turning to face her with tears. "Matilda and Ray…they're my life."

* * *

 _'Her name was Alicia the Chipmunk, but most referred to her as Queen Alicia. An orphan from the slums. She grew up in the projects on the bad end of Mobotropolis. An overzealous brawler with a disciplinary record longer than the eye could see. How I landed being her best friend is a mystery._

 _She was known for her bluntness, and her attitude. Especially her physical feuds. Although rebellious, she never harmed the weak. The only ones she aimed to knock down were the authority figures. Everyone loved her for the way she protected those who couldn't protect themselves. She gave the little people a voice when they were too afraid to stand up to bullies with titles; like the principal's right hand, Clove the Pronghorn._

 _Her freedom fighter attitude, and vigilantism is what earned her the title of Queen Alicia._

 _She ruled the school with an iron fist, but a good-nature. She's always been such a paradox. So intimidating, yet so alluring. Aside from her questionable actions, everything about her was beautiful, and everyone at school was head over heels for her, no question._

 _Even I was starstruck._

 _I've always felt like there was something more to us than just goof friends. The atmosphere between us, the sarcastic banter, and the way we could tell each other anything; it was all just too right. I never could tell if she felt the same, but I always had a feeling she did._

 _Too bad I was an idiotic teenager. Something always held me back from telling her how I felt. Pride? Nervousness? Fear of rejection? I'm not really sure._

 _Sometimes I wonder what life would be like if I had chosen her over Lara-Le, or if she had chosen me instead of pursuing that scumbag…_

 _Maybe we both wouldn't be divorced, and we might actually even be happy._

 _My father says it's never too late, because no matter how long time has passed true love never fades…._

 _I wonder if he's right…'_

Locke sighed heavily, sitting at his desk alone as he opened the top drawer and pulled out a beautiful gold ring with a large white diamond imbedded in the center. He smiled to himself, thinking of the chestnut-haired woman.

"I can't wait to finally have her. The one I've always wanted." He mused, examining the ring. "I should probably tell Knuckles first though…"

* * *

 **That about wraps up this chapter! Poor Tails, he just wants to give his heart a break, but he has no idea what awaits him and his adoptive family.**

 **Oh Principal Acorn, such a fierce wild card in her days, how she ended up where she is today will be explored eventually. I'm surprised no one has been a skeptic about her low key growing relationship with Locke. Adults have drama too ya'know, and it will play a huge role in a few chapters.**

 **Bunnie and her parents were the victims of a car accident back when she was nine, just after Sally moved away. Her parents died, and half her body was lost, but she has overcome the many challenges she faced as a handicap with the help of her uncle and aunt.**

 **Review Replies**

 **Mimi Good: It's good to read one of your hilarious reviews! Missed them a lot. As for a relationship update...let's save that for after next chapter, because it's really gonna make and break some people...again.**

 **Wavetty: Thanks! I was always afraid people might hate my quick updates, but I'm glad to hear someone appreciates it. Don't worry, all of your questions will be answered sooner or later!**

 **TheHunterPersian: Thanks for the review, I'm glad the story has you so interested, and I hope you appreciated the Espio scene this chapter. I don't really have much planned for Vector or Charmy at this point, but they will appear every now and again.**

 **Lenny: I never could stand high school fics either. They were always the same predictable thing, 99% of the time revolving around perfect Amy dating perfect Sonic, with a perfect ending. I just got tired of the same old thing and tried my hand at redefining a high school drama. Here nothing is perfect, no one is better than anyone, and no couple is safe.**

 **BlazeofVenus: I've got so many of you on edge with this Scourge/Manic situation lol...Maybe next chapter...you'll get more clues! **

**Twotailedfox: This next chapter will not disappoint with the drama and unraveled secrets. It'll be a huge game changer.**

 **Thanks so much for all the reviews you guys! Lately I've been feelin' like total garbage and a lot less motivated than when I started, but these reviews and PMs really fuel my drive. I'm glad you guys have stuck around, and appreciate you new comers all the same! Leave a review and let me know how you liked the chapter, and who has you the most interested at the moment!**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy**

 **Amy has a unpleasant run in with her old best friend**

 **Sonia and Shadow venture on their dangerous game**

 **Sonic gives Tails some much needed advice...right before he's confronted by the devil...**

 **The dorm party leads to utter chaos where almost ALL secrets are outed, hearts are broken, and Manic loses it.**

 **Mephiles' plans are foiled, but he certainly does get the chaos and emotional readings he's so desperately craved.**

 **Sonic finally confronts Blaze...leading her to possibly make the hardest decision of her life.**


	28. Chapter 28

**WARNING: sexual scenes, mentions of homophobia, heavy drinking**

* * *

 **Chapter 28: Everybody Hates Manic**

"Oh my Chaos!" Sonia exclaimed, shoving the ebony hedgehog out of her bed, and waking him up from their blissful nap session. "Shadow! You've got to get out of here!"

"What?" He groaned, sitting up on the floor to rub the sore bump on his head.

"The girls are gonna be back any minute!" The magenta girl yelped.

Reality set in for both of them as they heard the familiar giggles of Rouge and Cream behind the door, and a jingling of keys. Shadow quickly sprung to his feet, now in alert mood. They both shuddered with terror, having only moments to think.

"Shit! They're back early!" Sonia shrieked in a whisper.

"What do I do?" Shadow asked, nearly tearing his quills out of his head.

"The window!" She pointed, before manually shoving him toward it.

"Sonia, we're on the second floor!" He scolded her, as the door behind them creaked open.

"I believe in you!" She yelped before shoving him out the window and shutting it. She then turned to greet the two girls with a nervous smile.

Thankfully Shadow had the displeasure of landing on one of the rose bushes lining the girl's dorm. He winced in pain as he felt his backside collide with a dozen pointy thorns. He laid sprawled out on the bush, breathing a relieved sigh as he stared at Sonia still standing by the window.

They'd been very secretive of their 'relationship'. He only wished that they didn't have to hide. All he wanted to do was be there all the time for her, and it annoyed him that he couldn't.

"When she said this would be dangerous, I didn't think she meant it literally." He groaned, rolling off the bush.

* * *

Sonic sat in his bed, running his hands through his quills as he breathed out in frustration. He thought about Amy, and how stupid it was for him to agree to sex when he was supposed to breakup with her. He'd made this a lot more complicated now.

"Sonic? You okay?" Tails asked, taking a seat by the blue hedgehog.

"Yeah, just a lot on my mind."

"You always say that." The fox sighed, "I wish you'd just talk to me."

"It's complicated Tails…"

"Believe me, I know complicated." The fox rolled his eyes, thinking back to the three girls occupying his heart. "You were right. Cosmo and Cream like me, but I'm still hurt about…Fiona." He admitted, looking over to his brother while expecting a verbal lashing.

To his surprise Sonic just put a comforting hand on his head, ruffling his golden hair. "This place is forcing you to grow up a lot sooner than I'd like Bud."

"I just…I don't know who to choose Sonic." Tails mumbled, "I don't want to hurt either of them. I don't know what the right thing to do here is. They're both so wonderful."

"Take it from me Tails, there is no right thing to do." The hedgehog replied bitterly, thinking of Blaze, Amy, and Glasses-Girl. "You'll end up hurting someone either way, maybe even losing someone for good, or hurting yourself. My advice, think long and hard about a decision like this, cause it'll make you…or completely break you."

Before the brothers could continue their heart-to-heart, the door to their dorm swung open, knocking things off of Tails' dresser. The fox rushed over to pick up the items before looking up to see the devil standing over him. Sonic glared at the green hedgehog before standing up from his bed.

"Out." Scourge growled, picking up Tails by the collar and tossing him out of the room like a ragdoll before shutting the door.

"Don't touch my fucking brother!" Sonic bellowed, sending an extra-aggressive punch to the malicious hedgehog's face. Surprisingly, Scourge didn't budge an inch, and took Sonic off guard with a right hook to the face. Then another with the left before grabbing a hold of the blue hedgehog's shirt and shoving him into the wall behind him.

"You still hit like a little bitch." The green hedgehog hissed in his ear. Sonic thrashed around violently, attempting to kick Scourge away, but to no avail.

"Fuck you! Get off!" Sonic growled, squirming around.

"You kissed her." Scourge breathed in an angry whisper, gripping Sonic's neck and slamming his head back once more. "I should fucking kill you."

"How do you know about that?" Sonic yelped, finally finding the strength to shove the green hedgehog away.

"Never mind how the fuck I know. You just better not go near her again." He warned, pointing an accusing finger at the blue teenager. "She's mine…"

"I'm sure Fiona would **LOVE** to hear that one."

"Worry about your own girl." Scourge retorted.

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"I'm sure she'd love to hear what you've been up to behind closed doors."

"You better not ever go near Amy."

"I only go as far as she lets me." The green hedgehog retorted, enjoying how stupid Sonic looked. He had no clue what the pink girl had done.

"What did you say?!"

"I mean it Blue." Scourge warned, turning to leave the room. "Stay the hell away from her." He added coldly before walking out.

Tails quickly ran back inside, hugging Sonic before looking up at his face to make sure he wasn't injured.

"Sonic what was that about?" The fox questioned.

"Just more bullshit to keep me up at night…"

* * *

Blaze waited patiently outside of Silver's science class as she often did. It was just too easy to get Mr. Ash into signing her out early. She leaned up against the lockers, awaiting his sulking frame to drag itself out the door after another horrid class with Dr. Robotnik. Finally the bell rang, and she spotted him walking out of the room, but not in his usual gloom-and-doom.

Today he was as chipper as one could be, all smiles and rainbows. Blaze tilted her head in confusion before she noticed the platinum-blonde tenrec walking beside him, clutching books tightly too her chest as she giggled at one of his nerdy jokes. The feline felt a sharp pang of jealousy deep in her heart at the sight. It took the two a while to notice her presence, they were so engrossed in a conversation about the periodic table.

"Oh Blaze!" Silver cheered, walking over to the purple cat to kiss her cheek. "Didn't see you there."

"I'm always here." She remarked passive-aggressively, "Every day."

"Right." The white hedgehog laughed, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "I just forgot. I'm sorry."

"It's fine." Blaze sighed, turning her attention to the sheepish tenrec. "So you two have this class together?" She asked through clenched teeth, putting on her best fake smile.

"Actually, it's pretty crazy, but we've got every single class together!" Gold cheered happily.

"Except English." Silver whined, "That's where I need someone the most."

"We have the same English class Silver."

"Yeah, but you're seated way up front! I'm stuck in the far back with the scary guys."

Gold's giggle was so angelic. Her voice was so sweet that it probably caused cavities. She had this aura of positivity and kindness around her. She was also incredibly cute, and had a smile as bright as the sun. Her figure wasn't anything to look twice at, but she certainly carried more curves than the cat. Especially in the chest region, where Blaze lacked tremendously.

The feline had to force her gaze elsewhere, envy snaking its way up her spine as her boyfriend shared several jokes and laughs with the new girl.

"Stargazing? **REALLY!?** " Silver squealed.

"Yeah!" Gold giggled cutely, "I brought my telescope. Principal Acorn gave me the keys to the roof and night passes. You should come look at the constellations with me."

"Heck yeah I will—"

"Actually." Blaze cut in rudely, "We've got to go to Manic's dorm party tonight."

"C'mon Blaze." Silver rolled his eyes, "I doubt anyone would want me there anyway. None of them like me."

"Manic does." She corrected him, "And I already promised we'd show up."

"A party?" Gold questioned, "I love parties."

"Hey, maybe you can come with! It would be a lot less awkward for me if I had a friend there—"

"Sorry, it's a thing between the group." The cat explained a little too eagerly.

"Oh, I understand." Gold nodded, "I'll just check out the stars myself tonight. Next class is gonna start soon. See you there Silver!" She waved before heading down the hall.

"I'm not even part of the group." Silver mumbled, eyeing the jealous cat beside him.

* * *

"Yo Shads!" Manic called out, walking over to Shadow in the library.

"Hey." The ebony hedgehog nodded.

"We better head out for that beer run if we want to have some good shit for the party."

"Can't."

"What? Why not?" Manic whined, "Don't make me go alone now!"

"Didn't you get my text?" Shadow questioned. "I got stuck showing my baby brother around campus again. Ugh, fucking little nightmare." He sighed, narrowing his eyes in the direction of the other striped student looking through books.

Manic glared in the direction of the young freshmen, a flare of hatred sparking in his eyes just for a quick second before he turned back to Shadow, no longer in his happy mood.

"Yeah, sure." He nodded, "Maybe Rouge will come."

"Doubt it." The ebony hedgehog shrugged, "She just texted me that she's gonna call out Knuckles on his bullshit."

"Bullshit? C'mon Rouge! He's not a sex machine." The green hedgehog rolled his eyes, "Some guys want to cuddle every once in a while."

"She thinks he's cheating."

"Shit, probably." Manic shrugged, "All I know is when that's over I'll be the first in line."

"Dude, she's like my sister." Shadow growled.

"And?"

"How would you like it if I tried to bang your sister?"

"I'm not too worried about that." Manic chuckled, "She thinks you're a fuckin' creep."

* * *

"You haven't called me all day." Rouge growled, stomping into Knuckles' room.

The echidna sat up from his bed. He called out sick, and had just been lying in bed all morning. He debated with himself on what to do about Julie-Su. He was so worried about her he was starting to become physically and emotionally ill.

"Sorry Babe…" He mumbled, "Just got a lot on my mind…"

"Are you cheating on me?" She questioned accusingly, "Because if you are I—"

"Rouge, what the fuck?" He whined, "I'm not fucking cheating on you. I've just been out of it lately."

"Then what was that whole shit with Julie-Su about?" The bat rambled, "You had no problem hopping into bed with me when you were dating Sonia. How do I know you're not pulling some shady shit like that with me?"

"Because Rouge." He got up from the bed to grab hold of her waist. "I love you." He whispered before kissing her. She just went limp in his hold, melting into the kiss. This is all she was looking for. Some Chaos dammed attention.

"You've just been so distant." She whispered as they pressed their foreheads together. "I don't want you to stray…"

"I'm not going anywhere Rouge." He assured her, "I've just got a lot on my plate right now. I'm sorry I've been making you feel bad. How about I make it up to you?" He grinned, picking her up and slamming her down gently on his bed.

He got in between her legs, trailing both hands along her thighs as he hiked up her short black skirt. She cooed adoringly at the attention he was finally showing again. Until his cellphone went off and he pulled away from her exposed lower half. She pouted in frustration as he picked up the phone from his dresser.

 ** _Thrash:_** _Come near my girl again and I'll beat your ass. She told me about your stunt in the closet. I don't play that shit Knux. If you don't want problems, just back the fuck up._

"What is it Babe?" Rouge asked, propping herself up with her elbows.

"It's nothing." The echidna mumbled bitterly.

* * *

Wave sat comfortably perched on one of the picnic tables by the fountains. She sighed to herself, annoyed at how Jet had swooped in and clamped down on the green canary girl like a vulture the second he saw her. What really bothered her were his homophobic slurs. They'd been best friends for years, long before she came out.

She couldn't understand why he was more tolerable when she was unspecific on her orientation. His hatred toward same-sex couples irked her to no end. The swallow just couldn't wrap her head around why he held such animosity toward gays.

"Wave!" A voice called out, making her pick up her head. It was Rotor, running over to her with a big smile.

"Did you finally come out?" She asked as soon as he made it to her.

"Er, no." He replied, "But you'll never guess who talked to me! It was Cobar! He finally talked to me."

"That's great Rotor." She smiled.

"Yeah, but Jet was picking on him again." The walrus frowned, "He wasn't doing anything at all. Jet just started laying into him about being gay. It was cruel. Cobar says he gets it all the time, and he's learned to deal with it…but I don't know if I can."

"Don't worry about Jet. Or those stupid homophobic pricks." The swallow huffed, "They're all losers. The only approval you need is your own."

"Ri-Right." He stammered, "I'm a little scared, but I still want to come out."

"I'm sure Cobar would be happy." Wave mused, "At our meeting yesterday he confessed to having a crush on a certain purple walrus."

"Don't play like that Wave!"

"I'm serious!" She giggled, making him smile the biggest smile he could muster.

* * *

Rosy spotted Mephiles down the hall, carrying a backpack full of alcohol for their little dorm party tonight. She quickly leapt at him, jumping onto his back. He doubled over, nearly losing his balance. His nerves spiked as he thought she was one of the security officers, but he instantly calmed down when he heard her chuckling.

"You almost crushed all the party favors." He scolded in a monotone voice.

"Sorry." She replied cutely, "I just didn't want you to get away."

"What is it Rose?" He questioned, continuing his march down the hall.

"I just wanted to apologize, for hitting you." She frowned at the sight of his bandaged cheek. He noticed her body language, concluding that she was indeed sorrowful. What caught him off guard was how she brushed her hand to his cheek, ceasing his walking as she pulled his face down to kiss his wound.

"Is this how you always apologize?" He questioned with a grin, "If so, my dick kind of hurts too."

"Save it for after we all get fucked up." She joked, shoving him playfully. "What'd ya' get anyway?"

"The usual, but I picked up a special bottle just for Scourge." The dark hedgehog grinned.

Scourge's favorite alcoholic beverage was called 'Suppression'. Highly alcoholic, and very bitter. He usually got it whenever they went on a beer run. What made this one very special, was the tampering Mephiles had done. While in town he went to the local drug pusher, Mammoth Mogul. He asked for something that had the same effects of a truth serum.

The crackhead presented him with something called Dark Gaia, a substance that induces impulsive speech, and over-emotional reactions. In short, it was a truth serum that would finally turn the green hedgehog into an open book.

Mephiles grinned to himself as he continued his walk with Rosy, completely ignoring her as he thought of the fun tonight would bring. In the midst of his thoughts he accidentally collided with another student, their identical backpacks rolling onto the floor.

They both sat up rubbing their heads. Mephiles opened his eyes first, quickly grabbing his bag. Rosy helped him off the floor, laughing at his clumsiness. Then Manic opened his eyes, quickly grabbing his own bag. They glared at each other curiously before darting into their respective rooms, both being conveniently across from each other.

Manic quickly shut the door behind him, getting on his knees and quickly unzipping the backpack to make sure it's contents were okay. He pulled out all the bottles, placing them to the side until he found the prized one.

"Suppression." He mused, reading the script writing of the bottle. "Reminds me of Scourge…"

* * *

Amy linked her arms tightly around one of Sonic's as she nuzzled into his shoulder and giggled sweetly. He grimaced awkwardly, not quite sure how to act. He didn't want to breakup with her, but he knew it would be better for her if he stayed away. He was too scared to let her go, but too afraid to keep her close.

She seemed to be on cloud nine though. Sonic and her finally getting together was the best thing that could ever happen to her. With him, everything felt right in the world. Even the thought of facing her horrid parents again in a few days didn't scare her a bit, not with him by her side.

Nothing could possibly ruin her mood.

"Amy!? Amy Rose is that you?!" A voice called out. The pink hedgehog opened her eyes to see a green canary girl running up to them. Amy's heart sank as she recognized the girl to be Tekno the Canary, her best friend from her old school.

"Tekno?" Amy gasped, more surprised than pleased. "How in the world?"

"I was chosen as a transfer student!" She squealed, throwing her arms around the pink hedgehog. "I've missed you so much girl!"

"Yeah…Hehe."

"So Ames, whose this?" Tekno cooed, eyeing Sonic up and down with a blush. "He's like a total hottie."

"Thanks, but I go by Sonic." The blue hedgehog winked, melting her heart like a popsicle.

"He's my…boyfriend." Amy mumbled, praying Tekno couldn't pick it up.

"Boyfriend?! That's **SO** awesome!" The bird squealed, "Glad to see you're not hung up over Nikki, and that they allowed you to even come here after the fiasco at Mercia High! Oh shoot, was that the bell? Sorry, I've got to run girl! Text me though! Digits are still the same! Bye." Tekno then vanished down the hall, leaving a ghost pale Amy and a curious Sonic.

"So…who's Nikki?" The blue hedgehog questioned.

"She's got me mixed up with someone else again." Amy lied, turning to him with her biggest smile. "She's kind of an airhead if you didn't notice. Oh well. Hey! We're gonna be late for English, let's go!"

* * *

When the two hedgehogs finally got to their English class they kissed each other goodbye before going over to their seats. Amy took note of how enraged Blaze appeared, but didn't bother asking. She had matters of her own to deal with, the biggest being that blabber mouth canary.

Sonic took a seat at his desk, noticing the chipmunk girl wasn't beside him, but her stuff was there.

He looked up to Ms. Breezie's desk to see the auburn-haired girl standing with that monkey boy. They talked in hush whispers to the teacher. Although he tried his hardest, Sonic couldn't make out anything they were saying. It all became clear to him once the chipmunk returned to their desk, plopping down in her chair without so much as a glance his way.

"Good day class. I see you're all doing well." The teal seductress smiled, "I'd like to introduce Monkey Khan, our new student."

"Please, call me Ken." The dashing gentlemen spoke up, a charming smile plastered on his face.

Sally smiled back at him, a small blush on her face that didn't go unnoticed by the blue hedgehog beside her.

"Well Ken, I'm sorry to inform you we have no available seats. The class is more than full to the brim at the moment, but seeing as how and already know Ms. Acorn you can pull up a chair and share a desk with her if you'd like."

"I'd be honored." He smiled, taking the single chair from the teacher and placing it to the right of Sally before plopping down on it. "That is if you don't mind Ms. Acorn."

"Of course not." She giggled cutely, all the while making Sonic's stomach churn like butter.

* * *

Night soon fell, swapping out the sky's blue color pallet in replacement of one of more black and purple hues. The moon was covered up by a fog of clouds, but beamed down light to the best of its ability. The air was cold, and there was a brisk wind.

It was lights out for almost all of the campus, expect for the two groups who aimed to live it up for their final night before vacation.

Amy and Blaze were the last ones to make it, each going over to their respective boyfriends for a kiss. Manic cheered happily once all the people on his guest list had finally arrived. The whole crew had shown up…with the addition of Silver and Cosmo, whom most weren't pleased about.

"Still don't get why he's here." Sonic grumbled, "No offense, but I thought this was a gang only party."

"I thought the same thing, but you made me invite Tails' little girlfriend so I guess not right?" Manic retorted at the white hedgehog's defense, annoyed that Sonic had forced him to do Tails a favor.

"Take it down a notch you two." Sonia scolded her brothers before taking a seat next to Shadow on his bed. He flashed her a quick smile before they both turned away and begun acting like strangers.

"Anyways, it's great that we could finally all get together." Cream spoke up, defusing the situation entirely. "I've missed you guys so much, and I'm gonna miss you so much more when you all go home for vacation."

"Oh Funny Bunny." Manic chuckled, going over to the rabbit and giving her a hug. "You're such a little ray of sunshine. Don't worry, we'll all be back eventually."

"I don't even want to think about going home." Shadow shuddered, "That eccentric mother of yours will be the death of me."

"Mama isn't that bad." Rouge rolled her eyes, "She just gets a little too wild sometimes. I swear the woman thinks she's still in her twenties."

Sonic looked around the room, pleased to finally see all of his friends in one spot. Knuckles and Rouge sat on the floor in front of Manic's bed. The bat was in the echidna's lap as she nuzzled into his shoulder. Cream, Tails, and Cosmo were seated by the window in that order, each with a happy smile on their face. They made a love triangle look so innocent and painless. Sonia and Shadow were seated on the black hedgehog's bed. Manic sat with his arm slung around Silver who sat on the floor with Blaze, holding hands.

Sonic grimaced at the sight of the loser hedgehog, feeling that his presence shouldn't be here.

His gaze caught Blaze's, and for a moment they both mentally scolded each other on where they were sitting, and who they were with. They quickly shook off the telepathy vibe, turning their attention back to their lovers.

* * *

"Can you believe those losers next door are throwing a party too?" Rosy huffed, "Biter ass bitches."

"Who cares?" Scourge shrugged, sitting up in his bed while Fiona still laid beside him. "They're probably throwing tea parties and eating shit."

"You're probably right." Mephiles chuckled evilly, "We're the ones with the good shit." He added, pulling out Scourge's favorite drink from his bag.

"Ah shit! Mephy came through!" The green hedgehog cheered, swiping the bottle hungrily.

Scourge leaned back in his bed, wrapping an arm around Fiona as he chugged the bottle down. Mephiles sat on his bed across the room, Rosy laying over his lap as he watched the bottle empty down the green hedgehog's throat with an evil grin.

"Sucks that we'll be here for vacation." Rosy whined.

"I'm sure we'll find entertainment somehow." The reptilian-eyed hedgehog told her, stroking her soft pink quills like a puppy.

"Seriously you guys, if you're gonna start fucking let me know so I can cover my eyes." Fiona mocked, "I don't wanna see that shit."

* * *

"Alright guys! It's time for some Truth Or Drink!" Manic grinned, passing everyone in the room a bottle of booze.

They all sat in a circle on the floor now, an empty beer bottle in the center of them. Rouge had only suggested it as a joke, but Manic was too down to pass up the offer.

"You know the rules. Bottle lands on you, you've gotta choice between telling the truth to whatever question the person who spun asks, or you drink." Manic explained.

"Question." Knuckles raised his hand, "Why do we get this cheap shit, and you get that sweet bottle of Suppression?"

"Easy, because I'm big daddy, duh."

"Are you drunk already?" Blaze chuckled.

"I'm gettin' there Dollface, don't you worry about that." The green hedgehog laughed, taking another swig.

"Are you sure you wanna play this Tails?" Sonic questioned with concern, "You guys don't have to."

"No Sonic, we want to." The fox smiled, the two girls beside him nodding in compliance.

"Well alright then." The blue hedgehog nodded before turning back to the group as a whole. "Who wants to spin first?"

"I'll go!" Cream cheered, leaning in toward the center of the circle to give the bottle a hard spin.

"Alright, Funny Bunny taken the first swing!" Manic cheered.

The bottle spun around for several moments before landing on Rouge, who let a wide smile cross her face. She was thankful it was only Cream, and not some sicko who'd ask some weird question like—

" **ARE YOUR BOOBS REAL?!** " The rabbit yelped eagerly.

"Cream!"

"What? I'm just curious"

"Me too." Sonia mumbled from across the circle.

"Same." Blaze nodded, Amy chiming in as well.

"Of course they're real!" The bat huffed, narrowing her eyes at the circle of friends ogling her chest as if she were lying. The bottle spun around until coming to a slow stop on Sonia. The magenta girl felt a shiver go down her spine as the beautiful bat grinned evilly.

"Little Ms. Perfect…do you…have feelings for anyone in the group right now?" Rouge purred.

Sonia looked around at everyone nervously as they stared back at her. Her palms began to sweat, and her stomach turned. She wasn't one for lying, and she didn't want to tell the truth. So she did the only logical thing she could think of. She pressed the green bottle to her lips, and drank the rancid substance.

Shadow relaxed a bit as she leaned in to spin the bottle again. Rouge pouted a bit, assuming the magenta girl didn't want to answer because she'd have to say Knuckles…who rubbed his head awkwardly at the possibility.

"Sonic." The magenta hedgehog mused, a malicious grin crossing her face. "Was that dirty magazine Mom found in the bathroom yours?"

"Dirty magazine?" Knuckles chuckled, "Dude, we have phones for that kind of thing now."

"I was fourteen and curious!" The blue hedgehog pouted, a red glow at his cheeks. "I found it." He added awkwardly before spinning the bottle. Amy felt her heart sink a bit as the neck pointed directly to her.

"I…I guess it's my turn." She giggled uncomfortably.

"So Baby….who is Nikki?"

The pink hedgehog immediately threw her head back, pouring an enormous amount of the alcohol into her throat like a faucet. She gagged a bit, but came up for air as soon as she was done. Sonic eyed her skeptically before she spun the bottle, making it land on Cosmo.

* * *

Mephiles eyed Scourge from across the room. The green hedgehog was hella drunk, but still lucid. It was infuriating. The Dark Gaia stuff costed the dark hedgehog a fortune. He assumed Scourge's years of hard drug use had made him immune, or that it might have needed more time. But an hour had passed, and still nothing.

"Why you lookin' at him so hard?" Rosy whispered, "You want him?" She was drunk, and swaying side-to-side while she sat up beside him. He closed his eyes, a bit more irritated than usual. She only continued to press his buttons. Poking his cheek, and shaking his shoulder. That's when it dawned on him. Rosy was in her most vulnerable state.

"Do you?" He asked curiously, a cunning smile on his face.

"No. I hate Scourgey." She shook her head, her face a bright red color. She clearly had way too much already. "He did a bad thing to me, very bad."

"What did he do to you my sweet little Rose?" Mephiles played along, wrapping his arms around the pink hedgehog to make her comfortable.

"It's a secret." She whispered, falling into him as he held her up.

"I won't tell."

"Won't tell." She repeated, dozing off. He sighed in frustration, tossing her to the other side of the bed in annoyance as he glared at Scourge who was caught up in a very intimate make out session with Fiona.

The only sounds in the room seemed to be their sloppy wet kissing, groans, and moans. They were so wasted they didn't even care Mephiles was watching them intently from his bed.

Scourge had Fiona pinned to his bed, his jacket ripped open, and her legs wrapped around his waist. He yanked the hair tie off her, releasing her long rust-colored hair from its prison. She squealed in a mixture of pain and pleasure as his sharpened-teeth dug into her neck, drawing blood like a vampire.

"Say it." He growled aggressively. Mephiles rose a curious eyebrow at the green hedgehog's actions. This looked more like a rape scene than drunken sex.

Fiona kept her mouth clammed shut, milking his attention for all that it was worth. He bit deeper into her flesh, literally sucking the blood from her wounds as his hands grouped more aggressively. She whimpered in both pain and delight before finally caving and giving him what he desired most in the world.

"My King…" She moaned, "You're my king."

He wasn't satisfied, only becoming more aggressive. It didn't feel right, not the way he wanted it to. Normally he would have just finished up and called it a disappointing night, but the alcohol in his system made him persistent. It was the stupid bow, throwing off his imagination. Just as he went to reach for it, she shoved him away angrily.

"No!" She growled, "Don't touch that."

"It's fucking stupid!" Scourge shouted in frustration. "Just take that shit off."

"Fuck you." She hissed, crossing her arms. "Just because that rich slut is up for anything doesn't mean I am!"

"You…You know about that? Who the fuck told you?"

"Of course I know about that shit! I'm not fucking stupid. I've got my ways." Fiona shouted angrily, "When the fuck were you gonna tell me?"

"Should I have to? We were on fucking break dude." Scourge flailed his arms about.

"Are you in love with her?" The vixen questioned.

"What the fuck? Hell no! That bitch is dumber than a plastic card." He laughed obnoxiously, "She just needed some help."

"That's what you call it you fucking pig! I don't even know why I put up with your shit." The fox huffed, "Say what you will about the fox boy, but at least he's not an asshole like you!"

"Not this shit again." Scourge rolled his eyes, as they both stood up from the bed to argue. "He's a kid trynna get some pussy! Of course he was nice to you, and you were just so easy—"

She silenced him with a deadpan slap to the face, making a loud whip sound. "Don't disrespect me."

Mephiles just sat back in his bed. Their arguing was like music to his ears as he absorbed the negative energy of the room. Their little sex session had turned into a nightmare of arguments, and he loved every second of it.

* * *

"Sonic!" Knuckles smirked. "How many girls have you slept with?"

At this point everyone in the room was incredibly intoxicated, even the younger group. The only one who seemed to still be level-headed was Silver, who didn't touch an ounce of liquor. They continued their little game, getting raunchier as the alcohol flowed. Everyone was off the wagon, but none like Manic, who sat with his head in his hands as his mind did jumping jacks.

He didn't recall Suppression being this hard. He didn't feel right at all. Something was definitely wrong.

"Hmmm...Six." Sonic boasted, a little too proudly for his girlfriend's liking.

"Names or its bullshit." Shadow hollered.

"Come on you guys, my girlfriend's right here." He chuckled, wrapping an arm around the pouting Amy.

"He's right." Knuckles agreed, "Names or its bull."

"C'mon Sonic. I'm curious." Rouge mused.

"Alright fine." He rolled his eyes, "Well, first time was with Tiara Boobinski in the ninth grade."

"No way!" Rouge gasped, "The co-captain of the cheer squad!?"

"Yeah." He laughed, "I told her I didn't believe she could do the splits…then she showed me." He licked his lips at the memory, earning an elbow to the gut from his envious girlfriend.

"Who else?" Shadow questioned.

"Well, there was Elise…"

"The human girl!?" Tails gasped.

"I went to that skank's fucking party!" Amy huffed angrily.

"That's so gross dude." Knuckles shook his head, "Human girls are ugly as fuck."

"Depends on who they are." Shadow retorted bitterly.

"I went through a phase okay?" Sonic whined, "I couldn't help myself! Madonna turned me out…"

"Madonna!?" Sonia gasped, "She was one of my good friends back in the day."

"Yeah…she was." Sonic slurred, melting in his memories of the curvy blonde human girl.

"Who else!?" Cream asked curiously, "This is so crazy!"

"I know, my brother's kind of a slut." Tails chuckled. The word 'brother' picked up in Manic's ear, making his blood boil.

"Let's see, uh…there was Honey."

" **HONEY?** " Shadow shouted.

"Awe, but she's such a good girl." Cream gasped in shock.

"This doesn't surprise me at all." Rouge shook her head, eyeing the enraged Shadow off to her left.

"Yeah, it was at that mask party Vector threw in eighth grade." The blue hedgehog shrugged.

"But you said Tiara was your first in ninth grade?" Cosmo questioned.

"I don't think the way me and Honey did it counts…" He chuckled awkwardly, Amy's head ready to explode. "Then there's my beautiful girlfriend who's the best out of all." He mused, hoping to save himself from a scolding as he kissed Amy's now embarrassed face.

"T.M.I. Sweetheart." She mumbled.

Sonia noticed the hurt expression on Shadow's face, confusing her a bit, but she rested a comforting hand over his anyway. He looked up at her and felt his disheartened mood quickly lighten back up before she pulled away. Rouge glared intently from where she sat, a bit skeptical of the two hedgehogs.

"You said there were six girls!" Knuckles reminded everyone, "Who was the last one?"

"Oh…" Sonic breathed nervously, looking dead at the nervous cat sitting across the circle from him. She squeezed Silver's hand as her tail swayed with nervousness. Her eyes begged him not to say, otherwise both their lives would be ruined. "Just some girl last summer. Not much to remember really. She was just something to do when there was nothing to do."

The purple feline didn't want him to say her name, but she didn't expect him to say something so cruel. She held back sorrowful tears as she tried her best to keep calm. Silver looked over to her curiously, he knew she was probably very hurt. He wanted to console her, but he couldn't let her know he wasn't ignorant to her past.

They all shared a hysterical laugh, mocking the sixth girl, and making jokes about how ugly she probably was. Blaze couldn't take it. She got up from the floor and scurried off out the door. "I just need some air." She lied before closing the door behind her.

"Anyways, Sonic it's your turn to spin." Amy shrugged. The blue hedgehog was too distracted by the cat's sudden exit. The alcohol was making his emotions rise higher than normal, and he knew he had said something pretty wrong.

"Spin for me Ames." He said, getting up from his seat on the floor. "I've gotta get some air too."

"Alright then." She shrugged, spinning the bottle. "Manic!"

* * *

Sonic walked out of the room, darting his eyes left to right before finding Blaze sitting by the big window in the hall. She looked out to the cloudy moon, her hazel eyes shimmering with tears. She felt so horrible, he could see it on her face.

"Blaze…" He whispered, stepping closer to her. "You know I didn't mean that right? I just didn't want to say your name."

"I get it." She looked over to him, "I was nothing but something to do. It didn't mean anything to me either."

"You're twisting my words." He replied quickly, "I didn't say all that."

"But it's true right?"

"Does it matter?" He retorted, 'You got this new guy right? Not like you need to hang around me anymore right? Cause you changed up, talkin' about how he's always been your best friend. Like the year we spent together didn't mean shit! That's true, right?"

"No, it's not." She replied, shaking her head as tears flew about. "You just have no clue."

"You're right! I don't have a clue, because you keep me on a thread. I have no idea what this sudden distance bullshit is about, but I can tell you I hate it. Man, I've been through so much shit these last two months, but I feel like I can't even talk to you about it. You seem to just be all about your stupid boyfriend these days."

" **I WAS A VIRGIN.** " She shouted, making his eyes go wide with shock.

"You…You didn't tell me that." He stammered.

"I didn't think it mattered." She murmured through heavy flowing tears. "I just wanted to be with you, because I was in love with you Sonic…but it's clear that I meant nothing. Amy's only been around two months and you make her your official girlfriend, when I've been around a fucking year."

"Blaze."

"Don't. Just leave me alone."

"You've got it all wrong though." He said, gripping her forearm to force her gaze to his.

"No, I think it's pretty clear." She sobbed.

"Blaze, you weren't nothing." He began his shocking speech, "You're the only girl in the world I've ever felt a real connection with. You get me on so many levels. Being with you was just so easy. That was the best year of my life, last summer was a dream. You're so special to me, and I do care about you, a lot more than you realize. I never wanted to lose you Blaze, that's why I forced myself not to catch feelings for you. I'd rather have you as my best friend for the rest of my life, than a girlfriend for a month or two. I was just so afraid I might ruin things between us…"

"Sonic…" She cooed, touched by his words. They stood close, the moonlight shining down on them from the large window.

"And if you still have these feelings…we can walk inside that room right now and tell Silver and Amy together, because I don't want this distance anymore Blaze. I miss you…"

Maybe it was the alcohol talking, but the words just felt so right. He meant every word of it, drunk or not. He dearly missed their closeness, and had a soft spot for the cat. The mood had turned so blissful, so wonderful. Neither of them could help but lean into each other, slowly closing the gap between them.

" **BLAZE?!** " Someone shouted angrily, pulling them both out of their fairytale. A look of horror struck her face as soon as she saw his teary amber eyes.

"Silver, it's not what it looks like."

"I can't believe you." He replied in a pained tone.

"Silver please." She begged, rushing over to him to cup his face. He just shoved her away, shaking his head in refusal.

"All this time, you've been thinking about him. I knew it, but I didn't want to believe it." He sobbed. She tried to caress his face once more in desperation, only for him to swat her hand away. "I know. I fucking know."

"What?" Blaze questioned, "What are you talking about?"

"I know what you did last summer." He shrieked before rushing to the stairwell.

Blaze felt her heart smash into tiny pieces. He knew all along, and tried to love her anyway, but she fucked it all up. Peering at the now alone purple cat and blue hedgehog was a reptilian eye through a crack in the door. He grinned to himself, bathing in all the drama tonight.

"Sonic!" A voice called out from Shadow's dorm.

"Sonia?" The blue hedgehog questioned, "Are you okay?"

"It's Manic! He's like freaking out."

"What?" Sonic questioned before rushing inside, Blaze following.

That's when it struck Mephiles. The backpacks! He had grabbed the wrong one. The Dark Gaia bottle was at the party next door. Well, not anymore. Manic had drank the entire bottle of Suppression on his own, and was now in a frenzy of impulsive babbling and scattered thoughts.

* * *

When Sonic and Blaze reentered the dorm, everyone was still seated in a circle while Shadow and Manic stood up in the middle. The green hedgehog sidestepped in an attempt to keep his balance, and his face was as red as a tomato. His voice cracked as he shouted into his best friend's face, spittle flinging about as he swung the bottle of Suppression in his hand like a madman.

"Calm down, and give me the bottle Manic." Shadow commanded with authority as he attempted to snatch the bottle. Manic just shoved him back, toppling him over into Sonia's lap. Everyone was terrified at the sudden shift in mood.

"No! Fuck you man!" The green hedgehog bellowed, "I can't believe you didn't tell me you had a fucking brother."

"Eclipse?" Shadow questioned in annoyance, standing back up to his feet. "What does he have to do with anything?"

" **HE CHANGES EVERYTHING!** " Manic shouted angrily, slamming his foot like an upset child. "You were always a shitty friend in the first place, worst choice." He was making no sense, only belittling the black hedgehog until he lost all patience.

"Fuck off." Shadow retorted, losing his cool. "I'm not some stupid replacement for your shitty brother."

"And I'm not some replacement for your dead girlfriend!"

Shadow's eyes widened in shock, fists shaking with rage as he glared over to Rouge who looked mortified. Shocked and curious glances were exchanged all around the room. Shadow felt sick to his stomach, like he was ready to rip the green hedgehog's throat out.

"Manic that's enough." Sonic warned, stomping over to Manic and grabbing him sternly by the forearm. He just yanked his arm away, swinging the bottle to keep Sonic back at a distance.

"Oh eat a dick." He snarled at his brother, "You want to act like a brother now of all times? Go fuck yourself."

"Manic…please." Cream pleaded fearfully as she and Cosmo cowered behind Tails.

"Relax Funny Bunny." He smiled drunkenly at her before swinging the bottle around again. "its Truth Or Drink right? Since I'm done drinkin' I've got nothing but the truth to give! For starters, you probably shouldn't get your hopes up with the little guy. He's into blowjays from big girls." He chuckled, making Tails blush in embarrassment.

"Not cool." Knuckles shook his head in annoyance.

"Excuse me?" Manic questioned, holding his hand to his ear in exaggeration as he stomped over to Knuckles. "You of all people want to talk about not cool? You're the biggest scumbag in this room! And that's saying a lot considering Sonic's in here. All you ever think about is your damn self. Hopping from girl-to-girl at your heart's content, like they're nothing but chew toys. Sonia, Rouge, this bitch, that bitch; just pick a fucking girl and stick with it asshole!"

"What did you call me?" Knuckles growled, getting up from the floor to loom over the drunken hedgehog.

"I called you an asshole." He repeated casually, "Can your brain not process shit as quickly as your dick? Maybe you should take that necklace back to the pawn shop and cash it in for some much needed tutoring." Just before the echidna could throw a punch to the babbling hedgehog's face, Rouge grabbed his hand.

"Don't hurt him!" She scolded Knuckles. He sighed angrily before dropping his hand and walking over to Sonic.

"Get your brother under control before I do." He growled to the blue hedgehog.

"C'mon you two." Manic whined, stepping over to Sonia and Rouge. "That guy is dumb as all hell, and you two have got to be even dumber to think he's the one for you. Sonia, aren't you supposed to be the smart one? And Rouge, Baby Girl…." He cooed, wrapping his arms around her waist. Knuckles was ready to lunge and attack at any moment.

"Manic, you need to stop." The bat whispered to him, "You're pissing everyone off."

"How could you choose him over me? It makes me so sad that you're as dumb as you are drop dead gorgeous." He sighed, stepping away from the now livid bat. She was done playing peacemaker. He had begun working her nerves too.

"That was cruel." Cosmo murmured, her quiet voice being picked up by the alert hedgehog.

"Um, excuse me? Who the hell even are you?" He mocked in a harsh tone.

"Leave her alone!" Amy growled, getting up from her spot on the floor. "I'm tired of your bullshit! Stop picking on everyone before I make you."

"Pretty bold for the one with the dirtiest laundry." He hissed in her face, making her pale a bit.

"You're so disgusting, nothing like your brother at all."

"After all these years you still think he's such a big hero?"

"Of course he is!"

"Chaos, you're the stupidest girl I've ever met in my life!"

"He saved me!" She shot back, "He is a hero. He proved it to me when he handed me that green umbrella..."

"Are you serious?" The green hedgehog laughed hysterically, "You're stupid and color blind?"

"Chill the fuck out Manic, for real!" Sonic growled, cutting in between them,

"What are you talking about?" The pink hedgehog fumed.

"A blue hedgehog didn't give you a green umbrella." He shouted at her, shoving Sonic aside. "A green hedgehog gave you a blue umbrella. That was me idiot. Sonic would never set foot in a rain storm, especially for you. He couldn't stand you! Until you grew an ass and learned to dress right."

" **THAT'S NOT TRUE!** " She screamed angrily, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"I can't believe I ever had a crush on you." He added, shaking his head in disgust.

"That's enough!" Sonic growled angrily.

"Whatever, she's no prize." Manic shrugged, "If she was, Scourge woulda locked it down after fucking her thirty-ways-to-Sunday in his car—"

" **WHAT?!** " Everyone in the room yelped in shock. Amy covered her mouth as her soul threatened to escape her. Sonic's eyes widened in horror as he turned around to look at the pink hedgehog.

"You…You slept with him?" He stuttered in shock.

"How did you know that?" She sobbed frantically as she looked to Manic.

"I watched you get in his car every day for like two weeks. Those windows aren't that tinted ya'know, and you're kind of a screamer."

"Amy…how could you?" Sonic breathed, still in disbelief. She didn't know what to do. Her heart raced, sending her into panic mode.

"C'mon Sonic. Stop playing this Mr. Perfect shit and tell her you had sex with her best friend last summer." Manic rolled his eyes as everyone gasped in unison once more. Amy looked over to Blaze, who was mortified.

" **WHAT?** " Amy shouted, her panic turning into raw anger. Sonic quickly whipped his head around to look at his grinning brother.

"How did you know that?" He asked.

"Figures you didn't notice I was always fucking home. You never pay attention to me. Not to mention the walls in our house are thin as hell." He shrugged, turning his attention over to Blaze. "I take it back. Amy isn't the stupidest girl I've ever met in my life. That title should go to you 'Kitten'."

The cat didn't know how to handle things, and Amy was just murdering her with a hard glare as her chest heaved with raw anger. She quickly took off out the door in an attempt to escape a possible throw down, but she knew she'd have to face the hedgehog girl back at the dorm anyway. She was only halting the inevitable.

"Please stop this Manic." Tails shrieked, watching all his newly found friends falling apart.

His voice sent a wave of anger over Manic. He felt bottled-up emotions just pouring out of him at the sound of that high-pitched kid voice. He whipped his head, locking eyes with Tails before stomping over to him.

"And you." He bellowed, grabbing the fox by the collar and picking him up off the floor until his feet waved frantically in the air. " **I FUCKING HATE YOU. I'VE ALWAYS FUCKING HATED YOU**."

Tails felt his heart began to shatter as the green hedgehog tossed him to the floor. Sonic was enraged by the action. Sonia gasped in horror as everyone else looked on in shock.

"Wh-Why?" Tails wailed through his sobbing.

"You stole everything from me!" He shouted, "My siblings, my mom, even my lousy ass dad likes you better! The day Ma brought you home was the worst day of my fucking life. No one gave a fuck about me after that. You stole it all, you stole my life. Why didn't your real family keep you—" The green hedgehog was soon silenced by a jab to the face that sent him flying clear across the room. He sat up, angrily glaring at his blue brother.

"I said that's enough Manic." Sonic warned, "I'm your brother, and you're gonna listen to me."

"Fuck you!" Manic shouted, scrambling to his feet. "You were never a brother. You never gave a fuck about me. Only one person ever cared about me….Just one." He mumbled before storming out the door.

"Sonic, you can't let him leave like that!" Sonia shrieked, "Zonic is gonna catch us!"

"Grab him!" Knuckles wailed.

He was too fast for all of them. He had already bolted out the door, but he didn't run far. No, he just ran to the room right across the way, slamming his fist down on the wood loudly.

From the other side of the door the four rebels scrambled to their feet, hiding all of their beer cans and cigarette cartons in a panic.

"Shit, that must be Zonic." Mephiles cursed, slipping bottles underneath his bed.

"What do we do?" Rosy cried out in a panic.

"Both of you hide." Scourge commanded the two girls, "I've got this." He added as he put on his most charming smile and answered the door. He wasn't expecting Manic to surprise him with a hug, crying into his chest like a baby.

"The only one." The hedgehog sobbed.

"Manic?" Scourge questioned, pulling the other green hedgehog back by the shoulders. Just before he could ask what happened, he caught Sonic's glare from the other side of the hall, as well as the stares of all his friends. He quickly suppressed the urge to console the hedgehog, shoving him away coldly.

This threw Manic into agony. Being pushed away by the only person he felt ever cared about him. He was devastated.

"Why…Why don't you talk to me?" He wailed. Scourge gave him no answer. That's when Manic's eye caught Fiona appearing from behind the creaked open door. "But you still talk to her!? You don't even like her! Why the hell are you still even with her?"

"Excuse me." Fiona snarled, shoving her way up to the two green hedgehogs.

"You heard me slut." Manic growled before turning his attention back to Scourge. "We both know she's not the one you really want."

"What the fuck did you just say?" The vixen shrieked angrily.

"Don't." Scourge warned, eyeing Manic with his icy-blue eyes.

"She doesn't know what we did huh? Where we went when we ran away..."

"Scourge, what the hell is he talking about?"

"I know all your secrets." Manic talked to the older green hedgehog, completely ignoring Fiona. "Because we share them, they're our secrets remember? Yet after what happened that summer you still wanna treat me like I don't exist! Even after we—"

"Manic…." Scourge breathed in a warning tone. From inside the room Mephiles was delving deep into the conversation, tracing every subtle movement, and every expression, but he still couldn't get anything. All he could tell was there was some crazy tension between the two green hedgehogs.

"No more secrets." Manic shook his head frantically, "Maybe if everyone knew, things would be different. You'd have to face me if everyone knew we were—"

Before Manic could finish his suspenseful sentence, Scourge whipped out a needle from underneath his leather sleeve and jammed it into the younger boy's neck before slamming his thumb down on the plunger. Manic's eyes rolled to the back of his head before he collapsed onto the floor.

"Get him inside before we all get fucking caught." Scourge stated coldly. He felt Sonic's enraged gaze, but didn't care for it. He just turned back to head inside his room.

"What did you give him?" Shadow asked in a dead tone, picking up the unconscious hedgehog.

"Melatonin." He shrugged, "He'll be out for a while. That was enough to put a baby elephant to sleep."

* * *

 **For those of you who don't know, Nikki is from the Sonic Japanese manga from the 90s. The only non-canon characters are parents who don't have names.**

 **Relationship Update**

 **Sonic and Amy: BROKEN UP**

 **Blaze and Silver: BROKEN UP**

 **Fiona and Scourge: BROKEN UP**

 **Cosmo-Tails-Cream: PENDING...**

 **Manic and Mina: SECRET FLING**

 **Shadow and Sonia: SECRET DATING**

 **Espio and Nicole: DATING**

 **Megan and Elias: DATING/PREGNANT**

 **Sally and Ken: POTENTIAL COUPLE**

 **Rotor and Cobar: POTENTIAL COUPLE**

 **Thrash and Julie-Su: ENGAGED**

 **Scourge and Sally: OBSESSION**

 **Cream and Ray: ONE-SIDED CRUSH (OVER)**

 **Tails and Fiona: ONE-SIDED CRUSH (OVER)**

 **Honey and Shadow: FLING (OVER)**

 **Sonic and Sally: KISSED**

 **Julie-Su and Knuckles: KISSED**

 **That covers most of it I suppose lol Hope that helps Mimi Good! This list changes quite frequently, I'll give you an update again in a few chapters as unusual lol. Thanks so much for sticking it out with me you guys! We're nearing the dreaded chapter where Amy and Fiona face their parents again. My birthday is coming up soon, and I plan on something grand for the story! I'll lue you in a little later :) Please review with any thoughts, theories, comments! **

**Next Time On Green Hill Academy**

 **The group is left in ruins after Manic's outburst at the party**

 **Silver finds comfort in the caring arms of his fellow nerd-friend, Gold**

 **Julie-Su is only further pulled down into a world of hell**

 **Amy returns home and has a horrifying realization**

 **Tails and the triplets are in for a lovely surprise when they arrive home...all except Manic**

 **Two VERY unlikely individuals somehow end up together, but who?**

 **And so much more!**


	29. Chapter 29

**WARNING: Rape, sexual scene**

* * *

 **Chapter 29: Home**

Manic woke up with a searing headache. He sat up in his bed, squinting his eyes at the bright lightning as he cupped his forehead in agony. The hangover would have been unbearable for any first timer, but the green hedgehog has had far too many to really feel the brunt of the pain. He looked over to his right, watching the black hedgehog hastily zip his black backpack shut before swinging it over his shoulder.

"Is it time to go already?" Manic mumbled, "I woulda thought Amy would let us sleep in before heading to her place."

"She canceled the sleep over." Shadow said flatly, a trace of coldness. "And it's two in the afternoon."

"What's with the attitude?" The green hedgehog questioned, "I take it the party didn't go well? You and Sonic get into another lovers quarrel?"

Shadow just looked over his shoulder and sent Manic a cold glare before turning back to his side of the room. The green hedgehog just rose a confused eyebrow before pulling his phone out from under his pillow.

 **4 NEW MESSAGES**

 ** _Knuckles:_** _You're a piece of shit. Sonia keeps telling everyone you were just fucked up on booze, but in reality, you're just fucked up. Stay away from me and my girlfriend._

 ** _Silver:_** _I'm sorry I left the party early Manic. I just…something happened and I had to go. Hope we're still cool._

 ** _Cream:_** _Tails has been crying all morning because of you. How could you be so cruel Manic? And Cosmo refuses to hangout or see him thanks to you making her feel so unwelcome._

 ** _Sonic:_** _Get your shit packed. Mom should be here to pick us up around three. We'll be in the parking lot._

"Chaos, what the hell is everyone's problem?" Manic growled in annoyance before hopping out of bed. Shadow turned his head to face the other hedgehog with an emotionless expression.

"You really don't remember last night at all do you?" He asked.

"Bits and pieces. Still don't get why everyone's talking shit to me, or why the hell my face is bruised."

Shadow just shook his head before walking out of the room without so much as another word. Manic just stood in the middle of the room completely confused. Beer bottles were everywhere, and the room smelt horrid. He sighed in annoyance before grabbing the wastebasket and dropping bottles into it. He didn't want to leave the room completely trashed all vacation.

As he picked up bottles hastily off the floor, he came to one that made him tilt his head. He picked up the large bottle labeled 'Suppression' and soon all his cruelty of that night came back to him like a daydream. Every word, every secret outed, it all hit him like a ton of bricks. A wave of guilt and sorrow fell over him as he soon realized what he had done.

* * *

 _"Stop calling me."_ Sonic growled into his phone.

 _"Sonic please, I can explain everything if you'd just let me."_ Amy sobbed on the other line.

 _"There's nothing to explain! You slept with him."_

 _"That was before we were dating."_

 _"How long before?"_ He asked, potentially willing to forgive and forget, especially because he had a secret of his own. _"Tell me the truth Amy."_

 _"A day…"_ She mumbled in shame.

 _"Are you fucking serious? What the fuck!"_ He shouted, running his free hand through his quills. _"Were you together? Do you love him?"_

 _"_ _ **NO**_ _."_ The pink hedgehog sobbed, "I've only ever been in love with you, my Sonikku. I was just so insecure. Some of the girls scared me into thinking I wasn't good enough because I was a virgin, so I asked him to help me learn how to do it so I could be good enough for you…"

 _"You really think I'm that fucking shallow?"_ He bellowed, _"_ _ **AND FOR THE LOVE OF CHAOS STOP CALLING ME THAT!**_ _"_

 _"I'm so sorry."_

 _"Want to know the funny part about all this Ames? I wouldn't have cared, I picked you to be my first girl because I thought you were someone who was always gonna have my back. I thought you were someone I could trust."_

He quickly ended the call dramatically, tossing his phone deep into the depths of his blue backpack before zipping it shut. He didn't want to deal with or talk to anyone, especially her. He slung the bag over his shoulder before walking over to the silently sobbing kitsune, who'd been cooped up in his room all day. Sonic didn't say anything, he just offered the fox a sympathetic frown before packing his younger brother a bag.

"C'mon Tails. Mom's on her way…" He murmured.

Amy let out an eardrum-shattering shriek of anguish before throwing her phone on the ground, smashing it to pieces under the heavy weight of her red boot.

* * *

Silver and Gold sat on the roof of the school. They were seated across from each other, both in the same crossed-leg position on a turquoise-colored blanket she laid out during her stargazing last night. Her telescope was set up off to the side, not really useful since it wasn't dark out yet.

The white hedgehog had texted her in need of some consoling and company. She was happy to oblige, and invited him for a picnic on the roof. She hated seeing him so down, normally whenever she saw him at one of their SyFy conventions he was as happy as could be. She was not used to seeing his frown, or his beautiful eyes red and puffy from a night of crying.

The tenrec didn't want to overbear or pressure him, so she let him speak naturally. She carried on eating her sandwich as his laid out in front of him on a plate untouched. She was concerned, but wanted him to speak about whatever was bugging him when he was ready.

"Was the party fun?" She asked casually, biting into her bacon sandwich.

"Don't know." He shrugged, "I left early…"

"Your friends must have been really upset." She replied, "You've always been the life of the party."

"Those people aren't my friends." He mumbled.

"Did something happen last night Silver?" She questioned, no longer able to suppress her curiosity and worry. He looked up at her with glistening amber eyes, and it nearly broke her heart.

"I think me and Blaze broke up…" He whimpered before tears begun pouring from his eyes. She quickly put both their plates to the side and pulled him in for a hug. She stroked his quills as she shushed his sobbing.

"I'm sorry Silver."

"She was in love with someone else. I knew it, but I tried anyway. I'm so stupid."

"You're not stupid." She assured him, "Sometimes we can't help who we want…even when we know it's wrong…"

"I'm just so glad you're here Gold." He sniffled, pulling away to look at her. "At least I'll have one friend."

"Me too." She smiled, practically brightening up his whole world. "Are you going back home for vacation?"

"No." He sighed, "I'm trying to save up money for convention season. Are you going home?"

"Nah, my folks are off traveling the world." She shrugged, "Maybe we can hangout?"

"Stargazing tonight?" They both questioned in unison before bursting out into a fit of laughter and blushing.

* * *

Nicole wandered the boy's dorm as she searched for Shard's room. She hadn't heard from him in a while and begun to worry. The lynx didn't know if she was just overthinking like Mina had suggested, but still felt like she had done something wrong. She just wanted to speak with Shard in person, maybe ease her possibly unnecessary guilt.

"Nicole." A voice sounded before her wrist was grabbed. She looked back to see her very new boyfriend tugging her in his direction with a smile.

"Espio." She breathed, "You scared me."

"Sorry. What are you doing in here?"

"I came to check on Shard." She admitted, smile quickly falling. "I feel that he might be upset with me."

"I'm sure he isn't." The chameleon assured her, reaching for her hand. "I'm glad I found you though. I have something to ask you."

"What is it?" She asked curiously, mind drifting off task.

"I know this may sound a bit forward, but I was wondering if you'd come back home with me for vacation? You see, my mother is actually coming back from one of her oversea missions, and I'd really like her to meet you. You don't have to say yes, I just—"

"I'd love to meet your mother Espio." The lynx blushed, "But I don't know if my mother would allow me to—"

"I've already spoken with Principal Acorn about it." He spoke up eagerly, cutting her off mid-sentence. "She agreed, as long as we don't run off together."

"Just like her to embarrass me like that." Nicole giggled, "I wasn't expecting to leave campus, so I should head back over to my dorm and pack."

"You do that." Espio smiled, excited to take her to his hometown. "I'll walk you."

* * *

 _' "My boy told me he saw him pull you into that janitor's closet!" Thrash shouted in my face, his spittle making contact with my skin. "What the fuck were you two doing in there? Huh? Answer me!"_

 _"He just wanted to talk." I cowered in the passenger seat. We were sitting in the car out in the parking lot. He told me we were going to visit Lara-Su, but he lied just to get me into a secluded spot so he could confront me. I should have known better._

 _"Talk? In a fucking janitor's closet? Do you think I'm stupid?" He scolded, whipping my face with the back of his hand. It stung like hell, coaxing tears to stream out of my eyes. He then leaned over and took hold of my neck, squeezing tightly. "Tell me what the hell happened."_

 _"N-N-Nothing." I stuttered, losing oxygen as I tried to pry his strong hand off my neck._

 _"You fucked didn't you? You're fucking cheating on me right?_ _ **RIGHT?**_ _" With every accusation his grip grew tighter and tighter. My heart raced as my face turned blue. He wasn't going to give up. I had to tell him._

 _"He kissed me." I murmured with my near last breath. He then released his grip on me. I quickly gasped and breathed in air. I held my pained chest as I coughed._

 _"I fucking knew it." Thrash growled, slamming his hand on the steering wheel. "He's been trying to get with you this whole fucking time."_

 _I didn't say anything, in fear that I might say the wrong thing and end up being choked out again. It wasn't always like this. When we first started dating he was thrilled to be with me, and never laid a hand on me. He doted on me and showered me with appraisal. Then after our daughter was born…he changed. He got more and more aggressive, and more violent._

 _It was a trivial slap here and there at first. Sometimes he'd suspect the neighbor boy of sleeping with me, or that I might be talking to another guy. He started giving me curfews, and checking my phone. He was always so jealous of Mighty, thinking that I might run off with him. Chaos knows I should have…_

 _Thrash's possessive nature and jealousy work my nerves to no end. I hate being pushed around, and mistreated, but what can I do? He's my daughter's father. I don't want Lara-Su to grow up in a broken home like I did._

 _"Let him fuckin' try." Thrash growled, swiping my phone from the dash. He must have texted Knuckles something. "I wish that fucker would test me. Thinks he's so fuckin' hard. I will break that prick. He better mind his own. You're_ _ **MY**_ _girl. Now, say it."_

 _"I'm your girl…" I mumbled, looking at my feet._

 _"Now get in the back and prove it to me." He hissed._

 _"Babe please, I don't want to."_

 _"What was that?" He growled, grabbing a fist full of my hair. I thrashed and kicked violently as he threatened to yank it off my head. "Do as I say and get your ass in the backseat."_

 _Shaking and sobbing, I did as told. I knew better than to argue. In the end, he always got what he wanted. I remember jumping over to the backseat, laying on my back as he climbed on top of me. I tried to protest, but was silenced with another slap before he tore my black and white flannel shirt open._

 _I stared out the sunroof as he yanked down my pants, prying my already sore and bruised thighs apart. I let the tears roll down my face as he forced his way inside me once again._

 _I looked out to the sun, thinking of a better time._

 _My days with Knuckles and Team Chaotix.'_

"Julie-Su?" A voice called out, shaking the echidna girl awake.

She quickly sat up in fright, turning to the person calling her out of her dream state. It was her little rabbit roommate. The echidna girl quickly relaxed, breathing a sigh of relief that it was only her and not her fiancé.

"Sorry to wake you." Cream apologized, "It seemed like you were having a nightmare."

"I was." Julie sighed, feeling a shudder go down her spine.

"Are you feeling okay? You look a bit pale." The rabbit questioned, resting an innocent hand to the echidna girl's cheek. Julie immediately tensed up at the touch, not used to such a gentle hand.

"I'm fine." She assured the rabbit, pulling the girl's hand quickly away.

"Oh, okay then." The rabbit nodded, "Well, you should get packing if you're leaving for vacation."

* * *

"Hey Wave!" Storm called out as he rushed over to the purple swallow setting her bags down in the parking lot.

"Hey Storm. "She turned around, offering him a warm smile.

"You haven't kicked it with us in a while." The albatross mumbled, "Everything good?"

"Just avoiding Jet again." She replied bitterly, shifting her gaze to the grass. "He's just too much for me sometimes."

"I get it. Don't even worry about it." He waved in dismissal. "So you goin' home?"

"No. I'm spending vacation with my friend."

"Oh, that's cool I guess." The albatross nodded, rubbing the back of his head.

"Everything okay with you Storm?"

"Yeah, everything's cool. I just wanted to you know, apologize for Jet. I know his gay bashing gets on your nerves, but honestly I think he only does that because he's upset he can't have you."

"Well, he's right about that one." She snarled in disgust. "You don't need to apologize for him Storm."

"I just don't want you to think I think that way too." He admitted, "I don't care what you like or don't like. You're cool because you are who you are."

"Thanks Bud." She smiled, leaping onto him for a loving hug. "I really appreciate your support."

"You know I always got you girl." He smiled, returning the embrace.

They soon ended their conversation with kind farewells before he disappeared back off into the main building. Storm was not like Jet at all. Sure he was a bully, and pretty arrogant, but he was very much for equal rights. He was the one who helped her come out. He may be a jerk to everyone else, but to Jet and Wave he was always so supportive. Even when Jet was wrong he still stuck by the hawk, because that's just the kind of friend he is.

"Hey Wave. Sorry I'm late. Had to grab a few things." A purple walrus spoke as he set his things beside hers.

"That's okay Rotor." She smiled, wrapping him in a welcoming hug. "The taxi just got here. So, are you sure you're ready for this?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." He nodded nervously.

"Coming out isn't that easy Rotor, but whatever happens I'm gonna be here to support you."

"I'm sorry to drag you home with me. I'm just too scared to tell him on my own." The walrus apologized, feeling guilty for stealing her vacation time.

"Well, you won't be alone." She smiled, taking both his hands in hers. "After this, you'll be one more step closer to Cobar…"

* * *

Megan paced back and forth in her single dorm as she chewed her nails nervously. The other day at the meeting Mighty had spilled the beans on her pregnancy, and her father was furious. He demanded to know who the father was, and she had no choice but to reveal it was Elias Acorn. He was livid, cursing out her principal in the mongoose's office until security had to separate and kick out both of them.

The poor squirrel girl was an emotional wreck. She was in anguish, having her father so disappointed in her. She was so distraught that she even reconsidered the abortion solution, but she was already too far along.

"Megan?" A voice called out as the door to her room creaked open. She turned her head to see her baby's father walk in and shut the door behind him. Her worry quickly turned into rage as she begun scolding him.

" **YOU IDIOT! HOW COULD YOU TELL MIGHTY?** " She wailed, tears streaming down her face. He quickly set her down on the bed, pulled her head to his chest as he stroked her hair in an attempt to calm her.

"I'm so sorry." He apologized, "I just needed some advice."

"He told my father at the meeting."

"He…He did?" The prince stammered.

"Yes, and now Daddy hates me and thinks I'm some tramp!"

"Meg, I'm sorry, and you're not a tramp." He assured her. "My mother already knew, but she didn't know who you were…"

"Well she does now." The pregnant teen huffed, "How can I go home for vacation? He's so upset with me."

"Maybe if he knew what kind of guy I am he wouldn't be so upset." Elias inquired, making Megan sit up to face him. "He probably thinks I'm this scumbag loser. That's probably why he's so upset. Maybe if I show him I'm a pretty standup guy he'll ease up."

"You think so?" She sniffled, wiping her tears. "My dad isn't easy to please."

"I'm kinda known to be a charmer." He smirked.

"So you'll come home with me this vacation to meet him?"

"If that's what you want." He smiled as she threw her arms around him and kissed his cheek.

"I'm so glad to have you Elias." She murmured, "I love you."

His entire body tensed up at her last three words. He wasn't sure quite how to respond, but knew he had to. He wrapped his arms around her too, looking out the window of her room.

"I love you too…" He whispered, trying his hardest to suppress an image of Sonia from his mind.

* * *

Mina strutted down the hall of the boy's dorm before coming to a halt at a specific door. By now everyone was either already gone, or outside saying their goodbyes. She knew the person she'd been looking for wasn't out there, so she pushed open his room door without warning.

Just as she predicted, he wasn't outside. He was in his bed, laying on his stomach as he breathed into a pillow. He almost looked dead, and there was such a negative aura in the room. He didn't move, not even when she opened the door and walked inside.

She pulled her expensive purple purse off her shoulder, setting it in her lap as she took a seat next to him. He instantly shot up as he felt her weight on the bed. He turned to meet her beautiful smiling face with a disgruntled look.

"What the hell do you want?" He hissed.

"Sorry I didn't knock." She shrugged, "I just figured you wouldn't open the door."

"Not if I saw you standing out there." The hedgehog huffed, "Now get out." He pointed toward the door, but she didn't budge.

"I just wanted to give this back to you." She stated calmly, handing him back the box he had sent to Nicole. "I'm really sorry things didn't work out for you Shard. Your note was beautiful, and the gesture was very sweet. Don't worry, she didn't see it."

He took the box and quickly discarded it to the side, angry that he had sent it in the first place.

"I don't need your sympathy. Now get the fuck out already." He growled once more, "You wreak like used tampons and bitch."

"It's okay to feel sad Shard." She assured him, ignoring his rude comments. Her pretty jade eyes caught sight of his trashcan, and all the letters she sent stacking up in it. "I've been meaning to apologize in person for a long time ya'know. Not sure if Nicole ever mentioned that."

"I don't care. Sorry doesn't change anything. It's just a word."

"Of course. You seem like a guy who prefers action over words."

"I don't want to sleep with your hoe-ass."

"That's not what I meant." She shook her head, stroking his cheek sympathetically. He quickly swatted her hand away. "I'm trying to console you."

"News flash, I fucking hate you! I got arrested because of you, remember? I'm a Nanite! A rapist, a thief, I'm scum."

"No you're not. I was wrong to say those things Shard, and I'm so sorry." The mongoose sighed, "I know you're upset right now. I just want to help."

"Do you really think consoling me will somehow absolve you of all your sin? Is this your way of trying to atone for what you did to me and Nicole? This isn't a fucking movie, I'm not gonna leap into your arms and forgive you. Nicole might take the high road like that, but I'm no saint."

"Shard please I—"

"No." He shook his head, "Just fuck off."

She felt tears threatening to escape her pretty jade eyes as she stood up from his side, hands balled in angry fists. The mongoose fumed with distaste. She really had only come to console him, and apologize, but he really was stubborn. Her patience was completely out the window, replaced by complete repulsion. She poked an angry finger at his nose as she scolded him.

"You know what? You can fuck off. This is exactly why Nicole chose Espio instead of you. You can't see the good in anything, not even when it's staring you right in the face. You're just a bitter brat upset about not getting his way."

"You're one to talk you cunt." He shot up from the bed to loom over her, "You feel so entitled to everything, like I have to forgive you."

Both teens were red in the face as they bickered back and forth until she could no longer take his harsh words and sent a stinging slap across his face. He stumbled back a bit, cupping his now throbbing red cheek as he regained his balance. He looked back up to her, quickly shoving her back. He wasn't one to hurt girls, but she had been pushing his limits ever since he met her.

With every action there is a reaction. She shoved him back, making him fall back onto his bed before he got up and restrained her by holding down her forearms. They glared hard, screaming as they got in each other's faces.

"Bastard!"

"Fucking whore."

It went on for so long that neither of them even knew what they were saying anymore or how to act. Their faces just got closer and closer until the gap between their lips faded, and their arguing persisted through aggressive kisses. In a storm cloud of confusion, rage, anguish, and heartache the two had crossed a line; finding the small glimmer of lust hidden in both their minds.

The kissing consisted of biting, aggressive tongue play, and angry curse words instead of pleasurable moans. She leapt onto him, linking her legs around his waist as he slammed her back hard against the wall behind them. He pinned both her arms above her head as he roughed her up, all the while both of them still carrying on their words of hatred.

"Bitch."

"Asshole."

"Slut."

Even after he threw her to his bed, and they both tore the clothes off each other, they continued their argument.

* * *

"Where's Shadow?" Eclipse questioned as he walked up to Rouge and Knuckles leaning on his car in the parking lot.

"He should have been here by now." Rouge huffed, "I swear, that boy is always taking his sweet ass time, but he complains when I take more than ten minutes in the bathroom freshening up."

"Well, my dad's expecting me around six. So, if I'm gonna drop you guys off and get home on time he better hurry up." Knuckles sighed in frustration as he opened his door and hopped in the driver's seat.

Unbeknownst to the three, Shadow was a lot closer than they realized. He was standing off by the parking lot, masked by bushes and trees as she stowed away with Sonia. They were both seated on the dirt as he cradled her in his lap and kissed her shoulder. She hummed sweetly to the touch.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" He questioned once again.

"It'll only be two weeks Shadow." She chuckled.

"I wish I could go with you, but I just can't be around Manic right now." He sighed, remembering last night.

"I understand." The magenta girl nodded, kissing his cheek. "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."

"But I do." He breathed in sorrow, "All the time."

"I promise I'll stay on track." She assured him, squeezing his hand tightly. "I want to get better now…"

"You'll call me every day?"

"I promise I'll call you." She giggled, "I think they're looking for you. I'd better get back to my brothers."

They both shared one long and loving farewell kiss before they both snuck their way out of the bushes and back to their respective parties. She went towards her brothers, while he went toward his. Eclipse was the first to notice him, and the energetic darkling quickly rushed over and embraced the hedgehog, making him grimace.

"Shadow!" He cooed with a smile as the hedgehog shoved him off. "Why can't you just come home with me? Dad misses you."

"That man wouldn't miss me if his life depended on it. He's a workaholic bastard married to a slutty gold digger."

"Um, my mom?" The darkling questioned unamused.

"I'd rather ring my own neck with a watering hose than go back there." Shadow shuddered, "Even if it means I have to spend the rest of my days with that bat and her cougar mother."

"Hey!" Rouge hollered, overhearing his statement. "She's not into guys that young!"

"Her last boyfriend was nineteen. Your mom's thirty-three."

"Whatever, just get in the car." Rouge pouted, jumping back into the passenger seat as she slammed the door shut.

"Your mom dated someone my age?" Knuckles grinned, "How she look though?"

"Shut up." The bat rolled her eyes.

* * *

"So, you and Fiona fell out again." Mephiles mused, flicking a piece of lint from his sleeve as he sat beside Scourge on the steps of the main building.

"Yup." He nodded, staring off into the distance. "Honestly, don't even care anymore. I only asked her back out because I felt bad, and missed the pussy."

"Ya'know, Rosy seems pretty open." The dark hedgehog inquired as he looked over at the green hedgehog.

"I'd rather fuck a meat grinder." He cringed, "But if that's your thing, go for it."

"She said something to me while we were getting drunk last night." He kept his eyes locked on Scourge who didn't even look his way. "She said you did something very bad to her. What did she mean?"

"I did something bad to her?" He snarled with a sarcastic chuckle. "That bitch ruined my life. I didn't do shit to her. That was all her choice…" Scourge's voice trailed off as he caught sight of her. The auburn-haired girl he so desperately adored…talking to some guy.

Mephiles followed his eyes and caught sight of the same scene. He watched as Scourge balled his fists and gritted his teeth at the sight. The auburn-haired girl was smiling, a deep blush to her cheeks as the suave monkey took her hand in his. The dark hedgehog had never seen Scourge look so emotional. He scanned quickly, picking up on several emotions that just didn't add up. Anger, jealousy, fear, sorrow, and above all hate.

The green hedgehog nearly lost it when he saw the monkey tuck a stray strand of red hair behind her ear, making her giggle and blush even more.

"She'll be staying here for vacation you know…" Mephiles cooed, making Scourge half-smile a bit.

* * *

"About your offer last night…" Blaze mumbled, rubbing her arm nervously as she stood in front of Sonic in the parking lot. "I've realized that I don't feel the same way I did last summer anymore. I only carried unresolved feelings, and I think I just needed some closure."

After a long sleepless night of thinking—and hearing Amy curse her name and sob in the bed across the room—the cat had realized her feelings for Sonic really were no more. All she was looking for was closure, because he was her first, and they left things so unresolved. But now everything was as clear as day, and her mind no longer conflicted with her heart. Both of them finally called out the same name, Silver.

"I get it. I'm actually not looking to be in a relationship right now anyway…I'm just glad you're back in my life right now Blaze. Honestly, everything is just so crazy." The blue hedgehog sighed, pulling the cat into a much needed hug.

"I'm sorry about Amy, and even more sorry that I didn't tell you myself."

"You knew?" He pulled away to raise an eyebrow at her.

"Yes. Fiona told me. I was going to tell you, but I didn't think you'd want to hear it from me."

"I don't blame you Blaze, and I'm not mad. I woulda found out sooner or later." He sighed, "Just promise me we won't keep secrets from each other anymore?"

"Of course." She smiled as they held hands.

"Good…because I have to tell you I kissed—" Before he could finish he noticed her gaze fly somewhere else. He turned his head in the direction she was staring to see her ex-boyfriend walk by, giggling with a golden-quilled girl as they walked into the main building. He turned back to the cat who nearly bursted into jealous tears.

"Who's that girl?" Sonic questioned, not recognizing the tenrec.

"A vulture…" That cat mumbled before staggering off toward the main building after them.

Sonic tried to halt her desperate chasing but was quickly called back to the parking lot. He turned around to see his mother waving hello from inside her white SUV. He quickly turned heel and dashed over to her car. He tossed his bags in the back before leaping into the backseat and plopping down next to Tails.

The fox held his head down in shame as Sonia looked out the window from the passenger seat. Sonic darted his eyes over to the carefree Manic with a grimace before he placed a comforting hand on Tails' back.

Aleena could sense the tension in the car, and quickly noticed Sonia's new figure, but didn't think much of it. She sighed, continuing to drive out of the parking lot as she tried to lighten the mood.

"I've got a wonderful surprise for you all back home." Their mother sang sweetly.

* * *

After a long taxi ride, Amy finally arrived home. She stomped up the stone steps to her cousin's main house, quickly unlocking the door before walking inside. Mari-An and Rob were seated on the couch while their baby sat in his bouncer seat. Rob quickly perked up at the sight of Amy, getting up to give her a hug.

"Amy, I'm so glad your home." He cheered happily, scooping her into a hug and kissing her forehead. "I thought you were bringing friends home?"

"Canceled." She muttered angrily.

He didn't like that upset tone, or that sorrowful look on her face. His smile soon fell as concern rose up in him.

"Is everything okay?" He questioned.

"Just leave me alone okay?" The pink girl snapped before dragging her suitcase up the wooden steps to her room.

Rob felt a pang of guilt and nervousness spike in his heart, but his distraught mood was quickly calmed when Mari-An put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"It might be girl troubles." She assured him, "I'll go have a talk with her. You watch over Jon."

Upstairs, Amy was in her room. She was tearing through her closet, pulling out trunks, and useless junk. She sifted through her things until finally finding the red suitcase she had been looking for in the far back. She pulled it out, immediately undoing the four locks holding it shut. Inside were her most cherished momentous

"He's wrong, he's wrong, he's wrong." She repeated over and over again as she sifted through her favorite things.

Her heart shattered to pieces as she finally pulled out her most valued possession. The green umbrella Sonic had given her that very first day…

Only it wasn't green.

It was blue…just like Manic had told her.

Turns out, Sonic the Hedgehog was never her true hero.

* * *

Aleena parked her car in the driveway before pulling out the keys and turning back to her children with a big smile. She'd been boasting about the best present ever, and really hyping them up. Now they were all curious, but the tension in the car was still there.

"Go on." She cheered, "You'll all love it."

"Chaos I hope it's one of your dinners. I'm starving!" Sonic whined, hopping out of the car before helping Tails out. He then walked off, leaving Manic to leap out of the car on his own with a grimace.

"Please let it be that room makeover you promised me!" Sonia squealed as she reached for the nob to the front door.

They pushed the door open, all of their eyes widening in shock at the sight of their gift.

"It's been a long time…" The hedgehog sitting on the couch smirked, rising to his feet as he walked over to them. "I've missed you all."

"D-D-Daddy?" Sonia stammered in disbelief.

"Hello Pumpkin." He smiled as she dashed into his open arms for a hug.

"Oh Daddy I've missed you!" The magenta girl cried out happily. Aleena just stood by the door smiling at the sight. Jules quickly set her down off to the side before approaching Sonic, ruffling his quills with a smile.

"Hey there Hero." He smiled.

"Dad, I can't believe you're here for real!" The blue hedgehog exclaimed, looking up to the older blue hedgehog with excitement. "I thought you'd be overseas for a few more months."

"I took some time off." Jules explained before scooping up the now cheerful Tails. "There's my boy genius. How's it been at GHA?"

"It's been a blast Dad." Tails smiled sheepishly, "I scored really high on the nationwide test."

"Of course you did, you're a champ!" Their father cheered, setting Tails back down to the ground.

His gaze had the misfortune of falling on his last child, the problem child. He sighed heavily before walking over to his green son.

Manic felt his throat tighten, as he balled his fists and stared daggers at his 'so-called father'. Just before Jules' hand could come down on Manic's shoulder he quickly swatted him away.

"Don't touch me." The green hedgehog hissed.

"Manic please." Aleena whined, "He's your father…"

"Barely…" Manic growled before storming off upstairs to his room.

"He isn't still hanging around that Scourge boy is he?" Jules questioned the rest of his children, who shook their heads, "Good. "

"He's just been having an off week." Sonia mumbled bitterly.

"I see." Their father nodded, "Well, we've got a few things to discuss. It would be better if Manic were here when we tell you this…"

"I'm sure he won't care." Sonic shrugged, "So what's up guys? Are we going on a vacation to DigItaly together or something?"

"That would be **SO** awesome!" Sonia cheered.

"A family vacation!" Tails added with hopeful eyes, only breaking Aleena's heart. She clung to her husband as tears brimmed her eyes, making all of her children frown.

"Mom?" Tails questioned, "What happened?"

"Son…." Jules breathed in, holding back his own tears. "Your biological mother is seeking you out. She wants you back…"

"But…you are my mom?" Tails looked up to Aleena in confusion before she got to her knees and embraced him tightly as she sobbed into his shoulder.

"That's right." She said between her frantic wails, clinging to him tightly. "And no one is taking my baby away from me…"

* * *

 **Shorter than usual, but it's just an establishing chapter for the upcoming bullshit and their tiny vacation.**

 **Mu last chapter was received so freaking well I was crying! I'm so happy to see more reviewers coming out of that shadows! I urge you to keep reviewing like that, it just makes me so happy! Unfortunately right now there's some stupid error with FF that won't let me see reviews, but hopefully that will be fixed.**

 **These next two chapters focus heavily on some characters and their families, and as you can tell so far...not everyone is happy to return home, or even have a home to return to.**

 **Shard and Mina...but what about Manic? Oh how cruel high school romance can be sometimes.**

 **I know Blaze's indecisiveness have some of you up the wall in annoyance, but she's finally made her choice and it's Silver...but the real question is...is it too late?**

 **Scourge's closet-obsession with Sally, the 'bad' thing he did to Rosy to make her hate him so much, and his mystery history with Manic...man he's just chop full of secrets isn't he?**

 **Poor Julie-Su, still stuck with that abusive fiance. A lot of you are thinking how stupid she is, but being trapped in an abusive relationship is not something as simple as just walking out of. She's been living like this for four years, and they have a daughter together. It's awful, but it's a harsh reality for some.**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy**

 **Rotor finally comes out to his father**

 **Cream and Cosmo have a heart-to-heart**

 **Amy looks for comfort in all the wrong places**

 **Sally takes Ken up on his lunch date invitation and finds herself quite smitten**

 **Two hetero students find themselves in a questionable situation**

 **Scourge confronts Sally alone again, showing off an impressive skill he learned just for her**

 **Blaze confronts Silver and begs for another shot**

 **In the midst of all this craziness, another girl finds out she's pregnant...but who?**

 **And so much more!**


	30. Chapter 30

**WARNING: Homophobia, homosexual scene, sexual scene, teen pregnancy**

* * *

 **Chapter 30: Meet The Parents**

 _' "He's very religious, and according to the bible homosexuality is wrong."_

 _"The bible also says Chaos was born from a rock. Science has debunked a ton of shit that stupid book says."_

 _"Just please don't talk like that in front of him! He's a pastor Wave!"_

 _"Fine, I get it Rotor. I won't mention that I'm gay until you do."_

 _"I'm really scared…" Rotor shook nervously in the backseat beside me._

 _"Hey…" I called his attention, taking his hand in mine to squeezed it. "Everything's gonna be okay. I'm sure he'll love you just the same. You'll still be his son."_

 _"You're right…" He nodded, looking over to me with a smile._

 _Then our taxi pulled up in front of a classic baby blue house with a white-picket fence and beautiful green grass lawn located in Frozen North City. I wasn't surprised in the slightest to see Rotor came from such a lovely innocent home._

 _We've been here for about a week now. I keep telling him he should just say it, but he insisted that we bide our time and wait for the right moment. If I left it all up to him there probably would never be a right moment.'_

" **OW!** " Rotor screeched after the bird sitting across from him at the long wooden dinner table sent a kick to his ankle. She shifted her eyes from him, to the older walrus sitting at the head of the table, ushering him to speak.

"Something wrong Son?" The older walrus questioned before sipping his red wine.

"N-N-No Dad." Rotor stammered, sending Wave an apologetic look.

Sherman Walrus was a pastor for the local church in his city. A very renowned and beloved member of the Chaostian community. He married a fellow church goer named Georgette, bearing two sons. Skeeter was his older son who died in the line of duty defending Mobius from the DigItalian takeover in the Great War. After the loss of her older son, Georgette fell ill and eventually died of literal heartbreak, leaving Sherman and Rotor all alone.

"It's good to have you home Rotor, and I'm happy to have met your friend." The pastor smiled to the two, "I hate that you're so far away, but I know you're doing good things out there. Your mother and brother would be so proud. Chaos rest their souls."

"Thanks Dad." Rotor smiled.

"So, Mr. Walrus…" Wave piped up, getting a nervous look from Rotor. "You deal with a lot of troubled youth right? Ones who might be…sexually confused. What are your thoughts on people like that?"

" **WAVE!** "

"I deal with those disgusting people every day." Sherman sighed, putting his fork down. "Honestly, sometimes I fall ill from sitting in the confessional booth, listening to these young boys confess such vial acts they've encountered with other men. Chaos have mercy on their sinning souls."

"Has it ever occurred to you that some people are just born that way?!" The bird fumed, clenching her fork tightly. "Why would they be disgusting if Chaos made them that way?"

"Chaos would never make such a mistake." The pastor growled, annoyed at her suggestion. "Chaos is a perfect being, and we should all strive to be in his image! Homosexuals should be burned at the stake—"

"Maybe Chaos was homosexual himself!? How do you know!?"

"I will **NOT** tolerate such disgusting accusations at this table." Rotor's father boomed, standing up to slap his hands down hard on the table.

"Dad please." Rotor sprung up, tears poking at the corners of his eyes.

"You wouldn't be talking like this if it was your son who was gay!" Wave yelped, standing up from her seat as well.

Suddenly, an eerie silence fell over the room as the older walrus' eyes widened and peered over at his now crying son. Wave clenched her fists in anger as Sherman shook his head, refusing to believe such a horrible thing to be true.

"Rotor…"

"Yes Dad." The younger walrus sobbed, "I'm gay…"

"And so am I." Wave chimed in, tone as furious as ever.

The pastor looked down at his cup of wine, refusing to meet his desperate son's gaze. Rotor quickly rushed over to him, holding onto his arms as he begged his father to acknowledge him for who he really is.

"Please Dad I—"

"Don't." His father held up a hand, cutting him off. "Don't call me that."

"W-What?" Rotor stammered as his father pointed to the front door a few feet away.

"I want you out, both of you."

"But Dad…I'm your son." Rotor breathed.

His father rose his hand, locking eyes with him and without missing a beat he said something that shattered Rotor's entire world.

"As far as I'm concerned, both of my sons are dead…"

* * *

Knuckles rose from one of his usual afternoon naps. His eyes fluttered open, greeted by the sight of his ceiling fan. He smiled to himself, remembering he was home again, but that smile faded when he reached out to feel the bat beside him only to find nothing but pillows and scrunched up sheets. He sighed, pulling his phone off the dresser beside his bed as he texted away.

 ** _Knuckles:_** _Good Morning Sexy._

 ** _Rouge:_** _Good AFTERNOON Sexy._

 ** _Knuckles:_** _I miss you. Come over?_

 ** _Rouge:_** _I guess, Shadow's kind of been giving me the silent treatment. Thank Chaos you don't live as far as Amy Lol. I'll be there in a bit._

 ** _Knuckles:_** _True. How do you think she's holdin' up? That Scourge thing really surprised me._

 ** _Rouge:_** _Honestly, I have no clue. Sonic swears he's done with her though._

 ** _Knuckles:_** _Poor girl, I totally get where she's coming from, but I'm sure they'll get back together eventually._

 ** _Rouge:_** _Those two are made for each other._

"Knuckles!" A voice called out from downstairs, making the echidna sit up in his bed. He didn't expect his father to be home at all, but lately it seems that he's been around a lot more often.

"Dad?" Knuckles questioned, tossing his phone back on the dresser before scurrying off downstairs. He looked around the living room to find his dad seated in that large comfy arm-chair he loved. The older echidna sent a smile his way, setting down his newspaper on the coffee table before ushering Knuckles to take a seat on the couch across from him.

"What's going on?" The red echidna asked, plopping down on the couch as instructed.

"We need to take about something very important."

"If this is about the Master Emerald again—"

"It's not." Locke waved in dismissal, "It's about me…"

"You?" Knuckles rose an eyebrow, "Dad? Are you like, sick or something?"

"No, nothing like that." His father chuckled, crinkling up the features of his face. "I wanted to talk to you about me possibly getting remarried…"

"You and Mom have been talking?" Knuckles gasped excitedly.

"Er, no…" Locke cringed at the thought of his ex-wife. "I'm going to ask Alicia Acorn to marry me son."

" **MY PRINCIPAL?!** "

"Well, she's been a good friend of mine since high school…" Locke rubbed the back of his head as an awkward blush formed on his face. "I hope this doesn't upset you. I know there's still a piece of you that carries a bit of hope that me and your mother might get back together someday…"

"No Dad." Knuckles shook his head, smiling up to his father. "I'm happy for you. I don't want you to be a bitter old man I have to take care of the rest of my life. You better seal the deal!"

"I'm glad I have your support Knuckles." Locke laughed, offering his son a warm smile. "Now I've just got to tell your grandfather."

"I'm pretty sure hearing that you're finally getting remarried will send him into cardiac arrest."

"You're probably right, especially when I tell him it's Alicia." His father chuckled, "Chaos, that man has been waiting for this day for twenty years."

A knock sounded on the door, making both of them perk up. Knuckles quickly got up from the couch, dashing over to the door. He opened it and greeted Rouge with a kiss before ushering her inside. Locke just smiled at the bat, who waved politely.

"The little ringpop thief from grade school." Locke mused, a grin on his face.

"Dad, this is Rouge…my girlfriend."

"We've met a few times before." His father chuckled, walking up to Rouge and shaking her hand.

"Long time no see Mr. Money Bags."

"Your mother teach you that one?" He laughed, "Tell me, how is The Bride of Right Nights doing these days?"

* * *

Nicole had been with Espio in his hometown for a week now. His mother wasn't due back until today, so they spent the past seven days exploring the sites of Rainbow Valley, an exclusive town that bordered Mobotropolis. Since his mother was a part of the army they moved constantly, but this place has served as his home for the past four years. He didn't mind it so much, it was less than twenty minutes away from his closest friends.

It was a peaceful and quaint little town, the majority of the townies being chameleons. The architecture was very old Victorian, and the streets were so clean. Flower petals scattered about everywhere as the autumn air swept them away from their stems. Even in a gloomy season the town was still utterly beautiful.

As she helped Espio set the dinner table, the lynx stole a few glances out the window, admiring the beautiful scenery. The two had spent all day cleaning up, and preparing dinner for his mother's arrival. Shortly after the table was set, the front door creaked open and in came a pink chameleon dressed in military attire. Espio lit up at the sight of her, immediately rushing over to kneel before her in a respectful manner.

"Mother." He breathed, head bowed in honor.

"Espio please." She rolled her eyes, a big smile on her face as she chucked her hat to the floor and outstretched her arms. "No formalities. I'm your mother for Chaos sake." He smiled at her before standing up and giving her a long overdue hug.

"It's good to see you."

"You look more and more like your father every time I come home." His mother smiled, putting a hand to his cheek as she admired the traits he had inherited from her late husband.

Her hazel eyes quickly caught sight of a timid girl standing a few feet behind them. She could tell the girl was of DigItalian decent. She rose a skeptical eyebrow before Espio turned around and walked over to Nicole, taking her hand as he introduced them.

"Mother, this is my girlfriend…Nicole the Lynx." Espio stated, smiling at Nicole before turning to his mother as he awaited a reaction. The lynx girl shook nervously, offering up her most confident smile.

Being a medic, the chameleon woman quickly noticed the healing bruised features of the Lynx's face, taking note of the choppy hair and scarred lips. She could tell the girl had been brutalized before, and only assumed it to be for the very same reason her husband was murdered in the park twelve years ago.

She smiled to herself as her son and his girlfriend were replaced with an image of her and her husband in their younger days.

"Nicole." The chameleon woman repeated with sweetness, extending her hand to the lynx. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Vigil."

* * *

 **INCOMING CALL**

Sonic peered down at his phone from under the dinner table, a picture of Amy hugging him from behind as she blew a kiss to his camera while he took a selfie lit up on his screen. He grimaced at the image, immediately sending the call to voicemail before shoving the device back in his pocket.

"Who was that?" Sonia whispered to him from his right.

"Amy again." He muttered bitterly, "Don't want to deal with her right now."

"Sonic…you've got to understand where she's coming from. It's not easy being an insecure girl." His sister remarked knowingly, clutching her fork tightly.

"She slept with someone else! The one person I hate the most in this world." He growled back, not wanting to entertain the thought of the pink hedgehog anymore. "I'm so far done with her it's not even funny."

"You slept with her best friend and never told her." His sister shot back, both speaking in a hush whisper. "You're not so high and mighty ya'know."

"I slept with Blaze last summer, not hours before we started dating."

"That girl is hopelessly in love with you." The magenta hedgehog replied, narrowing her eyes at him. "She didn't mean it and you know it. She deserves another shot. You won't ever find someone who loves you like she does."

"I've got girlys lined up like a checkout line." He retorted in annoyance, "I don't need a girlfriend, especially her."

"You're such a pig." His sister huffed, turning her attention to the cellphone in her lap.

"What are you two whispering about?" Aleena questioned from the head of the table.

"Oh nothing Mother. Just school stuff." Sonia waved.

"Is there something wrong with your food Dear?" Her mother questioned, "You haven't touched it once."

"Oh everything's fine." The magenta girl assured her, "I'm just not hungry."

Tails didn't eat much either, he stared at his plate, poking a few peas with his fork. He kept his head low, distraught gaze fixed on the food in front of him. The news of his biological parent seeking him out was weighing heavily on his mind, as were the harsh words of Manic from the dorm party.

The green hedgehog was seated right across from him, angrily stuffing a fork full of mashed potatoes into his mouth as he stared daggers at his father sitting on the other side of the table by Sonic. The old man caught his gaze, returning the cold look before sitting up to wipe his face with a napkin. He quickly turned his attention to a more important child, the disheartened Tails.

"Everything alright Son?" Jules asked the fox, who immediately perked up.

"S-Sorry." Tails stammered, offering his father a smile. "Just thinking…"

"I don't want you to worry Tails." The older blue hedgehog stated in a stern tone, "I won't let anything happen to ruin us. We're a family." His statement coaxed an angry huff out of Manic, immediately gaining his attention.

"Right." The green hedgehog muttered under his breath.

"Is something funny Manic?" His upset father questioned.

"Yeah, just the smell in the air from your bullshit."

"Manic!" His mother scolded him. The green hedgehog just shook his head, tossing his napkin over his plate before storming off back up to his room. His father sighed in annoyance, losing patience with his problem child.

"Sorry Dad." Sonic apologized for his brother.

"That boy will be the death of me."

"He's just going through the 'I hate my dad' phase." Sonia shrugged, "He doesn't really mean it."

"Well, I'm glad you three aren't going through such a horrible phase." He smiled at the rest of his children, "I hope you don't believe him Tails. I meant what I said. No one is going to ruin this family. Whatever happens in court tomorrow, we will come out okay."

"Thanks Dad." Tails smiled before looking around at his adoptive family. "I love you guys…"

Manic stormed up the steps and dashed back into his room being sure to lock it before throwing himself on the green-sheeted twin-sized bed. He heaved angrily into his pillow, digging his nails into the mattress underneath him as he muffled his angry cries.

There was a time Manic loved his father just as much as his siblings did, but as the years went on and Jules was around less and less that love slowly began to diminish. Having a parent in the army was a struggle, because of his job Jules had missed out on so many important aspects of their lives. First words, first day of school, pretty much everything.

Then Tails' adoption sealed the deal, completely shattering the relationship between him and his father. Eventually Jules stopped looking in his direction, he didn't even refer to him as 'son' anymore. Manic held a great animosity toward his father, not only for being absent most of his life, but for being a lousy father to him whenever he was around.

* * *

Sally sat on the big wooden desk in her mother's office as she watched the older chipmunk at the filing cabinet, pulling out student records and other papers. Her siblings had both taken off with their significant others, and now her mother had just announced her leave for tomorrow.

"I'm sorry Sally. I wish I could spend more time with you, but I've got court tomorrow."

"That's alright Mother. I understand." Her daughter nodded, "At least we got to spend this last week together."

"I'm grateful for the time." The chestnut-haired woman stood up, smiling back at her as she closed the filing cabinet. "I have to go meet with one of my students. He's going through some troubling ordeals and I just have to be there for him."

"Then stop wasting time and go!" Sally beckoned her out the door, following her out as she shut the door to her office.

"I'm just so nervous. I haven't been to court since my custody battle with your father…" Alicia mumbled bitterly before kissing her daughter's forehead goodbye. "I love you. Stay safe."

"I love you too." Sally smiled, waving to her as she disappeared down the hallway.

"Hey Sally!" A voice called out, making the auburn-haired girl turn to peer down the hall behind her. It was Ken again, the monkey boy who kept getting lost around campus.

"Lost again?" She chuckled, walking over to him and giving him a welcoming hug.

"How'd you know?" He laughed, rubbing the back of his head.

"I had a feeling." She shrugged, "I've shown you this place a hundred times in the last three days alone! How is it that you keep getting lost?"

"Maybe I just like your company." He inquired with a smirk.

"Then save us both the energy and just invite me to the café for some lunch!" Sally joked, poking his strong arm.

"Alright then. Would you like to go have some lunch with me?"

"Of course Ken…"

They linked arms, smiling and blushing as they made their way down the hall. Neither of them alerted to the angry gaze casted upon them from down the hall, or the figure that had been lurking behind them for quite some time.

His teeth clenched tightly in rage, fists balled in anger, and cold eyes full of hate.

* * *

"Amy?" Rob called out beyond the pink hedgehog's white bedroom door. "You've been cooped up in your room all week. Please come out, Jon misses you."

"I'm fine Rob." She shouted back at him, pulling one of her pink fluffy pillows over her face. "Just go away."

Rob sighed in defeat, going back downstairs to take a seat at the kitchen table. The baby echidna was seated in his high-chair as Mari-An attended to the bacon frying on the stove. She looked back at him, taking not of his gloomy expression.

"I knew allowing her to see a boy would only cause trouble." He muttered.

"Robbin, you can't keep her locked up in a tower." The light-orange echidna chuckled, "She's gotta learn some time."

"Maybe not a tower, but her room would just need a few locks—"

"Robbin." His wife narrowed her eyes at him, "You can't shield her from the world. Breakups happen, she'll get over it."

"I just hate to see her so sad…" He admitted, cupping his face in his hands.

Mari-An turned off the stove, fixing their plates before presenting one to her baby and then her husband. She then put an arm around his shoulder, coaxing him to lift his head so she could kiss him.

"It's impossible to be happy all the time Love." She reminded him, "Just give it time and she'll be back to her old chipper self again."

"She's going to have to meet with her parents tomorrow." He sighed, "I don't want her to go through that."

"I've heard they've both been making progress in therapy."

"They're scum Mari-An. They'll always be scum."

Amy laid lifelessly in her bed, buried in pink and white pillows as she looked up at the ceiling. She missed Sonic, and the better days where everyone was happy. She's went through great struggles in her life, but her friends have always been her drive to stay positive. Now she was bitter, betrayed, and hopeless.

Sonic had never given her that umbrella, Blaze had slept with him, and everyone looked at her so differently after hearing about her encounters with Scourge. She felt so ashamed of herself, and so lonely. The fact that she'd have to face her abusive parents tomorrow didn't help.

She was terrified. All she wanted was to hear Sonic's voice, consoling her about having to face the demons of her childhood, she wanted to tell him of all the horrors Little Amy from down the street had to face and confide in him all her fear, but all she could do was sob on his voicemail.

She needed someone, anyone who would listen. She scrolled through her contacts and began dialing numbers. Rouge was out, Cream had her phone turned off, and Sonia had ignored the call. She had one number left, and it only fueled her anguish to read the name out loud, but she pressed the call button anyway.

 _"What do you want?"_ The voice on the other line snapped hastily. She sobbed lightly into the phone, making the person on the other line question her well-being. _"Hey, you alright Pinky?"_

 _"C-C-Can you come pick me up?"_ She stuttered through cries.

 _"Sure. Where are you?"_

 _"Mercia."_

 _"Damn, hope you got that gas money."_

 _"You know I do." She chuckled a bit._

 _"Alright then, I'll see you in a bit I guess."_

 _"Thanks Scourge."_

* * *

Cream scurried up to the top floor of the girl's dormitory after sneaking the master key away from her mother just moments earlier. She darted over to room 308, the dorm of the gang's newcomer Cosmo. To be completely honest, the rabbit was by no means thrilled to have Cosmo integrate into their group of friends, especially after finding out the seedrian liked her crush, but as time went on Cream grew more and more comfortable with the idea.

Cosmo was sweet, she wasn't this ruthless bitch trying to steal Tails away. Although the two had been after the same boy, the green-haired girl showed no disrespect or animosity. If anything Cosmo had been completely understanding, passive, and genuine.

Love triangles are always so complicated. The poor rabbit watched how ugly a love quarrel had turned Amy and Rouge when they went through it, she had no intention of letting a boy get to her like that, even though she really adored Tails.

The two freshmen girls made a love triangle look so innocent and civil, probably the only one in high school history to not end up in shady gossip or fighting.

"Cosmo?" Cream called out, knocking on the wooden door. She pressed her ear up against it, listening as the seedrian sniffled lightly to herself. "Cosmo please. I'm coming in." The rabbit called out once more, this time opening the door.

The seedrian was laying on her bed, her body curled up into a ball as she hugged her knees and bowed her head. A sorrowful look crossed Cream's face as she took a seat next to her, stroking the green-haired girl's back in a comforting motion.

Cosmo quickly wiped her face, sitting up to meet Cream with puffy eyes. Before she could even ask how the rabbit got in she held the master key up and offered a weak smile.

"Cosmo…please don't cry." Cream whispered, wiping a single tear from the seedrian's cheek with her finger. "I'm so sorry about what Manic said. He wasn't in the right frame of mind."

"But he was right." She murmured sorrowfully, "I was too intrusive."

"Not even in the slightest!" The rabbit assured her, "He was really messed up, and didn't mean it. We're all really happy to have made your acquaintance, especially Tails…"

"No, no." Cosmo shook her head in disbelief. "I feel as though I overstepped. I doubt you're happy to have ever met me Cream. I've caused you so much anguish and heartache."

"That's not true at all. I'm very glad I met you."

"But Tails—"

"That doesn't matter to me!" Cream exclaimed, cupping the seedrian's face in her hands. "You're a wonderful person Cosmo. I'm glad you're my friend…and love rival, because at least I'll know Tails is with someone extraordinary if he chooses you."

Cosmo smiled brightly, a deep blush forming on her face as Cream held her gaze with innocent light-brown eyes. "Thank you Cream. I'll be happy knowing that both of you are happy if he chooses you."

"Let's not worry ourselves with that drama right now." The rabbit cheered, pulling the seedrian off the bed. "Pack a bag! You're moving into my dorm for the week, and the rest of this vacation will be all about us! No Tails, no books, no worries."

"I'd like that Cream…"

* * *

Elias was nervous to meet Joss at first, but with Megan's words of encouragement and a lot of self-help tutorials on YouTube, he had found the strength to walk up to the older squirrel and offer his hand.

Megan and her father lived in a three bedroom cabin-style home just outside Mobotropolis. Her father was extremely old fashion with a great distaste for technology. He opted to do everything manually, chopping wood for fire, and using all the resources from nature to establish comfortable living conditions without the use of electricity.

The prince was very surprised to see Megan came from such a home, considering she was practically always glued to her tablet and cellphone. Probably because she grew up completely deprived of such things.

Joss was skeptical at first, but after spending a week with his daughter's boyfriend he found himself falling in love with the possibility of a son-in-law. Elias was as charming as they came, a smile that could take over the world. What really impressed the squirrel was the amount of respect, especially considering he was the son of Alicia the Chipmunk.

On top of being such a standup and respectable young man, he was quite strong. At first glance you'd probably think he was too pretty to lift up anything heavier than a feather, but underneath the white silk dress-shirt Elias bore an incredibly physic.

He helped chop wood, hunt wild flicky for food, and carried buckets of water from the well. Joss was relieved to know that he didn't need to put any fear into the boy, because he had already asked Megan to marry him.

The three sat at the dinner table, Megan and Elias across from each other as Joss sat at the end of the table between them. They laughed and sipped their glasses of water as the fireplace behind them crackled and provided a cozy warmth to the room.

"I'm sorry I was so upset with you Meggie." Joss apologized to his daughter, "I pictured something much worse than you described."

"Like what?" Elias chuckled.

"A male version of your mother." The father admitted through hysterical laughter.

"You know my mother?"

"Everyone who grew up around here knows your mother. The fierce Queen Alicia. A delinquent with a rebel cause. A real freedom fighter."

"You must be mistaking her for someone else." The prince chuckled, waving in dismissal. "My mom is as patient and passive as they come!"

"Alicia? Passive?" Joss bellowed with laughter, "That woman was far from who she is today."

"Really? She never really talks about her past."

"Well, I'm glad you two are getting along." Megan chimed in once she was down devouring everything on her plate. "Now can one of you help me stand up? I need to use the restroom."

"Of course." Elias offered up first, impressing Joss once again as he attentively ran over to the other side of the table to help up his pregnant girlfriend. Joss smiled as he watched the young prince help his daughter out of the chair and toward the bathroom.

"Thank you." She smiled at her boyfriend as they made their way down the hall.

"No need." He waved her off, opening the door to the bathroom for her. "I've gotta look out for you two." He smirked before she kissed him.

"I'm so glad this is working out Elias." She whispered to him before shutting the door.

* * *

"Ohhh Shadow!" A seductive voice cooed from the kitchen.

Shadow sat on the black leather couch of Rouge's living room, ignoring the voice of her mother as he continued playing Call of Duty on the forty-five inch TV mounted on the dark purple wall before him. He soon felt hands pull his headphones down to his neck before snaking their way down to his chest.

He shivered as he inhaled that rancid Victoria Secret perfume and felt the warm breath of the older bat woman's lips blow on his neck. He held his breath as the seductress giggled playfully in his ear, making him spring to his feet, lightly shaking off his body from her touch.

"What is it?" He grumbled, face still red.

"I just wanted to let you know Rouge went out with her boyfriend." She cooed, walking around the couch to stand in front of him.

She was dressed in a tight black strapless dress, barely rising above her chest, and barely falling past her mid-thigh. Her matching heels gave her a good four inches of height over him, making her over-sized bust fall in his line of vision. She put both hands on her hips, swaying them as she walked closer to him. The bangles on her wrists clinking with every step.

"I know." He mumbled, "She said she'd be home soon."

"Well, she just called and said she'd be staying with him for dinner." The older bat giggled, tossing her long hair to the side. "I was wondering if you wanted to…eat out." She added seductively, making the ebony hedgehog so uncomfortable.

"I…Uh, I've got to go." He stammered, grabbing his motorcycle keys of the coffee table before scurrying off out the door.

She just giggled to herself, watching him from out the window as he struggled to hop on his back with his pants feeling so tight from her sexually suggestive comments.

* * *

Blaze had been swept up in a whirlwind of depression and other sorrowful emotions. For the last week she's had no one to talk to, and felt devastated. All her friends were either mad at her, busy, or off campus. This year had proved to be nothing but drama and heartache for the cat.

She's occasionally passed Silver and Gold in the hallways, only to have them avert their gazes from her as if she were nothing. It pained her to see Silver constantly walk away from her, but she knew in her heart what she did to him was wrong.

She let her possible feelings for Sonic ruin her actual feelings for Silver, and destroy her friendship with Amy. Now she was left in ruins, but was determined to mend these bonds thanks to the encouragement of the blue hedgehog who was finally back in her life like he used to be, only now there wasn't an awkward romantic tension.

"Silver." Blaze yelped, finally catching him alone at the picnic tables by the fountain. His ears quickly fell at the sight of her, his smile quickly fading. He went to get up from his seat, but she had already made her way up to him.

"What." He mumbled, shifting his gaze to the fountain.

"Please look at me." She whined, heartache evident in her voice. He complied reluctantly, turning his amber eyes to her face. "What you saw that night—"

"You were gonna kiss him." He cut her off flatly.

"That was just the alcohol."

"That excuse? So original."

"I'm serious Silver." She assured him, voice full of angst. "I thought I loved him still, but I really never did."

"Could have fooled me."

"It's true. I guess I was so upset because I never got closure, and when I finally did everything became clear to me. You mean everything to me Silver, I love you, and don't want this to be over."

"Blaze." He stopped her with putting up his hand like a stop sign before looking her dead in the eye. "This should have never started." He replied coldly, shattering her heart to pieces.

"Wh-Why?" She wept, tears threatening to escape her.

"I love you more than anything in the world. I have since the first day I met you Blaze, even after I read your diary and knew you had sex with him…I still wanted to be with you, but you were too focused on him and wouldn't let me in."

"But now I—"

"There's no now." He shook his head in refusal, "I'm not gonna be your next best thing. I'm more than just an option. I deserve better than what you gave me."

"From who? Gold?" The cat hissed in an upset tone.

"I'm not saying there's someone else. You really hurt me, but I still love you. I just need some time to myself." He sighed, kissing her tear-stained cheek before walking off to his dorm.

* * *

Rosy's room was the very last room on the highest floor of the girl's dormitory. It used to be a bathroom, but was renovated into a large suite dorm. Everyone refused to room with the girl known as 'Psycho', so every year the pink hedgehog always got this room to herself.

She laid in her twin-sized bed, arms wrapped around the sobbing red vixen as she stroked her rust-colored hair, shushing her. Fiona had been staying in her room for the last week in an attempt to avoid Scourge.

Rosy was always there for her whenever she and the green hedgehog had a falling out. The pink girl was unusually understanding of her troubles with him, but that made her the best person to go to for comfort.

"I can't say I'm surprised he'd pull some scumbag shit like this to you." The pink girl sighed, stroking the fox's cheek. "It's just like him to pull some sleezy shit like this." She snarled.

"Has he always been this much of a prick?" The fox sniffled, recalling that Rosy had known Scourge since they were in elementary school.

"Absolutely." She confirmed, "More so back then, but he's still a shit person today. I can't believe he'd sleep with that uptown skank."

"How can I hate a person so much and still love them?"

"Dunno." The hedgehog girl shrugged, "You really do deserve better than him Fi."

"I just want to be the queen." Fiona mumbled, clutching the gray comforter draped over them.

Rosy's entire being tensed up at the mention of that title. She grimaced, remembering how Scourge would constantly refer to Fiona as queen—when she knew who the real queen was. Fiona didn't need to know that though, it would only hurt her more. The pink hedgehog opted to put a comforting hand to her friend's cheek, pulling her face over in her direction so she could smile at her.

"You deserve someone who treats you like an actual queen Fiona."

"The fox boy said the same thing once." She sighed, averting her gaze from Rosy. Scourge had ranted on and on about Fiona's infidelity with the young fox at the hotel party, so she already knew who the vixen was referring to.

"Well, he's right."

"I just wish Scourge cared. I worked so hard to make him mine, ya'know? How can I just give that up?"

"It's as simple as letting go." Rosy shrugged, "Not like you're losing much anyway."

"I just feel so alone right now Rosy." Fiona broke down, tears brimming her blue-gray eyes, "I'm being forced to see my Chaos damn parents tomorrow, and I have no one…"

"That's not true Fi." Rosy assured her, "You've got me."

Fiona looked over at the pink hedgehog, offering her a genuine smile of joy. Rosy smiled back, studying the beautiful features of the fox's face. There was no denying Fiona was gorgeous, especially with her hair down, and no harsh makeup to obscure her already beautiful features.

She was a dime, and Rosy could see exactly why Scourge chose her…That's exactly why she found herself leaning into the vixen, enveloping her in a longing kiss. Fiona was so overwhelmed, but didn't pull away, instead she welcomed the sudden kiss, pulling the hedgehog girl over on top of her as they continued their affair.

Fiona was definitely not a lesbian, but when it came to showing affections her wires were crossed. All her life she was taught that love is shown through physical pleasure. She didn't know any better. She thought sex meant someone cared about you, and giving it was either a means of profit or that you cared about the person.

That's why she didn't pull away from Rosy, or try to wiggle free out from underneath her. Instead she used her free hands to comb through the pink quills, pulling her in for a deeper kiss as the hedgehog desperately yanked the buttons to her high-waisted shorts undone.

Moans and gasps escaped them as they discarded all of their clothing and got tangled up in each other's lust. There was no room for thinking in either of their minds, their actions were primarily driven by instinct.

"Rosy…" Fiona squirmed under the hedgehog's cold touch. That's when the pink girl uttered a phrase that made her heart flutter, and her hands instantly push the hedgehog's head down south of the torso she had been kissing.

"My Queen…"

* * *

Sally and Ken stood outside of her door, exchanging reluctant farewells after a wonderful day spent together. She adored his chivalry, and kind nature, so unlike many of the guys she's come to know here.

"We'll have to do this again sometime." He smiled, holding her blue backpack as she worked the lock of her room.

"I'd really like that." She smiled up to him. It really baffled her how someone as attractive as him could genuinely take up any interest in her. It's no secret that Green Hill Academy is chop full of beautiful girls, she definitely not being one of them.

"I'm glad." He smiled, pecking her cheek lightly and sending her heart into a frenzy. Her face instantly flushed, her hand reaching up to touch the spot on her cheek his lips brushed against. "I hope that wasn't too much." He added nervously.

"N-N-No. Not at all." She stammered, waving in dismissal.

"Well, hopefully if you're not busy tomorrow we could do this again." The monkey chuckled, "I'm open all week."

"Yeah." The chipmunk returned his sheepish smile, "I'll text you."

"Alright then, see you later Ms. Acorn."

"Bye Ken." She waved after him, watching him take the right turn for once. She smiled after him before pushing the door to her room open. She tossed her bag to her bedside before jumping up and down, squealing in excitement.

 _'Every day I'd sit by the swings, waiting for her to emerge from the doors and strut her way over to her throne, the two-seater swing. Her long auburn hair flew in the wind as she made her way across the schoolyard. Even the ugly jean-dress, long white stockings, and white under-shirt school uniform didn't take away from her beauty._

 _From age nine to eleven I watched her from afar, too intimated to approach her, but too captivated to look away. I wanted her so bad, not just in the way I saw girls in pornos. I wanted her by my side always._

 _She used to giggle at me and smile, offering a wave here and there. Still too scared to say hello._

 _Age twelve, she was still gorgeous, only now she had so many curves that I'd get dizzy scoping out her frame when she wasn't looking._

 _The baggy clothes she wears now don't do her body any justice, and those fucking glasses obstruct that gorgeous face…and those damned scars._

 _"What are you doin' in here Mate?" Geoffrey rose an eyebrow to me, "I've been looking for you everywhere! The last place I'd expect to find ya' would be in this craphole library."_

 _I didn't reply to him, I was just too busy daydreaming .He followed my gaze, stopping at her and cracking a wide smile._

 _"A real beauty ain't she?" The skunk smirked at me, making me red with embarrassment._

 _"Who is she?" I breathed, near done with admiring from a far._

 _"Don't know much. She's pretty quiet." He shrugged nonchalantly, "I just know that she's new, and I heard one of the guys saying that she really loves the Spanish language. Lucky for her she moved here right? Half the people in Moebius only speak that rubbish."_

 _"Spanish huh?"_

 _"Well, come on." He tugged my arm, "Dad's gonna be pissed if we're not out there soon."_

 _"You head out without me. I swear I'll catch up in a second."_

 _"Alright then. Don't make us wait."_

 _He soon disappeared off out the doors, leaving me to snake my way over to the language section of the library. I checked out at least seven books, and spent countless hours teaching myself the language._

 _Just for her.'_

He saw that the door to the chipmunk's room was still wide open, and the monkey had finally left. He quickly said his goodbyes to the crying pink hedgehog on the phone before shoving it back in his pocket and making his move. He quickly barged in, slamming the door shut behind him, making her jump in fright.

"Scourge?" She questioned, a little annoyed at the amount of break ins that tended to happen in her dorm, "What's going on?"

"Who was that guy?" He pointed toward the exit, demanding an explanation.

"He's a new student I'm showing around." She huffed, annoyed that she'd had a conversation similar to this before.

"You let all the new students kiss you like that?"

"What's it to you? You're Fiona's boyfriend, not mine." The auburn-haired girl crossed her arms in annoyance, "Please get out."

" **I WAS NEVER HERS**." He bellowed, stomping over to take hold over her wrists, pulling her face closer to his, "I was always yours, even when you let me down…"

"What?" She questioned in confusion, trying to pull away from him, but he didn't allow it. "I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"How can you say you don't remember any of it? I was the king, and you were the queen. You loved me…" He mumbled, fighting back tears of frustration. "He perdido a su amor , yo soy un pobre diablo"

Sally's eyes widened as the green hedgehog spoke to her in a foreign language. He looked down at her, his icy-blue eyes shimmering with such angst and sorrow.

"Sin tu amor no soy nada."

"What did you say?" She asked.

"Without your love I'm nothing." He whispered to her, dipping his head down to slowly close in on her lips. "That's why they can't have you. Not that monkey-bitch, that fuck boy Sonic, or that bastard Geoffrey—"

"Did you say Geoffrey?" Sally asked, shoving him away. She looked at her feet as a light suddenly going off in her head, and memories of her past suddenly surfacing.

The green hedgehog looked at her in confusion before she looked back up to him.

"I think I know who you are…" She gasped.

* * *

 _' "Well if it isn't my little angel!" Mama squealed, scooping me up into one of her over exaggerated hugs as I made my way through the door. Daddy quickly took my bags from my hands and tossed them to the side before I leapt into his arms._

 _"Ow." I winced, pulling a way to take hold of my neck._

 _"What's the matter Mina?" He questioned, pulling my hand away from my neck to inspect the source of my pain. "My Chaos!" He gasped at my bruised neck._

 _I'm such an idiot for wearing no more than a tanktop underneath my open cardigan. My bruises were a result of my…encounter with Shard. Thankfully my shirt wasn't cut too low, so neither of them could see that the bruises trailed along my neck down to my…well, private areas._

 _"What happened?!" Mama gasped, putting a hand to my purpled neck. "Was this that Acorn girl again?! I'll have Alicia's head on a stake—"_

 _"No Mama. I just got scuffed up during cheer practice again.' I lied, pulling my white cardigan over my neck. "The price to pay for being top of the pyramid."_

 _That was the first day I got here, and my bruises are just as prominent. Chaos why the hell am I such a slow healer? It wasn't that rough…hell, I'm totally fucking lying. It's been a week, and my legs are still just as sore.'_

Mina studied herself in the bathroom mirror, sure to wear something to cover her bruised up body. Thankfully it was turtleneck season, so she sported a lime green one with a black skirt and green boots. While she brushed her long hair in the mirror she felt her stomach churn, making her drop the brush before throwing herself on the toilet, clutching its sides as bile emerged in chunks from her throat.

At first she assumed the long car ride back to Mobotropolis had made her car sick, but that was a week ago, and she was still vomiting every morning. Both of her parents had gone to work, leaving her alone in the bathroom to scream in frustration.

 **INCOMING CALL**

She sat up to swipe her phone off the counter, the pain on her sore body and weak stomach becoming more and more unbearable. Her mood was only further irritated by the picture lighting up on her phone screen. It was Manic dressed as Spiderman, his mask slide up and a big smile on his face as he wrapped his arms around her waist at the Halloween party.

He'd been calling her nonstop all week, it was really starting to annoy her. She ignored the call for the billionth time in favor of calling her best friend.

 _"Hello?"_ Honey answered.

 _"Are you busy?"_ Mina sobbed, the pain becoming too much for her to handle.

 _"Mina? Is everything okay? You sound like you're crying."_

 _"I don't know, I don't know. Please, can you come get me?"_

 _"I'm on my way."_

Luckily Honey only lived a few houses down. They both lived on the high end of Mobotropolis where all the wealthy residents resided. It took her less than five minutes to dash over to the mongoose's house, sneak the hidden key out from under the mat, and let herself in. She found Mina slumped over the toilet, wailing and holding her stomach as another wave of vomit escaped her.

"You know you're not supposed to drink in the morning right?" Honey smirked, holding back her friend's hair as she kneeled beside her.

"I wasn't drinking." The mongoose whined, "I've been like this for a week."

"Slumped over a toilet?"

"Stop playing around Honey." Mina scolded, "I think something is really wrong with me."

"Well, what are your symptoms?"

"Nausea, vomiting—"

"Whoa." Honey yelped, noticing the bruising on Mina's neck. "Where the hell did these come from?!"

"Rough sex…"

"What?" The cat purred with interest, quickly shaking off her curiosity in favor of helping her friend off the floor. Honey was no stranger to sex of all forms…or the risks acquainted with the act. "Sweetie, have you gotten your period this month by any chance?"

"It's not due for another week." The mongoose shrugged, "Why? This isn't caused by cramps you moron."

"No…Mina, I think you're pregnant."

* * *

 **Just a heads up in case you skimmed over it or haven't noticed..This chapter and the last chapter have had a week time skip.**

 **Good to know this when figuring stuff out lol**

 **So my birthday is coming up soon, and I figured I'd want to do something special for you guys too. I was thinking I'd release chapters back-to-back for a whole week starting on the 24th! What do you guys think?**

 **Rosy and Fiona...even I didn't see that one coming, it just sorta happened. The scene proves how twisted Fiona's perception of love and lust is thanks to her abusive history. But just what was in it for Rosy? And what's her history with Scourge? Maybe it's time to put some of the light on the psycho goth chick...**

 **Mina's pregnant! A lot of you figured that one, but with the time lapse of a week after her encounter with Shard and her secret fling with Manic going on..it's a toss up between who the father is. Also, keep in mind that they aren't human...Mobians give birth a lot quicker. (I'll explain it eventually)**

 **Poor Rotor, being gay is hard, especially when there are still people in the world who aren't accepting of it, and sadly sometimes parents refuse to back you up even though they created you.**

 **Scourge self-taught Spanish to himself when he was younger** **just because there was a rumor going around that Sally adored the language. If that's not obsessive dedication I don't know what the fuck is**

 **And after he spoke it to her and mentioned Geoffrey she remembered who he was! The things he says in Spanish are lyrics from one of my favorite songs lol can't remember what it's called.**

 **There goes Amy..running back to the dude who got her in trouble the first time. Will she ever grow up and get her shit together? Will Sonic ever put his shitty pride and attitude aside and be real with himself? Who knows...**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy**

 **The trial for Ray, Matilda and Tails is underway...and things don't look good for Aleena or Mighty**

 **Fiona and Amy reluctantly face their parents, and the outcomes are shocking**

 **Things get crazy dramatic when the adults are thrown into the mix, bringing drama of their own**

 **Isabella Mongoose goes toe-to-toe with the feisty Alicia Acorn, and we learn of their bitter history**

 **Amy learns of Sonic's secret kiss with a certain auburn-haired girl**

 **Knuckles gets a chilling phone call that he will never forget...**

 **Fun Questions!**

 **Should Sonic forgive Amy and somehow try to work it out? Considering he wasn't exactly truthful either.**

 **Blaze finally has her head on straight, but should Silver give it another shot?**

 **Who do you want the father of Mina's baby to be? Manic or Shard? Either way, it's tons of fucking drama.**


	31. Chapter 31

**Special Note:The AMAZING reception of that last chapter was just too much to ignore! 13 reviews, 2 new favs and follows in less than 24 hours! I thought to myself, damn, I can't leave the beautiful people hangin' after that! So I've decided to release another chapter today! Seriously you guys, it's things like this that are the greatest motivation. I'm so happy to see new people reviewing, and the veterans who have been here with me since the more vocal really helps in decision making! If you're too embarrassed to review or feel like people will harass you for your opinion feel free to PM me about it. Everyone has the right to be heard.**

 **Hopefully this chapter will do just as good :) It's a little on the darker side though...**

 **WARNING: Child endangerment, sexual assault, incestuous fixation, mental breakdowns, slight sexual scene, and a brief mention of domestic violence.**

* * *

 **Chapter 31: The Devil Is Alive**

Mighty stood outside of the courthouse, sitting on the front steps with his head in his hand. He breathed a sigh of nervousness, feeling his stomach quack and heart race. He was dressed in a black suit, and matching shoes. He uncomfortably loosened the black tie around his white color, feeling as though he could hardly breathe. He was all alone, trying his hardest to build up the courage to go inside.

Today was the day, the heated custody battle for Matilda and Ray. The verdict would determine whether they stay with him or go. The anxiety was killing him.

"Mighty." A kind voice called out, making him pick up his head from his hands. When he did, he was met with the sight of Principal Acorn fitted into a navy blue suit, only instead of pants she wore a knee-high skirt and black heels. She offered him a hand off the steps accompanied by a loving smile.

He felt his anxiety lower quickly as she picked him up off the floor. The chipmunk woman had been right by his side ever since the trouble began, protected him against the lashings of that vial mongoose lawyer, and stood by him just as she swore she would. No one had ever been so kind to the three siblings.

"I'm fine." He nodded, regaining his focus.

"Good." She smiled, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder as she gestured to the man standing behind her. "You remember Mr. D'Coolette don't you?"

"Of course." The armadillo smiled, shaking the coyote man's hand.

"You two need to start preparing for trial." She told them.

"Aren't you staying?" Mighty questioned nervously, praying that he wouldn't have to face this alone.

"I've got to see to another student's case at the moment." She explained, cupping his cheek. "Don't be afraid. I'll be back in time to see you through this child."

"Remember Alicia, you must be back in time to testify on his behalf." The coyote reminded her.

"I will be." She assured him, throwing her arms around him in a hug, making his face flush. "Thank you so much Armand. It means the world to me that you're doing this." He melted in her arms, a big smile on his face as he returned her hug.

"Of course Queen Alicia. How could I refuse the woman who protected me my whole high school career?"

"Stop." She waved in dismissal with a giggle, "No one calls me that anymore. I'll see you both in a bit, goodbye for now." The chipmunk said her farewells to them both before scurrying off into the building.

She had called in a favor from her old friend Armand D'Coolette, the only lawyer she knew who could give Mighty a fighting chance against the almighty Isabella Mongoose.

The coyote was a foreign exchange student from her younger years who used to be bullied for his heritage and bad language skills. The chipmunk was the only one to ever stand up for him, fighting his bullies to the ground, and granting him protection under her wing. To him as well as many other weaklings she was a savior. Queen of The Losers. She had an arsenal of now wealthy and high-ranked friends standing behind her, ready to return the favor for her years of service as the rebel freedom fighter for the freaks.

"Come child." He slung a comforting arm around Mighty, "Let us prepare."

* * *

The Hedgehog family stood outside of courtroom three, waiting for their case to be called in. They were seated on a wooden bench just outside the door. Tails sat beside Aleena, who squeezed his hand tightly, beside her Jules held her other hand. Sonic was seated on the other side of Tails, biting his nails, and tapping his foot impatiently on the ground. His anxiety was through the roof. Sonia sat beside her father, glancing over at Tails who seemed to be a blank slate. Far off to the side, Manic sat tapping his drumsticks, unfazed by the ordeal

"Everything will be alright Tails." Aleena whispered to him, stroking his cheek. He didn't move, just continued to stare at his feet.

Aleena and Jules both put their arms around the fox, Sonia and Sonic following in as well. The only one not participating in their hug was Manic, who just tapped his drumsticks even harder on the wooden bench, irking his father.

"Enough with that." Julies growled, staring daggers at his problem child. "This is a very serious matter. Have some respect boy."

"Whatever." Manic muttered, completely unmoved.

"Hello Mr. Prower." A voice called out shortly after. They all turned toward a pompous mongoose strutting down the hall in a fiery-red suit, long purple hair falling in waves down her back as she grinned evilly. Following close behind her was someone they all recognized. A fox woman with sand-colored hair and blue eyes, wearing a simple black dress and white sweater.

"H-H-Hi." Tails stammered, standing up from the bench.

"We're do inside any minute." The mongoose smiled down at him before stepping aside, gesturing to the fox woman behind her. "But first I thought I'd introduce you to your biological mother, Rosemary Prower."

" **WHAT?** " All of the hedgehogs exclaimed, even Manic gasped.

"Hello Tails…" Rosemary greeted, kneeling before him to be at eye-level. Aleena felt her heart tear to pieces, watching her baby stand before his true mother.

"The desk receptionist…you're my mom?" Tails asked in disbelief.

"That's right." She smiled, tears glistening in her baby-blue eyes. "I'm your mother, and this was your father." She added, slipping him an old photo of the couple.

He couldn't believe it. He had always known he was adopted, but didn't think much of it, because he had never known another family other than Aleena's. It shocked him, looking at his biological father was like looking at a grown up version of himself.

"Tails…" Sonic called out to him desperately in a near hushed whisper.

"Where is he? Is he here?" The fox boy questioned with hopeful eyes.

"No…" Rosemary sighed, "He…He died. Shortly after you were born there was a terrorist attack, he didn't make it, and I was thrown into a coma. Thankfully you survived, and were set up at a sanctuary by Child Services until I woke up from my coma. Unfortunately, there was an error in paperwork and they mistakenly sent you home with someone. By the time I awoke you were gone, and I couldn't find you anywhere…but never stopped looking for you Tails…"

Jules tried his hardest to keep Aleena seated, but she had broken free from his grasp, and ran up to her son, pulling him away from the fox.

"Rosemary, please—" She begged through her tears. The fox only shook her head.

"Forgive me Aleena."

"But he's my son…" The hedgehog woman wailed, "You can't take him…"

"No. He's my son." She stated coldly before a familiar woman cut into their conversation.

"Isabella." A strong and stern voice sounded, making them turn their heads once more. The angry chipmunk stormed down the hall, cutting in between the two parties. "This is unethical."

"Just wanted Aleena to know what she was in for." The mongoose shrugged, a taunting tone to her voice. "Come along Tails, you and I must head into the court room. We're up next." The purple-haired woman took his reluctant hand, prying him out of Aleena's grip as she near-dragged him into the courtroom. He looked back between his adoptive mother, and biological mother, confusion welling inside his heart.

"You shouldn't be here Alicia." Rosemary told the chipmunk.

"What you're doing is selfish and wrong Rosemary."

"It doesn't matter. As long as I get my son back." The fox growled, marching into the courtroom.

The chipmunk just sighed, rubbing her temple as she turned to meet the gaze of five hedgehogs. Aleena quickly wiped her face as Sonic stood up to hug her.

"Alicia…" Julies breathed in shock, standing up from the bench.

"It's been so long, Jules…Aleena."

"You guys know each other?" Sonia questioned, shifting her gaze from her parents to her principal.

"We all went to high school together…" Alicia smiled.

* * *

 _'Scourge came over and picked me up last night. He seemed really upset about something, but I didn't dare ask what. I just wanted to blow off some steam, and so did he I guess. He snuck through the window into my room, poking fun at my all-pink décor._

 _When I told him Sonic had found out about us and dumped me, he just laughed it off, telling me that I was wasting my time with Sonic anyway. Apparently, Fiona had dumped him the same day after finding out about us too._

 _We laughed it off, joking about how annoying and infuriating both of them were. Yet at the same time we both felt obligated to keep loving them for reasons unknown._

 _Even after I found out Sonic wasn't the one who gave me the umbrella, I still carried so much feeling for him. It wasn't the kind gesture that made me fall for him, it was just him. I still love Sonic, and I'd do anything for another chance._

 _So why did I do it again? Why did I find myself underneath his worst enemy? Loving every moment of every touch and feel. Why do I find myself wishing that Sonic was more laidback and straight forward like Scourge?_

 _After a few rounds we both fell back in my bed, discarding another condom in the wastebasket. What really surprised me was how this time he commanded me to turn away from him so he could cuddle me._

 _"Never pegged you for a cuddlier." I giggled. I couldn't help it!_

 _"No one's ever got me pegged." He chuckled, flicking my ear out of annoyance._

 _"Ow!" I yelped, elbowing him in the gut._

 _Things just feel so right when we're together. There's no need to be insecure, or try so hard. He just makes me feel so comfortable…and his eyes are gorgeous._

 _"When are you gonna smarten up Pinky?" He asked me, stroking my quills. "Sonic's a fuckin' loser."_

 _"No he's not." I snapped at him, "He's just hard to understand."_

 _"You think he's perfect huh?"_

 _"I think he's Sonic, and that's good enough for me."_

 _"Like he'd never hurt you?"_

 _"I already know he slept with Blaze if that's what you're gonna throw out." I huffed angrily._

 _"What about the girl with glasses?"_

 _Last night he had told me Sonic kissed Glasses-Girl, but clearly he was misinformed. She had obviously kissed him in an attempt to steal him from me! Sorry for her he's not into girls who wear trash bags as clothes. I was infuriated, even after I fell asleep and woke up alone I fumed with rage. It didn't help that I had to face…them.'_

"Amy." Rob called out, touching his cousin's cheek with the back of his hand. She quickly jumped back into consciousness. "Are you alright?"

"Y-Y-Yes." She nodded.

The two of them were standing outside a visiting room in the Child Services building. They peered through a one-way glass mirror at her parents being briefed by Cassia. The pink hedgehog watched with nervousness as her father raised his hand…only to place it gently in his lap. She cowered nervously, memories of her youth rising back in her.

Neither of them looked much older, but her mother certainly had lost weight, while her father gained it.

"Amy." Cassia called out as she opened the door to the small room, gesturing for her to go inside. "It's time."

She looked back to Rob, who put a comforting hand on her shoulder, nodding to her. Mari-An had stood home with the baby, feeling that this was a personal family matter that she didn't want to intrude on. Amy wished she had though. There was just something about the echidna that made Amy feel a lot more assured than Rob.

"I'll be right here." He whispered to her as she took a step forward, "Just say the word, and I'll get you out." The teal hedgehog added as she walked inside.

"We'll see about that." Clove chimed in from behind him, standing with her arms crossed in annoyance.

Amy quickly took a seat on the wooden chair before her parents placing her pink purse on the floor, there was a table in between them. She didn't dare to look at them due to old habits, but their voices beckoned to her with temptation.

"My sweet Amy." Her mother cooed in a raspy yet delicate tone. "I've missed you so much."

Amy didn't breathe a word, fearing that this was all just an imagination, until her father spoke up next.

"I know what happened in the past between your mother and I was wrong, but I stand before you today a changed man. I just want my little girl back. Amy…I'm sorry."

Tears began to spill down her face like waterfalls at his caring tone. As cruel and insane as they were, she can't deny that she missed them. Within all the terrible memories were good ones too, they were just harder to find.

"Papa…" She whimpered, leaping from her chair to hug him. He quickly embraced her tightly before setting her down as Cassia motioned for no physical contact.

Rob gritted his teeth, but felt the same overwhelming wave of hope that they changed wash over him. His body tensed up as his aunt's gaze shifted to the mirror. He felt as if she could see right through it at him, and offered a warming smile.

"He's been through many self-help seminars in prison." Clove explained to the teal hedgehog as they watched from outside the window. "Your aunt has been receiving treatment in the psych ward, using several medications to counteract the Schizophrenia. I must warn you now Robbin O'Hedge, they might have to potential to get her back."

"Amy's my responsibility." He breathed, too focused on the reuniting of the Roses to care for Clove's cruelty.

They talked and laughed, making Rob crack a genuine smile. He'd never seen Amy look so happy, it warmed his heart.

"I promise I'll take you racing one day." Her father laughed, "Maybe even get you your own car."

"Really!?" Amy squealed, "Rob doesn't want me to drive."

"Robbin?" Her mother questioned with a smile, "My precious nephew. I'm glad he's been watching over you."

"Watching over me like a hawk. He never lets me do anything."

"Rob's always been cautious with you ever since you were a baby." The male hedgehog chuckled, smoothing back his quills, "I've got a make it a point to thank him for doing my job and raising you. That boy has always been a better man than me."

"My young Robbin has always been destined for greatness." Amy's mother smiled to herself.

"Rob is amazing, but he's not you guys." Their pink daughter admitted, teary-eyed as she leapt at them for a hug. In doing so, she had kicked over her bag, spilling its contents.

Her mother's eyes widened in shock as she watched the rusted old sledge hammer skid across the floor to her feet. A thousand hushed whispers sounded off in her ears as her hands begun to shake violently.

 _'The devil is alive! And he wants her soul!'_

 _'She's within his reach! Soon she will be dead and dammed to hell!'_

 _'Save her, save her soul. You must kill her because if he does, she will be forsaken.'_

Without hesitation Amy's mother picked up the sledge hammer, swinging it violently in her direction. Her father quickly backed away with his daughter until they were forced against a wall.

" **MAMA STOP!** " Amy screamed in agony.

" **WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?** " Her father added in panic as she came closer and closer with the hammer.

"Call security!" Clove instructed Cassia before taking hold of Rob's shoulder. "You can't go in there."

"Fuck off!" He shouted at the pronghorn, shoving her to the ground before pulling open the door and rushing into the room.

Amy's psychotic mother edged closer and closer to her as her father warped himself around her in protection, pleading for his wife to stop this. Her eyes were a dead-green, as she spoke in tongues before pulling the hammer back for one powerful swing. Amy sobbed frantically, bracing herself for the hammer to meet her face, but just before it could make contact with the tip of her nose the woman was tackled to the ground.

Rob struggled to wrestle the hammer away from his aunt as she bit, scratched, and kicked him. Amy's father quickly carried her out of the room as she reached out to Rob desperately. The teal hedgehog had pinned down the psychotic hedgehog, and she could do nothing but scream in his face.

" **ROBBIN PLEASE! HE'S COMING, HE'S COMING TO TAKE HER SOUL!** " She screamed at the top of her lungs, thrashing violently underneath him. " **HE'S COMING ROBBIN! I CAN SEE HIM! THE DEVIL IS ALIVE! AND HE'S COME FOR HER SOUL!** "

"Auntie please stop this madness!" Rob begged.

" **HIS EYES…THEY SCREAM HELL…** "

Before her babbling could persist, Rob was pulled off of her and she was quickly sedated and subdued. The teal hedgehog just sat on the ground, heart beating near out of his chest in fright. Amy quickly rushed to his side, throwing her arms around him as she sobbed into his shoulder.

* * *

"Judge Nega, good to see you again." Isabella grinned up at the egg-shaped human man, smirking at her in return.

"Same to you Isabella." He replied, "Glad to hear you enjoy my beautiful face, because I will be presiding under all the custody hearings today."

"Wonderful." The mongoose bobbed with confidence before turning toward her completion. She smirked at the lanky coyote. She had these cases in the bag. "Armand? I would have thought you'd give up by now."

"Not by the long shot." He replied coldly, disgruntled by her pompous attitude.

"Good luck…you'll need it."

"Enough banter." The judge commanded sternly as both lawyers took their seats. "Will Mr. Mighty Armadillo please come forth."

The nervous armadillo shook like a leaf as he stood up in the courtroom, making his way through a row of people before going up to the judge. He felt the eyes of a hundred people staring at him. He breathed in before coming to a stop before the judge.

"Hello Sir."

"Mr. Armadillo, you come here today to defend your rights over guardianship of Ray the Flying Squirrel and Matilda the Armadillo correct?"

"Yes Sir."

"After taking them to a party where they both suffered near-fatal injuries. Even though Ray's biological father is willing to take him in."

"That man has never been a father sir."

"Objection." Isabella shouted.

"Granted." The judge nodded, "Scratch that statement from the record. Mr. Armadillo, records say you're only eighteen? Why would you want the responsibility of two impaired children?"

"Your honor I have loved and cared for them all my life. To be with them means everything to me."

"I've heard enough." Nega sang, ordering him to step down.

Mighty sighed heavily, wiping sweat from his nervous brow as he walked back over to his seat. He scanned the crowd, face lighting up at the sight of Ray and Matilda seated by Isabella. He even caught some smiles from his friends in the crowd. Every member of Chaotix had come in support of him, but a worried look crossed his face when he noticed one missing. Julie-Su.

As Mighty walked down, his lawyer walked up to the judge, handing him a white envelope and whispering something that made Isabella nervous.

The armadillo took a seat with his friends, offering them quick hugs and smiles of gratitude.

"You got this." Vector assured him, "Ain't nobody love them kids more than you."

"Silence." Nega commanded, adjusting his tiny glasses as he finished reading the paper. "

Mighty scanned the crowd once more, noticing Bunnie clutching the hand of her uncle as they smiled over at Matilda. Behind them sat Joss the Squirrel, his daughter Megan, and….Elias?

The prince and armadillo quickly locked eyes before he turned back to his pregnant girlfriend, breathing heavily.

"I can't be here." He whispered to her, attempting to get up only to have her force him back down.

"This is a big moment for me. I'm getting my brother back."

"No, this is wrong." Elias shook his head, "Mighty is my friend."

"Your friend nearly killed my brother." His girlfriend remarked bitterly, "We're doing what's best for Ray. He should be home with his real family."

Elias only sank down in his chair, doing his hardest to avoid Mighty's gaze. He wanted to argue, tell her that Mighty has always been Ray's true family, but he didn't want to cause another rift between them, or have her use their baby as collateral again.

"We were trying these cases separately anyway." The judge shrugged, tossing the white paper to the side, "It appears you've won this round already Isabella."

"W-W-What?" The mongoose stammered.

"Mighty the Armadillo has relinquished his custody of Matilda the Armadillo in favor of placing her under the care and protection of Beauregard Rabbot." Nega bellowed before smacking his gavel down on the wooden coaster.

Matilda's eyes widened in shock, looking over at her older brother in disbelief. Bunnie and Beauregard leapt up from their seats, hugging and sobbing tears of joy. Mighty felt the tears roll down his cheeks as he watched the rabbits sweep his sister up from her seat. Charmy and Saffron put comforting hands on his shoulders.

Bunnie certainly had got to him. He talked it over with his lawyer last minute. All he wanted was Matilda to be happy. He put his selfishness aside, and gave her away, but he knew in his heart it was the right thing to do. Even though it hurt so bad.

"Order in the courtroom." Nega growled, "We've got a few cases pending today. We will preside with the second half of this case at four. Now bring in the Prower case."

"Glad to see you take your loss so gracefully." Isabella taunted the coyote.

"It wasn't a loss. He wanted this."

"Either way the outcome would have been the same." The mongoose shrugged, "The Prower case will just be another win for me. Don't waste your time."

"You are just lucky we aren't still in high school, and that Alicia isn't still in charge."

"I am, because your accent was so irritating back then." She snarled in annoyance, "And I'm not scared of Alicia."

The Chaotix filed out of the courtroom, each with a saddened frown at Mighty's misfortune. The armadillo walked slow, not really caring to watch where he was going. He felt so broken.

"Mighty!" A voice called out, springing the life back into him. He turned his head to see his smiling sister, running up to him. He quickly embraced her, knowing that she couldn't. She pulled away, smiling through tears. "Why did you do it?"

"I want what's best for you Matilda." He explained through a pained voice, "Even if what's best for you isn't with me."

"He can fix me Mighty…"

"I know." He nodded, "I want him to."

"You did the right thing Son." Beauregard chimed in, stepping up to the two. "You can visit anytime."

"Does this mean you're leaving?" Saffron mumbled sorrowfully, walking up to the armadillo girl.

"Yes." Matilda sighed, "But I'll be back someday, better than ever."

"We're gonna miss you!" Charmy added.

"I'll miss you all too."

"C'mon Tilly, we'd better get home before traffic hits." The rabbit told her, putting his brown cowboy hat on before walking over to Bunnie and kissing her cheek. "Thank you so much for talkin' to him Darlin'. This means the world to me and your aunt."

The Chaotix fell into a sorrowful yet blissful farewell hug, the only missing members being Ray and Julie-Su. The armadillo girl quickly noticed her echidna friend's absence.

"Where is Julie?" She asked looking up to them all. They all shook their heads, making her smile fade a bit. "I hope she understands why I won't be at the wedding."

"She will." Espio nodded.

"You better keep in touch girl!" Vector laughed, writing all their numbers down on a paper before stuffing it into her yellow coat pocket for her.

"I'll probably miss you the most Princess." Knuckles smiled down at her, kissing her forehead as he often did. She blushed lightly, smiling up at him.

"I'll probably miss you the most too, my right hand knight." She giggled.

Lastly, she went over to her brother who hugged her tightly, clenching his teeth as he tried hard to suppress all of his angst.

"I love you Matilda, always."

"I love you too Mighty."

* * *

Fiona had escaped the pink hedgehog's room the second she woke up from their blissful, nude slumber. She quickly gathered her things off the floor and retreated to her room. Her chipmunk roommate was not in thankfully. The vixen sighed, throwing herself onto her bed as she processed what the hell happened yesterday.

She hated how her brain operated. She constantly confused 'sex' and 'consoling' figuring they were one in the same. Although the vixen has been around, and has years of prostitution under her belt, she's never experienced anything like that with a girl before.

Once again she was disgusted with herself. First she sucked off a kid barely over thirteen, then she let a girl go down on her. She didn't know which one to be more mortified about. Being a pedophile, or a homo.

"Fiona." A voice called out. She assumed it to be her chipmunk roommate squeaking at the door, so she turned to toss a picture frame to scare her away, but was greeted by the sight of Clove and Cassia. "It's time."

Air refused to flow to her lungs as she found herself being manually pulled by the pronghorn women out of her dorm room and forced into their car. Shortly after they arrived to their headquarters in Metropolis. The two escorted the zombified Fiona inside, leading her down a small white corridor. They passed by a room with a busted door, and furniture thrown all over the floor.

"Don't mind that room." Cassia waved, "We had an incident with another family this morning."

After passing a few more doors, they finally came to a stop at one. There was a glass one-way mirror beside it. The vixen's eyes couldn't help but wander to it, widening in horror at the sight of her parents. They still looked scruffy and dirty, not much appeared changed at all.

"No." Fiona sobbed, tears unconsciously streaming down her face. " **NO!** "

"You must." Clove scolded, gripping her by the arm tightly. Fiona shrieked in pain, kicking and scratching at the pronghorn as she manhandled her toward the door.

"Clove! Enough!" Cassia boomed in an angered tone, "You're scaring her."

Before any further protest could go on, Clove had shoved Fiona inside, and locked the door behind her. The vixen panicked, feeling the gaze of those two monsters studying her frame. She backed up toward the corner, chest heaving with anxiety as she pounded on the door to be set free.

"Fiona…" A low male voice echoed through the room, the one she heard often in her nightmares. "Daddy's Little Girl…"

That phrase sent a wave of terror over her as she began to claw at the door, praying that somehow she could dig her way out. Sweat dripped from her brow as she screamed out for help. She didn't want to be here, she wanted to run, but there was nowhere to run away this time.

She heard loud footsteps coming toward her from behind, coaxing her to claw harder at the door. Blood slipped from underneath her finger tips as a few of her nails popped off from scratching so violently.

" **NO! HELP ME! PLEASE!** " She begged in anguish.

"This is vial Clove." The younger pronghorn shouted at her sister. "Let her out! She can't do this."

"We're just doing our jobs Cassia. They haven't given us any reason to pull her out."

"The girl is terrified!"

Fiona suddenly felt cold hands snake out from behind her, pulling her wrists off the door. She recognized that cold touch, and that heavy breathing, it was her father. He pulled her away from the door, forcing her to face him.

"Look what you did." He whispered in the poorly lit room, "You made a mess of yourself." He added as blood dripped from her fingers onto her black tubetop.

She yanked her hands from his, backing up until she was against the door.

"No need to be scared." He whispered huskily, "Things aren't how they used to be…"

She shook her head, refusing to believe him. She grew up on the streets, she knew better than to trust him above all people.

"Your father's right Sweetie." Her mother cooed, standing up from her chair to walk over. "We're changed people."

"You're both scum, you'll always be scum!" She growled at them.

"Fiona please." Her mother begged, attempting to put a hand to her cheek.

" **NO PHYSICAL CONTACT.** " Cassia bellowed through the mike.

The poor single light bulb in the room began to flicker, making Fiona panic with every other moment being completely dark.

"Shoot, that bulb is busted." Clove grumbled, walking off in search of a custodian closet.

Shortly after the light bulb finally went out. There were no windows in the tiny room, so the room was absolutely black. Cassia fumbled with the keys, searching for the right one to this specific door as the terrified blood curdling scream of Fiona sounded in her ears.

"Don't worry Fiona…" Her father's voice whispered in the dark. "Daddy's here…"

He took the moment of darkness to take hold of her, wrapping his arms around her as he squeezed her rear firmly in the dark. She kicked and screamed but his hold was strong. He had convinced his prison officer that he was only a pedophile, and now that Fiona was grown up he was no longer a threat to her. That was the furthest thing from true. You see, her father wasn't a pedophile, his one damning affliction was his incestuous attraction to his daughter.

Her age didn't matter to him, just the fact that she was his offspring alone turned him on. He'd spent the last six years in prison fantasizing about her every night. How curvy she must have become, what she probably wore underneath her pajamas now, and if she still felt as tight as she used to.

He relished in the feel of her body, trying to quickly steal a few feels of her newly developed assets as he was overcome with euphoria. Even her pained cries and fighting didn't steer him away.

"What are you doing to her!?" Fiona's mother bellowed, shoving her father away in the dark. "She's your daughter!"

" **HELP!** " Fiona cried, curling up in a ball on the floor.

"Fuck off! This has nothing to do with you."

"You're my husband!" The female voice shrieked, "This is why I didn't want to see her! She's taking over you again! **YOU'RE MY HUSBAND!** "

"She's Daddy's Girl." The male voice bellowed in the dark.

Cassia had finally found the right key, shoving her way into the dark room, only using her cellphone light to illuminate the darkness to find the sobbing Fiona shaking violently on the floor. Shortly after three police officers stormed the room, arresting the fox's parents once again.

"What's this all about?" Her father questioned innocently, "The lights went out and she fell, that's all."

"Do you think I'm stupid Mr. Fox?" Clove growled, pointing to a camera with a red light in the corner. "Our cameras are night vision. We caught your sexual assault on tape." His mouth dropped as he was filed out of the room, his angry wife following him as two of the officers escorted her out for questioning down at the station.

"Clove!" Cassia shrieked. The older pronghorn quickly went into big sister mode upon hearing the younger pronghorn's cry.

"Cassia!" She yelped, rushing over to her sister who kneeled beside the fox. "Did he hurt you?" She asked, examining her sister's face in the barely lit room.

"It's Fiona. I think something's wrong."

Clove looked down to see the wide-eyed drooling Fiona cradling herself on the floor. She'd read about these symptoms before. The fox was unresponsive, and showed no movement whatsoever.

"She's had a psychotic break." Clove explained, pulling off her jacket to throw it over Fiona before scooping her off the ground. "Call an ambulance. Tell them she's in a catatonic state."

* * *

Everyone associated with Tails' case filed into the small courtroom, taking seats on the rows of wooden benches before the judge. The Hedgehog family sat in the very first row on the right, behind the lawyer Alicia had provided them. The chipmunk sat behind them, arms crossed as she glared coldly in Isabella's direction. The mongoose only blew her a mocking kiss before picking up her papers on the desk.

Sonia put a comforting hand on Sonic's shoulder, who had been very antsy since the moment he found out about Tails' possible departure. Beside him, his mother was devastated, shaking like a leaf as she dabbed a tissue to her teary eyes. Her husband squeezed her hand comfortingly, occasionally shifting his gaze behind him to meet Alicia's.

"If it weren't for the circumstances, this would be one hell of a reunion." A voice cooed. Alicia looked up to see a purple hedgehog with short blonde hair taking a seat beside her.

"Bernadette? What are you doing here?" The chipmunk questioned.

"In support of Rosemary." The school nurse shrugged with a smile.

"What she's doing is wrong…"

"When your child is involved the lines between right and wrong become very blurred. You must understand where she's coming from as a mother." Bernie stated bluntly, "Wouldn't you have done anything to get your daughters back from Max if you had the opportunity?"

"Will the two representatives of the parties please come before me." Nega chimed loudly, making everyone in the room shut up. Isabella and Armand made their way over to him, the three of them began to whisper.

Aleena tensed up nervously in her seat, keeping her eyes on Tails, who was seated far back in the corner beside the judge. He kept his head low, not exchanging glances with anyone. Sonic wanted nothing more than to run up to his little buddy, but Sonia held him in his seat. Manic seemed to be the only one not interested in the situation. He texted away on his phone as if nothing were happening.

Isabella and Armand both finally nodded and turned back to their seats, a victorious grin plastered on the mongoose's face, and a bitter frown on the coyote's.

"Armand, you're up first since you don't have anyone to testify in this case." Nega stated, ushering the coyote to stand up again.

 _'Who does she have to testify?'_ Alicia thought to herself as she darted her eyes around the room at possible suspects.

"Your Honor, Mrs. Aleena legally adopted Tails from Metropolis Sanctuary when he was two years of age. She is the only mother he's ever known. She has and will continue to provide a loving and nurturing environment along with her army official husband, Jules the Hedgehog."

"Your Honor, I'd like to state that the adoption only went through due to an error in paperwork." Isabella cut in, "And my client is also ready and willing to provide a stable living environment all the same."

"To take a child out of the home they've always known at such a delicate age is crucial in the mental development process of a young child."

"He's been raised by strangers." The mongoose stated coldly, glaring at the hedgehogs in the front row. "Rosemary Prower is the biological mother of Tails Prower, she has maternal rights."

"Which she gave up when Tails was adopted."

"She never signed anything. She was in a coma during the adoption process."

"Enough!" Nega silenced them, "I'd like to hear from your testimonial before I make my verdict."

Everyone in the room tensed up, darting their eyes around to see who the person testifying was. They were all in for a big shocker when Tails stood up from his seat and walked over to the podium beside the judge and took a seat.

"Hello Son. Please state your name for the record." The egg-shaped man told him kindly.

"Tails Prower."

Aleena felt her heart fall out of her chest. There were gasps and mumbled whispers from all around. Even Rosemary appeared baffled.

"Isabella, you're up."

"Hello Tails." The mongoose greeted him as she walked up to him.

"Hi…" He mumbled.

"I know this must be very hard for you, but you asked me to put you up on the stand for a reason remember?" Isabella asked sweetly, "Can you tell everyone what you told me?"

Tails looked over to his adoptive family, palms shaking as he felt his heart begin to crack under pressure. Sonic and Aleena's hopeful gazes ate away at his very soul as he mumbled the jarring words into the mike before him.

"I want to be returned to my biological mother, Rosemary Prower."

"And you swear this decision wasn't made through pressure or threats?"

"No." The fox shook his head, loosening the tie around his collar nervously, "After meeting her…hearing that I had a family of my own…I knew I had to."

Alicia glared hard at the mongoose. Sure there was no pressure or threats, but the chipmunk knew better. Isabella had purposely introduced Tails to his biological mother as a manipulative tactic to use to her advantage. The mongoose knew that deep inside, every adopted child yearns for their biological parents sooner or later.

It was like Aleena's breathing stopped then and there. To hear the child she raised pretty much say he no longer wishes to be with her nearly destroyed her. The only thing seeming to keep her afloat was her husband's comforting hand, and Sonic's embrace. Beside them, Manic had ceased his texting, and was in the same state of shock. Only he felt worse…

"Tails, you do understand that if you do this you will no longer be a part of Aleena's family?" The coyote chimed in, walking over to the stand.

"I understand." Tails nodded.

"I've heard enough. In the case of Tails Prower, I award custody to his biological mother, Rosemary Prower." Nega stated before bringing the gavel down once more. "Case dismissed, please bring in Ray the Flying Squirrel's case. It seems your cases are just dropping like flies today Mr. D'Coolette."

Aleena sobbed hard as her husband and son helped her out of her chair. Sonia carried her mother's purse as they all walked out of the room together. The magenta girl looked back to see that Manic had disappeared.

* * *

 _"Julie-Su, please. I don't know where you are, but I really need you."_ Mighty pleased into the speaker of his phone as he rushed over to the courtroom again, the rest of the team following close behind. _"Where are you?"_ He then ended the call as they all rushed into the courtroom, quickly taking their seats.

"Glad to see you all back." Nega boomed, intertwining his fingers as he rested his elbows on the wooden surface. "I've finished briefing myself on this case since this morning. It seems that both parties have brought their respective testimonials."

"Who'd ever testify for that bastard?" Knuckles grumbled angrily under his breath.

"Just to clue you all in on the knowledge I have of the situation, I'll give a short summary. Ray the Flying Squirrel was put into the foster care system by his father Joss the Squirrel after his wife died giving birth. He felt overwhelmed already having a child on top of his mental state and unemployment at the time so he gave his son up. Ray was later adopted last summer by one of his foster brother's, Mighty the Armadillo. Just two months ago there was a near-fatal incident at a party his guardian had brought him to. After hearing the news, and being in a well enough place, his father had requested his son back."

Mighty hung his head in shame. The summary neglected to tell any of the good things, like how he taught Ray how to speak, showed him how to fish, and cooked him food three times a day. He felt the glares of several people on him, but at the same time he felt Saffron and Charmy offer him their comforting hands.

After some back and forth between the mongoose and coyote lawyers, they finally begun to call up people to the stand. Isabella brought up Megan, who went on and on about how different her father is today and how prepared they are for both Ray, and her upcoming child. Elias held his head down in shame, not wanting any part of this.

Finally Principal Acorn was called to the stand, Mighty's saving grace. Isabella was quite surprised, and very amused. Armand went on to question her about Mighty, and how good of a guardian he is to Ray.

"I met Ray and Mighty a few years ago when they started attending my school. Mighty has been a wonderful guardian to the boy. He works three jobs, keeps up with his studies, and somehow finds the time to be there for Ray."

"And you believe what happened at the party was an accident?"

"Of course." The chipmunk nodded, "Mighty would never put the lives of anyone at risk. He's one of the most humble people I've ever known."

"Your Honor, if I may I'd like to cross-question Ms. Acorn." Isabella cut in, standing up to walk over to the judge. "I speculate bias."

"Bias? That's absurd." Armand snarled in annoyance.

"I'll allow it." Nega said, leaning back in his chair. "On with it Isabella. Lunch is starting soon."

"Ms. Acorn is it?" The mongoose purred, circling the chipmunk like a shark.

"You know it is."

"Right, and you inherited that last name from your ex-husband, Maximillian Acorn, correct?"

"Yes, but I only kept the name for political reasons."

"Your ex-husband…he has custody of your two daughters, doesn't he?"

"Yes." Alicia gritted her teeth, "You made sure of that."

"I'm inclined to believe that your opinion on Mr. Armadillo is bias, and that your testimonial should be scratched from the record."

"It's not bias. Mighty is a wonderful person, and cares for that boy very much!"

"Are you testifying because you believe that to be true? Or are you testifying because you wish someone would have done the same for you when you lost your custody battle eight years ago?"

The room gasped in unison, whispers emerging in every corner of the room. Alicia was red in the face with anger, fists shaking as she glared hard at the smug mongoose before her.

"Nothing further." Isabella smirked, walking back to her desk.

"Damn, that was savage as fuck." Vector mumbled, darting his eyes from the chipmunk to the mongoose.

"We'll continue this after lunch." Nega stood up, fixing his shirt. "I want to hear what the boy has to say before I make my verdict."

"Your Honor, the boy can't physically speak." Isabella piped up again, "We could just end this now."

"Not until I've had a full meal." Nega scolded her, disappearing out the door behind his desk. Ray followed him, not allowed to mingle with anyone until trial was over. He looked back at Mighty with hopeful eyes.

* * *

Manic darted quickly and stealthily out of the courtroom and after the two-tailed fox. He ran up to him from behind, tackling him to the ground before he could exit the building with Rosemary. Tails was terrified, until he looked up into Manic's crying eyes, his tears falling onto the fox's face as he hovered over him.

"Manic?" Tails yelped.

"Why are you doing this to Ma? To Sonic…" He mumbled. The fox tried to avert his eyes from the green hedgehog, but he was pinned on his back with nowhere else to look.

"They'll be okay…I wasn't supposed to be a part of your family…"

" **IS THIS ABOUT WHAT I SAID?!** " Manic screamed, voice cracking. Rosemary quickly turned around upon noticing Tails was no longer beside her.

"Get off of him!" She scolded Manic, but he didn't budge.

"Tails, I didn't mean it." He murmured, "Please don't go…" The green hedgehog pulled himself off the fox, opting to sit up and help him do the same. It hurt Tails to see such a pained expression on Manic, he was usually always so carefree.

"Manic…This isn't because of you. Look at her, she needs me." The fox mumbled, gesturing to the nervous fox woman behind him. "I'm grateful for all the years I've spent with you guys, but I didn't belong there—"

"Tails…"

"No, it's okay." He assured the hedgehog, "You guys will always be my family, no matter where I am."

"I…I love you, you're my little brother..." Manic stammered, wrapping Tails in a warm hug. He had never called Tails brother before, or hugged him. The fox returned the embrace before hearing another whisper escape the hedgehog. "At least say goodbye to them…"

He looked back up to his mother, who nodded in understanding before he and Manic got off the floor and walked down the hall back to where the rest of the hedgehogs were. They spotted them by the benches outside the courtroom again. Sonic quickly picked up his head from his hands as he saw Manic walking up with Tails. He quickly dashed for the fox, skidding on his knees until he finally smacked into him with a tight hug.

"Why Tails?" Sonic sobbed, unable to control his emotions.

"She needs me Sonic. She's my mom." He explained, pulling away to smile at the blue hedgehog. "We'll still see each other at school, and you'll always be my brother." Sonic just smiled, wiping his tears away as he stood up and moved to the side, creating a short path to the sobbing Aleena.

She quickly rushed over, embracing him without question. Her sobbing was heavy, as if she were in physical pain. Tails let her cling to him for as long as she needed, before she finally pulled away to face him. She shook her head frantically, refusing to believe he was no longer hers until he finally said it.

"Thank you Mrs. Aleena, for taking care of me for so long…" He told her, hugging her once more before walking back over to Rosemary, taking her hand as he used the free one to wave them all goodbye.

Aleena felt her heart completely shatter, no longer being called 'mom'. The two foxes turned around and started their journey toward the door. Tails cringed, letting tears escape him as he heard the frantic cries of Aleena screaming his name. Rosemary just squeezed his hand in comfort as they finally walked out the door.

Alicia and Bernadette soon walked out of the courtroom, watching Aleena on the floor, face cupped in her hands as she screamed in agony. The chipmunk darted her eyes toward the purple hedgehog by her side who wore an unsettling look of amusement on her face as she watched the poor hedgehog wail on the floor.

"You must be enjoying this." Alicia whispered to her in an annoyed tone. Bernadette just smirked, nodding her head as she spoke in a cynical tone, glaring between Aleena and Jules.

"Every damn second of it." She remarked bitterly. Alicia shook her head, unamused by the cruelty, but before she could scold the nurse something caught her eye.

She watched Isabella unlock her office door and scurry inside. Without a moments thinking, Alicia darted after her, walking past the hedgehogs. Jules looked up to her, but quickly threw his attention back to his upset wife, helping his children to pick her up off the floor and carry her away.

* * *

Isabella stood in front of her desk, sifting through paperwork for the next case. A few moments into searching she heard the open door behind her slam shut, and turned around to be met with the angry gaze of Alicia. She let a devilish smirk crossed her face, which was quickly wiped away into a fearful expression as the chipmunk lunged at her, taking her by the throat and slamming her to the desk.

Alicia practically foamed at the mouth like a rabid dog, so enraged at the low blows dealt to her earlier in the courtroom. Her violent streak surfaced, but didn't get very far as she repressed the urge to beat the mongoose to oblivion like she used to in their younger days.

"Your problems are with **ME**. Leave those damn children out of it." The chipmunk growled in her face.

"I could have you jailed for this." The mongoose hissed, shoving the chipmunk off of her.

"That was personal back there." Alicia growled, referencing the banter in court. "What's this really all about Isabella?"

"I'm just doing my job."

"I've never seen you fight so hard for a case if it didn't involve me." Alicia retorted bitterly, "You helped give that bastard custody of my daughters, there's no need to ruin Mighty's life too. You've already hurt me as much as possible by involving my own children in your idiotic revenge obsession—" The chipmunk was quickly silenced by a hard slap to the face.

" **DON'T EVER SPEAK OF HIM IN SUCH A WAY.** " Isabella screamed, "Maximilian is a wonderful man, and you never deserved him. He was supposed to be with me…"

"I took a bullet for you!" Alicia retorted, taking hold of Isabella's shirt collar as she screamed in her face. "Max is nothing but a pathetic, cold-hearted, sexist bastard. If I hadn't agreed to marry that son of a bitch you wouldn't have this high-class job, your loving and supporting husband, or your daughter **. I MADE YOU WHAT YOU ARE.** "

"You stole him from me…" The mongoose sobbed, shaking with anger. "Why couldn't you just settle with that bastard Locke?! If you did Max would still be mine…"

"Because I was an idiot…and Lara-Le was pregnant." Alicia sighed releasing Isabella from her grasp. She readjusted herself before heading out the door, but before she did so she turned back toward the mongoose. "You're lucky this isn't still high school….you wouldn't be leaving this office with your legs if it were."

* * *

"Please Your Honor, Ray is my son. I made a choice I deeply regret. If you could find it in your heart to give me a chance with my family again…I'd be so grateful. I love my son very much, and I feel that he will only be put in danger if Mighty the Armadillo is left in charge of him. He nearly died."

Mighty had tried countless times to contact Julie-Su again, but to no avail. It was the big make or break moment. They were finally concluding Ray's case. Joss had been called up, putting on the water works and _'I love my son'_ speech. The armadillo felt himself getting sick from it all, but the crowds looked in favor of the squirrel.

He darted his eyes over to Principal Acorn, who nodded with a smile at him. She had the utmost confidence in him, because she truly believed he was a good guardian. Elias sat on the other side of the courtroom, secretly praying for Mighty's win, although his girlfriend held his hand for support.

"Since the child doesn't have anything to say I shall make my verdict." Nega boomed, reaching for his gavel. "In the case of Ray the Flying Squirrel, I grant custody to Jo—"

" **I…H-H-HATE YOU!** " A voice screamed, making all the heads in the room turn. Mighty gasped, standing up in disbelief as that familiar voice rang in his ears.

"My Chaos….Ray?" He breathed.

Ray had stood up from his seat, trying with every fiber of his being to find his voice, and so he did. He marched right up to his biological father, pointing an accusing finger at him right in open court.

" **Y-Y-Y-YOU'RE A LI-LIAR.** " He screamed angrily, "I ha-hate you, and I'm gl-gl-glad your wife is de-dead."

" **ORDER, ORDER IN THE COURT!** " Nega screamed, but Ray persisted. He wasn't sure how long his voice would stay, so he wanted to get everything out in the open.

"Y-You didn't give me up be-be-because you had to. I re-re-read Clove's file on me o-o-once. You gave m-me up because you th-thought I was me-me-mentally retarded." The flying squirrel cried out, "We-Well I'm not! Y-Y-You never ga-gave me a chance….No-Not like Mighty."

"I-I-I didn't know what else to do." Joss confessed, "My wife was gone, and you seemed so…not right."

Ray just shook his head, refusing to give his father any more attention. He quickly dashed through the crowd, leaping into the seats where the Chaotix sat, where Mighty stood to greet him with open arms. Neither Isabella nor Armand counted on Ray being able to speak, nor did the mongoose know that anyone else had seen Ray's sealed file.

"In light of the new circumstances, it is without question that I allow Mighty the Armadillo to remain guardian of Ray the Flying Squirrel."

Mighty and Ray cheered, sharing a loving hug as the rest of their team carried them out of the courtroom like a parade. The armadillo looked over at Alicia who waved him goodbye with a big smile. He mouthed the words _'thank you_ ' to her before he disappeared out the door. Isabella was furious. This was the first time she had lost a case.

"It's a miracle Ray! You can speak!" Saffron cheered, hugging the squirrel once he was finally put down.

"This is so awesome!" Charmy added, joining into their hug.

"Ma-Matilda?" He questioned, looking up to Mighty who gave him a half-smile. The squirrel nodded in understanding before falling into another hug with his self-proclaimed big brother.

"What I tell ya'?" Vector smirked, slinging an arm around Mighty who chuckled.

 **INCOMING CALL**

They all quickly jumped up at the sound of Knuckles' obnoxious and loud ringtone. His face flushed in embarrassment as he fished it out from his pocket.

"Damn, you know you're supposed to keep that on silent right?" Espio muttered, rubbing his pained ear.

"Sorry." The echidna chuckled before speaking into the phone. _"Hello?"_

 _"Mr. Knuckles…"_ A small voice sniffled on the other line, making his smile completely drop.

 _"Lara-Su? Are you alright?"_

 _"Mommy's sleeping, and I'm hungry…"_

 _"Sleeping? It's the afternoon."_

 _"She's been sleeping for a really long time."_

 _"Have you tried to wake her up?"_

 _"She won't move, and she got my favorite dress all dirty."_ The girl pouted, _"She has ketchup all over her."_

Knuckles felt his heart sink in his chest. _"Where is your dad Lara-Su?"_

 _"He went away in the car."_ She explained _, "Mommy shouldn't sleep on the kitchen floor. It's cold. I brought her a blanket but she still feels cold."_

 _"I'll be right there Lara. Don't go anywhere."_ Knuckles told her before hanging up the call. He then proceeded to frantically dial 911.

"What's the matter Knuckles?" Charmy questioned.

"Espio, take Ray, Charmy, and Saffron back to campus." Knuckles ordered before pointing to the two remaining Chaotix. "Mighty, Vector, get the hell in my car. **NOW.** "

"Chill, what's wrong?" Vector rose an eyebrow. Espio quickly did as told, gathering the younglings and taking Mighty's keys before dashing off to leave the three alone.

"Knuckles? Was that Lara-Su?" Mighty questioned, "Did she say where Julie was?" Knuckles felt the angry tears slip his eyes at the sound of her name. Mighty quickly put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Hey, what's going on?"

"I'm sorry." The echidna breathed before bursting into tears. "I should have told you sooner, but with this bullshit going on I didn't want to stress you."

"It's all good now… Is something wrong with Julie-Su?" The armadillo persisted as they began the speedy walk to the echidna's car.

"Mighty….he's beating her."

* * *

Cassia reemerged in the office she shared with her sister, only she didn't go over to her own desk. Instead she stood before her sister's tossing a stack of papers at her. The older pronghorn quickly took hold of them, looking up to her sister in confusion.

"What is all this Cassia?" She questioned as she watched her younger sister remove her gold pin.

"I'm turning in my papers Clove. I can't do this anymore."

"What? Cassia—"

"No. What we do is right sometimes, but not always. Today we put two lives in jeopardy because of the stupid rules we have to follow. A good woman lost her son because of us today, and another was nearly taken back by a father only seeking finical security over a child he assumed to be disabled. There's a catatonic girl in the hospital because she was sexually assaulted under our watch."

"Those things were out of our hands. We didn't make the rules Cass."

"Enforcing them is just as bad if not worse than creating them. I'm done Clove. I'll see you at home."

With that, the younger pronghorn walked out of her old office, leaving all the pain and suffering her job had caused so many people behind her.

* * *

 **Thus we say farewell to Matilda, wishing her the best and happily awaiting for her return someday. Now its just Ray and Mighty against the world. Now that he knows about Thrash, how will he react?**

 **Tails is starting a new chapter in his life, leaving his beloved hedgehog family behind. Poor Aleena, the only one who can't really come to terms with it...**

 **Amy's had one hell of a rollercoaster, breaking up with Sonic, distancing herself from her friends, and nearly being killed again by her Schizophrenic mother. It seems like her only comfort these days is Scourge.**

 **Shitty person or not, you gotta feel bad for Fiona. The reason she's so fucked up and constantly mixing up signals and good from bad is the fault of a dark childhood with a father so sexual obsessed with her and blurry the lines of what is okay and what is not. Disgusting as it is, it happens.**

 **Isabella holds a grudge against Alicia for marrying Max, get where the hostilities come from? Funny how all the adults went to high school together too, and they've had some interesting reactions to each other. Can't wait to see what theories are born around them.**

 **Next chapter is another holiday special! It's Thanksgiving, and we'll take a look at how families are doing with these readjustments.**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy**

 **Manic starts to pick up the pieces, and mend his strained relationships**

 **Mighty reveals something crazy that changes Knuckles' life entirely**

 **We say goodbye to one of our longest running couples**

 **Locke finally asks Alicia the big question**

 **Someone finally shows Fiona the path to a better future**

 **In a time of sorrow and heartache, Sonic finds comfort in someone of his own, but is he really as genuine as he seems?**

 **And so much more**


	32. Chapter 32

**WARNING: Child Endangerment, domestic abuse, and brief mentions of sexual and physical abuse**

* * *

 **Chapter 32: Happy Thanksgiving**

 _' "How could you betray my trust like that? How could you tell him about…Maria." Shadow scolded me as he sat at the end of my bed. I knew that chat would come up sooner or later. The shitty part is that I have no real way to defend myself, because I was wrong to tell Manic something so private._

 _"He was worried about you Shadow. He hates the way you keep him in the dark—"_

 _"Like he's any better." He snapped, "He's always forced that distance, and now I'll finally give him the fucking boot. I'm done trying."_

 _"You don't mean that. You care too much about him to just stop talking to him. You and him are just as close as you and Maria used to be."_

 _"I know, and that's exactly why I can't let it go on. He's pushing me away, keeping me at a distance like she used to before she—" I could see the pain in his crimson eyes as he tried to utter the words, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead I just took him by the shoulders and laid him down gently beside me._

 _We've always done this. Ever since Maria's suicide he's been living with us, and has never slept in his own bed. He always claims that it's not comfortable enough, even though Mama bought him a mattress that costed more than four houses combined. He always sneaks into my room whether I'm awake or not and falls asleep next to me. To be honest, I think he's afraid to sleep alone, but we never talk about it._

 _Whenever he comes in and I'm awake, we just talk. I think he finds comfort in seeing me when he wakes up, afraid that I might disappear one day like she did._

 _"Shadow, he cares a lot about you. He wants the friendship to work as badly as you do, but he just doesn't know what to tell you. He doesn't even have his own life figured out…"_

 _"I could help him." He mumbled, kicking off his shoes. "I just wish he'd let me in…"_

 _"He'll come around." I sighed, throwing a white comforter over us before snuggling into my pillow. "But for now, we can still be pissed the fuck off at him…" '_

Shadow woke up thanks to the bright rays of the sun shining in through Rouge's sheer-white curtains. He tossed around lazily on her king-sized bed, shifting around to get comfortable in the hopes of falling back to sleep, but it wasn't happening. He sighed in defeat, letting his eyes lazily flutter open, then quickly shot up as he noticed Rouge was no longer by his side.

In her place was a pink sticky-note attached to her pillow that read _'Went to spend Thanksgiving with Knuckles and his dad. Love you.'_

"Ohhh Shadow!" Rouge's mother cooed sensually as the ebony hedgehog heard the clicking of her heels down the hall. He quickly crumpled the note in his hand before scrambling to his feet, only to open Rouge's window and literally throw himself outside.

* * *

"Are you alright Nicole?" Espio called out before opening the door to the guest bedroom of his mother's house.

The lynx jumped a bit in fright as he made his appearance known. She had just pulled her cellphone away from her ear, ending whatever call she was on as he took a seat beside her on the bed. There was a melancholy expression on her face as she did so. He wrapped a comforting arm around her, pulling her in close to lean on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry I had to leave you alone the other day. It was an important day for my friend and I had to be there for him." The chameleon apologized for leaving her alone last week to support Mighty in court. "I hope my mother didn't scare you."

"Oh no!" The lynx waved, letting a giggle escape her. "We had a wonderful time together. She even showed me some of your old baby photos."

"She…did." He sulked, a red glow of embarrassment on his face.

"Don't be so embarrassed!" She teased, poking his cheek. "Baby Espio was a cutie…just like he is today."

"Stop." He whined, face burning a deeper shade of red as he playfully shoved her lightly. She just giggled at the action before her sorrowful expression snuck its way back to her face. "Hey, is everything okay?" Espio questioned curiously.

"I just…I wish I could be spending Thanksgiving with my family." She admitted, "No disrespect to you and your mother of course! I just wish my family was still….together."

"I understand, and I'm sorry." The chameleon consoled her, wrapping her up in a loving hug. "Maybe one day you'll have a family of your own to celebrate the holidays with."

"Are you saying you'd like to start a family with me Mr. Chameleon?" She giggled, pulling away from their hug to flash him a suggestive teasing smile.

"I didn't mean it like—well, uh…" She just laughed at his now flustered babbling, he was usually so calm and collective. He just sighed in defeat, opting to kiss her instead of providing a coherent answer.

"Hey you two! Dinner is almost ready!" Espio's mother called out from downstairs, making them instantly pull away from each other with a nervous laugh. It felt like she knew what they were up to.

He hoisted himself up off the bed, taking her hand in his as he helped her up, and they descended down the hall together.

"Who were you calling by the way?"

"Oh, I was just trying to reach Shard again and wish him a happy Thanksgiving. It must be so hard for him, not having any family at all."

"Must be…" Espio mumbled, not wanting to discuss the DigItalian hedgehog.

"I just hope he's doing alright." She sighed, "I haven't heard much from him these last three weeks…"

* * *

Mina had waited an entire week, hoping that her period would show up and put an end to all her fears, but it hadn't. With every passing day she's felt worse, and the idea Honey had placed in her mind only worried her more. Finally growing restless, the mongoose had forced her cat friend into taking her to Metropolis Hospital. She was too afraid to go to the hospital in her city, fearing that one of the nurses or doctors there might alert her famous parents.

She sat dressed in nothing but an open-back white gown on top of a white-sheeted cot. She clutched the sheets nervously as the ticking of the black-rimmed clock above the wooden door rang in her ears. Beside her sitting in one of the guest chairs was Honey, dressed in her usual Lolita fashion. The cat sat with her legs kicked up on the empty chair next to her, examining the all-white room as she whistled lightly.

"Could imagine doing some pretty kinky things in a place like this." The cat purred, "Better add it to the Fuck-It List."

"Can you not? Like, I really don't want to hear about anything sex-related right now Honey! I'm in a crisis!" The mongoose blurted out in annoyance. The cat just sat up, sighing in understanding.

"This is crazy Mina, you might not even be pregnant. I really hope we're just overacting."

"I took five tests at home! Three negatives, two positives." Mina whimpered, "I'm so scared…"

"Hey, don't worry. Whatever happens…we'll get through it." The cat cooed, standing up and walking over to the mongoose as she slung a comforting arm around her.

"Excuse me? Is this the room of Mina Mongoose?" A voice called out beyond the door before it creaked open and a duck walked in. "There you are! Hello, I'm Dr. Quack." He smiled, offering her his hand.

"Hi…" She mumbled, shaking his hand before wiping her tear-stained cheeks.

He took a seat on the swivel chair before her, pulling up papers on his clipboard as he scanned over her file. Honey stood by Mina's side, clutching her hand as they both tensed up with nervousness.

"Well Ms. Mongoose, we've gotten the test results back." He told her, setting the clipboard down on his desk.

"So is she…pregnant?" Honey asked impatiently.

"Yes." He nodded, making Mina's whole world come crumbling down.

"I can't be pregnant!" She screeched, clutching her hair with both hands. "I've got a career ahead of me! My schooling! And my music!"

"Mina…" Her feline companion mumbled sorrowfully, reaching for her shoulder.

"I won't lie to you Ms. Mongoose, this won't be easy." The duck sighed, offering her a box of tissues from his desk. "But you are pretty early on…You still have options."

"Options?" She repeated, dabbing her eyes with a tissue.

"He's talking about abortion Mina…" Honey informed her.

"No…I…I couldn't do something like that." She shook her head.

"It's just an option Ms. Mongoose. You still have time. Be sure to talk to the father before making any drastic decisions."

"The…The father." She murmured.

"Mina?" The cat rose an eyebrow curiously.

"I…" She turned to look up into the hazel eyes of her friend, making the cat's mouth drop with her next words. "I don't know who the father is…"

* * *

After rudely being kicked out of his father's house, Rotor and Wave had returned to Green Hill Academy a week earlier than expected. The swallow felt so terrible at the outcome of his outing, she didn't expect the pastor to be so intolerant toward his own son, but to go as far as to disown him was even more baffling. Are priests even allowed to be so cruel?

The walrus has been skulking around campus for the last week, not talking to anyone. Wave worried about him. He refused to open his door most days, and when he did he was quick to assure her he was okay and shew her away. He was so distraught and heartbroken.

It's now Thanksgiving, and Rotor sat in the café at one of the long marble lunch tables all alone. He poked his fork at the peas and carrots on his plate, doing not much else with them at the moment. After his mother and brother passed away, all he ever had was his father, and now he has no one.

He didn't blame Wave for pressing him to come out, or the outcome of his doing so. The walrus has always wanted to come out, and understood that this was bound to happen sooner or later. She was just trying to help.

In the midst of his thoughts he was quickly pulled back to reality when he heard the clanging of several plastic trays on his table. He looked up and around to see his table was no longer empty. Surrounding the table he once sat at alone was the entire LGBT club, including Cobar the Echidna who sat right in front of him with a lovely smile.

"Sorry to intrude on you like this." The echidna apologized kindly, "We just couldn't let you spend your Thanksgiving dinner all alone."

"Oh, no worries. I…uhh…"

"Wave told us about what happened with your father." Cobar sighed, sliding his hand across the table to come down on Rotor's. "Some parents need time to adjust. It's not an easy process for some. But don't feel ashamed that you came out Rotor. Be proud that you remained true to yourself."

"But…my dad…He disowned me." The walrus mumbled, looking down at his tray in sorrow. His head quickly rose once he felt the comforting echidna's hand squeeze his. "He was all that I had left of my family…"

"Well, I know it's not much, but we at the LGBT club are just one big and accepting family."

Rotor turned to look at all of their faces. They all offered him sweet smiles of encouragement. He felt so overcome with the sense of belonging that he's so desperately craved all his life. They all cheered when he finally nodded and offered them a smile back. Wave quickly threw her arms around him, pulling him in for a hug.

* * *

 _'When we got to Julie-Su's grandfather's house I forced the door open with a powerful push with my shoulder, breaking the hinges. Dimitri will probably bill me later…_

 _"Lara!" I shouted as I rushed inside, Vector and Knuckles following suit. "Julie!"_

 _"Uncle Mighty!" The little echidna girl sobbed, running out of the kitchen and into my arms. I picked her up, startled at the red stains on her white pajamas. She clung to me, crying into my chest, and shaking. I bounced her lightly, something her mother always did to calm her. I motioned for Knuckles and Vector to scope out the house and look for Julie or Thrash._

 _Thrash…that son of a bitch. He better pray to Chaos I never fucking catch his ass._

 _When Knuckles told me about what he was doing…I could hardly believe it. I've known him for four years, and Julie-Su hasn't once ever said anything. How could I miss something so serious? She's my best friend, and I feel like this is my fault. I should have known something was wrong…I let her down._

 _"_ _ **MIGHTY!**_ _" Vector screamed bloody murder from the kitchen. I quickly set Lara-Su down and rushed over to see Julie-Su's cold body on the floor, lying in a pool of her own blood._

 ** _"OH FUCK, JULIE! JULIE-SU!_** _" Knuckles screamed, picking her up from the floor. That's when paramedics finally arrived and carried her away on a stretcher._

 _We were all pulled aside for questioning, and explained that we had just arrived ourselves after a call from Lara-Su. I quickly scooped her back up in my hold, afraid that they might whisk her away to Child Services. If they asked, I was ready to lie and claim her as my daughter just in case._

 _It's been a week since then, Knuckles has been watching over Lara-Su while I've stayed in Metropolis Hospital with Julie, hoping she'd wake up. Doctors say she was struck in the back of the head with a blunt object, splitting her skull. Apparently we had arrived just before she bled out completely. They also suspected her of be being abused for some time, finding healed fractures, and fresh bruises. They even found evidence of repeated sexual assaults…_

 _Wherever he is…I swear to Chaos I'm gonna find him….and I'm gonna kill him.'_

"Mighty?" Julie-Su mumbled, her violet eyes fluttering open. Her vision was obstructed by the harsh florescent lighting of the tiny hospital room, but she could make out that red shell anywhere. She sat up, rubbing her eyes with her forearm as she tried to adjust. The armadillo quickly threw his arms around her, tears of relief escaping him.

"Chaos! Julie! I didn't think…I was just…I was so scared." He sobbed into her shoulder, thankful that she had finally woken from her week-long coma.

"What are you— **OW!** " She yelped, attempting to touch the pained area on the back of her head before he pulled her hand away in protest.

That's when all of the memories came flashing back to her. Thrash was going off about something she said, a playful remark about how echidnas are the cutest creatures alive. He had mistook her compliment of Lara-Su into a potential hint to her attraction in echidna guys. After quickly shewing Lara-Su back up to her room the purple devil had raped her again, and beat her bloody until she passed out.

She looked back up to her dearest friend, eyes full of anxiety as she read the truth in his. He knew…

"Mighty…I—"

"How could you not tell me Julie?" He whispered painfully, "I would have stopped this. I'll fucking kill him."

"It just started happening one day." She confessed, never really able to refuse Mighty an answer. "I didn't think it would get this bad. I thought it would stop."

Mighty just embraced her again, both of them crying this time. The armadillo has always been her safe haven. She was afraid, but so relieved that she didn't have to hide anything anymore.

Sometime later, the armadillo had called Knuckles, and he arrived with Lara-Su. The little girl carried a small bouquet of sunflowers. She held them up to her mother, who placed them on the white table beside her bed before picking the little girl up. They shared a warm hug before Lara-Su claimed a seat on her lap.

" **MOMMY!** I missed you. You was very tired and slept for a long time!" Lara-Su exclaimed.

"How long was I out?" The echidna girl asked Mighty, who informed her that she had been knocked out for a week, and that today was Thanksgiving. "Oh no, I missed your school play!" She gasped, feeling like a horrible mother.

"That's okay Mommy." The little girl smiled, "Mr. Knuckles came. And he let me sleep over his house! They have a big TV!"

"Yes they do." Julie-Su smirked, looking over at Knuckles who offered her a weak smile.

"When can we go home? I miss Daddy."

Mighty and Knuckles both tensed up at the mention. Julie-Su noticed and quickly hushed her daughter, gesturing for her to go off to the café with the nurse who had just arrived to check the progress chart. She needed some time to speak with her two friends, who both were very angry and concerned.

"He left you in a pool of your own blood!" Mighty scolded after Julie-Su explained to them how she still intends to marry him.

"I know that." She retorted, "But I made a commitment Mighty."

"You can't be serious." The armadillo shook his head in aggravation. "He's beaten you, raped you, and nearly killed you!" Her body tensed up at the word _'rape'_ , shame washing over her, but she refused to budge on the subject.

"He hasn't even come to check if you're alive." Knuckles bellowed from the foot of her bed. "Vector's been parked outside your house all week."

"Listen, I understand that you're both worried, and want what's best for me, but I can take care of myself. Neither of you are my parents, okay? He's a wonderful father—"

"He nearly ripped the arm out of her socket." The red echidna fumed, cutting off her sentence. He couldn't believe how passive she was being, especially after he literally nearly killed her!

He'd been to health class, and they've discussed toxic relationships like this before. After years of being treated like trash by her fiancé, the echidna had developed Battered Wife Syndrome. She was mentally brainwashed into believing such actions were normal, that her boyfriend was still the upstanding guy he once was.

Julie-Su was no longer the girl he once knew, the confident and fierce tomboy of the block. She was now just a beat down housewife in denial, and it broke his heart.

"No, I'm not letting this happen." Mighty seethed with anger, chest rising in aggression as he shook his head in refusal.

"He's my daughter's father." She reminded him with a harsh glare that immediately made him shoot out of his chair.

"He's her father? That's your fucking excuse to stick around with this bullshit?" He bellowed, throwing back the chair behind him in emphasis. " **ENOUGH WITH THE BULLSHIT JULIE-SU. IF YOU WANNA KEEP BEING STUPID THEN GO AHEAD, BUT I'M NOT GOING ALONG WITH THIS SHIT ANYMORE.** " He screamed at the top of his lungs as he got in her face.

Her eyes widened in shock at the outburst. Knuckles could practically see the raging aura of fire around Mighty's entire being. He quickly grabbed the armadillo, pulling him back by the shoulder, afraid that he'd strike Julie out of sheer anger.

"Mighty, relax." Knuckles told him, edging him away from the bedridden echidna girl. Mighty shook him off, turning his head to him with a longing yet conflicted expression that made Julie-Su squirm.

"Mighty…Don't." She warned, shaking her head as tears sprinkled about. That's when she reached for her remote and hit the _'call nurse'_ button repeatedly.

"She'll never tell you the truth." Mighty mumbled, looking Knuckles directly in the eye.

"What are you talking about? I know everything." The echidna rose a brow in confusion.

"Not everything…"

" **MIGHTY STOP!** "

"What?" Knuckles gasped, confusion eating away at him. "What's everything?"

"Knuckles….Lara-Su is your daughter."

Just after Mighty had uttered those shocking words the nurse had reappeared with Lara-Su in her hands. She quickly set the little girl down before going over to the sobbing Julie-Su. All Knuckles could do was stare at the little girl who ran up to him holding up a cookie with a single bite taken out of it.

"I got you a cookie too Mr. Knuckles…but I got hungry."

* * *

Thanksgiving wasn't a usual DigItalian custom, but Shard remembered it to be one of his father's most favorite holidays. The military man would always be sure he was home this day, cook a delectable meal of foods from their home country, and spend the whole day with his son. When asked for what was he most thankful for, every year he would say the same thing. Shard.

The yellow-striped hedgehog had scavenged a bit of change from the couches in the lounge of the boy's dorm, and a few coins here and here from around the room he shared. He collected enough of it to ride a bus all the way back to Soleanna.

He sighed, looking around at the tall buildings, walking down the same sidewalk his father used to walk down with him. He always got so angry with himself on holidays. His father had been dead for years, he should be used to spending them alone, but always found himself grieving his death all over again.

He finally turned off the sidewalk, going down an old dirt road that led into one of the cemeteries. He'd been here so often he didn't have to watch where he was going. He knew where every stone was, and how many steps it would take to reach his destination.

The hedgehog domed a simple black hoodie, jeans, and white sneakers. The harsh winds and cold air reminded him that he should make it a point to make better outfit choices for weather, but it didn't deter him a bit. He kneeled onto the dewy green grass before lifting up his head to meet the cold gray headstone before him. The grave of Captain Metal, the highest ranked officer in the Mobius army.

Emotions quickly whirled through him, and he felt comfortable enough to finally let his sorrowful and regretful tears escape him. He sobbed, resting his head on the tombstone as if it where his father's.

Thanksgiving was a day for families to come together, but this was the best he could do. Sit with a grave and talk to the imaginary voice in his head.

"I'll never be half the man you were…" He mumbled through his tears, "I'll never get the girl, and I'll never be a hero, but I want to try so bad."

 _'You've always had it in you Shard. Don't let others deter you from your dreams. You can be whoever you want. It just takes effort, and courage, both things you have plenty of Son.'_

"I miss you…"

 _'We will meet again someday. There's no time for bitter grieving over things we can't change. If you wish to be better, then strive for it Shard. I know you'll make me proud.'_

"Holidays are just so hard…without a family. I mean, Harvey is a cool guy…but I wouldn't call his group home a family."

 _'Don't fret, one day you'll have a family of your own for holidays, and a son to make you proud.'_

"I just hope I could live up to your title." He smiled at the stone, "You're still the best Dad, and I love you."

* * *

Another week had past, and Blaze just couldn't bear to suffer alone anymore. She missed her friends, and how great things were before school started. She was determined to right all her wrongs as she walked off the bus and into the harsh winds of the outside.

The cat had literally blown all her money on this trip, but the end result had the potential to be worth more than all the money in the world. She looked up to the lavish manor as she walked up the stone steps to the stained-glass front door.

Where better to start picking up the pieces than with her dearest friend, Amy Rose? The two had met on Facebook years ago, always exchanging points in their games until they struck up conversation.

Aside from Silver, the cat wasn't particularly liked in Soleanna, constantly alienated by her peers along with the white hedgehog. She found her confidence and comfort among online friends, one of which being Amy.

The pink hedgehog would fly all the way out to Soleanna just to spend time, and hang out with her. Their friendship has been one of her most valued pieces of life, and it had come long before the blue hedgehog. They were like sisters, two bodies with the same soul. The poor cat just couldn't throw all that away, or let it end like this, all over a stupid boy.

She knocked three times on the door before she heard the sound of footsteps on the other side. The feline hadn't expected the pink hedgehog to be the one to answer. Amy's curious face quickly turned into a look of disgust before she rudely tried to shut the door in the cat's face, but Blaze had placed her foot as a wedge.

"What do you want?" Amy caved in annoyance, "I'm having dinner with my family."

"I just wanted to apologize Amy. I should have told you long ago…"

"Well, you didn't." She snarled, narrowing her upset jade eyes at the cat. "I still can't believe it even happened, like how could you do that to me Blaze? I thought we were friends. You knew how I felt about him, yet you—"

"I know I was wrong Amy, and I'm **SO** sorry." The cat cut her off in ramblings, "You are my best friend. I love you so much. Honestly, I was stupid. I was insecure and lonely, and he was just there. I thought I had fallen in love with him, but it was never like that. I was so afraid to tell you, I knew how much you liked him, and it broke my heart to keep such a thing from you."

"Why him? Of all the people you could have slept with…why did it have to be my crush?" The pink hedgehog asked, tears threatening her eyes.

"You used to always talk about what an amazing and perfect guy he is…Then when I actually met him…I got all confused." The cat confessed, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. "I never meant to hurt you Amy. You have to know that."

"But you did Blaze." Amy sobbed slightly, "You hurt me really bad, and I should never forgive you…but I need you so much right now." She added with the shake of her head as she leapt into the cat's arms.

"Amy? Blaze?" Rob piped up from behind them, pulling them out of their blissful apology hug. "Oh it is you! Come to join us for our Thanksgiving meal?"

Blaze looked back to Amy who nodded at her with a smile as she gestured her inside from the harsh cold.

* * *

"Sonic? Can I come in?" Manic called out before opening the door to his brother's room.

Sonic had been laying in that old racecar bed he refused to give up after grade school. His half of the baby blue room was messy and unkept, while the other side was completely bare. Tails' things had been packed away, and his bed stripped of its linens. Manic frowned at the sight, before walking over to his brother's childish bed and plopping down on it beside him.

The blue hedgehog quickly sat up to meet his brother's sympathetic blue eyes, but he offered no sympathies in return, the night of the dorm party cruelty still firmly placed in his mind.

"What do you want?" He grumbled in annoyance.

"I'm sorry…for outing your secret, and ruining your relationship with Amy." Manic apologized, hanging his head in shame. "I was messed up, and didn't mean to. It just sorta happened. I don't know how or why, really. I guess a part of me was jealous…because I used to really like Amy when we were young."

"Whatever." Sonic retorted bitterly, "Get out."

The green hedgehog just bit down on his bottom lip, unable to suppress the sad tears that cascaded down his cheeks. He was used to Sonic ignoring him all together, not being so hostile. He felt like he had completely destroyed what little that remained of them, and all his other friendships. He couldn't help but throw his head into his hands and sob silently.

Sonic couldn't stand the sight, no matter how upset he was with his brother. He scooted over to him, resting a comforting hand on his back as he offered a sympathetic frown. Manic just shook his head, refusing the comfort.

"I ruined everything for everyone. I made them feel so shitty…I drove Tails away. He says I didn't, but I know I did! And now Ma is completely dead inside."

"That wasn't you Manic. Tails wanted this…"

"And now Shadow hates me too. That was so fucked up of me…"

"Hey, he's your best friend." Sonic assured him, "He'll come around."

"I'm just such a shitty person. I'm better off dead…"

"Don't talk like that!" His brother scolded angrily, making him look up into his upset eyes. "I already lost one brother. I don't need to lose you too." Sonic mumbled, pulling his brother in for a hug.

"I'm gonna fix this." Manic nodded as he held onto his brother, "You are my brother Sonic, and I do love you."

"I love you too Manic." Sonic smiled. It's been so long since the green hedgehog had referred to him as brother, or even said that he loved him. After some time they pulled away and laid down beside each other in that stupid racecar bed as they stared at the ceiling and talked.

"You should call her." Manic instructed, pulling Sonic's phone off the side table and tossing it to him. "You'll never find a girl in the world who loves you as much as she does. She is a good girl, not particularly bright, but good nonetheless."

"She slept with someone else not even a day before agreeing to date me. How can I just look past that? And why does everyone keep saying I should? Just look!" Sonic exclaimed opening his Facebook to scroll through angry hate comments about the breakup.

"Damn, forty-nine likes on a _'Sonic is a total douchebag for breaking up with Amy'_ comment. Seems a bit excessive, but you know everyone's wanted you two to get together forever! Of course they're gonna be pissed that their OTP is shot."

"I like Amy, I really do, and I wanted this to work so badly! But I don't know if I can ever get over this."

"Well, if you care about her as much as you keep sayin' than you can." His brother assured him.

"Maybe you're right…" He sighed, sitting up as he begun to dial her number. "I've been so down this vacation, maybe all I need is some of that Amy energy—"

 _"Hello?"_ The other voice on the line sounded, making Sonic's jaw drop and his brother sit up. The voice wasn't Amy's, hell it wasn't even a girl.

 _"Scourge?!"_ Sonic yelped, _"What the hell are you doing with Amy's phone?"_

 _"What?"_ Scourge questioned, pulling the phone away from his ear only to see that it wasn't his like he assumed. _"Ah shit, I must have snagged the wrong one when I climbed out her window this morning."_

 _"What…"_

" _Yeah, she called me last week for some breakup sex. You really fucked up huh? Like her best friend? Really? For someone who's supposed to be the good guy, you sure ain't shit."_ The cynical hedgehog laughed on the other side of the phone, _"I know it was you who told Fiona about me and Pinky too, So consider this sweet revenge. Love to stay and chat, but I've gotta turn around and go get my phone back. Peace."_

The call ended, and the phone slipped right out of Sonic's hand. He was so enraged, so furious, and so heartbroken…

* * *

 _'After the court hearing, Rosem—I mean, my mom drove me back to our home in Metropolis. It's a small three bedroom apartment, but it sure is cozy. She told me my father and her used to live here together, and that he sat in that armchair in the living room very often._

 _I had never seen pictures of me as a baby before, and she had so many._

 _One particular picture interested me the most. It was a white-framed family portrait of her holding me, and my father holding….another baby fox._

 _"Who is this?" I asked her curiously._

 _"Oh..." She mumbled awkwardly, swiping the picture from my hand. "That's your…brother."_

 _"I have a brother? A real brother?"_

 _"Yes…"_

 _"Where is he? Where is he?" I jumped in excitement. The thought of having an actual brother was so exciting._

 _"I don't know." She sighed, putting the picture back on the fireplace, facedown. "He was in the sanctuary with you. I'm surprised that Aleena didn't adopt him as well."_

 _"He was?" I asked in confusion._

 _Mo—I mean, Mrs. Aleena had never said anything about me having a biological brother at sanctuary when she adopted me. As curious as I was, I dropped the subject all together. It clearly made her uncomfortable and sad._

 _I've been living with my real mom for a week, and I gotta say it's been a blast. I thought I'd miss Sonic and my old family much more…but this feels right.'_

"Tails?" Rosemary questioned, setting a plate of food in front of the young fox who looked back up at her.

"Sorry." He apologized with a smile, "I was just thinking…about how happy I am to be with you Mom."

The fox woman just smiled down at him as she took a seat across from him at the dinner table she spent so many nights alone at. To hear him call her mom was a dream come true.

* * *

Sonia sang along with the low volume of the radio on her dresser as she discarded her clothes on the floor to replace them with something more comfortable before Thanksgiving dinner.

Dinner. She was dreading it. Although she had cut clean of her purging, she was still repulsed by the idea of eating, and avoided it as much as possible. She had promised Shadow she would try, and try she has, but that insecurity was still dormant in her brain. Her bulimia had settled into a lesser form, but still weighed heavily in her heart.

She stood in front of the full-length mirror attached to her open closet door. The magenta girl was clad in nothing but her lavender-colored bra and white panties. She studied herself, taking note at how dramatically different she looked compared to when the year began. Her muscle from sports had diminished, and her body looked so fragile. Her once bouncy and vibrant pink hair had dimmed down into a dirty pink and resembled straw.

The purging made her feel so thin and pretty for a time, but now she felt like a gross mutant-zombie version of her old self.

"You're beautiful you know." A voice mused from behind her. She jumped up in fright, covering her exposed body as she turned around to meet the crimson gaze of her secret boyfriend, sitting on her windowsill.

"What are you doing here?" She yelped in excitement, rushing over to greet him with a hug.

"I missed you." He smirked, kissing her forehead. "You probably shouldn't change with the window open by the way…"

Upon hearing his suggestion she quickly remembered that she was not clothed. Her face burned red as she tried to cover herself with her hands once again in embarrassment, but he took hold of her wrists and lightly pulled them away before pulling her into him by the waist.

"Shadow…" She cooed as he planted butterfly kisses on her neck, rolling his thumbs along her hips. "At least be fair." She giggled, helping him pull the black V-neck shirt over his head before they locked lips and motioned their way to her bed.

"Hey Sis!" Manic called out beyond her door, banging on its wooden surface.

The two kissing hedgehogs quickly pulled away, looking from the door back to each other. Shadow sighed, understanding the drill as she shoved him toward the window…again.

"Wait! My shirt! It's cold outside!—" Shadow yelped just as he had fallen right out of her window. Sonia quickly took the V-neck shirt and threw it on hastily just before Manic walked in. Thankfully it was big enough to act as a dress on her petite frame.

"Nice shirt." Manic rose an eyebrow, noticing that it wasn't one of her usual girly tops.

"What do you want Manic." She growled, still upset with him about his cruelty at the dorm party.

"I wanted to talk…Well, more like apologize." He began, walking over to her bed to take a seat before beginning another long apology speech.

* * *

"So what's this about Locke?" Alicia sang, eyes fixed on the load of paperwork stacked up on her desk. "I'm very busy approving curriculums at the moment."

"You know, there was a time where I'd brush you off like this to work." The older echidna chuckled, recalling all the times he had to brush her aside to work at the Master Emerald. She used to hate it so much, and constantly threatened to burn down the place. Now she was giving him a taste of his own medicine.

"Things have a way of changing don't they?" She smirked, standing up from her desk to smile at him. He melted at the sight of her. She looked just as beautiful as when they were fourteen. "I don't want to waste any time. I'm sure the Master Emerald is expecting you for Thanksgiving dinner…" She chuckled.

"Not today." Locke laughed, waving in dismissal. "I closed shop for the day to spend Thanksgiving with my son."

"Really? Seems like you've been taking a lot more time off than your typical three minute break."

"Well, things have a way of changing don't they?" He repeated her earlier words as he walked behind her desk to greet her with an unexpected but very welcomed kiss.

"Not that I'm flattered, but what's this all about Locke?" She cooed as he held her by the waist.

That's when he pulled the tiny black box from his pocket, and got down on his knee in front of the bay window of her office to present it to her. She clasped both hands over her mouth as he opened the box to reveal the beautiful diamond ring.

"I think we—and my father—know that this is long overdue." Locke smiled, suppressing a laugh before he continued. "Alicia, I've loved you damn near all my life…and now there's nothing stopping us."

"Locke…"

"Marry me Alicia…"

"But Lara-Le—"

"She's long past moved on, and it's time I do the same."

"But Knuckles—"

"I've already discussed it with him."

"But…Max—"

"Screw him." He stood up, practically forcing the ring onto her finger before giving her an extremely passionate kiss. "Just say yes already and save us some time." He added with a chuckle.

"Yes Locke…I'll finally marry you."

"But don't make it sound like it's a bad thing!" He scolded playfully, kissing her once more.

"We'll see." She mused playfully.

"I've got another question to ask."

"What is it?"

"Come to my home for Thanksgiving? I'd love for you to get to know my son and his girlfriend off campus hours."

"Girlfriend? The boy just broke up with sweet Sonia only two months ago." The principal gasped, "He sure moves on fast."

"Gets it from his mother." Locke snickered, earning him a playful shove.

"I'm sorry Locke, but I'd like to spend Thanksgiving with my daughter." She apologized, his smile quickly fading.

"Oh shut up and go with him!" A voice sounded, making them both turn their heads and flush red to see her daughter and another student standing in the doorway.

"Sally! How long have you been there?" Alicia stammered shyly.

"Long enough." The auburn-haired girl giggled, her monkey friend snickering as well.

* * *

After being informed that Locke wasn't exactly the greatest chef in the world, Rouge had offered to prepare Thanksgiving dinner for the two echidnas. She had arrived extra early to prepare, finding the hidden key in the flower pot outside their front door and letting herself in. She had spent hours slaving over a hot stove as she prepared several delicious foods.

Their kitchen was small, but enough to work with. Obviously being just two men, there wasn't any food in the house, so she had to do a bit of shopping. Being like this made her all giddy, feeling like such a housewife.

Sometime in the afternoon she heard the slam of a car door, assuming it to be Knuckles. She jumped up from the kitchen table and scrambled her way to the door, quickly opening it. Instead of being met with her boyfriend's excited smile, she was met by an angry glare that made a shiver go down her spine.

"Hun? Everything okay?" She asked with concern, tilting her head in confusion.

"You knew…" He breathed, "You knew and you didn't tell me…"

"What? Just what are you on about Red?"

"How could you keep something like that from me?" He bellowed, shoving his way inside his own house. She stumbled, taken aback by his aggressive antics.

"What the fuck!" She huffed angrily, "I don't know what the fuck your problem is, but you need to start making some damn sense."

" **LARA-SU IS MY DAUGHTER!** " Knuckles screamed at the top of his lungs, swiping the white dinner plates off the table. They shattered to pieces on the tiled floor beneath them, but he had no regard. He just pointed an accusing finger at the bat. "You knew she was, and you never fucking told me."

Rouge was in complete shock, stumbling over her tongue as she tried to utter words.

"Did Julie-Su tell you that?" The bat gasped.

"All these years, I thought it was you that night at the masquerade party. That you were the one I lost my virginity to...at least that's what I forced myself to think." The echidna shook his head in distaste, "The mask looked like something you would make..."

"I did make it." Rouge whimpered, tears peaking from the corners of her eyes. "Julie came to my house, asked me to give her a makeover and take her out. I let her borrow my clothes, and we went to the party. The next week I found her puking her brains out in the bathroom. Me and that armadillo kid took her to the doctor, and they told us she was pregnant. She made us swear to keep it a secret, and never tell you because…it was your baby."

"But Thrash?"

"She met him the same night. He was so blacked out drunk that she had convinced him they had sex, and that he was the one who knocked her up." Rouge sobbed slightly, "If I had known she'd try to sleep with you I never would have helped her—"

"Why? Why didn't you tell me?" Knuckles raged, speaking through clenched teeth.

"You were already hurt when she left…it would have destroyed you to hear that she left with your kid." The bat explained, reaching to touch his cheek in hopes of comforting him, but he angrily swatted her away.

"You selfish bitch." He hissed, "You watched me carry that girl around campus…and you knew exactly who she was! You could have told me then!"

"I didn't want to lose you…" Rouge confessed, flailing her arms around angrily, mimicking his rage. "There was always this undeniable connection with you and that bitch, even before the kid came along. I knew if I told you…you'd walk away from me again…the way you always did whenever she called your name."

"Get out." The red echidna growled, pointing toward the door.

"Wait, Knuckles I—"

"No. You can go to hell."

" **SHE HAS THRASH!** " Rouge raged, " **SHE DOESN'T NEED YOU…BUT I DO.** "

"Did you know he beat her too? And raped her?!" The red echidna exploded, making the bat's eyes widen in horror.

"He…what?"

He lunged at her, snatching the green emerald off her neck, and breaking its chain. Rouge felt her heart break along with it.

"Just get the fuck out!" Knuckles yelled again, shoving her out his front door before slamming it shut. He slid down it to the floor, crying as he sat in the now disastrous looking kitchen, the turkey burning in the oven.

Rouge got up from the cemented driveway, dusting off her little blue dress as she sobbed, ruining her makeup. She started the journey back to her house, pulling her phone from her bra to call her dearest friend. Shadow hadn't answered his damn phone, so she reluctantly tried the next best thing.

 _"Hello?"_

 _"Manic…Can we talk?"_

 _"Say no more. I'll be over your place in five."_

* * *

There was an eerie silence at the dinner table of the hedgehogs. Sonia wasn't much for eating, opting to just sit there with her head down. Sonic's mind was off in a frenzy of mixed pained emotions at his vile conversation with Scourge. The thought of him all over Amy still radiating in his jealous and angry mind. Manic stole angry scowls at his dad, who sat right across from him with no expression to his face. Even Aleena was off in outer space, staring at Tails' empty seat with a saddened expression.

This Thanksgiving was a gloomy one, but Aleena tried her best to keep her mind off her precious Tails.

"Sonic, is everything alright?" Aleena questioned, noticing his upset demeanor.

"Yeah." He assured her with a half-smile that couldn't fool her. "Just a lot on my mind."

"What about you?" She questioned Manic, "I thought Shadow would be tagging along."

"Shadow's just been…busy" Manic mumbled in annoyance, no longer able to tolerate the awkwardness of _'family'_ dinner. "I've got to go…"

"Where are you going?" Aleena questioned.

"I need to help my friend." He replied quickly, kissing her cheek before running out the door.

"At least bring a sweater!" She called after him, but he was already out of earshot.

"I need to get out of here too Mom." Sonic sighed, no longer able to suppress his angst. He needed a breath of fresh air, preferably at his sanctuary.

"Are you sure everything's okay with you?" She questioned with worry as she watched him dash out the door with no reply.

"I'm not hungry Mother. I'm just going to head back up to my room. I'm not feeling to well." Sonia lied, standing up from the table and heading upstairs.

Jules sighed, placing a comforting hand on his wife's back as she stared at the almost untouched food at the table, and the empty chair where Tails used to be.

* * *

Sonia went back up to her room, opening the door to see the ebony hedgehog she had flung out the window hours ago perched right up on the windowsill again, a wide smile on his face as he beckoned her forth with his hand. She smiled, kicking off her shoes before leaping into his arms. They instantly locked lips, exploring each other's mouths as she led him over to her bed.

"I thought you left." She mumbled in between their kisses as he set her down gently on her back, getting on top of her as they continued to speak through adoring kisses.

"And deal with Rouge's mother all night?" He laughed, "Hell no. I'd much prefer to sleep here…with you."

"This is crazy." She giggled, cutting their kissing to stare into his ruby eyes with her jade ones. "You usually sleep in the room next door with Manic. I never thought you'd be here in my bed."

"Life's funny like that." He shrugged, rolling over to lay next to her. "Manic isn't much for cuddling." He joked, tracing her side with his hand.

"Stop." She laughed, swatting his chest playfully.

"Am I the first guy to ever lay here?" He questioned curiously.

"Not exactly." The magenta girl rolled her eyes, making him a bit curious.

"Knuckles?" He grumbled enviously.

"No. Sonic would have killed him!" Sonia chuckled at his jealousy, "The only guy ever allowed in here was…Elias." She trailed off, a wave of sorrow falling over her.

Shadow could see the pained expression on her face at the sound of his name. He quickly pulled her in for a hug, stroking her quills soothingly. She hadn't heard from Elias in so long, it weighed heavily on her heart every day, and she always wondered where he was and why he wouldn't call the way he used to every single night before bed.

* * *

" **JUST GET OUT!** " Julie-Su screamed, tossing her bed remote at Mighty. He complied with her angry request, walking over to Lara-Su and kissing her cheek before he made his leave.

It frustrated him how stubborn the echidna girl was, even in times of crisis such as this. Knowing her, she'd probably stick with Thrash until she died with her stupid hard-headed nature. He couldn't let that happen, even if it meant finally telling Knuckles the truth. The armadillo knew Julie-Su would be upset with him for a while, but once she calmed down he'd get an apology call. That's usually how their arguments played out.

Mighty sighed heavily, trudging down the white corridor toward the door with an exit logo. Ray was waiting for him at home, and he had already been running late.

Just before he could reach the exit, his eyes caught sight of a familiar yellow bow. He backtracked his steps, peaking into a creaked open door where a lifeless Fiona sat up in bed, being scolded by a frustrated nurse because she refused the spoon of soup.

"C'mon Fiona! You've been here a week and haven't touched a single morsel of food!" The nurse whined in frustration, "You need to eat."

Without even thinking, Mighty found himself stepping into the room, making the nurse jump up in her seat, nearly spilling the bowl of soup in her hand.

"Is there something I can help you with?" She asked, putting on her most kind voice although she was clearly upset.

"Oh no. I just came to visit her." He pointed to the silent fox, offering to take the bowl of soup. "If you don't mind, I can take it from here."

"Oh of course not!" The nurse sighed in relief, hastily getting up from the seat before helping him to sit in it. "I've got other patients to see to. Don't be surprised if she doesn't eat or speak. She had a traumatic experience and is in some sort of shock-coma."

Mighty nodded and before he could blink the nurse was already gone. He sighed, turning his gaze to the zombified-fox, a frown crossing his face. He recognized that dead look in her eyes, the same look Matilda bore when she lost all value of life. He set the bowl of soup down on her side table, knowing that she had no desire to eat. As he did so, he was startled by her monotone voice.

"Why did you leave…" She spoke softly. He pulled back to look at her, his heart aching. "I waited so long for you to come back…Mighty."

"By the time I did…you were already falling back into old habits, hanging around with the wrong crowd, and so far gone." He explained sorrowfully, a bit of guilt spiking within him.

"You left me to die, just like they did." She replied coldly, tears spilling from her dead eyes.

"I woulda came back for you Fiona. I just needed time…"

"I waited and prayed…every single night for you." She retorted angrily, throwing her arms around him and pulling him in close as she sobbed. "I could have gone on forever, playing the good-girl, just for you."

"You weren't playing." He corrected, pulling back to poke a finger at the yellow bow he once gave her as a gift. "You've always had the potential to be good Fiona, and a part of you has always known it. It's all about choices and the road you take. My parents were Mercia's notorious thieves, they even killed someone during one of their hold ups. I was alone just like you. So angry, so lost, I could have ended up just like them…but I saw a better future for myself. One with Ray, Matilda, and once upon a time…you."

"I loved you so much, and as much as I hate it I still do." She whimpered. Before he could question what she meant by that her lips quickly crashed down onto his, making his eyes widen in shock. It was a brief kiss, because he instantly pulled away, shaking his head.

"Fiona, no." He rejected, making her fume with anger.

"Why not?!" She shouted angrily, hastily unbuttoning her gown. "Scourge, Nack, my dad…everyone wants me. So why not you huh? Don't you care about me?"

"You're my foster sister." He explained, pulling her hands away from her gown so she wouldn't expose herself anymore. "You've been hurt and taken advantage of. You're so confused Fiona."

"I want you to love me…" She whimpered, bowing her head in shame. "You're the only one who's never wanted me."

"I do love you Fiona." He assured her with a smile, kissing her forehead. She lifted up her head, a deep blush on her face as he brushed her hair away from her teary eyes. "Love comes in several different forms. Someone's gotta show you there's more to it than you've known…"

"I just…I don't want to hurt anymore."

"Hey…" He called out, lifting up her chin to face him. "Smile…because you're pretty when you smile."

* * *

Sonic sat far in back on one of the old gray buses. He stared out into the night, watching the scenery fly by as the bus speeded down the single dirt road toward Green Hill Academy. He wasn't due back to campus until tomorrow morning, but he just needed to return to his secret place. The Lake of Rings was the only place he felt soothed his sorrows.

Around eleven-thirty, the bus had finally stopped in the parking lot of the school. He walked out the doors, a gust of wind picking up as the bus did a U-turn and dashed back down the single dirt road. He'd been on that smelly thing for two and a half hours. He arched his back, letting the cool breeze whip across his body as he stretched.

Shortly after he began the long free-run to his safe haven. It amazed him how the fireflies still tended to dance around this place although the cold had set in, and winter was well on its way. He breathed in the woodsy scent, spinning in a circle before falling back onto the grass with a big smile. He adored this place so much.

He laid there for a while, the sound of the water swaying with the wind's lullaby, and the fireflies illuminating the darkness that the moon couldn't suppress. Then he sat up, staring out at the shimmering lake as he thought about Amy…and how shitty he felt.

There's no question that he's not the greatest guy in the world, and that he's made such stupid choices in his life, but that didn't mean he was emotionless. The pink hedgehog always had a way of making him feel like king of everything, but now when he thought about her he felt like the royal fool for believing in her.

The entire bus ride his phone had been blowing up with angry Tweets and messages about how he should let it go, and that he was no better. It got to the point where he had to turn off his phone. No one seemed to understand that he had feelings of his own, and that he needed time to process everything himself.

"Sonic…" A voice called out to him, making him turn his head.

Standing behind him in an ugly silk-white nightgown that fell to her ankles was Sally. She noticed the misty tears on his face as he turned, making her frown slightly. The two had never really spoken after their strange encounter. She assumed he'd scold her, or tell her to leave and never return, but he did neither. Instead he turned his head to look back out to the lake.

"Come to laugh?" He questioned, pulling his knees to his chest.

"Laugh about what?" She rose an eyebrow as she found a spot on the grass to sit beside him.

"Don't act like you don't know! Everyone knows! And you're probably loving this, seeing me all fucked up." He shouted, ripping grass out of the ground.

"I really have no clue." The chipmunk assured him, "I'm not exactly talked to around here, and I don't mess with social media."

As much as she disliked him and could not stand him, she couldn't help but feel sorry for him. His actions and the way he made choices based on word of the people irked her to no end, but she knew it couldn't be easy for him…having such a powerful need to please everyone.

"Amy…" He mumbled, warm tears spilling down his cheeks like waterfalls as he put his head down so she wouldn't see. "She cheated on me with Scourge…and she's probably with that fucker right now."

"You weren't exactly the most faithful guy either." She reminded him of his surprise kiss in her dorm.

Instead of receiving an equally snarky remark like she hoped, her comment only seemed to drive his mood down further. His soft sobs got more apparent, and he lifted his head to face her with actual tears.

"I know, I'm the worst fucking guy on the planet, and you can't stand me…but that doesn't mean I don't get fucking hurt." The blue hedgehog bellowed, voice echoing in the open. "You were right ya'know. I am just a show pony with a complex. I listen to everyone but myself. I'm an asshole, I'm selfish, and a jerk…but I thought she'd be the one to see passed it all and love me for me."

"Sonic…" She cooed sympathetically, putting a hand on his shoulder as he cupped his face and sobbed.

"I just wish I was someone else." He mumbled, looking up to the moon with his hopeful green eyes. "Everyone thinks I'm so damn perfect and happy all the time, like I don't get lonely too. When people look at me they don't see me, they see the Sonic they want to see. It's so fucking hard to tell who the hell is real with me. Did Amy ever even love me? Or the idea of me? Does anyone even see me?"

Without even thinking, Sally quickly pulled him into a hug, taking him a bit by surprise. He relaxed in her grip, letting tears escape him as they sat by the lake holding each other in silence. He closed his eyes, taking in her lavender scent as time stood still. His wake up call was a drop of water falling on his nose, then another, until it started pouring rain out of nowhere.

They pulled away, both of them scrambling to their feet as water rained on them from the heavens, the only sound being the droplets falling onto the lake with a splash. Fireflies twirled about, scattering in all directions to find shelter within the dense woods surrounding them.

Sonic looked at the chipmunk standing before him, her glasses covered in a mist of rain droplets. As much as he disliked her, he was thankful for the consoling. He blushed awkwardly, embarrassed at his emotional outburst. He put a hand to his wet forehead, slicking back his quills as he shook his head lightly.

He rubbed the back of his head, noticing the rain had soaked her white nightgown, making it cling to her body and reveal the beautiful figure she had been concealing.

You would have assumed a girl like her would have been flat as a board underneath those baggy clothes she always sported, but that couldn't be further from the truth. She had a body that could potentially give Rouge a run for her money. Such long legs, and jaw-dropping curves.

"I've spilled all my emotions tonight and I'm sorry." He apologized, referencing the sudden rain.

She smiled at him, the sincerity in his voice sounding so sweet. She liked him so much more this way, when he was honest with himself. Maybe it was the need to console him, or that undeniable spark she tried so hard to repress from the first time he had kissed her, whatever it was…the feeling had coaxed her into cupping his face in her hands.

The stars must have been perfectly aligned in the galaxy, because right there in the pouring rain…

Sally had kissed Sonic.

His eyes widened in shock, but quickly fell shut as he prolonged the kiss, holding her by the waist and refusing to leave her full lips for a moment.

* * *

 **Lara-Su is Knuckles' biological daughter! Shoutout to 1Darkness552 for figuring that one out quite early on, BUT it is not the theory that I was surprised someone got right. Even so, well done! Try to crack the code on other characters!**

 **I bet a lot of you were thinking Tails would be the one to help Fiona, but if you remember correctly, Mighty was the root of all her anguish and heartbreak.**

 **Manic is slowly but surely making amends with his friends, starting with his siblings. A lot of you hate him because his cruel words somewhat drove Tails away, but keep in mind that the reason Manic is so fucked up is because his entire family ignored him for years. There's no pain in the world like being neglected by the ones you love.**

 **Blaze and Amy have found forgiveness within their loneliness, while Knuckles and Rouge say their bitter farewells.**

 **Nicole feels the distance between her and Shard, and she's not liking it at all. Meanwhile he's sitting with a grave, wishing for a family...could Mina be the key to happiness for him?**

 **Sonia is still ill, but happily in love and recovering slowly. However, she still feels pained by Elias and their lack of communication. Could this lead to problems down the road for the two secret lovers?**

 **Lastly, Sally has finally given into her repressed feelings for the real Sonic and not the persona he puts on for his friends, but is he really as genuine as he seems?**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy**

 **Thrash is finally caught!**

 **Principal Acorn is visited by an old friend with an interesting motive**

 **Manic and Shadow have an actual heart-to-heart**

 **The father of Mina's child is revealed, and she begins a relationship...**

 **As Amy's suspicions grow about Sonic and Sally, she reveals a dangerous trumpcard she stole from Scourge**

 **And so much more**


	33. Chapter 33

**WARNING: Sexual scene, self-harming behaviors, gruesome violent scene, mention of suicide and nude photographs**

* * *

 **Chapter 33: The Path You Chose**

The next day, everyone had returned from their two week vacation, some happier than others. The campus traffic was bustling as teens scrambled to their classes and dorm rooms. Thanksgiving had flown by, and November was nearing its final week. It surely showed in the weather, as it was colder now than ever before, and every single brightly colored leaf had finally fallen.

Amy sighed heavily to herself, the season of death bringing down her already gloomy mood. At least her return to campus was very welcoming. Others who had heard of the breakup rushed up to her and offered their condolences, hugging her, and giving her their two-sense on the matter; not that she really cared. She was at least glad to know people were behind her on this, but would they be if they knew she had started up her steamy lessons with Scourge over break?

Blaze sure was upset, especially when the green hedgehog had returned to her house to retrieve his cellphone. The cat made it abundantly clear that she should stop this little cat-and-mouse game with Scourge before it got out of hand, to which she somewhat reluctantly agreed.

"Amy?" Blaze questioned, walking up to the pink hedgehog.

She turned around to see the purple feline accompanied by a very sulky-looking Rouge, and the two youngling girls of the group.

Amy just did her best to smile as they all came in for a group hug. She was relieved to know that at least they didn't look at her differently after finding out about what she was up to, and grateful that they still stood by her side. The only real worry she had being back on campus, was coming face-to-face with Sonic again.

"I'm glad reunions are out of the way." Rouge mumbled, careful to not ruin her eyeliner. "Cause I need some serious girl talk."

"Regroup at lunch?" Cream questioned the bunch as they pulled back and held hands in a circle. They all looked around at each other and nodded before all of them spoke up in unison.

"No boys."

* * *

"Shard!" Nicole perked up, standing up from her bed where she had been unpacking her things. She walked over to the doorway of her dorm where the yellow-striped hedgehog stood, intent on welcoming him in with a hug…but he gently brushed her off.

The last time she saw him was two weeks ago before vacation, and he had been acting strange, but the way he brushed her off just now was even more alarming. There was this awkward tension that she couldn't put a name to, and his distance made her feel very uneasy, like she had done something wrong. Her excited smile quickly fell into a confused frown, especially after hearing his response.

"Hey." He mumbled, rubbing the back of his head as he tried to avoid eye contact with her. "Could you leave for a minute? I need to talk to Mina…alone."

She whipped her head around to look at the mongoose who was seated on the teal-sheeted bed across the room. Mina also bore a similar puzzled look, obviously not expecting the hedgehog.

"Um…sure…" Nicole nodded, reluctantly stepping out of the dorm before he closed the door behind her. She couldn't help but feel a little envious, especially because he had been ignoring her for weeks.

On the other side of the dorm, Shard leaned up against the door, sighing heavily before lifting his head to meet Mina's pretty face with a half-smile.

She stood up from her bed, hunching over a bit in fear that he might notice her stomach through the over-sized purple sweater. Her gaze quickly shifted to her feet, not wanting to meet his eyes after that last dirty encounter.

"I forgive you ya'know." He spoke up, walking toward her slowly.

"Because I had sex with you?" She asked sarcastically, assuming it to be the only obvious reason.

"No, but thanks for that." He chuckled, finally coming to a halt in front of her, lifting her chin to meet his gaze before he…kissed her. "It was that wakeup call you gave me. I really am blind to the good things around me, even when they're standing right in front of me."

She blushed madly, staring into his emerald eyes, and adoring the kind hand he held to her cheek. She couldn't come up with any words, the moment being a bit overwhelming, so he did all the talking for her.

"I've realized I don't want to be a blind fool anymore, or the bad guy…" He continued, "So at the risk of looking like a complete idiot…I came to ask if you'd go out with me."

Her face instantly flushed at his question, and she had no idea how to respond, or how to go about telling him that she was pregnant. She instantly looked down at her stomach, remembering the call she got from the doctor just hours ago…

 _'Mina...The results you've asked for have come in. You're almost four weeks pregnant. Thankfully there's still enough time if you choose to terminate, and hopefully knowing the age helps you determine who the biological father is….Good luck.'_

Four weeks. She had only slept with Shard two weeks ago, meaning that the biological father was Manic…

She felt so guilty, so vile, and so disgusting. Carrying the child of a guy she barely liked, while standing in front of the one she hadn't stopped thinking about for two weeks straight.

"Hello?" Shard waved a hand in front of her face, "Is that a no or what?"

"Why me?" She questioned, hoping to deter him without actually saying no.

"I think I need a girl who can hold her own against me." He mused playfully, resting his forehead against hers. "And the sex wasn't half bad." The hedgehog added teasingly, slightly brushing his lips over hers a few times, being sure not to fully kiss her until she gave an answer.

"I…I…I want to be your girlfriend." She caved, unable to resist his unique and playful charm.

"Good." He smirked before finally pressing his lips fully against hers.

"Girlfriend?" A voice sounded from behind them as they turned to meet Nicole's somewhat hurt expression at the doorway.

* * *

Off in the main building, walking down one of the hallways hand-in-hand were Silver and Gold. The nerdy pair of friends who'd spent the last two weeks of vacation together, stargazing, watching SyFy documentaries, and geeking out over how close the Crush 40 concert was.

"Oh man, oh man!" Silver jittered excitedly, "I can't wait! Have I ever mentioned they're my favorite band of all time?" He asked the tenrec who just giggled.

"Only about a bazillion times." She replied, playfully nudging him with her shoulder. "Front row seats too. It'll be a dream come true!"

"Blaze never could stand their music." The white hedgehog frowned, his ex-girlfriend snaking her way up to his mind again. "She never let me play their CDs when we hung out. Can you believe she hates the song Fire Woman?"

"Wow." Gold whistled, cringing a bit. "That's probably one of my favorites."

Silver just smiled at her, relieved to finally have someone in his life who liked the same things he did. Among Blaze and her friends he always felt so out of place, the loser of the group. Hanging out with Gold has been a dream, talking to someone who didn't look at him like a weirdo or talk down on the things he liked.

"Thanks for letting me hangout with you these last two weeks Gold." He spoke up, a bit of a blush creeping on his face. "It's really helped me get through this whole breakup thing, and it's just nice to be around someone who gets me ya'know?"

"Im glad." She smiled, her sweet nature warming his heart. "I'm just happy I get to see you every day now, and not just once a year at a con. I've never really had a friend into the same stuff either."

"Guess we were made for each other then." He chuckled, squeezing her hand a bit.

"Maybe…" She giggled.

* * *

Shadow sighed in annoyance at being in the same vicinity of the green hedgehog again. He still hadn't forgiven his best friend about the indiscretions of the dorm party. The ebony hedgehog didn't even look in his direction. He just unpacked the little that he had left with, then laid down on his bed and stared at the ceiling.

Manic frowned in sorrow, definitely feeling the distance as he stared at Shadow's back until the ebony hedgehog fell back into his bed on the other side of the room. If there's one person he should strive for forgiveness with, it's Shadow.

"Shads I—"

"Don't want to talk." He cut the green hedgehog off coldly.

"Well then listen." Manic huffed, a little irritated at the attempt at brushing him off. Then he stood up from his bed, walking over to Shadow's and taking a seat on the edge.

The dark hedgehog rose an eyebrow, a little curious at what Manic had to say, but too stubborn to say so. The shaggy-quilled hedgehog just sighed, looking down at the floor.

"What is it Manic." Shadow mumbled, wanting to get the bullshit over with. He prepared himself for the half-ass apology, and the potential smoke sesh that would soon follow, but he was nowhere near ready for some actual character development.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone behind your back to ask Rouge about your past." He sighed heavily, "You gotta admit, that for two people who've hung out literally two years straight we really don't know shit about each other. I didn't mean to say some fucked up shit like that dude. I have no idea what the hell came over me that night, but I'm so sorry…"

"Why do you make it like this? Why do you keep me at a distance?" Shadow questioned, sitting up as he locked eyes with his friend, finding the utmost sincerity in his blue gaze. "You never ask me about me, and you never talk about yourself. All we seem to do is just bask in each other's presence, and nothing more. Rouge says friendship is a two-way street."

"Because I knew if I asked you things, then you'd want answers, and I barely have any myself." Manic admitted, "I'm not exactly the best socialite in town if you hadn't noticed."

"Maria Robotnik was a childhood friend of mine. I was in love with her…I couldn't wait for the day we turned eighteen so I could marry her. I was young, but I knew I wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of my days with her forever…but she killed herself."

"Shadow…" Manic frowned as he watched the ebony hedgehog try his best to fight back bitter tears.

"I wanted to confront her on why she was being so distant with me. She wouldn't let me hug her goodnight, or hold her hand anymore. I caught her on the roof, as she danced on the ledge. I remember calling out to her, begging for her to step down. She was so broken, like an angel with her wings clipped. All she said was _'We could have been happy Shadow.'_ Then she flung herself over the ledge. I heard her neck snap. The next thing I knew Rouge was pulling me away from the ledge."

"Why are you telling me all this now?" Manic questioned in confusion, distraught to hear the ordeal Shadow had gone through in losing Maria.

"Because if you want my forgiveness, and this friendship to ever work…I want to know you." The ebony hedgehog explained, making Manic feel nervous. "I want to know about you and Scourge."

The green hedgehog's heart rate instantly picked up, he gritted his teeth as he shook his head.

"I can't Shadow." He sighed, "Not because I don't want to either. I just can't. I understand if you just want to stay mad at me." He added before getting up to walk out the door, but his hand was quickly grabbed by Shadow.

"Friendship is a two-way street, just like Rouge said." He spoke, "At least promise me you'll be ready to meet me halfway someday."

"I will…" The green hedgehog promised, nodding his head. "I just…I don't even know. Scourge and I…Let's just say a lot of things were…unresolved."

"Good enough…for now." Shadow sighed, "Smoke sesh before art?"

* * *

 _' "Hey, you know Vex?" A drunken thirteen year old me asked as I strolled up to the girl in the teal face mask._

 _I'm not usually one for parties, but when Vector throws a party you just can't miss it. It was my first time being drunk, and I was a bit of a lightweight. The party was held at some abandoned building in Mercia, probably one of those mansions Amy's cousin owns now._

 _This girl had peaked my interest. I couldn't really get a good look at her face, but her body was a pretty good focal point. The tight blue silk dress, and white heels were just the kinda shit I'd find hot, and she did a pretty damn good job filling out that low-cut dress. Not to mention her smile was out of this world._

 _She bore a pretty solid appearance to the bat girl I secretly crushed on, and with the alcohol in my system I felt confident enough to walk right up to her. I didn't feel like we were still in the sandbox then, and had no ringpops for her to steal._

 _"Duh, you dummy." She chuckled, holding a green bottle in her hand as she hollered at me over the music._

 _I should have known right then and there who she was…but I was so fucked up. All I could see was Rouge…because although I was infatuated with Sonia around the time, the alcohol surfaced some very repressed feelings for my grade school bully._

 _The music was too loud to talk over, so I just opted to make a fool of myself and dance with her. At first it was just a joke, I was doing stupid shit like the chicken dance, and that somehow led to dirty dancing with_ _ **A LOT**_ _of grinding. The alcohol was flowing, and we both came to a point where we could barely stand up._

 _We trudged off the dancefloor, holding each other up as we made our way to the closest place we could get to before we keeled over. That happened to be a very tight broom closet. It was so small neither of us could sit down. We had to press our bodies close together just to fit and shut the door._

 _I just thought we were gonna chill in some peace and quiet until we got our minds right, but the next thing I knew she threw her arms around my neck and kissed me._

 _It was dark, and the bass of the music outside made the room shake. I hadn't really ever kissed anyone before either, but the alcohol in me made me experimentive, suppressing my shy side entirely._

 _I kissed back, exploring her mouth as she opened it up and allowed entrance. On top of that I had my hands damn near all over her, tracing the shape of her body, cupping the breasts I had fantasized about since I hit puberty._

 _They weren't anywhere near as big as they looked, and the shape of the body was all wrong. I knew it wasn't Rouge the instant my hand trailed up her back and got tangled in long hair._

 _But that didn't stop me. The darkness of the closet made it easy to just imagine it was her._

 _"Rouge." I mused between our kissing as I struggled to hike up the girl's dress with what little room there was in the closet. "I fucking love you Rouge."_

 _She said nothing, making the fantasy much easier on me. The only time she ever said anything was when she screeched my name as I tore her hymen, then after that it was just blissful moans._

 _The next morning I woke up alone, with my pants around my ankles in a broom closet, full of embarrassment and regrets._

 _I knew it wasn't Rouge for sure when I walked out of the closet and saw her passed out drunk with Manic, wearing a pink dress. I guess I just pushed that memory out of my mind, trying to fool myself into believing it was her to justify that I had lost my virginity to a complete stranger and barely remembered any of it._

 _Is it wrong to be relieved about this? To hear that it was Julie-Su I lost my virginity to and not some stranger?_

 _If only my dad had signed the permission slip for Sex-Ed, maybe we wouldn't be where we are right now.'_

"Real sorry about you and Rouge." Vector sighed in the passenger seat of Knuckles' car as the echidna drove them back to school, "Shit is crazy out here."

"I don't even want to talk about her." The echidna growled, tightening his grip on the steering wheel as he sped up a bit.

"I don't think she meant to hurt you Bruh—"

"Like making me miss out on four years of my kid's life is supposed to protect me?" Knuckles retorted aggressively, "She doesn't even know I'm her dad, and Julie-Su won't fuckin' let me see her, or even talk to me."

"Let's worry about one thing at a time Knux." The crocodile replied, rolling down his window to get some air as he looked out onto the scenery.

 **INCOMING CALL**

Vector fished his phone out of his pocket, connecting it to the car radio so Knuckles could listen in on the call too. It was Mighty.

 _"Yo."_ Vector greeted, staring out to the red car driving behind them. The armadillo had been tailing them.

 _"Couldn't help but notice you speed up back there."_ Mighty chuckled, _"Everything good?"_

 _"Yeah, yeah."_ Vector laughed, _"Echidnas just ain't good drivers."_

 _"Hey, fuck you! I'm awesome."_ Knuckles chimed in over the hysterical laughter of his friends.

In the midst of laughter, a purple figure walking down the sidewalk caught the croc's eye.

" **STOP THE FUCKING CAR!** " Vector shouted, making Knuckles jump out of his skin before slamming on the breaks. The sudden stop forced Mighty to do the same.

"What the hell Vex?" Knuckles scolded before watching the crocodile charge out of the car and down the sidewalk.

"That mothafucker's here!" He bellowed as he chased the now sprinting devil. Knuckles quickly caught sight of Julie-Su's abuser himself, wasting no time as he hoisted himself out of his car and dashed down the street, not bothering to close his car door.

He ran as fast as he could, long past Vector, but not quite up to Thrash. He used all his might, feeling the burning pain up his calves as he ran at a speed he thought unattainable. Before he knew it, he had leapt and tackled the devil to the ground.

Without even thinking Knuckles quickly took a swing at his face, then another, and another. Thrash took the blows, but offered no cries of anguish, instead he head-butted the echidna, forcing him to stagger back and unpin him from the ground. They both staggered to their feet, raising their fists to one another as they took their stances.

"You don't know when to fuck off." Thrash grumbled, bobbing back and forth as he dodged the angry echidna's blows. "I tried to be the fuckin' nice guy."

"You left her to die!" Knuckles shouted, sending a powerful blow to the devil's ribcage. "You ruined her…" He added as he watched the devil lose his breath before he quickly regained his composure.

"I liked you better when you were just a ghost." He hissed, sending a powerful kick to the echidna's leg that made him fall over. "Then she agreed to move here, probably to see your fuckin' ass. She's a fuckin' whore, shoulda just kept her legs closed. But no, she had to ruin my fuckin' life and keep the little bitch—"

" **THAT'S MY DAUGHTER!** " Knuckles screamed, upper-cutting Thrash before slamming him back down on the sidewalk.

" **I KNOW!** " He screamed back, shoving the echidna back off him before stomping on his chest over and over again. Knuckles gasped, unable to move as the repeated pressure to his ribs threatened to make his chest cave in on him. "She doesn't look shit like me! All those fucking years, stolen from me by that stupid whore!—"

"You like hittin' girls?" Vector bellowed, making Thrash turn to be met with a broken piece of a wooden fence hitting his face, blood spewing from his nose as he fell back to the ground. The crocodile then quickly hoisted him back to his feet, locking his arms behind his back as Knuckles rose to his feet to deliver several blows to the devil's stomach.

"Mighty what the fuck are they doing?" Fiona yelped from the passenger seat as the three occupants of the car stared out the windows in horror.

"I-I-Is that Th-Thrash?" Ray questioned, squinting his eyes as he tried to make out the purple figure.

"Get out of the car." Mighty ordered the two, making them look back to him with confused looks. He gritted his teeth, revving the engine as he tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

"What are you—"

" **GET OUT!** " He commanded once more, this time with a stern and frightening voice. Fiona and Ray quickly did as told, both of them jumping out onto the sidewalk as they watched Mighty drive down the road toward the three brawlers.

"My Chaos…" Fiona yelped, clasping both hands over her mouth in emphasis. " **HE'S GONNA HIT THEM!** "

Mighty was out for blood and that's all he knew when he turned the car, burning rubber on the street as he floored it, honking repeatedly to alert Knuckles and Vector of his intentions.

"Oh shit." Vector mouthed, quickly shoving Knuckles out of harm's way before diving for cover himself. "Knux look out!"

Unfortunately for Thrash, there was no warning. Before he could stagger out of the way he collided with the front-end of Mighty's car, sending him flying half a football field away from them and into the grassy plains of the park.

The purple devil fell right on his back, coughing up blood from his mouth as he tried to look out through blackened eyes. He had been brutalized, and thought that the car had finally put an end to his suffering, but it was far from over.

Mighty had emerged from his now wrecked vehicle, a wooden bat from his trunk tightly gripped in his hands as he rushed across the field, right past Knuckles and Vector. Both of them were quickly overcome with fear, knowing full well that Mighty was not easy to restrain when enraged. For Chaos sake he had just hit someone with his car!

"Mighty!" Vector called out before climbing back onto his feet and chasing after him. Knuckles did the same, Fiona and Ray on their way although lagging a ways behind.

Thrash struggled in an attempt to get up to his feet, but found all his strength drained as Mighty slammed his foot down on the devil's face, forcing him back to the ground before swinging the bat down on him repeatedly.

" **MIGHTY STOP!** " Knuckles yelled from across the way.

The armadillo just shook his head, stuck in an endless rage that hindered his morality tremendously. All he could think about was his beloved best friend, being beaten behind closed doors. How her cheery smile must have faded whenever he said his farewells and left her home. The pain she must have endured, and the emotional anguish of putting on such a brilliant façade to keep him from learning the truth.

With every swing of the bat, and every bone he heard crunch, a million images of little Lara-Su and the once fearsome tomboy Julie-Su flashed in his mind.

He couldn't help but blame himself. Feeling that he should have known something was wrong, he could always read her like an open book. How the hell could he miss something so serious?

Finally the bat had given out, and snapped in two, but that didn't end Mighty's vicious assault. He got down to his knees, opting to attack the devil with his fists. He clenched his teeth, winding back his punches to send them flying to Thrash's face with a powerful force, over and over again. Blood covering his knuckles as it poured from the devil's face.

" **MIGHTY CHILL!** " Vector screamed, doing his best to hold Mighty back as he finally made it onto the scene. The armadillo struggled, elbowing the crocodile in the gut to relinquish his hold before diving down with another barrage of punches to the purple devil.

Thrash was definitely down of the count now, barely able to move his big toe let alone defend himself against the powerful armadillo's blows.

" **YOU'RE GONNA KILL HIM!** " Knuckles called out, this time helping Vector to restrain the thrashing armadillo.

"Fuck off me!" Mighty hollered, kicking out violently in an attempt to escape them. "I'm not done, I'm not done!"

"M-M-Mighty." Ray mumbled, shaking like a leaf behind Fiona after witnessing his brother's psychotic rage. The armadillo quickly eased up, but still shook his head in an attempt to shake away the idea of stopping.

"Let me go." Mighty growled, angry tears streaming down his face as he stared at the bludgeoned purple devil unconscious on the ground.

"You almost lost Ray once." Vector reminded him, "I'm not gonna let you lose him for real this time, you hear me?"

"Don't take this road." Fiona spoke up, walking up to the heaving armadillo with no fear. "It's all about choices…" She added, a reference to the words he used to convince her there was a potential to be good within herself.

He looked at her, then back to Thrash. He reluctantly nodded his head, relaxing in the echidna and crocodile's arms before they felt safe enough to let him go. He rushed over to the frightened Ray, picked him up and carried him back to the car as he cried silently into his shoulder, Fiona following after them.

"What do we do about him?" Vector questioned, looking at the near-lifeless devil on the grass.

"Leave him." Knuckles spat bitterly, starting the walk back to his car. "C'mon, someone's got to have called the police by now, and we don't want to be here when they show up."

"Hell nah!" The crocodile bellowed, sprinting to the car. "I've got four pending cases, I don't need this shit!"

* * *

Once again, sitting in the Hummer out in the parking lot were the pack of rebels minus one. Scourge had his feet kicked up on the dash as he leaned back in the driver's seat, blowing out a cloud of smoke before passing it to Mephiles who had leveled-up to the passenger seat Fiona usually occupied. Rosy laid sprawled out on the backseat, looking to the roof of the car with a frown as she twirled a cigarette in her hand.

Fiona went to see her parents a week ago, and they still hadn't heard from her. The pink hedgehog has shot her a hundred texts, but it proved useless when she went back to the vixen's dorm and discovered she had left her cellphone. All Nack could really tell them was that the meeting didn't go too well, and that Fiona had been sent to the hospital, but was discharged yesterday.

An embarrassed blush formed on Rosy's face as she recalled the sensual night, and that impulsive need to feel what Scourge felt when he was with the vixen.

She was snapped out of her thoughts and quickly sat up at the noise of a hard car door slam. She looked out the back window to see a totaled red car that had pulled up beside them. All three hedgehogs tilted their heads in confusion as they watched a genuinely happy Fiona get out of the vehicle before walking around to the throw her arms around the armadillo who had just stepped out of the driver's seat.

The armadillo appeared distraught, and she seemed to be comforting him with blissful whispers. Mephiles eyed Scourge for a reaction, even offering a few words to encourage one.

"She sure doesn't waste any time." The dark hedgehog chuckled in amusement.

Scourge simply shrugged it off, tossing his burnt out cigarette into the ash tray before maneuvering his gaze out toward the fountain where Sally sat. He gritted his teeth in annoyance as he watched his old skunk friend stroll across the field to greet the chipmunk with a hug.

"Whatever." He muttered bitterly, turning his gaze away from the chipmunk.

"You seem a little more ticked off than Scourge back there Rose…something bothering you?" Mephiles questioned, eyeing Rosy from the rearview mirror. The pink hedgehog was staring angry daggers at the vixen, hands trembling with an envious rage.

Rosy wasn't in the mood for his gawking and curiosity. She quickly swung the door open, leaping out of the backseat and making sure the door had swatted both Fiona and Mighty. They both looked back to her with confusion.

"You leave, don't call for a fucking week, then totally fucking ignore us?" The pink hedgehog growled, stomping over to the vixen. "You were in the hospital and your boyfriend doesn't get so much as a fucking call?! Do you know how that makes him feel?!—"

"He's not my boyfriend." Fiona was quick to correct her, narrowing her eyes at the upset hedgehog girl. "And neither are you."

Scourge and Mephiles looked at each other curiously before staring at the sight unfolding just outside their car. Rosy looked like she was about to hit something, while Fiona just stood beside a confused Mighty and trembling Ray.

"Hey Fi." The armadillo spoke up, taking hold of Ray's hand. "This has been a lot for Ray to handle. I'm gonna take him inside. Good luck working things out with your friends—"

"They aren't my friends." The vixen spat bitterly, locking eyes with Rosy for good measure before she turned around to take hold of Mighty's other hand. Being sure to shoot Scourge a cold glare as well. "I'm over these losers. I'm coming with you guys."

Mighty was happy to hear she wanted nothing to do with the rebel bunch anymore, and that she wanted to turn over a new leaf and give the good-girl thing another try. He squeezed her hand and offered her a smile that made her blush before they walked away from the seething pink hedgehog.

Mephiles and Scourge watched as Rosy stomped on the cement angrily, unraveling her bicycle chains to whip furiously at the armadillo's car before storming off. She found refuge behind the main building where no one was watching. She pressed her head against the brick wall, warm tears streaming down her cheeks as she recalled a scenario similar to this that was still fresh in her mind. In an attempt to suppress the harsh memory she pulled her head back and began to slam it on the wall over and over again, blood trickling down her face as she did so.

"They slept together." Mephiles spoke up after watching the pink hedgehog storm off from the parking lot.

"I wouldn't put it past the little bitch." Scourge shrugged, "She's always been about fucking my life up. Unfortunately for her, I stopped giving a fuck a long time ago."

"Where do you think she ran off to?"

"Somewhere to cut herself." The green hedgehog shrugged, "Hope she actually fuckin' kills herself this time. C'mon, let's go beat up that green duck kid before next class."

* * *

Sonic made his way down the hall, bag swung over one shoulder as he made his way to English class. Occasionally he'd stop to greet some of his most loyal fans…only to get crude responses from nearly all of them. He's had to stop going online because his inbox has only flooded with angry girls in support of Amy. He sighed in frustration, walking into class to have the first thing he notice be Amy's pleading and hopeful gaze. He just turned away from her before taking the seat in front of her.

He rubbed his temple in agitation, feeling like shit because everyone kept saying he was. He was losing the social game again, and it was emotionally taking its toll on him.

"Hey…you okay?" A sweet voice called out to him. He lifted his head to see Sally sitting beside him, a blush on her face as she offered him a half-smile. He gave her a full one in return, a blush of his own appearing as he remembered the events of last night.

"Just fine now." He smirked at her, making her shift her gaze to the papers on her desk. "Ya'know, last time I tried to kiss you Scourge threatened to end my life. Can't imagine what he'll do when he finds out you kissed me." The blue hedgehog added in a whisper, careful to make sure the pink hedgehog behind them couldn't hear.

"You don't have to worry about him again. I've set the record straight with him." The chipmunk replied, rubbing her arm as she thought back to that sorrowful conversation. "And I'm sorry I kissed you…It was the heat of the moment, that's all…"

"You and I both know there's more to it than just that." He sang, locking their eyes.

Just before she could reply, her good friend Ken had arrived and plopped down in the extra chair beside her. She and Sonic both exchanged knowing looks.

"What's going on?" Ken questioned, looking from Sally to Sonic curiously.

"Just scolding the more intolerable desk occupant about keeping his elbows on his side of the desk." The auburn-haired girl lied, narrowing her eyes at the blue hedgehog who just shrugged with a chuckle.

From behind them, Amy had witnessed their blushing faces and hush whispers. She was livid, literally snapping her pencil in two as she stared daggers at both of them.

* * *

Rosemary sat at her desk in the main office, smiling happily to herself as she typed away on her computer. She waved hello to Zonic and the other officers on duty as they so often passed her door during their rounds. She sang a lovely tune, chipper as a bird in the morning. Having her son back was the best gift Chaos could have ever graced her with. Everything in the world seemed so much more colorful now.

"Such a lovely smile." A voice cooed, making her pull away from the computer screen. Nurse Bernie had been setting down a box of new printer paper on her desk, casting a heartwarming smile at the fox. "I hope it's here to stay."

"It is now." Rosemary replied kindly, "Thank you for attending trial in support of me."

"I didn't think you could pull it off, but I guess Chaos was on your side." The purple hedgehog giggled, "I'm happy for you Rosemary. I can't imagine how good it feels to have your son back."

"You could…" The fox said, meeting Bernie's hopeless expression.

"My chances have long passed."

"That's what I thought…"

"Excuse me?" A strong voice called out from behind them. Both women turned to see a dashing blue hedgehog dressed in a black suit step into the office. Bernie put a hand to her chest, breathless at the sight of him.

"Jules…" The purple hedgehog cooed.

"Bernie…" He replied half-heartedly as he walked past her and up to Rosemary. "Is Alicia in? I need to have a word with her."

The purple nurse quickly whipped her head around to look back at him with a pout. She hated the cold shoulder from anyone, especially him.

"Certainly, she's free now until her eleven o'clock arrives. So make it brief." The receptionist gestured him over to the principal's office. He flashed her that old school trademark smile, melting her heart before walking into the chipmunk's office and shutting the door behind himself.

Principal Acorn was hard at work on her desk, signing papers nonstop. She didn't even bother to look up, assuming it to be Rob O'Hedge for their eleven o'clock progress meeting. Her assumptions were quickly dissolved after she felt the weight of someone fall onto her desk. When she looked up to investigate she saw Jules the Hedgehog sitting on the corner of her desk as he propped himself up with his hands and smiled down at her.

"Jules." She gasped, standing up from her chair so they were at eye level. His visit was a complete shock to her. "How did you know where I was?"

"You're the principal of my children." He laughed.

"You didn't make an appointment."

"I don't think I need an appointment to visit an old friend, do I?"

"You never were one to play by the rules." She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "At least you can dress the part these days."

"I could say the same about you, Queen Alicia." The hedgehog retorted playfully, gesturing around at her office. "Seriously, who would have thought the troublemaker would become the principal twenty years later?"

"Same person who would have thought the class clown would become an army official." She shot back, crossing her arms as they both let wide smiles cross their faces.

"So you and Max…I heard you got divorced…"

"Eight years ago." Alicia nodded.

"I knew that guy was never right for you." Jules replied, hopping off of her desk to stand in front of her, casting a sincere gaze down at her as he rested a hand to her cheek. She gently pulled it away from her face, quick to change the subject.

"I'm sorry about Tails." The chipmunk spoke, "You should be home tending to Aleena, your wife. I'm sure this isn't easy for her." He was quick to see through her little game, taking note of how much emphasis she put on the words _'your wife'_.

"You could have been my wife ya'know…King Jules and Queen Alicia."

"Jules, don't start with this."

"That could still be us—"

"You just lost a son." She reminded him in a stern tone, "Aleena needs you now more than ever, and we've long faded in history. Now please…go. I have an important meeting soon."

"Just tell me one thing…" He whispered, pulling her into him by the waist, forcing her gaze to meet his. "Did you go back? To our lake…"

"There is no going back." Alicia replied, breaking from his hold as she stepped back and shook her head.

"Well I did…" Jules breathed, "Our rings are gone."

"They must have withered away with time." She remarked bitterly, "Just as we had."

"Gold rings don't just wither away with time, and neither do feelings…"

"You're a fool Jules, you always have been. Now please, see yourself out."

He nodded, understanding that he had surely crossed a line. The blue hedgehog turned around, walking over to the door with his head down until he reached for the knob and turned around to look at her one more time.

"Alicia." He spoke, making her look back over to him. The bay window behind her creating a glow around her figure. "Your son…he doesn't look a thing like Max. Are you sure he isn't-"

"He is Max's son." The chipmunk informed him somewhat regretfully, "They took a DNA swab of him when that bastard tried to take him away from me too."

Jules just nodded in understanding before opening the door to let himself out.

"I guess that was just wishful thinking on my end wasn't it?" He chuckled in an attempt to hide his disappointment before exiting.

* * *

 _'Manic had come over as soon as I made the call. I knew he would, he's always jumped at the chance to spend time with me. I was still angry with him, but I just needed someone to talk to, and Shadow was nowhere to be found. Who the hell gets dumped on Thanksgiving anyway?_

 _I made it home alright. Had to take off my heels because the walk would have ruined them. Chaos I must have looked like a fucking mess. Makeup all sloppy, dirty bare feet, and snot dripping outta my nose. By the time I got up to my room he was already sitting at the edge of my bed, offering me a sincere smile as I stepped into the room and shut the door behind me._

 _"Baby Girl…" He cooed in a playful yet sympathetic tone as he got up to embrace me. "What happened?"_

 _I quickly fell limp in his hold, sobbing even louder as he stroked my hair. "Knuckles dumped me."_

 _He didn't ask why, or lash me with criticisms of my ex like anyone else would have. Instead he took my shoes out of my hands, setting them on my dresser before sitting me down on my bed. He went over to my vanity, pulling out makeup wipes before kneeling down in front of me, dabbing away the running mascara and eyeliner._

 _I sobbed and whimpered the entire time, too distraught to carry a conversation. He just hoisted me over to my pillow, setting me down gently before snuggling up beside me and throwing a blanket over us. He held me as I cried for hours, confessing all of emotions._

 _Manic was the best person to call, because he's the only one who knows what to do to console me._

 _Just listen._

 _Finally sometime later I was calm enough to turn around and speak with him face-to-face. He apologized about hurting my feelings at the dorm party._

 _"You were right though." I sighed, "I was stupid to believe he was the one for me…I still am stupid."_

 _"We can't help who we want. You're not stupid, just stupid in love." He chuckled, cupping my cheek in his hand. "Stupid is trying to win over a bombshell bat when you've got nothing good to offer her."_

 _"Stop bashing yourself! You have so much to offer!" I scolded him, feeling a bit guilty for making him feel so insecure._

 _"Well, besides this_ _ **HUGE**_ _dick I mean." He remarked playfully, flashing me that silly toothy grin._

 _"Why you gotta go and ruin cute moments?" I replied before we both bursted into a fit of laughter._

 _"I'm just glad I've got you laughing again." He snickered, "Ma says pretty girls shouldn't cry…"_

 _I don't know why, but after he said that I couldn't help but lean over and kiss him._

 _To my surprise, he quickly pulled away. I was so confused, raising an eyebrow at him as he edged himself away from me._

 _"No." He yelped, shaking his head as if he was telling himself more so than me. "We can't do this…"_

 _"Isn't this what you've always wanted Baby?" I questioned curiously, a little upset at the rejection. I was in a bad place, just got dumped hours ago and was obviously feeling a little needy and weak. Thank Chaos he didn't take advantage of that…but why the hell wouldn't he?_

 _"It used to be…until I fell in love." He mumbled, shifting his gaze downward as a red glow appeared on his cheeks. "Mina…I'm in love with her Rouge." '_

" **ROUGE!** " Cream hollered, poking the bat's cheek to snap her out of her daydream.

"Huh?" She yelped, jumping back into consciousness. She looked around to meet the distraught faces of her fellow heartbroken females.

"Did you hear what I just said?" Amy whined, pouting a bit at the bat's rudeness. "Scourge told me Glasses-Girl kissed Sonic!"

"Didn't she beat him up once?" Cosmo questioned in confusion.

"Yeah, I remember that video of her dissing him from early on in the year." The rabbit added, "I think Scourge is lying to make you angry at Sonic."

"For sure he is." Rouge chimed in, crossing her arms. "He's obviously trying to make Sonic look bad to get in your pants. The chipmunk girl hates Sonic."

"Scourge might be a scumbag, but he's no liar." Amy scolded them all, "She's just been pretending to hate him so that she could dig her claws into him without me suspecting anything! She's trying to steal him away from me."

"That's crazy talk Amy." The bat sighed, "You're just distraught over the breakup."

The five girls were seated outside of the main building in a circle on the grassy lawn. They had decided to regroup here during lunch for their much needed girl talk. All of them had broken hearts, and needed a break to blow off steam.

"Actually, I think there might be some truth behind it." Blaze spoke up, exchanging puzzled expressions with the rest of the group. "I saw them whispering to each other during class…and it certainly didn't look like their usually banter."

" **SEE!** " The pink hedgehog shouted.

"I'm sure she doesn't mean to intrude." Cosmo interjected, twirling her fingers in a shy manner. "It's not uncommon for girls to fall for the same boy. She probably feels the same way about him that you do—"

"No one could ever feel the same way about him that I do!" Amy cut the seedrian off hastily, "You don't understand how much he means to me, how much our relationship meant. Short maybe, but it was everything I ever wanted."

"Oh Amy…" Blaze cooed, wrapping her arms around the pink hedgehog.

"You have no need to worry." Rouge rolled her eyes, pulling at blades of grass. "Try all she might, he wouldn't go for her. She dresses like a trashcan and has no type of body. He'd never go for it."

"He might if he wants to get back at Amy for Scourge.." Cream mumbled.

" **CREAM!** " Blaze scolded.

"She better not even dare try it…" Amy huffed.

"Threats like that don't really hold up Sweetie." Rouge said, "For an ugly bitch, she's more than proven that she can kick ass."

"I don't need to fight her." The pink hedgehog smirked, pulling out her phone to scroll to a locked photo album. "I could end her with just one click of a button."

None of them had any clue as to what she meant by that, but she certainly knew what she was doing. She had been planning the revenge immediately after Scourge had told her about Sally's sneaky attempts on Sonic—completely taking his words out of contents because he clearly informed her that Sonic was the one to kiss Sally.

That same night before Scourge woke up to flee out her window, she had purposely swapped their phones without him noticing. Once he was gone with her cellphone she stood with his, tinkering with it until she broke open his secret photo albums.

Among all his stalker photographs were a few very…intimate ones.

These weren't taken by him outside her window like most. In fact, these ones were very old. She looked to be about fourteen in them. She must have sent him these risqué nudes at some point in the past.

At first glance, the pink girl thought they were fakes. Photoshop edits to please Scourge's twisted obsession. They looked way too sexy to be real, but they were...

Before Scourge had come back to retrieve his phone yesterday she had texted herself all of the chipmunk's nudes, locking them in an album on her own phone before giving him back his.

The poor auburn-haired girl had no idea what she was in for…

* * *

 **So much going on! Mina's pregnant with Manic's kid-who by the way is completely head over heels for her, even rejecting his lifelong crush Rouge for her-but she's just agreed to date Shard, who has no idea she's pregnant. This house of cards is well on its way to falling down.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed Thrash getting a taste of his own medicine, with a little extra. Although a woman abusing bastard, he really does have the right to be upset. Julie-Su did pretty much rob him of four years of his life too. Vector and Knuckles were fierce, but if we're being honest, Mighty was the real MVP. Not only did he savagely beat Thrash within an inch of his life, he has also seemingly reformed the wicked Fiona.**

 **Shadow and Manic are starting to find that silver lining in their hollow friendship, and Silver has been having a blast with Gold, much to the reluctance of his ex-girlfriend Blaze.**

 **Sally's mother and Sonic's father seem to have a bit of history, their scene holding several references and foreshadow.**

 **Rosy is heartbroken by Fiona's reform, and has a strange coping mechanism. Scourge and Sally's last conversation must have been very sour, seeing as how he is seemingly more upset at the chipmunk than Fiona's sudden friendship with Mighty.**

 **As Amy's suspicions on Sonic and Sally grow, so does her obsessive short-temper, and as she holds some very suggestive photos...the future doesn't look so bright.**

 **To address the relevance of the six brought in to stir things up: I know they've been taken the sideline quite a bit, some more than others but that will slowly change with time. Not everything has to happen immediately.**

 **Fun Question: Of these three relationships which would you like to see POSSIBLY get back together and why? **

**Amy x Sonic**

 **Silver x Blaze**

 **Rouge x Knuckles**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy**

 **Principal Acorn takes a trip down memory lane, recalling her last encounter with Jules before his reappearance.**

 **Sonic starts to question himself and what he really wants whilst publicly scrutinized for his breaking up with Amy**

 **Cream has her first encounter with Ray since his abrupt departure, hearing his voice for the first time again**

 **Tails has a run-in with the newly reformed Fiona Fox**

 **Rosy ensues in destructive behaviors, revealing pieces of her past that explain her erratic behaviors and the nickname Psycho**

 **Jet comes back to wreak havoc as the new king of the school**

 **And so much more!**


	34. Chapter 34

**WARNING!: Self-harming, homophobia, bullying, and mention of abortion**

* * *

 **Chapter 34: What's Between Us?**

 _'That lake was once my safe haven, where I went to sooth my frustrations. I had found it one day while exploring the woods. Such a beautiful place, and so peaceful. Untouched, and entirely of nature's doing._

 _The way the fireflies danced above the shimmering clear water, how the trees had the area so secluded, I used to love everything about it…until it became a place holder of my most bitter memories._

 _I remember standing out there, staring at the lake in the middle of the night as I so often did. Only that night the wind blew colder, the moon seemed darker, and I was crying._

 _"Alicia…" He called out from behind me, walking up to rest a hand on my shoulder. I quickly shook him off, refusing to turn around and meet his gaze. "You know you don't want him, not like you do me. Max is a piece of shit."_

 _"As if you're any better, Jules." I scolded him, finally turning around to meet him with a furious scowl. "I'm done playing the side, so sick of waiting for you to come around! It's either you want me or not."_

 _"I do." He replied desperately, stepping toward me with a conflicted expression. "But I want Aleena too…"_

 _"If she wants you so bad she can have you!"_

 _"So what now? We just forget we ever happened? You go off and marry that fucker we both know you don't love!?" Angry tears begun pouring out of his eyes like waterfalls. I had never seen him so upset before. He was usually so upbeat and positive. "We're King Jules and Queen Alicia."_

 _"We're nothing." I retorted coldly. "I have to go. Locke is probably wondering where I am. I think it's best if we don't meet up like this anymore."_

 _"The gay best friend can wait." He grabbed my forearm, pulling me back over to him as I tried to make my leave. I was always physically stronger than him, but so weak in the moment. I suppose a part of me wasn't really ready to go. "This can't be goodbye forever…"_

 _"It is Jules. It has to be."_

 _I pulled away from his hold, sliding the gold ring he had given me earlier that year off of my finger. I handed it back to him, and I swear I could literally hear his heart shatter to pieces. He looked back up to me, shaking his head in refusal._

 _Both of us, so young and naïve. Seventeen and heartbroken._

 _"Can we make a promise? That if neither of our relationships work out, that we'll come back here someday…and we'll—"_

 _"Jules."_

 _"_ _ **PLEASE!**_ _" He cried out, getting on his knees before me, holding my waist tightly as he sobbed frantically into my thighs. I closed my eyes, tears slipping down onto his long blue quills. "Just promise me that...so before I go into the military I'll have something worth fighting to stay alive for."_

 _Although he had put me through the ringer that year and proved to me how unworthy of his heroic title he was, I still felt a tiny bit of love for him. I should have kept to my guns, refused his promise, but I couldn't bring myself to do so._

 _Regardless of my senses, I loved him too much to leave him hanging, too much to leave it all behind forever. So I granted him that spark of hope._

 _"I promise."_

 _He slowly got back up to his feet, quickly wiping the tears off his face before pulling off his own ring. He then tossed both of them into the beautiful lake._

 _"Then if it's meant to be, we'll find those rings again…and our love." '_

 _"Alicia? Hello?"_ Locke's voice called out through the speaker of her phone, snapping her out of her daydreaming. She sat up right in her chair, shaking off the intense flashback.

 _"Sorry, I was just…reading something."_ She lied, staring at the new engagement ring on her finger.

 _"I'm sorry Thanksgiving dinner was…burnt to a crisp the other night, and that my son wasn't feeling so well. How about I make it up to you with dinner tonight?"_

 _"As long as it's not your cooking it should be safe."_

* * *

Cream bustled down the hall, struggling to keep the stack of books upright as she rounded the corner. She staggered dangerously from side-to-side until she could no longer balance herself and toppled over with the mass of books scattering the floor. She sighed heavily, mentally scolding herself as she began picking them back up. While doing so, her ears picked up on a sound, a voice she never thought she'd hear again.

"D-D-Do you really thing I-I sound better than be-before?"

She picked up her head, light-brown eyes locking onto the yellow squirrel like missile projectors. He was walking down the hall with that red vixen everyone despised so much. The rabbit felt her heart melt at the sound of his voice, astonished that he had found it.

"Yeah." The fox girl chuckled, resting a hand on his head. "With a little more practice I bet the stuttering won't even be an issue anymore."

"You think so?" He asked, looking up at her with hopeful eyes.

"See? Not a single stutter in that sentence. You're well on your way."

"Thanks Fiona. I'm really h-h-happy you're around a-a-again. The way you used t-t-to be."

"Me too Ray."

The little rabbit watched with a confused expression as the yellow squirrel shared a warm embrace with the red fox before she disappeared into a classroom. He waved after her with extra energy before turning around to see Cream staring back at him.

He begun to walk over to her subconsciously, so used to being the one to pick up her books when she fell, but the squirrel quickly turned heel with a regretful expression as he watched the young kitsune she so desperately adored walk up behind her to rest a hand on her shoulder.

"Cream?" Tails called out, kneeling beside the rabbit who watched as Ray turned away from her. "Are you okay?"

"Just fine." She sighed, missing the way she and her locker-buddy used to be before the Halloween party. She then turned back to look up at Tails, the sight of him quickly flushing any regret lingering in her system away. The kitsune just smiled at her and begun to help her pick up the books.

* * *

 _'I can't stand her. She's so uptight, so plain-looking, and has one bad fucking attitude. She dresses like she's homeless, and wears glasses that make her look like a bug-eyed creature. She's been nothing but trouble for me ever since she got here! Dissing me constantly, kicking my damn face, and forever making second guess myself._

 _She's all these things I can't stand, but at the same time she's exactly what I need. Someone to tell me when I'm wrong, someone to give me a reality check when I need one, and the only person I've ever met in my life who could verbally keep up with me._

 _She's also not that ugly…she's got a nice little body on her. Maybe if she stopped dressing like a plus-size dude and took off those glasses she'd be—_

 _Wait, what the hell am I saying? Am I really thinking this way about the troll bitch Glasses-Girl? C'mon Sonic, get it together! She's just a pawn, something to get back at Scourge with…_

 _But if that's really true, why do I have to keep constantly reminding myself that for?'_

"Sonic, have you been paying any attention at all?" The music teacher called out, slamming a drumstick down on the blue hedgehog's desk as he narrowed his eyes.

Sonic quickly sprung back into consciousness, blinking a few times to adjust back into reality. His mouth quickly fell into a frown at the sight of the most annoying teacher on the planet. Mr. Ash Mongoose.

"Uh, sure." He nodded, making the teacher cross his arms.

"Then can you tell me where ballads originated from in the country of Mobius?"

"Umm…"

"That's exactly what I thought." The mongoose grumbled, taking a pen from his dress shirt pocket along with a red slip of paper. He quickly scribbled on it before slamming the red slip of paper down on Sonic's desk, making him sink into his chair. "Detention."

* * *

" **WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!** " Julie-Su screamed, stomping into her armadillo friend's dorm. He was alone, sitting on his bed with a textbook in his lap. " **YOU NEARLY KILLED HIM! HE'LL BE IN A WHEELCHAIR FOR A MONTH!** "

Not even less than an hour after her hospital discharge yesterday she got a call back from them informing her that her fiancé was brought in. The devil was in critical condition, immediately brought to ICU after an old human women found him bleeding to death in Mobotropolis Park.

Mighty immediately shut his textbook, and rose from the bed to loom over her, but she was far from intimidated.

" **HE'S LUCKY. IF I HAD GOTTEN IT MY WAY HE'D BE DEAD.** " The armadillo shouted, audible anger radiating in his voice.

"And what the hell would I have told my daughter then? Huh?!"

"For starters, how about who her **REAL** dad is—" He was quickly silenced with a slap to the face, but he was not moved. He stared directly into her infuriated violet eyes, tears of anger brimming in his own.

"You swore to me Mighty, that you'd never tell him."

"You didn't leave me with a choice! Knowing you and your stupid hard-headed ass you would have stuck with him until he killed you…and I couldn't let that happen Julie!" He scolded her before throwing his arms around her, pulling her in for a tight hug. "Because if something ever happened to you, I couldn't live with myself."

She knew there was no fighting his hold, or the undeniable fact that everything he did was only because he cared so much about her. No matter how bad the argument, he would always win, because he was her safe place. She fell limp in his hold, throwing her arms around him as she cried with him.

"I don't know what to do."

"Just please, don't go back to him Julie-Su…"

"But what about Lara? How can I do this to her."

"We'll figure it out together. Just you and me, like we always have." He assured her, pulling away from their hug to smile at her. "You've always liked Knuckles…Maybe this is Chaos' fucked up way of finally bringing you two back together, for good."

* * *

Tails reluctantly walked into his science class, strolling over to his seat in the far back left corner. Just as he was about to reach out to his chair, the green hawk sitting before the empty desk stuck his foot out and tripped the kitsune. Before he could hit the ground face first he was caught and hoisted back up to his feet. His eyes went wide with shock to be greeted by Fiona, who bore a kind smile.

The vixen shot Jet a cold glare before turning back toward her seat. A baffled Tails just stared at her, confused at the sudden change in demeanor. Not only that, but her style had changed a lot since the last time he saw her too. No longer did she sport all black leather. Today she wore blue jeans and a simple yellow long-sleeved shirt that matched the pretty bow in her hair.

He watched from the corner of his eye as she flicked a note onto his desk, just like they used to do. He eyed it for a second, debating on whether or not it was a cruel prank to humiliate him. Curiosity soon got the better of him, and he found himself quickly unfolding the paper.

 _Don't worry about Jet, he's just a jerk. Swears he's the king of the school now that everyone hates your brother. Anyways, I've been meaning to apologize to you Tails. I'm sorry I've been so shitty to you, especially since you were one of the only people I've ever met to be kind to me. I want you to know that you're a big reason why I've decided to change my ways and give the good-girl thing another shot. Consider this my first step in the right direction._

He couldn't believe it, double scanning the paper just to make sure he read it right. The fox then turned to her, unconsciously blurting out his rapid thoughts. "Is this for real!?"

"It is." She nodded, smiling to him as she watched his eyes light up.

"Mr. Prower and Ms. Fox, I know the topic is quite embarrassing, but I cannot tolerate any disruptions." Dr. Robotnik bellowed, walking over to them and slamming two red slips on their desks. The egg-shaped teacher then headed back toward the front of the class, pulling down a chart plastered with reproductive organs. "Now I know some of you might find this quite embarrassing, but it is a science, and part of the curriculum."

Half of the class blushed uncomfortably, while the degenerates snickered and made perverted remarks on the naked figures. In the front row, Mina Mongoose sat with her chin resting on her desk and a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach as she listened to the teacher go on and on about sexual reproduction.

The obese teacher pointed at the male genitals poster with a ruler, tracing its length in emphasis as he gave a long and **VERY** in-depth speech on the function and anatomy of a penis. Kids around the room snickered and whispered jokes to one another. Being the cocky prick he was, Jet the Hawk decided to make his remarks known to the teacher.

"You **SURE** do know a lot about dick Dr. Robotnik." The hawk remarked sarcastically, causing laughter to erupt from nearly everyone in the room. The teacher just narrowed his eyes behind his thin-framed glasses, strolling over to the hawk before kneeling down to whisper in his ear and making sure his words weren't audible to anyone other than him.

"No more than your father, Mr. Hawk." He whispered, making Jet's red face twist up in anger. Dr. Robotnik then pulled away, walking back to the front of the class nonchalantly.

* * *

Sally and Ken sat outside on one of the picnic tables by the fountain. Over vacation they just got in the habit of having lunch out here together, especially since the rest of the Freedom Fighters were busy doing their own thing these days. The monkey was quite charming, and made for a great conversationalist. Usually there was a lot of chatter between them, but today Sally's mind was off somewhere else.

"Everything alright Sally?" The monkey questioned, waving a hand in front of her face. She quickly perked up, letting an awkward chuckle escape her as she remembered her surroundings.

"What? Oh, I'm sorry Ken. Just a lot on my mind." She explained with the wave of a hand.

Her eyes widened in surprise as Ken leaned over the table, extending an arm out to graze his hand over her auburn ponytail. She blushed in surprise before he pulled back his hand and opened it up to reveal several soaked spitballs. The chipmunk cringed, looking over her shoulder to see three girls glaring at her, all of which wearing a yellow pendant in the shape of an 'M'. The pins Mina Mongoose gave out at her concerts.

Sally sighed heavily, lowering her head in shame. It was so infuriating to still be criticized for the fight she had with the mongoose long ago, especially because they had no idea what it was about and only assumed she was the bad guy. Worst of all she could not speak of it, thanks to that agreement between their mothers.

"That popstar and the blue hedgehog must be really popular if you're still getting heat for something that happened so long ago." Ken remarked, wiping his hand on his jeans after tossing the spitballs.

"You know about that?" She gasped.

"Of course. Very first day on this campus some girls came up to me and warned me about your violent tendencies, saying that you had a habit of beating up the beautiful people."

"I don't have violent tendencies! Mina deserved everything she got after she…did what she did." The chipmunk bellowed, voice trailing off into a whisper. "I can't really talk about it, just know that I had actual reasons and it wasn't some random attack over jealousy. Looks mean nothing to me."

"I'll take your word for it. Girls like her usually aren't as good as they appear." The monkey chuckled, "I knew there was more to you than what people around campus went on about. I wanted to get to know you myself, and I'm really glad I did Sally." He added, reaching over the table to rest his hand on top of hers. He shot her a warm smile, coaxing a blush out of her before she quickly pulled away.

* * *

Sonic breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that he had finally escaped the vicinity of the music room. Although he had a talent for it, his grade in class sure as hell didn't reflect that. He genuinely believed Mr. Ash had it out for him personally.

The blue hedgehog began walking down the hall toward the café. He was in desperate need for some chilidogs and an energy drink. His brain felt fried from rapid thoughts, and he had barely slept at all the night prior.

As he made his way down the hall he attempted to wave at some familiar faces, the ones who used to coo adoringly at the sight of him, only now they did no such thing. Instead, all of the once die-hard fans of him snarled in disgust at his greetings, sticking their noses in the air as they turned away from him. He rose a confused brow, feeling a heavy blow to his pride.

He had no idea what the hell everyone's problem was, but their ignoring him did a serious number on his ego. He panicked internally, palms sweating as he pondered the thought of his popularity decreasing for reasons unbeknownst to him.

"Hey Tiara!" He called out with as much enthusiasm as he could muster upon siting his second biggest fan of all time. She turned toward him upon hearing her name, the beautiful features of her face quickly falling into a disgusted scowl.

"Don't talk to me." She snapped, flipping her extra-long brown ponytail as she turned away from him. It really ticked him off, coaxing an outburst out of him.

"What the hell is everyone's problem?!"

"Our problem? More like what's yours!" The mink retorted as she turned around to glare at him, "Amy is such a sweetheart and like, crazy in love with you! More so than any one of us could ever hope to be, and you just drop her like nothing."

"Not this bullshit again." He rolled his eyes before flailing his arms around in emphasis. " **SHE SLEPT WITH SOMEONE I HATE!** "

"And you slept with her best friend!" Tiara shot back, placing her hands on her hips as she narrowed her baby blue eyes at him. "She only did it because she felt obligated to not be a virgin for you, and Scourge is one hell of a persuader."

"I'm a jerk, I get that, but that doesn't mean I don't have the right to be pissed off! She should have just talked to me about it instead of assuming shit, just like you dumb bitches." Sonic snapped, pointing out to all of the girls glaring at him.

"Spoken like a true asshole. Chaos knows why anyone ever thought you were cool." The co-captain of the cheer squad huffed, crossing her arms. "Now if you don't mind, me and the girls want to go get front row seats to watch Jet run track. Buh-bye."

The mink then rudely shoved her way past the blue hedgehog, who turned around to shoot her a nasty glare as he watched a few of the hall occupants follow her out the double-doors to the outside world. The hedgehog muttered a few curse words under his breath before feeling a gentle hand come down on his shoulder. He turned to be met with the concerned hazel eyes of Blaze the Cat.

He instantly relaxed upon seeing her, gesturing to her with a nod to follow him on his journey to the café. She walked beside him, taking note of his stressed-out demeanor.

"I'm sorry everyone's been giving you a hard time about the breakup." The feline spoke, breaking the awkward silence.

"It's seriously working my nerves. Why the hell does everyone keep making me feel like I'm wrong to be upset? Do you think I'm wrong Blaze?" He asked, turning to the cat and awaiting her cherished input.

"You have every right to be upset with her Sonic, but you must understand her side of things too. Insecurities can drive a girl to do crazy things—"

"Like sleeping with your almost-boyfriend's worst enemy?" The hedgehog snapped sarcastically.

"Yes. Sometimes even making a girl stupid enough to sleep with her best friend's crush while she had someone who truly loved her waiting back home."

He ceased his walking, feeling a pang of guilt and sorrow spike through his heart before turning his head to face her. A disappointed frown crossed his face as he understood what she was referring to.

"Blaze—"

"What I'm trying to say is…just talk to her Sonic. She really does care, she just made one little mistake. It happens to the best of us, and you shouldn't kick her out of your life for it!"

"Are we even speaking about me and Amy anymore?"

"Sonic...I'm serious." The cat scolded him lightly, "Amy's going crazy out of her mind with depression. I know you care about her too. She's even got some crazy suspicions that you might like someone else…" Her voice trailed off as she eyed him curiously, awaiting an answer that could debunk the theory, but the blue hedgehog didn't offer one right away.

It was only when he noticed her skeptical gaze casted upon him that he yelped out an answer.

"What? No! The depression really must be getting to her. I'm not seeing anyone, or even trying to. I just want to be alone right now, it's what seems to work best for me."

"I might not have been a big fan at first, but from my perspective, she's what works best for you. You just look so on top of the world when you're with her, like king of everything. Neither of you are looking too good without each other, so I hope for both your sakes that you find it in your heart to pay her a visit Sonic…"

"Maybe."

* * *

"Hey ladies." Jet greeted with a wink to a group of girls as he made his way down the sidewalk toward the electives building. He smirked to himself, basking in the delightful feeling of being the center of attention. The girls giggled, offering him dainty waves and compliments.

"He's so cool!"

"Yeah, that totally hot bad guy kind of cool."

"So much for Sonic's sorry ass. Go Team Jet!"

With every compliment his head swelled in size, trying to keep up with his rapid growing ego as he strolled elegantly, feeling like the real king of everything. Since the breakup with his girlfriend, Sonic's popularity had dropped dramatically, more so than when the unappealing chipmunk made him choke during an argument. His following had diminished, making Jet's peak in contrast.

No longer was the green bird second best, no longer was he living in the shadow of the blue hedgehog. Now he had fully risen to the top, crowned king of the school after two years of being nothing more than second best.

He grinned upon siting his first and new girlfriend, Tekno the Canary. After their first encounter their relationship just took off like a plane. Although quite the talker and a tad bit annoying, she served well as a girlfriend. She was cute, sometimes funny, and very intelligent. Many wondered why he picked her, sometimes he even wondered himself.

He could only conclude it to be the fact that she possessed so many qualities identical to his unrequited crush, his good friend Wave the Swallow. With her sexual orientation, there was pretty much no way he'd ever get her so he settled for the next best thing that caught his eye.

"Hey Babe." He sang, making her pull away from the book she was reading. Her blue eyes lit up at the sight of him as she jumped up from the blanket she had laid out on the grass to embrace him.

" **OMG!** I like missed you so much Hun!" She yelped in over-excitement, noticing the crowd of girls and fanboys following him as she rested her head on his shoulder. "You seem to have quite the following compared to when I first got here."

"Ain't that the truth." Jet smirked, pulling out of their hug to flash the crowd another smile.

* * *

 _'Dr. Robotnik said pregnancy lasts twenty-one weeks in nonhumans. I'm only about four-five weeks along, only in the first trimester still. Thank Chaos I'm not one of those ugly human girls, I couldn't handle this for nine months straight! I still have no idea what the hell I'm gonna do._

 _I should have never started seeing Manic, but he had the drumming skills to get me to the top, and not to mention that damming smile. Curse my stupid Sonic affliction._

 _He's a nice guy and all, a total sweetheart in fact, but he doesn't really mean anything to me beyond being my Sonic rip-off sex doll. Shitty as it is, that's the truth of it all._

 _I'm a terrible person and I know it, but Shard…he doesn't care. He understands, he's got his bad qualities too, and doesn't make me feel judged for mine. The cocky sarcasm can get pretty irritating, but it's that sadistic charm that makes me smile. I never thought I'd like anyone more than Sonic, or that I'd even like a DigItalian._

 _It's through him that I've discovered a new side of myself, a better side. A compassionate, tender, more redeeming side…_

 _But this baby, this thing ruins everything._

 _How do I tell him? How do I tell Manic? What the hell am I going to do?'_

"Mina? You alright?" A voice called out before the mongoose noticed a hand being waved in front of her face. Shard was standing before her as she sat at one of the picnic tables by the fountain, a tray of assorted foods before her.

"Oh, I didn't even see you." She blushed in embarrassment as he kissed her forehead and took a seat before her. He cringed a bit, taking note at the odd pairing of food on her tray.

"Chilidogs, ice cream, and a jar of pickles…is this the new diet Seventeen magazine is raving about this month?"

From another table not-so-far from theirs, the hedgehog's good friend sat, every so often glancing her jade eyes over to their table as she found it difficult to focus on the conversation she was having with her boyfriend.

"Nicole, you should be happy for him." Espio commented, pulling he gaze back to him.

"I am." She assured him, letting her smile fall a bit as she stared at her untouched food. "I'm just upset he hasn't really talked to me…"

* * *

Megan sat in a very uncomfortable wooden chair, eyes fixed on her hands as they clasped her now quite visible baby bump. There was an awkward and sorrowful tension in the room as she tried to keep her line of sight away from Principal Acorn who sat behind the wooden desk between them, her fingers intertwined as she studied the pregnant teen in silence.

"Megan, don't feel as though I look at you any differently. Court was court, school is school. You didn't know of your father's ill intent."

"Ray probably thinks I'm scum just as he does our parents…" The squirrel sniffled, emotions running high as she begun to sob uncontrollably.

"He doesn't quite understand the situation just yet, but with time comes wisdom." The chipmunk assured her, "An angel like him can only hold a grudge so long, but I didn't call you in here to talk about family affairs Megan."

"Then why did you call me in?" The pregnant teen questioned, wiping her eyes on the pink sleeve of her long dress.

"You're about thirteen weeks along, well into your second trimester. You've done a fine job at keeping your pregnancy under wraps, but at this point your belly is almost impossible to hide, and by law I can't have a student this far along on campus as a liability."

" **YOU'RE KICKING ME OUT OF GHA?!** "

"Of course not, but you will have to return home for the duration of your pregnancy."

"But what about my classes? Graduation?!"

"I've transferred your classes to online courses. Your due to give birth two months from now, meaning you'll definitely be back in time for graduation this spring."

Megan sighed heavily, reluctantly nodding in agreement before the principal offered her sympathies and sent her on her way. The squirrel girl walked out of the chipmunk's office, looking around the main office until she spotted the father of her child standing by the exit, his eyes staring down the hall, and a blank expression casted on his face.

"Eli?" She questioned, walking up to him to encircle her arms around one of his. The sudden action made him jump, but he quickly relaxed when he realized it was only her. She shifted her gaze to where his once was, seeing nothing but an empty hallway. "What were you looking at Dear?"

"Oh, notihng really. Just staring off into space." He waved in dismissal before smiling at her, "So what did my mother want?"

The squirrel couple started making their way out of the office, turning left, the opposite direction of where he had been staring. Down the other end of the seemingly empty hallway, Sonia the Hedgehog had just rounded the corner, a few books clasped to her chest as she made her way to her locker. She looked around, noticing no one else. Then she let a disappointed sigh escape her.

This was usually the time she'd come out of history class, Elias always waiting patiently by her locker…

* * *

Shadow and Manic sat on a couple logs in the forest, once again back at the random stump to retrieve the liquor and cigarettes from their secret stash. Too lazy to go back to school just yet, the two decided to just chill out for a moment, crack a few beers open and sooth their sorrows.

"Eclipse has been nothing but a pain in the ass since he got here." Shadow grumbled, laying on his back as he stared up to the sky. "Three fights, seven arrests, and two suspensions. I hope my idiot father didn't expect me to babysit, because I sure as hell don't give a shit."

The green hedgehog laying in the same position on a log adjacent to his frowned, feeling an envious sting in his heart in reference to his friend's brother. He shifted awkwardly in an attempt to get comfortable, ignoring the envious feeling.

"If you're brothers how come his last name is Darkling? And your last name Is Hedgehog, but your father's is Doom?"

"Eclipse and I are only half-brothers, sharing the same paternal DNA and nothing more. His mother is some feminist-nazi bitch who didn't want to feel oppressed by taking my father's last name when they got married, so he inherited her last name. I'd rather nail my eyes shut than associate myself with anything related to my father, so I kept my own mother's last name."

"Jeez, and I thought my family was dysfunctional." Manic snickered, twirling his drumsticks as he held his arm up in the air.

"You have no idea." The ebony hedgehog rolled his eyes.

They went on and on, talking about their likes and dislikes, carrying such an in-depth conversation. It was nice, finally learning things about one another, no longer at such a vast distance. Slowly but surely, their friendship was mending, and finding a depth after being so vague for so long. Fearing that the green hedgehog might shut down, Shadow didn't dare test the waters by asking about Scourge. Instead they discussed other questionable relationships, like his secret romance with Mina Mongoose.

" **YOU REJECTED ROUGE?!** " The red-striped hedgehog yelped, spitting up his beer a bit as he stood up to shoot Manic a shocked expression.

"Dude, come on! She was in a bad place, Knuckles did a pretty solid number on her. She was crying and sad, she had no clue what she was doing—"

"All the more reason for you to take advantage of the situation!" Shadow screeched, "You've liked Rouge forever, much to my disapproval…"

"I'm just not that kind of guy." The green hedgehog shrugged, sitting up to face Shadow. "I really have always liked Rouge, but I'm in love dude—"

"For the love of Chaos please don't say with fucking Mi—"

"With Mina."

"Chaos dammit." Shadow groaned, smacking his palm to his forehead.

"I'm serious. She's amazing, and I'm about ready to tell her."

"You've been seeing her in secret for like a month. Don't you think if she even remotely gave a shit she would have told people about you by now?"

"She's got an image to keep up for these hungry fanboys, but she does like me."

"Just because a slut lets you bust inside her doesn't mean she likes you. It just means she's probably got an array of STDs—"

"Why the hell are you so against me and her?" Manic growled, growing quite irritated of Shadow's pessimistic outlook on his relationship with the upcoming popstar.

"She hasn't spoken to you in three weeks! Conveniently after all of those Soleanna record companies started checking her out."

"So? She's just busy,"

"Are you really that fucking delusional? **SHE USED YOU!** And now that she's got all those talent scouts looking at her she doesn't need you anymore. You weren't a secret to keep the fanboys away, you were a secret because you were never anything in the first place—"

"You only think that because Honey screwed you over. You just don't get Mina…I love her Shads, and nothing you say or do will change that so quit with the bullshit."

"You want to keep being stupid and believe that? Well go right ahead. Just don't come crying to me when she screws you over too."

"Whatever, I don't want to argue." The green hedgehog sighed, getting up and dusting himself off. "C'mon, we're gonna be late for English."

* * *

 _'_ _ **STUPID, STUPID, STUPID, YOU'RE SO STUPID!**_ _This is your own damn fault. You choose to suffer, you make it this way! What did you expect? This sorrow, this heartache you're feeling, this isn't about Fiona at all…_

 _You just wanted what Scourge had, you always have, and it's left you in ruins once again._

 _Scourge, the core root of all your suffering and you know it. He brings misery everywhere he goes, and you just love being his Chaos dammed company. You must be addicted, to the pain and anguish, I bet you like it._

 _He's caused you such heartache, such sorrow, yet you still choose to stick around. Too afraid to look away from those damn blue eyes, afraid that you might forget that face…_

 _You sold your soul to the devil, at the cost of your sanity, at the cost of your—'_

" **SHUT UP!** " Rosy screamed at the top of her lungs, taking fist-fulls of her dirty pink quills to yank them in an attempt to stop the voices screaming at her from within her mind. She clenched her teeth and heaved, feeling a few quills rip out from the root before she went back to trashing her dorm room.

Posters were torn off the eggshell-white walls, her dresser tipped over, everything once on top of it now broken on the floor. She tossed her mattress over, her screams and cries confined by the closed door. Her mind was in a frenzy, her heart in pieces.

Fiona's departure had awakened something in her, old memories accompanied by that eerie voice that whispered hurtful things to her.

" **JUST GO AWAY!** " The pink hedgehog screeched, blackened-tears rolling down her face, taking her heavy eyeliner with them as they dribbled down her chin. She held her head in her hands, her fingernails digging their way deep into her scalp as she flung her head about.

In the midst of her flailing, she bumped into the side table by her bed, knocking over the black-shaded glass lamp, causing it to shatter in pieces. She peaked her light-brown eye through her fingers, instantly catching sight of a large shard of white glass just beckoning for her to pick it up. Without even thinking she did so, undoing the bicycle chain off her arm and hastily rolling down the black arm-warmer to reveal a series of scars, both old and new.

She bit her lip as she took the shard to her wrist, pressing it deep against the skin before grazing it across with a harsh sweep motion. Crimson liquid erupted from the wound like lava, cascading down her fingertips and onto the floor she kneeled on. The physical pain was there, but more importantly the voice had subsided, easing her mind as she closed her eyes and breathed out in relief.

" **ROSE?!** " A voice shrieked before she heard footsteps coming closer and closer to her. When she opened her eyes, Mephiles was pulling off his white T-shirt, pressing it against her wrist as he called out to her. The dark hedgehog had come to retrieve a cigarette since he was running low, never imagining to find Rosy in such a…vulnerable state.

The room was trashed, and both hedgehogs kneeled on the floor covered in broken glass. Rosy could barely keep her head up, too ashamed to face him. It was a pretty unfortunate situation, but the reptilian-eyed hedgehog saw it as an opportunity to amuse himself.

She was at her ultimate vulnerability, no tough-girl act to hide behind, and nowhere to retreat. He did his best not to grin, opting to rest a comforting hand to her cheek as he held the other one on her wound with his shirt.

"Poor little Rosy, what could possibly have you in so much pain? To stoop to something like this…"

"I just want it to stop." She sobbed, "I want the pain to go away."

"I can't promise you that, but I can assure to you that it will ease the pain to speak your mind." The dark hedgehog told her, stroking her cheek with his thumb as he put on his most compassionate expression. "Confess to me all your sorrows. Just tell me Rosy…what did Scourge do to you that was so horrible?"

He didn't care about her, or that fact that she had just slashed her wrist. All he wanted was answers, curiosity was his motive, not sympathy. Scourge was impossible to read, but those around him weren't.

Mephiles knew the only way to get answers on the green hedgehog, was to go through those around him. Where better to start than the girl he dubbed Psycho?

"He made me do it…" She whimpered, completely falling into his trap. He expected something stupid, the usual thing that upset a high school girl like a boy not returning her feelings, but there was no way he could ever prepare himself for her next words.

"Made you do what?"

"He made me kill my baby…"

* * *

Rotor was once again back in the boy's locker room. He had his head in his locker, but didn't bother pretending to look for anything today. He was alone, mentally drowning in depression. His father hadn't called him since he was thrown out, and the abandonment was breaking his heart.

The only thing that had made life bearable these last few days had been the LGBT committee and Wave. They tried their best to keep him in better spirits, but the loss of his father was just too devastating to simply move on from.

Coming out to his father had put a halt in his attempt to fully come out. If his father had such a horrid reaction, he didn't even want to think about the reaction of others, like the Freedom Fighters, or the entire school. He wasn't ready to deal with the daily taunting so many of the LGBT students faced, especially with the depression he already dwelled in, so they promised to keep his secret and he was back to square one.

The walrus sighed heavily, wishing so desperately to be someone else. He didn't want to be gay, he hated himself more than anyone could ever imagine.

"Rotor…" A voice sounded from behind him. He pulled his head out of his locker to turn around, meeting the kind smile of a dripping wet Cobar the Echidna, wearing nothing but a thin white gym towel around his waist.

Rotor quickly turned away, suppressing his blush the best he could as the light-orange echidna took a seat beside him, resting a comforting hand on his shoulder. Rotor dropped his gaze to the floor, too humiliated to look Cobar's way.

"I'm sorry." The purple walrus apologized, "I'm just so upset with myself. I knew my father would react poorly. I should have just—"

"You shouldn't be upset with yourself. You are who you are, and you can't help that."

"I'm more than upset with myself. I hate myself, because I drove the last piece of my family away…because of who I am."

"Well I for one am glad you are who you are." The echidna told him, coaxing Rotor to lift his head and meet his kind blue eyes. "You shouldn't hate yourself Rotor, or be ashamed that you came out. You're still an amazing person, and your father will soon realize it too."

Rotor blushed, nodding his head at the kind words before feeling Cobar's hand fall to his cheek, pulling his face closer. The walrus' heart raced, overwhelmed by the echidna's genuine kindness and caring nature. All those years of silently crushing, watching, and admiring from a distance…it had all led up to this point.

This long awaited and constantly dreamed about kiss. Both boys closed their eyes, melting into their pressed together lips, neither one of them wanting to pull away and end the blissful moment.

 **CLICK!**

With that high-pitched beep they both pulled away, blushing madly as they turned their heads to inspect the noise. Rotor's eyes widened in horror as he saw the notorious homophobe Jet the Hawk standing behind them with his cellphone pointed at them, and an evil yet disgusted grin on his face.

"I fucking knew you were a fag!" The hawk bellowed, quickly tapping a few keys on his cellphone. "And now everyone will too." He added with the final click of a button, sending the photo of the two boys kissing to everyone in his contacts.

" **NO!** " Rotor cried out, but it was too late.

All over campus, phones either vibrated or chimed with a new message, Storm being one of them. The albatross was sitting on the bleachers with Wave, waiting for Jet to get out on the track field along with his new crowd of fans.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

"Who the hell is texting you?" Wave questioned curiously.

"Why you sound so jealous though?" He chuckled, poking her shoulder teasingly, making her blush a bit. "It's probably just Jet to brag about how all these people are out here to see him run. He's letting this new popularity go to his head I swear. See? It is him, and the message says…" His voice trailed off as his jaw dropped.

"Well?" The swallow piped up, leaning back on the bleachers behind her as she folded her arms and rose an eyebrow his way.

"That new LGBT friend you said was trying to keep it low-key…he wouldn't happen to be that walrus kid from science class would he?"

She quickly sat up, eyes practically bulging out of their sockets as she swiped the phone from his hand to look at the message. Her jaw dropped in the same manner, and she clenched the phone so tight it was a wonder it didn't crush in her hand.

"That son of a bitch!" She yelped, hopping up to her feet and taking hold of Storm's arm before dashing off the bleachers and away from the snickers and cruel remarks of those amongst the crowd on the bleachers who had also received the message.

* * *

 **This chapter and the next serve to set up the next arc, which focuses on bullying.**

 **A lot went on this chapter, and we've even sorta got answers on a few burning questions for a change.**

 **The Lake of Rings that serves as the sanctuary of both Sonic and Sally once served the same purpose for their parents, and those rings Sonic found when he discovered the lake belonged to them as well...**

 **We see Fiona truly has reformed, and it's not a facade like most of you had suspected, but the real question is will it last? Either way, Tails seems pretty happy about it.**

 **Julie-Su struggles with coming to terms on ending her violent relationship, but is still apprehensive on doing so due to her mental condition.**

 **Like most popular celebrities, Sonic is definitely feeling the backlash of his breaking up with fellow popular student Amy Rose, causing an incredible decline in his own popularity. Will he let it get the better of him? Or will someone with glasses convince him popularity isn't' everything.**

 **Amy and Knuckles get a lot of heat from you guys, but they aren't bad guys. No one really is. It's high school, everyone makes mistakes, everyone gets a little stupid, and no one is perfect. We all don't mature on the same level, sometimes it takes a while, and sometimes it's never. She's a naive and insecure fifteen year old with a crush and no common sense. He's just a seventeen year old boy who tends to think with his penis more often than his head and is very undecided.**

 **Mina, once a bigoted-brat on the road to reforming, but now her lies and cruel ways have finally caught up to her. Falling for the foreign kid with the short temper but big heart, while carrying the child of someone she only wanted to use.**

 **And oh Manic, so hopelessly in love with a girl he has no idea straight up used him. Too blinded by feelings to see the bigger picture. Rejecting longtime crush Rouge, dismissing best friend Shadow's warnings, and setting himself up for disaster.**

 **Now that Sonic is down for the count, Jet has seemingly risen to the top. This sure will prove to be bad for not only Rotor, but for the entire LGBT community.**

 **Lastly, we should probably touch base on Rosy's bombshell. It's been hinted at quite a bit that Scourge and her had some sort of history neither of them wanted to acknowledge, but good ole Mephiles just lives to unravel secrets. Taking advantage of her depression and psychotic state, he had uncovered why Rosy hated Scourge so much.**

 **Fun Question: What do you think Mina should do in her situation? **

**Next Time On Green Hill Academy:**

 **With the persistence of his sister to pursue a normal high school boy life, Mighty decides to give romance a try**

 **Sonic has gone from hero-to-zero fast, and it seems that only one other person on campus can sympathize**

 **Mephiles confronts Scourge on the information Rosy had provided**

 **We see the aftermath of the breakup taking its toll on Rouge, but not everyone is sympathetic**

 **Although the public hasn't, Sonic and Amy have both seemingly begun to give up on one another**

 **Manic finally has a run-in with Mina, but just what will come of it?**

 **What happens when Honey reemerges in Shadow's life? Will he stay true to Sonia or fall back into old habits?**

 **And so much more!**


	35. Chapter 35

**WARNING: Topic of abortion, slight sexual themes, homophobia, and bullying**

* * *

 **Chapter 35: Falling Outs & Ins**

 _"Hey Dad. I know this is your work phone and I'm not supposed to call you before seven on it, but I need some help."_ Knuckles spoke hastily into the phone as he paced his room back and forth. He ran his hand through his dreads. The stress was evident in his voice.

 _"Don't worry Knuckles. You're my son, you can call me anytime you'd like. What's been troubling you?"_

The echidna smiled to himself, mentally sending a thank you to his principal for having such a positive effect on his father. Ever since their very first reunion, the chipmunk has influenced him to take a breather from work and focus on more important aspects of his life, like his son.

 _"I just needed some advice."_ Knuckles explained, pulling the over-sized green emerald from his pocket to gaze at it with a sorrowful expression. _"Dad, when you got Mom pregnant, didn't you like Principal Acorn?"_

 _"Like her? No. I was absolutely in love with her." His father chuckled on the other line. "It was a complicated situation Knuckles. You see, Alicia and I were polar-opposites, and she irritated me to no end with her rebel antics, but there was always a spark between us. There was also your mother, Lara-Le. A girl I grew up with, my dearest and oldest friend. She was always there for me, so similar in personality to me unlike Alicia. I'd often turn to her for advice or comfort when the queen was too much for me to handle."_

 _"If you and Principal Acorn were so different, why'd you even have feelings for her?"_

 _"You can't help who you love Son. Alicia was trouble, and my life was boring. We complimented each other pretty well. But she was in love with someone else at the time, and I was stuck in what you kids today call the 'friend zone'. Thankfully your mother was there to ease my heartache. A terrible wife in the end, but a wonderful best friend back then."_

Knuckles took a seat on his bed, listening to his father go on and on about the two girls he was trapped between as he rolled the emerald over in his hand, thinking about Rouge the equivalent to his father's Alicia, and Julie-Su the equivalent to his father's Lara-Le.

 _"I grew restless waiting for Alicia to come around, knowing full well that she wouldn't. While she was crying over the school scumbag she didn't notice me standing right beside her, only writing me off as the best friend. So in a night of vulnerability and sorrow I went over to Lara-Le's and slept with her. A few weeks later she told me she was pregnant."_

 _"So how did you choose between them? If you loved Alicia so much, why did you stay with Mom?"_

 _"As in love with Alicia as I was…I knew I had to do the right thing and stand by my child, even if that meant giving up the love of my life."_ Locke sighed, admiring the engagement ring on his finger as he stood at the front desk of the Master Emerald. _"Knuckles? Are you there?"_

Knuckles had ceased his speaking, soaking in all the information his father had provided, using it to aid in his internal debate on what to do in his own situation. Upon hearing his father call out to him he quickly sprung back to life, hastily ending the call before throwing himself back into his bed to think some more.

 _"Oh, yeah. Thanks a lot Dad. I've gotta go. Bye!"_

Locke just pulled his phone away from his ear, setting it down on the counter. He then rubbed his temple, frowning at the memories of his high school days.

* * *

Rouge sat upright in her bed, hugging her knees to her chest as she frowned. Her harsh breakup with Knuckles had brought down her usually upbeat mood tremendously, and depression had been looming over her like a rain cloud.

Sitting beside her was Cream, wrapping both arms around her as she rested her head on the bat's shoulder. Rouge was always there to console her when she was upset, this was her returning the favor.

"I'm sorry you have to see me like this Creamy." Rouge apologized. She hadn't bothered to put on makeup, knowing that her tears would only ruin it, and she hadn't really found the energy to shower or do her hair. "I know I should be stronger than this. I shouldn't let this bother me, but—"

"It's okay Rouge. I'm not here to judge you." The rabbit assured her.

"I just…I've always secretly wanted him for myself, biding my time while I waited for the day he'd come around…only to fuck it up with one crazy bad decision."

Just then Sonia and Julie-Su had walked in, both glancing at the poorly taken care of bat with confused expressions. Rouge had been trying her best to not let anyone see her in such a state, but after a while she had stopped caring. This was their first time actually seeing her gloomy demeanor.

"Everything okay?" Julie-Su questioned. Rouge's eyes quickly crossed over to the echidna girl. She wanted to be angry at her, but couldn't find the heart to be…not after hearing about the ordeal with Thrash.

"He broke up with you didn't he?" Sonia remarked, quickly noticing the green emerald that once belonged to her was no longer around the bat's neck. Rouge nodded in confirmation, shifting her sorrowful gaze to Sonia, the girl she had selfishly stolen him from. She felt a bit of guilt, remembering how she had been the reason for the magenta girl's depression earlier on in the year.

"Yeah." The bat whispered.

"Can't say I'm surprised." The hedgehog shrugged, an obvious hint of satisfaction in her tone. "He cheat on you too?"

"Sonia…I want you to know I'm sorry about that." Rouge spoke up again, this time standing up from the bed. The magenta girl just shook her head, only bringing down the bat's mood further.

"No you're not." Sonia corrected her harshly, "You're only sorry for yourself." With that, she walked right out the door she had just entered from, refusing to entertain the thought of her ex-boyfriend or events that proceeded due to their breakup.

Rouge said nothing, only bowing her head in shame because she knew the hedgehog was somewhat right. She'd never apologize if she weren't feeling down herself. Cream frowned, a little upset by Sonia's harshness on the bat, but understood where that animosity came from.

Surprisingly, Julie-Su wasn't so cruel, instead of scolding or mocking the bat like one would expect, she quickly enveloped Rouge in a hug.

She didn't question it, or try to stop it. She just fell limp into the echidna's bruised arms, crying into her shoulder softly.

* * *

 _"No Matilda, I don't have a girlfriend yet."_ Mighty rolled his eyes, using his shoulder to press his cellphone to his ear as he used his hands to pack his work bag. He was in his dorm alone again, scattering around the room to retrieve his keys and other items.

 _"C'mon Mighty! You promised!"_

 _"I know I did, but it's not that easy. Between work, Ray, and school my schedule is pretty packed. And it's not that easy getting a girl's attention! I'm not as suave as Elias if you haven't noticed."_

 _"I don't think anyone is."_ His sister chuckled on the other line, _"But I still expect you to bring a girlfriend when you come to visit me! Fiona could probably give you a few pointers now that she's around again."_

 _"Maybe, but I did join a sport like you wanted me to!"_

 _"Really? Football?!"_

 _"Football season is over. The only winter sport I felt worked best for me and my schedule is wrestling. Probably get rid of some of that pent up aggression."_

 _"Mighty that's great!"_ Matilda cheered happily, _"I'm glad things have been okay with you and Ray."_

 _"No need to worry. Fiona will keep us in check until you get back."_ He joked.

 _"She better! I've gotta go, Uncle Beauregard wants me to try on some new prosthetics. I love you!"_

 _"I love you too Tilly, bye."_ He smiled, ending the call and tossing his phone to the bed beside him. He closed his eyes for a moment, thanking Chaos that Matilda was in a good place.

"I heard my name!" A voice called out from behind him. He turned to see the red vixen he had mentioned moments prior walking in through his door. He smiled at her as she strolled up to him, licking her thumb before rubbing away excess crumbs from his lunch off his face.

"C'mon, stop!" He whined playfully as she began straightening out his collared shirt.

"Sorry, can't let you go to work looking like a total bum." She giggled before throwing her hands up to show she was innocent. They both shared a laugh, smiling at one another as they just stared into each other's eyes.

"So…Matilda wants me to bring a girlfriend home." He spoke, an awkward blush creeping up on his face. "Kinda wondering if you could like…teach me how to get a girl's attention."

Her smile broke out into a wide smirk, a blush of her own forming as she put both hands on her hips and tilted her head slightly. "Any specific girl you had in mind?"

"Um, yeah…"

* * *

Mina stood at her dresser, pulling out clothes as she struggled to find something that would conceal her belly. She mentally scolded herself for loving midriff tops and bandeaus so much as she tossed the cute tops into a pile on the floor. Honey had gone to class while Nicole was out with her sister at the café.

The mongoose sighed in aggravation, falling to her knees as her hands threatened to tear the beautiful lavender locks right out of her scalp. Her mood swings were growing worse and worse by the minute, and her internal turmoil weighing heavier on her conscious with each passing moment.

"Anybody home?" A voice called out from beyond her door. She nearly jumped out of her skin, turning around to watch the nob of her door slowly turn. She recognized that voice, and panicked. She quickly lunged at the robe hanging off the side of her bed, wrapping it around herself quite loosely to hide her changing figure.

Without another warning, in walked the one person she had been avoiding for weeks, Manic the Hedgehog. He strolled in with that beautiful smile on his face, only she didn't adore it the way she used to. It wasn't Shard's playful grin. The mongoose bit her lip, doing her best to keep up a façade. The green hedgehog didn't know about her and Shard, or the baby.

"Long time no see." The green hedgehog mused, walking over to place a kiss on her lips. She quickly stepped back, averting her eyes from him.

"Hey." She greeted half-heartedly.

"Everything okay? You haven't called or texted me in like three weeks. Did I do something wrong?"

"No." She assured him, not wanting to make him feel bad. "I've just been really sick."

"Oh, well I've missed you." He cooed, brushing his hand against her cheek, making her blush with his gentle touch.

"Sorry." She apologized, "I need to get dressed, next class is starting soon."

"I can help with that." He winked, trailing his hand down her chest as he reached for the rope holding her robe closed. She quickly grabbed his hand in an attempt to cease his pulling, but she had done up the rope very weakly and it pretty much fell apart on its own.

" **DON'T!** " She yelped, but it was too late.

The robe had fallen to the floor, revealing her naked body to him, and the protruding belly she had tried her hardest to keep secret. His jaw threatened to unhinge and fall off right then and there. Tears begun to trickle down her cheeks as she kneeled down and scooped up the robe, quickly throwing it back on before she hugged herself tightly and turned away from him.

"Mina…is that…are you…what…"He grabbed her shoulder, forcing her to turn around and face him. There were tears streaming down her face as she caved into the guilty feeling of her heart, finally uttering the truth.

"Manic, I'm pregnant." She murmured through her sobs.

She awaited a reaction. Something like yelling, freaking out, or straight up leaving, but he did nothing of the sort. His shocked agape mouth quickly spread out into an excited smile, and his baby blue eyes lit up like fireworks. She'd never seen someone look so happy before.

"Oh my Chaos…this is…this is amazing." He gasped, barely able to contain his overjoyed feeling. "I'm gonna be a dad. I-I-I've gotta get a job, a car, a house. I, oh shit! I'm gonna be a fucking dad dude!"

"Manic I—"

"I know." He cut her off, assuming he knew what she was going to say. "I've got a lot of growing up to do, and I will marry you Mina. I'll get a job and buy a ring as soon as I can. I swear to you I won't be a dead beat. I'll be there for you and the baby. I'll get my life together, I swear to Chaos I will!" He pledged, throwing his arms around her and pulling her in for a surprise kiss.

She pulled away, shifting her gaze to the floor. She made him swear to keep it a secret, using the lie that she didn't want to be kicked out of GHA as an excuse. He obliged before scurrying off to class. She closed the door behind him, leaning up against it as she slid to the floor.

He had just made things a hundred times more complicated. Her mind was in a frenzy, and she didn't know what else to do but call her trusted friend, Honey the Cat.

* * *

 _' "You son of a bitch!" Wave shouted, stomping over to Jet and shoving him to the floor as his new found fangirls gasped in horror, including that canary girl he just started dating. "Posting shit like this, these vial comments, and your bullshit prejudices! I'm sick of it!"_

 _"Prejudice would imply that my opinion isn't based on fact." The hawk snarled, standing back up to his feet. "Choosing to be a fag is disgusting, and wrong. Don't know if you've ever heard of something called science, but reproduction takes more than one gender."_

 _"So the answer is to bash LGBT students and make them miserable?" Wave shot back._

 _"If that's what it takes to wake them up! Gay isn't a real thing, it's just a stupid phase."_

 _Oh Chaos, there he went, pushing her buttons with that dumb speech. They're both my friends. I'm close to both of them. It's hard to see them at each other's throats like this. Wave has every right to be angry, Chaos knows Jet doesn't exactly make her happy with his anti-gay speeches knowing that she herself is a lesbian, but I can sympathize with his ignorant mindset._

 _Wave doesn't understand, not knowing nearly as much as I do about him. That's probably why I let his idiotic speeches roll off my shoulders although I sure as hell don't agree with his bullshit._

 _"Fuck you! I'm threw hanging out with a piece of shit like you!"_

 _"Oh like I give a fuck anymore!" Jet scolded, gesturing to the crowd behind him. "Look at me! I'm king of the freaking school now! I don't need your faggot ass cramping my style."_

 _"Just go to hell!" Wave bellowed, sending one crazy slap to his face. Things turned ugly pretty fast, the girls in the crowd twisting up their faces in anger, especially the canary girl. She shoved her way upfront, pushing Wave until she went stumbling back into my arms._

 _"Don't touch my boyfriend!" She yelped, turning back to aid a stunned Jet._

 _"You'll fucking regret that." He seethed in anger before rushing off, the crowd carrying off with him._

 _I hoisted Wave back up to her feet, offering her a comforting hand as she stared at the ground. I took her hand in mine, squeezing to let her know at least I was still around. She looked up at me with a half-smile._

 _"Don't worry, I'm sure he won't do anything."_

 _"There's nothing he could do. He already makes me miserable by existing." She laughed, wiping the misty tears from her cheeks. "And I'll have you around to protect me."_

 _"Always." '_

"Are you serious Storm? That's it?" A voice sounded, making him snap out of his mental flashback. He closed his eyes, opening them again to readjust back into reality. He soon remembered where he was, and what he was doing—well, more like whom.

He was back in his dorm, laying in his bed on top of a yellow cat with raven hair. She had come for a _'special visit'_ as she so often did, only today it was very short-lived. A red glow of embarrassment crossed his face as he noticed her obvious disappointment, quickly pulling out of her. She sighed, adding emphasis to her displeasure.

"Sorry Honey." He apologized, tossing the condom he had just put on less than three minutes earlier. "Just stressed out."

"Yeah." She rolled her eyes, leaping out of his bed and quickly throwing her red corset dress back over her shoulder. "Whatever."

* * *

Amy sighed heavily, leaning her head against the shoulder of her fellow heartbroken companion, Scourge. The two were seated in the back of his car, his arm swung around her as she nuzzled into him. A strange change of pace, considering they usually only met up for sex.

These last few days had been much different though. The green hedgehog didn't make any moves, much to her slight disappointment. Instead they…talked. He asked her about her past, and she had confided in him things she never even told Sonic before, like about her parents. He had even told her a few things, like how his parents left him to rot in a dirty apartment complex, and about his toxic relationship with Fiona Fox.

They had learned a lot about each other, something he didn't usually strive to do with the countless girls he dicked-then-dipped on. He had grown quite fond of the pink hedgehog, and she could say the same.

He was an open book yet a mystery at the same time. The kind of bad boy with a softer side beneath him, her favorite kind from romance dramas. She couldn't help but find herself wishing that Sonic was more like him, or that she could be the girl he so hopelessly obsessed over…

Talking with him like this just felt so easy. She didn't feel like she had to try so hard, and he had this strange way of making her feel like the only girl he wanted…even when she knew that was far from the truth.

The two cuddled up, the cold air nipping at their noses as they huddled together and stared out at nothing as they spoke.

"Haven't you ever been in love before?" Amy huffed after another one of his rude comments on Sonic. She looked over at him curiously after not receiving a quick _'no'_ like she was expecting.

"Of course I have." He smirked, stroking her soft pink quills with the arm he had wrapped around her. "Still am."

"With who? Fiona?" She snapped, a little too enviously.

"Hell no. Fi was just something to pass the time." He sighed, obvious regret in his voice. "I've only ever fallen in love once. It felt like I couldn't breathe unless I was around her, like I was a zombie until her calling my name sprung the life out of me again. I'd do anything to have her back, but I bet she wished she never met me."

"How come?" Amy asked curiously, completely moved by the tale of his old flame, and a bit envious at how serious he sounded.

"Because I fucked it all up. I ruined everything between us."

"What did you do?"

Just before he could give her an answer, the back door to his car was swung open, and amused reptilian eyes fell upon both of them, along with a sadistic grin. Amy jumped in fright, cowering under the creepy stare, but Scourge was not moved.

"What do you want Mephy? Can't you see I'm a little busy?" The green hedgehog growled, annoyed at the intrusion.

Mephiles darted his eyes over to Amy, then back to Scourge. "I see you've made it a habit, praying on pink hedgehogs…"

"This is a little weird for me." Amy spoke up, scooching away from Scourge and out the door opposite of where Mephiles stood. "I'm gonna go." She then waved goodbye before running off back to campus grounds. Scourge sucked his teeth in frustration before turning back toward the still-smirking Mephiles.

"You should add cockblocking on your list of special talents, along with annoying the fuck out of me, and being a fuckin' weirdo."

"I know what you did." The dark hedgehog changed the subject toward his more favorable topic. "I've heard some people call you the devil, but I never thought there'd actually be some truth behind it."

"What the fuck are you on about?" The green hedgehog growled, annoyed at the innuendo.

"Rosy told me what you did to her…she even tried slash her wrists just as you predicted she would."

"I've never done shit to her. She's a fucking psycho—"

"Only because you made her that way." Mephiles corrected with a wag of his index finger. "Pretty ironic, considering you're the one who gave her the nickname."

Scourge tensed up a bit, mulling over the possibility of Rosy letting a very dark secret escape her. She was resistant to Mephiles' bullshit just like he was, but not nearly as efficient. He clenched his fists, loathing the feeling of being under the gray-striped hedgehog's microscope. He hopped out of his car, standing up right before Mephiles, unable to loom over him due to their equal height, but stared directly into those snake-eyes with no trace of fear or shame.

"What did the little bitch tell you?" Scourge growled.

Mephiles had never felt so on top of the world. He had the green hedgehog exactly where he wanted him. In a corner with nowhere to run. He'd get his long anticipated reaction, and that slipup that would give him access into the angry hedgehog's mind.

"Tell me something, how easy was it? To sign that piece of paper, knowing that you'd be killing your child." Scourge's mouth instantly dropped, eyes widened in shock at Mephiles' words. "You forced Rosy to get an abortion four years ago."

"It was her choice. Either way I wouldn't have stuck around. Did she leave out the part where she fuckin' played me? And ruined my fuckin' life?"

"Your relentless scolding didn't make her feel like she had much of a choice." The reptilian-eyed hedgehog remarked, crossing his arms triumphantly as he awaited that big reaction. "So did you make her do it because you weren't ready? Or did you just not want to be like your daddy—"

There it was, that reaction he had long awaited for since his very first encounter with Scourge, only he didn't get to see it. Less than a quarter of a second after his drilling of invasive questions, the green hedgehog had laid him out, leaving him unconscious on the pavement.

Scourge sent a frustrated kick to the unconscious boy's ribs before slamming the door to his car shut and walking off.

* * *

Sally and Nicole sat at their usual spot at one of the picnic tables by the fountain. Sally looked on at her younger sister, noticing the lynx just staring blankly at the meal in front of her.

"Everything alright Nicole?" She asked with concern, making the lynx raise her head.

"I'm just having some issues…" Nicole mumbled, shifting uncomfortably in her seat as she readjusted the purple cap she had become accustom to wearing these days.

"Boy issues?" Sally questioned, making her younger sibling perk up with a blush. She shifted her green eyes left to right, making sure no one was in earshot. Unfortunately she forgot to make sure no one was standing behind her.

"Did ya'll say boy issues? As in romance!" A southern voice bellowed before a pair of yellow arms snaked around the lynx's neck from behind, and she felt a weight on her back. She dropped her head shyly as Sally giggled at Bunnie's sudden appearance. As if the rabbit had been waiting for the opportunity.

She pulled off of Nicole, opting to sit next to her while Antoine walked around the table and took a seat beside Sally.

"So what's goin' on Sugah? Espio gettin' too grabby these days?" The southern belle questioned curiously, making Nicole burn an even darker shade of red.

" **NO!** " She yelped in embarrassment, pulling on her purple cap to conceal her face more.

"He better not be." Sally huffed, while the coyote beside her snickered.

"It's nothing like that. It's not even about Espio, he's wonderful…"

"Zen how can you be having ze boy troubles without ze boy?" Antoine questioned in confusion, scratching his cheek.

"It's…about Shard." Nicole mumbled, shifting her sad gaze to her lap.

"Oh Shard! I just saw him this morning carrying Mina's books. I think they're dating." Bunnie chimed in.

"They are." The lynx replied in a near whisper.

"And you are how you say? The jealous?" The coyote across from her questioned, making Sally's mouth drop into a sympathetic frown.

"Not of them dating!" Nicole yelped, quick to correct their thinking. "He just…doesn't talk to me like he used to, and I have no idea what I did…"

"Sugah are you serious? You have no idea?" Bunnie questioned skeptically, raising an eyebrow at the lynx.

"I really don't…"

"So you had no idea Shard was head ova heels in love with ya'?"

"What?" Nicole gasped, looking over at Bunnie in disbelief. "That's ridiculous. Shard never liked me, like that I mean…"

"Yes, he did." All of her friends spoke in unison, using the same obvious tone.

"But…He never said anything."

"Of course he didn't." Sally spoke up, "He wrote it all down in that letter I helped him edit."

"Letter?"

"Didn't you get the little package outside your door before break?"

Nicole stared down at her feet, trying her best to recall seeing any sort of package around her room. Nothing really came to mind…until she remembered Mina being extra weird, and kicking something under her bed. As the gears in her mind shifted she stood up from the table and walked off.

"I have to find Shard." She mumbled, jogging off toward the track field.

Her friends watched as she did so, catching sight of another odd scene taking place on the steps of the main building she had just ran past. Sally adjusted her glasses, mouth slightly agape in confusion as she watched Sonic trudge down the school steps…with his supposed die-hard fangirls throwing eraser tops and crumpled up paper at him. He looked so upset, and so defeated.

"What's going on there?" The chipmunk asked her friends, taking note of their satisfied expressions before they turned away from the blue hedgehog with zero sympathy.

"Apparently people are upset at how he broke up with the pink brat." Bunnie shrugged, "I guess she slept with someone he hated and dumped her, even though he slept with her best friend. If ya' ask me, he's got all the right in the world to be upset but he can't hold it against her considering he's got his own dirt."

"So why are people upset exactly?"

"She's got a huge social media following, I'm talkin' real Instagram famous. As far as anyone's concerned, she's Mobius' sweetheart. I personally think she's a little brat who needs one serious whoopin', but that's just me. Everyone's pretty much taking her side, mainly because they couldn't possibly fathom the idea of someone that _'sweet and cute'_ doing wrong." The rabbit went on and on, stopping every so often to sip the green tea in her hand. "Big shocker, she ironically outclasses him on his own little popular scale, making him public enemy number one for droppin' her. I feel bad for Sugah-Hog a bit. It's a crazy one-eighty for him."

"I could not care lez." Antoine spoke up, sticking his nose in the air. "He deserves all the grief in ze world, repentance for all ze grief he has done onto others."

"It's hard having everyone on campus look at you like you're shit." Sally sighed, "It must really suck for him, because those are the same people who used to praise him. He might be a jerk, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have emotions…Maybe I should talk to him—"

"Save your breath Princess." The coyote beside her cut her off coldly, "Concerning yourself with him will only bring you down into mizery."

"He's right Sally, you'd do your best to mind ya' own when it comes to him. That boy is nothin' but trouble." Bunnie agreed, "You've got more important things to worry about, like tellin' me all about that new beau of yours!"

"New what?" The chipmunk yelped.

"You can't fool me Sally-Girl!" The rabbit teased, "I've seen you spendin' quite some time with that new monkey boy!"

"Oh, Ken. It's nothing like that." Sally waved in dismissal.

"Have either of you heard from Rotor at all?" Antoine spoke up, unconsciously cutting into their conversation as he got done shooting the walrus another horribly written text. "He haz not been returning my messages."

"No Hun, but I've got something to show you guys…" Bunnie mumbled, her happy mood fading quickly as she pulled her phone out of her boot. "That feathered-asshole Jet made this go viral yesterday. You guys, Rotor's gay…"

* * *

Amy hummed to herself as she walked through the hall of the girl's dorm up to her room. There was a slight tint of red to her cheeks as she thought about her _'one night stand'_ turned friend. In the time she'd been spending with him, the pink hedgehog had discovered there was a lot more to him than people realized.

The more time she spent with him, the less and less she hurt over her breakup, so she had made it a point to check in for her daily dose of Scourge as much as possible, whether it was a phone call or a sexual meetup.

In this moment, as she unlocked the door to her room she pondered the idea of being more than just…whatever they were. She smiled to herself, Sonic's image fading in her mind a bit.

"Amy, are you alright?" Blaze questioned, sitting up from her bed to stare at the pink hedgehog who had just entered their room with a glowing face.

"Oh, I'm just fine." Amy waved in dismissal, setting her pink bag down on her bed. She then kicked off her shoes and threw herself onto it, laying on her stomach as she let her face fall into her pillow.

Blaze just smiled to herself, watching Amy turn over to lay on her back and stare at the ceiling with a goofy smile. However, her newly found policy of honesty would definitely put a damper on the hedgehog girl's mood. She knew it would probably devastate her, but she at least wanted to let Amy know her suspicions on Sonic after their little pep-talk yesterday.

"I'm glad to see you're in better spirits Amy, but I have something to tell you…"

"I'm all ears!" The pink girl sang, glancing over at her best friend.

"I think Sonic likes someone else…and I think it is that girl with the glasses from English class like you said."

Blaze cringed, awaiting a horrid reaction of some kind…but nothing came. She opened her eyes to peer over at Amy who didn't appear phased in the slightest. She tilted her head in confusion. Just a few days ago Amy was fuming over the breakup and making all kinds of wild threats.

"I see." She replied nonchalantly, looking back up to the ceiling.

 _"It's fine…because I think I like someone else too."_ Amy thought to herself as she let a big smile cross her face at the thought of the green hedgehog.

* * *

Honey sighed heavily, dragging her arm across the lockers she passed as she trudged down the hall with ears flopped over in disappointment. Lately things have been really stressful, and slow. She's begun to feel quite unsatisfied with her lovers; Storm the Albatross, Vector the Crocodile, Nack the Weasel, Geoffrey St John, Bark the Polar Bear, and even the music teacher, Ash Mongoose.

None of them thrilled her, or remotely satisfied her in any way. The sex well was dry, and the cat with the sexual appetite was starving. Times like this is where she loathes her free spirit, and deeply regrets not settling down with the ebony hedgehog.

Shadow the Hedgehog, the only person she's ever come across to really satiate her lustful appetite. He was perfect, until he started getting too attached, something she wasn't really looking for then, but now she began to wonder whether if sticking to her party-girl lifestyle was even worth it anymore.

Her hazel eyes quickly flew up, catching a glimpse of red stripes. Standing a little ways before her down the hall was none other than the boy who had just crossed her mind. She grinned to herself as she snuck over to him and leapt onto his back. He jolted up, quickly removing her hands to turn around and face her.

He had assumed it to be his annoying pest of a brother Eclipse, or secret girlfriend Sonia, but when he saw it was Honey the features of his face tensed. He looked a lot more surprised than pleased.

"What do you want?" He asked coldly, crossing his arms as he narrowed his eyes at the girl who left his heart in pieces only a month or so ago.

"What's wrong?" She cooed cutely, stepping a little closer as she trailed her tail up one of his legs. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

"Not particularly."

"C'mon Shady, haven't you missed me?" The feline purred, her tail rising dangerously close to his groin as she begun to press her chest up to his. "I've definitely missed you…and all the dirty things we used to do."

He felt his body tense up under her physical contact, and a slight blush growing on his face with each passing moment as she tried to get more and more touchy. He bit his lip, trying his hardest to suppress the physical reaction.

There was no denying the fact that he missed the wild sexcapades they used to embark on. Being with her was like a wild and fun adventure. The drugs, the drinking, the incredible sex. There was definitely a lot to miss.

"How about me go have some fun? That janitor's closet is always unlocked." The cat persuaded, batting her long eyelashes at him.

He tried to think rationally, but the tail she had grazing the front of his pants had his mind in a frenzy. He was only as strong as a seventeen year old boy could be. The hedgehog went to open his mouth, but before he could give her an answer her phone rang, cutting off whatever he was about to say.

 **INCOMING CALL**

She quickly pulled away from him, retrieving her phone from one of the red pockets on her dress. She answered the call, and whoever was on the other line nearly made her deaf with eardrum-shattering wails. She held the phone at arms-length, assuring her friend that she was on her way before ending the call.

Honey sighed a bit, rubbing her temple before she looked back up to Shadow with a smile.

"I've gotta go check on my roomie." She shrugged before blowing him a kiss and walking off. "Give me a call sometime and we can go have some fun. Bye Shady."

She waved back at him as she skipped down the hall, her already short dress bouncing with each step, exposing her rear end to him every once in a while as he watched her walk away with interest.

"What are you looking at?" A familiar voice called out, making him nearly jump out of his skin. He turned just in time to see Sonia, encircling both her arms around one of his and a blush on her face.

"N-N-Nothing." He stammered, turning away to mask his red face. "You shouldn't cling to me like this, someone might get suspicious."

"That's what I came to talk to you about." The magenta girl replied, getting on her tiptoes to give him a kiss on the cheek. "I'm ready to tell everyone…"

* * *

Silver and Gold laid back in the white hedgehog's bed. They had a laptop set in between them, and one of their favorite SyFy movies rolling. They had both seen it at least a hundred times, solely watching it to commentate.

"I know it's pretty weird and stupid, but I totally believe in aliens, and that one day something like this is gonna happen." Silver chuckled awkwardly, referencing the movie playing on his computer.

"Weird and stupid?" Gold scoffed, "Are you kidding? It's weird and stupid not to be completely terrified of possible extraterrestrial life!"

The white hedgehog looked over to his good friend with a smile. She was focused on the screen as he scoped her out. She laid on her side, propping her head up with her hand as she stared intently at the movie. He frowned a bit, dropping his gaze to the white sheets of his bed, reimagining her to be Blaze.

"Something wrong?" The tenrec questioned, pausing the movie by pressing the spacebar before looking back over to him.

"Not at all. I just…Blaze and I used to watch movies like this."

"Oh, I'm sorry." The tenrec yelped, letting a sincere frown cross her face. "Should we stop watching? I don't want to make you upset."

"No, it's just a little overwhelming that's all." He blushed awkwardly. "Gold, would you call me an idiot if I said I wanted…to talk to her again?"

"No." The tenrec chuckled, both of them sitting up from their laying down positions. "I'd pass you the phone, and tell you that I'm behind you no matter what you want to do." She added, passing him his cellphone from off the nearby dresser. He took it in his hand, looking up to her with a smile.

The tenrec was so genuine, with a heart true to her namesake. A voice sweeter than candy, a touch more gentle than silk, and a smile brighter than the sun. She was always so positive, so supportive, and had this strange way of making him feel normal—something Blaze and her friends never really did for him.

"Do you think it's a bad idea?" The white hedgehog questioned nervously, "After everything that happened…I don't know if I really want to."

"The last time you talked she told you she was sure of herself now."

"But how do I know that? Every time I gave her a chance it blew up in my face."

"You can't let your insecurities rule you Silver. You love her, and you miss her, so talk to her."

"I don't want to get my heart broken again Gold…" He admitted, his throat tightening a bit. She could see the pained and worried expression in his gorgeous amber eyes, instantly throwing her arms over his shoulders and pulling him into a hug.

"It's always a gamble, giving our heart away." She whispered to him, his eyes closing as her voice soothed his sorrows. "But whatever happens, I'll be here to see you through anything."

* * *

Tails was overjoyed, texting Fiona nonstop on his cellphone while he sat in the library with Cosmo, who stared at him with a disgruntled expression. The kitsune had done nothing but text Fiona and go on and on about her sudden change in alignment.

The seedrian just watched him, pouting a bit as he completely ignored her numerous attempts at conversation. They were sitting in their usual seats at one of the tables secluded by the bookshelves.

"She just sent me another text about hanging out with her this Friday!" He exclaimed, pressing at a much quicker pace on the buttons of his phone. "I knew there was good in her, I just knew it!"

"Shh!" The woodchuck librarian shushed them from beyond the shelves.

"Tails, please don't get too invested in this…She's hurt you before and I—"

"She's changed." He replied, cutting her off in a defensive tone before resuming his texting. "I know she has."

You can't really blame the seedrian for being skeptical. The first time she met Fiona she saw the vixen sucker punching the young fox in the school parking lot, and the second time she had an encounter with the vixen was at a Halloween party where the she had a piece of wood whipped across her face.

It worried her, how excited and giddy Tails was over her supposed change. Not only that, but the vixen seemed to be the only thing center of attention to him, making her feel a bit jealous.

"I just don't want to see you get hurt again." The green-haired girl mumbled.

"Why can't you just accept the possibility that I was right all along? And she's actually changed." He whined, pulling away from his phone to shoot the seedrian a cold glare.

"I don't trust her." Cosmo blurted out, "She is still the same girl who did this to me." She added, pointing toward the scar down her forehead. Tails just flared his nostrils, upset by the outburst. He sprang from his chair, gathering his books and shoving them back into his bag.

"I can't be around someone who judges others, and can't let go of shit from the past." He remarked coldly, throwing his bag over his shoulder before walking away. "I guess it's true what they say, jealousy is a green monster."

"Tails!" She yelped, reaching out to him as he disappeared behind bookshelves. Tears erupted from eyes as she watched him walk away.

* * *

"Where's the fire?" Honey groaned, opening the door to her room to find her mongoose friend curled up in a ball on her bed, sobbing into her teal-colored sheets. "Mina? Are you okay?"

The feline instantly ran to her aid, sitting her up before taking a seat in front of her. Mina wiped her face with both wrists before looking up to the cat, her jade eyes red from nonstop crying.

"Hey, what's wrong?" The cat called out again, putting a hand to her friend's cheek comfortingly.

"I told Manic." She sniffled, "And he's so fucking happy about it."

"So these are happy tears?" Honey questioned, flicking away a few stray tears with her thumb.

"No! These are I don't know what the fuck to do tears!" The mongoose bellowed, "Shard is gonna hate me so much! I was gonna get it together, finally be happy. But Manic is gonna ruin everything! This **THING** is gonna ruin everything!" She added, putting extra emphasis on the word _'thing'_.

Honey frowned, listening to Mina go on and on about how her life was seemingly over. She's known the mongoose her whole life. Never ever has Mina Mongoose thought of anyone but herself. She's always been queen of everything, arrogance and pride her main qualities. It was a strange change of pace, watching the mongoose cry at the thought of losing Shard over the thought of losing her career.

"You're not too far along ya'know." The yellow cat reminded her, "You still have options."

"Like what?" Mina whimpered, looking up to Honey with a curious expression.

"You know…Abortion."

"No." She shook her head immediately, "I can't do something like that."

"It's your body, and your choice." Honey explained in an actual serious tone. "Like you said, you're only sixteen and have a career ahead of you. Your life doesn't have to change if you don't want it to."

"B-B-But wouldn't that make me a horrible person?" The mongoose mumbled.

"I don't consider myself a horrible person." The feline shrugged, making Mina's eyes widen in shock.

"You've had an—"

"Let's just say…there's a reason Jet and I don't talk anymore." Honey cut her off, not really wanting to get into detail on the matter.

Mina looked down at her belly, moving her hand over it as she thought about the solution. All she wanted was to go back to being normal. The thought of no longer singing, or being able to pursue her career horrified her, but most of all the thought of losing Shard so soon was devastating.

She didn't want Manic in the slightest…or his child.

"What if someone finds out?" She mumbled, shaking the horrid thoughts from her mind. "My parents don't even know. They're gonna hate me."

"Oh please, your parents think you're an angel no matter what you do." The cat rolled her eyes, "Your mom is the best lawyer in the country! She can definitely square this one away, no damage to your career whatsoever. There's just one tiny issue…"

"What is it?"

"To get an abortion, you need the consent of both parents. Meaning that Manic has to sign the papers too."

* * *

It was midnight. The moon not so bright, clouds shielding most of it from view. The air was colder, winter was approaching. The fireflies had all near danced away for refuge from the cold, only a few lingering behind. They flew around Sonic, basking in the heat radiating from his body as he sat by the lake, dipping his index finger into the freezing water and making circular motions. His eyes were half-lidded, a frown on his face as he tried his best to shake off the negative thoughts of his day.

Things hadn't been going well. He was the official new school punching bag, no longer the king of everything anymore. He felt completely kicked to the bottom, drowning in misery as he watched that asshole Jet rise to his thrown. The thought drew a growl out of him as he slapped the water with his hand causing a splash.

He wanted them back, he needed their appraisal! Too used to having it his way, too used to being the center of everyone's attention. It was driving him crazy, thinking of spending the rest of high school as a nobody.

"You seem awful mad at the lake." A voice sounded. He didn't even have to turn around at this point, he knew exactly who it was, and her voice made his face flush red as he remembered their last encounter here. He did his best to sound cool, like nothing could possibly be bothering him. "I'm not in the mood for any surprise kisses."

The chipmunk blushed, adjusting her glasses as she walked out of the woodsy area and onto the grassy plains where he stood.

"You don't have to be like that with me." She told him, walking up behind him as he turned around to face her.

"Like what? Ms. I Know Everything." He retorted bitterly.

"Act like someone you're not. There's no stage here Mr. Show Off." She shot back, gesturing to the scene around them before dropping her irritated expression into a sympathetic one. "I know everyone's been giving you a hard time, and I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Couldn't be better." The blue hedgehog replied sarcastically.

"C'mon, be honest."

"Honest?" He repeated, lifting a skeptical brow at her. "Why the hell should I do that when you won't?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about Thanksgiving!" He bellowed, throwing his arms in the air. "I'm sick of you trying to act like nothing happened! And for what? Cause you don't want Bruce Lee's pet monkey finding out?"

"It was a spur of the moment thing."

"There you go with that bullshit." The hedgehog retorted, his frustrations growing more and more agitating. "And you want honesty? I'll give it to you anyway. My friends are all fucked up, no time to even sit and chat, but when we do it's always a pep-talk about getting back with Amy. Like her health depends on it, but no one **EVER** asks what the fuck I'm feeling. Ask me. Go ahead, ask me!"

"Wh-What do you feel Sonic?" The auburn-haired girl stammered, slightly intimidated by his outburst. She took a few steps back, sure to stand clear of his rapid movements while he ranted.

" **CONFUSED AS FUCK**. I'm conflicted on what to do here. Sometimes I feel like my thoughts are too fast for my brain. I know the best thing for me to do to get everyone to like me again would be to get back with Amy. I do miss her, and feel really shitty about how we left things off, but as much as I want to go see her and work it out there's one huge thing in the way of that."

"Well?" Sally questioned after a long pause, "What is it?"

He turned toward her, taking note of how her big blue eyes were so focused on him, feeling like she could actually see into his soul. He stepped toward her as she awaited an answer. The wind blew fiercely as he stood before her with his heart on his sleeve.

"You…" He spoke in a near whisper, making her eyes widen in shock. "There's something here. Something that I just can't ignore. Just admit it, so I know I'm not crazy."

"Sonic…"

"Please." He begged, closing his eyes before resting his forehead on hers. She blushed, keeping her eyes open as she stared at his needy expression, his face in such close proximity to hers.

"There can't be." She answered, making his jade eyes flutter open to meet her sapphire ones, her glasses acting as a barrier between them. "Your kingdom wouldn't allow their king to favor a lowly wench."

"Then the kingdom can go fuck itself." He shrugged, not realizing what he was saying as he tilted his head to close the space between their lips. "And what lowly wench? All I see in front of me…is a queen." He added, crashing his lips onto hers.

"What happened to not being in the mood for surprise kisses?" She questioned once they pulled apart.

"Is it really even a surprise anymore?" He laughed, taking her hands in his.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do this." She apologized, staring at her feet with slight disappointment. "The Freedom Fighters wouldn't like it…"

"Yeah, my friends wouldn't exactly be thrilled either. Or anyone for that matter. They still got big hopes for me and Ames, and no one can really stand you." The hedgehog rambled, his disappointed frown lifting into a bit of a smirk as he used his hand to lift her chin.

"Jeez, thanks." The chipmunk replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"To be honest, I'm not looking to date…possibly ever again." Sonic sighed, "That doesn't mean we can't be friends though. I need someone like you, someone to keep me outta trouble."

"I don't think anyone would like that Sonic."

"Who cares? Besides, they don't need to know a thing."

* * *

 **It's my birthday! So I wanted to treat you guys to a lengthy chapter. We see a lot happening, and have learned a lot about a few of our favorite characters.**

 **Knuckles is struggling with his scattered emotions, looking anywhere he can for advice. The aftermath is taking it's toll on the usually carefree Rouge, karma going full circle. Silver is missing Blaze, and Gold has convinced him to take another chance on her, but is it really the right decision?**

 **Sonia is ready to come out to the world about her relationship with Shadow, but will temptation by a certain cat in a Lolita dress put a knife though it all?**

 **Manic is thrilled about the idea of having a child, pledging to finally get his life together, but Mina isn't fond of the idea herself.**

 **Scourge had confirmed Rosy's claims and they indeed had a child terminated, but is it as clear-cut as the pink hedgehog leads on?**

 **Jet has a secret of his own, being the drive for his anti-gay mindset. Just what could drive a person to be so intolerant? As his popularity rises, so does the number of following idiots aiding in his bullying antics against the recently outed Rotor.**

 **Sonic and Amy have seemingly drifted apart, their affections migrating to others, although the blue hedgehog still gets heat for breaking up with her. Will their new love interests work out for them? Or will they find themselves running back to each other?**

 **Tails is letting Fiona's change go to his head, threatening his relationship with the seedrian who helped put his heart back together again, and the rabbit girl also pursuing him. He might be a genius when it comes to classwork, but when it comes to love he's a narrow-minded fool.**

 **Revew Replies (Haven't done these in a while)**

 **superbook5012: Not every school is the same. There are still intolerant people in the world when it comes to homosexuals, and let's just say this story is set in a time where intolerance is still a major definitely hasn't given us a real reason to like him, and has some interesting secrets behind his wife's back. Don't worry, things don't stay secret for too long. Also, really appreciated the morality list...now I know which lives to fuck up even more or possibly make better *insert evil laugh***

 **Wavetty: Wave in this story is more based on her comic counterpart (before the reboot) She's also technically not a bad girl. The Babylon's are considered 'neutral' characters of the series, meaning they can go either way depending on whether or not they gain from it some how. She's still a bully, just not the the extent Jet and Storm are. She's only nice to Rotor because she can sympathize with his situation, that doesn't make her a good person, just an understanding one. Honestly, I just haven't given her an actual reason to be a bitch yet.**

 **Relationship Update**

 **Knuckles x Rouge: BROKEN UP**

 **Scourge x Fiona: OVER**

 **Mighty x Fiona: CRUSH (ONE-SIDED)**

 **Silver x Gold: JUST FRIENDS**

 **Ken x Sally: JUST FRIENDS/ ONE-SIDED CRUSH**

 **Shard x Mina: DATING**

 **Jet x Tekno: DATING**

 **Amy x Sonic: SEEMINGLY OVER**

 **Elias x Megan: PREGNANT (DATING)**

 **Mina x Manic: PREGNANT (ONE-SIDED SECRET RELATIONSHIP)**

 **Tails x Fiona: CRUSH (ONE-SIDED)**

 **Thrash x Julie-Su: ON HIATUS**

 **Honey x Shadow: ATTRACTION**

 **Shadow x Sonia: SECRET DATING**

 **Scourge x Amy: FLING/ ONE-SIDED ATTRACTION**

 **Scourge x Sally: TONED-DOWN BUT STILL CREEPY OBSESSION**

 **Rosy x Mephiles: ATTRACTION**

 **Knuckles x Julie-Su: PARENTS**

 **Nicole x Espio: DATING**

 **Antoine x Bunnie: DATING**

 **Cobar x Rotor: MUTUAL CRUSH**

 **Storm x Wave: ONE-SIDED ATTRACTION**

 **Sonic x Sally: MUTUAL ATTRACTION / JUST FRIENDS**

 **Cream x Ray: CRUSH (ONE-SIDED)**

 **Cream/Cosmo x Tails: CRUSH (ONE-SIDED)**

 **Rouge x Manic: KISSED (JUST FRIENDS)**

 **(Those are all the ones I can remember at the moment. Update it in the future lol)**

 **Drop a reiew and let me know what you think! Who you like! Who you hate! Or whatever you want.**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy**

 **Rotor is tormented on campus, his only drive being the support of his friends**

 **We get a glimpse into what Aleena's life has been like since the loss of Tails**

 **Knuckles confronts Mighty on also keeping Lara-Su a secret from him, only to be hit with some harsh truth**

 **Shard and Mina have a heart-to-heart, making her guilt all more painful**

 **Manic's pledge to better his life proves to be true when he strives to make amends with the rest of his friends, starts paying more attention to schooling, and quits his bad habits. He's intent on turning his life around for his future child.**

 **Blaze and Silver find common ground and attempt to pick up where they left off**

 **Amy gets dangerously closer and closer to Scourge, her attraction further intensifying. What will come of them?**

 **Shadow and Sonia are ready to come out with their relationship, but will they even get the chance to? Will he jeopardize things with the school party girl? Or will she finally be swept away by the school prince?**


	36. Chapter 36

**This chapter marks a new arc that will focus heavuily on several different types of bullying**

 **Warning: Bullying, Homophobia, brief mention of sexual harassment and abortion**

* * *

 **Chapter 36: Repressed & Depressed**

It had been about two weeks since the court ruling, and a week since her triplets had departed back to school grounds. Aleena had been in a devastating depression ever since the loss of her young adopted son, Tails. When she picked him up from sanctuary eleven years ago she had found the missing piece of her heart, and now it was left in ruins.

The lavender hedgehog laid on the couch of her living room, the TV playing nothing but static as she stared blankly at the pictures on the wall, pictures of her lost child. She didn't have the energy to do much else, feeling as though her world had come to its end.

If it weren't for Jules being home she would have probably starved to death, but she knew he would have to be taking his leave back to the military base soon, and she would be left all alone.

 **RING!**

She sprang up from the couch at the sound of the phone from the kitchen, forcing her to get up and walk over to answer it. Her hair was knotted, eyes puffy, and she wore nothing more than her pink robe. Every step drained her of incredible amounts of the little energy she had left. Finally she made it to the phone, answering completely monotone.

 _"Hedgehog residence. This is Aleena."_

 _"Aleena, hello."_ The voice on the other end greeted, making the lavender hedgehog gasp a bit. It was Rosemary, the woman who had stolen her son. His rightful mother.

 _"Rosemary…"_

 _"Sorry for such an early call. I just wanted to let Jules know that there are openings today if he wishes to drop by for another visit. Last week everyone on staff was just so busy—"_

 _"Visit?"_ Aleena repeated aloud, brows narrowing together in confusion.

 _"Yes. He stopped by last week to checkup on your children."_

 _"My children…"_ The hedgehog whispered, _"Tails, how is he?"_

 _"That's another thing I wanted to discuss."_ The fox on the other line replied, her voice becoming cold. _"You've been calling for a week to ask staff about my son. I've ordered them not to release any information to you. It's inappropriate Aleena."_

She just nodded, hanging up the phone without bothering to say goodbye. She slammed it back on the hook, tears escaping her as she heaved with anguish. Just then her husband entered, a paper bag stuffed with groceries in his hand as he walked in on her crying in the kitchen.

"Aleena?" He questioned, surprised she was off the couch for once. He set the groceries down on the counter top before walking over to her. As he reached out to grab her shoulder she quickly whipped her head at him, her jade eyes full of sorrow and envy.

"You didn't tell me you went to the school." She growled at him in an upset tone. He tensed a bit in nervousness, searching his brain for an adequate excuse.

"I wanted to see how the kids were doing in that school. I don't get to hear about their studies very often—"

"You could've just asked me Jules." His wife retorted, cutting off his sentence. "So what was the real reason? Bernadette, or Alicia?"

The older blue hedgehog tried his best to keep his façade up, opting to throw his arms around her waist and pull her into a hug. He tried to run a hand through her long hair, but the knots made it impossible. She smelt horrid, not having showered in a week, and had tired bags under her eyes from a lack of sleep.

"It's nothing like that." He assured her, sparing her already distraught feelings. "There's no need to jump the gun. Now come on, let's go take a shower."

"I'm sorry." She sniffled, clinging to his brown jacket. "It just feels like everything is being taken from me…"

* * *

"Hey, you and I need to talk." Knuckles spoke up, stomping after Mighty who was saying goodbye to Fiona after walking her to class.

The armadillo turned around to see the upset echidna coming to a stop before him. Knuckles had done quite a bit of thinking since Mighty dropped the bombshell of Lara-Su being his daughter, and realized the armadillo had lied to him same as his ex-girlfriend.

"What is it?" Mighty questioned, adjusting the collar of his bakery shop uniform. "I've gotta go check on Julie, then head over to Vanilla's bakery to open."

"You knew Lara-Su was my daughter from the beginning too!" Knuckles growled, taking hold of the collar his friend had been adjusting. "You both lied to me, you and Rouge."

"Is this the part where I try to defend myself like I didn't? Or beg you to forgive me?" The armadillo retorted, taking hold of the echidna's wrist to pull him off his shirt. "I did what I thought was right at the time. I've got no excuse."

"I get why Rouge wouldn't tell me, but why you?"

"Because Julie-Su asked me to. I made her a promise." The armadillo informed him, "She's my friend. I had to look out for her."

"But I'm your friend too. Hell, I've known you longer than her. Are you sure this is just about her being your _'friend'_? Is there something going on between you two?!"

"If you actually think that you're an idiot." Mighty shook his head, "She was thirteen and ashamed, not to mention her childhood friend and obvious crush didn't even recognize her while taking her virginity. You were so busy chasing girls in pretty pink skirts that you couldn't see the one in basketball shorts right beside you."

"I didn't…I…" The echidna was at a loss for words, not sure how to counteract such a true statement.

"But this is redemption time big guy." His friend assured him, resting a hand on his shoulder that forced their gazes to collide. "It's time for you stop acting like a fuckin' idiot and do something right for once. You've always been so careless with girls, and now you have a daughter. Karma's funny like that. Imagine some douchebag treating her the way you do girls. Julie-Su isn't just some skirt, she's been your best friend for years. This is the part in the story where you man up."

"I don't know what to do…"

"Talk to Julie, see where to goes." Mighty smiled, "All I know is, I gotta go. I'm late."

* * *

Blaze sat alone on the bleachers, struggling to get a grip on the information in her science textbook. She sighed, running her hand over her head in frustration as she flipped through the pages like a madwoman. The football field was empty, it being too cold for any outdoor sports today. The cat was bundled up in a purple windbreaker and sweatpants, her abnormal body heat keeping her insulated.

"Ugh! Science is so stupid. Why do we even have to learn crap like this!?" She whined, about ready to tear her ponytail right out of her head. "What the hell is a freaking neutron!?"

"A subatomic particle of about the same mass as a proton but without an electric charge, present in all atomic nuclei except those of ordinary hydrogen."

She perked up, lifting her head to see none other than Silver the Hedgehog standing before her, bundled up in a large white coat with a fur color. She blushed upon sight of him and hearing his voice for the first time in what felt like ages. He smiled down at her, his amber eyes contrasting with his all-white attire.

"Silver…"

"Hi…" He greeted with an awkward wave of the hand. She stood up from the bleachers to stand face-to-face with him, both of them blushing madly. The feline clasped her hands together, trying to keep her tail from swishing with excitement.

"Hello." She mumbled shyly.

"I couldn't help but notice you having a bit of trouble with simple physics."

"Ugh, you don't know the half of it." She chuckled in embarrassment, picking up the book she had been studying. "Dr. Robotnik is giving this huge test tomorrow and there's no hope in the universe of me passing."

"Maybe not without me." The white hedgehog smiled, extending his hand for her to take. "Silver the Hedgehog, best science tutor you'll ever find." He added with a playful wink, making her blush.

She took his hand in hers, her smile practically warming the cold temperature. They had both missed each other dearly, but the white hedgehog wasn't ready to dive in just yet. This time he was taking it slow, testing the waters to see if her heart was true.

* * *

 _'It's been horrible. That stupid picture, he sent it to everyone on campus. It's been a week of ridicule, and my phone blowing up with nothing but crude messages about it. I had to shut it off, some of those messages…are so vial. I can't even go into the boy's locker room without someone spitting at me or scolding me to leave._

 _I never realized how many homophobes went to this school until outed, even people I once perceived to be nice have shown their true colors. It doesn't help that Jet is in charge, and orchestrating a crusade against anyone who isn't straight._

 _Faggot, dick-lover, homo. They just won't leave me alone. I thought I could handle it, but I can't. I should have never let Wave talk me into coming out. I should have never told her I was gay._

 _I just wanted a chance…a chance with Cobar._

 _The only good thing to come out of this week is my talk with Antoine. It's the only drive keeping me going right now._

 _A couple days ago I was crying, Sonic and Tails were out somewhere when Antoine came in. I knew he saw the picture, everyone had. I couldn't face him. I hugged my knees to my chest, resting my head on them to sob. He was glaring me, I could feel it. Disgusted with me like half the school, like my father…or at least that's what I thought…_

 _He took a seat on my bed, throwing an arm across my shoulders. I lifted my head up, turning to him with eyes practically blinded by tears. He wasn't glaring with a disgusted expression, he was looking at me like…like a person. Like nothing had changed._

 _"Antoine." I mumbled. He rubbed my back, letting a sympathetic smile cross his face. "I-I-It's not..I…"_

 _"There iz no need in you to be explaining anything to me." He replied with his broken English._

 _"Aren't you…upset? Don't you hate me now? My dad…he—"_

 _"I don't not care of whom your heart desires. You are still and always will be my friend. With Tommy gone, you are all I have."_

 _"You too Antoine, you and the Freedom Fighters."_

 _"Of course." He smiled, pulling me into a comforting hug. "We are behind you a hundred perzent."_

 _"I'm so sorry I never told you. I was so afraid…so afraid that you might not accept me…or that I might lose you as a friend."_

 _"You have no need to be worrying about lozing me. We are the friends forever, and nozing can take that from us." He assured me, voice so full of support and sympathy. "Now hold your head up with pride, have the courage to be who you are, and be proud my friend."_

 _It was that little speech. That terribly translated speech that has given me the courage, the drive to keep my head up. But as the cruelty rages on…It gets so much harder to stand tall.'_

" **HOMO!** "

" **FAGGOT!** "

Rotor walked through the locker room, shoes being thrown at him by the homophobic males. Standing among them was a rather satisfied Jet. He reveled in the walrus' anguish, content with the torment he was witnessing.

The walrus moved quickly, trying his best to show no reaction although the cruelty was tearing him up inside. He just kept reminding himself of Antoine, and all the friends he had standing behind him after his outing. He gathered his things quickly, dodging a few cleats being thrown his way. From the corner of his eye he spotted Cobar.

He had been ignoring the echidna, Wave, and the entire LGBT committee since his outing. He didn't want to draw any more attention to himself than necessary, and a part of him was a bit upset with them. Wrongfully maybe so, but he couldn't help it.

Cobar frowned, watching Rotor walk out the door, Jet tossing a bar of soap at the back of his head as he walked past the shower area.

* * *

Cosmo and Cream sat on the steps of one of the main building's stairwells. The rabbit had caught the seedrian weeping on the bottom of the steps, hands clasped over her face as she tried to hide her tears. She had called Cream and told her about how cruel Tails had been at the library last week, and how he's been ignoring her.

Cream took it upon herself to try and cheer up her love rival. She had the same concerns about Tails' once again growing interest in the red vixen who had tried to assault them at the Halloween party.

"He hates me…" The green-haired girl sobbed, resting her head on Cream's shoulder.

"No he doesn't Cosmo. You're his closest friend."

The two picked up on a familiar voice, both turning their gazes down the long hallway to see Tails walking with Fiona into a classroom, both of them all smiles and giggles. It left a bitter taste in both their mouths.

"I don't trust her Cream." Cosmo sniffled, clutching the rabbit's hand tightly. "I fear that she might do something no hurt him again…"

"Same here." Cream replied bitterly, eyeing the foxes until they disappeared from view.

"Funny Bunny?" A voice called out from the top of the stairs. Both girls turned their heads back, watching a familiar green hedgehog descend down the steps toward them with a concerned expression. "You two okay?"

Cosmo quickly turned away, making the green hedgehog frown. Cream just narrowed her eyes at him, not too welcoming of his presence. Neither of them had forgotten how harsh he was at the dorm party, or forgave him.

"What do you want Manic?" The rabbit asked coldly, Cosmo's eyes fixed on her shoes.

"I saw her crying." He replied, taking a seat on the step above the one they were seated on. He shifted his gaze from one scowling little rabbit to a shameful looking seedrian. "I've been meaning to apologize to you more than anyone Cream, you didn't deserve the things I said, and neither did you…uh…"

"Her name is Cosmo." Cream huffed, pulling the distraught girl closer over to her as she shot Manic a distasteful look.

"Right." The hedgehog nodded, "I'm sorry Cosmo."

"No, no. It was wrong of me to try to encircle myself with Tails' friends." The green girl shook her head, sniffling every once in a while. "I just wanted him to like me, and now he hates me."

"Cosmo." The rabbit sighed.

"Hates you? Are you kidding me! Tails adores you." Manic laughed, making her pick up her head to face him with hopeful eyes.

"Really?"

"Heck yeah!" He nodded frantically, shifting his gaze to Cream with a smile. "He likes both of you a whole lot."

"Not the way he likes Fiona…" Cream mumbled, staring down at her shoes.

"Please, Fiona's just a phase." The green hedgehog rolled his eyes, waving in dismissal. "He's young, but one day he'll realize looks aren't everything."

"I doubt that…boys can be so stupid." The rabbit remarked.

"Hey, it's Tails! The kid who skipped an entire year of schooling because of his smarts. Cut him some slack. It's not easy being a boy with raging hormones in high school. Feelings get complicated."

"Since when did you start giving out lectures like an overbearing parent?"

"Since I decided to grow up I guess."

"Who woulda ever thought anyone would see the day!" Cream laughed, making Manic blush with embarrassment as Cosmo giggled along.

"Hey!" He pouted, crossing his arms playfully. "This isn't about me!"

"Sorry." His little rabbit friend snickered.

"If anything this lecture should be a scolding! How dare you two put Tails in such a difficult positon?"

"What do you mean?" Cosmo questioned, nervous that she might have done something wrong.

"Having to choose between the two of you perfect little cuties!"

"Manic stop joking like that!" Cream howled with laughter, slapping his leg playfully. They all shared a fun laugh for a while before they all stood up to bid each other farewells before next class.

Manic took a hand to Cosmo's cheek, wiping away a few stray tears with his thumb. She blushed at the contact, grateful for his kind words.

"Don't be so hard on yourself. It's just high school." He told her, giving her a smile accompanied by a wink. "You're pretty cute, maybe if you were a little older I would have scooped you up for myself." He chuckled before walking past them.

Cream giggled, watching as Cosmo cupped her flustered face. Both girls turned over toward him, shouting after him in unison.

" **MANIC!** " They screeched, making him throw his head back in their direction. They both took hold of one another's hands, both blushing with a big smile to their faces. "We forgive you."

He smiled back, nodding before disappearing around the corner.

* * *

 _'Although having a handful of gay students, the majority of Green Hill Academy isn't exactly known for being very fond of homosexuality. There are a few intolerant assholes running around, my good friend Jet being one of said pricks._

 _When I first came out it was a fucking nightmare. Everyone looked at me like I was a moron, as if I didn't know what I was saying. Guys would try to shove their hands in my pants, telling me some bullshit like 'I'll make you straight again', and girls would freak out every time I walked into the locker room._

 _Jet started to argue with me on the matter, obviously upset that he knew his crush would go nowhere after that. Shit, it wouldn't have gone anywhere even if I was straight. The only person who stuck by my side at the time and supported me the whole way through was Storm._

 _I'm not usually one to play nice girl, but when I found out Rotor was gay and struggling to tell people like I was…I knew I had to help him._

 _Coming out is a nightmare, but being closeted is worse. Watching your crushes move on because you were too afraid to tell them how you felt, the constant fear of wondering what people would think, and those sleepless nights of trying to suppress who you are._

 _I was going to be his wing like Storm was for me. Even if everyone in his life turned on him I planned to be there._

 _But Jet and his little fag-hating crusaders are taking things a little too far, and it's really starting to work my fucking nerves._

 _Rotor won't talk to me, or Cobar for that matter. He's mostly kept to himself, probably trying to wait out this madness. I just hope he can keep it together by himself.'_

Wave looked on in sorrow as she watched her walrus friend get spitballs shot at him. He simply walked on, a blank expression on his face as he marched right along, no longer fazed by the harsh words or objects being chucked at him.

"Wave, you okay?" She looked up to see Storm taking a seat next to her at the lunch table. He followed her gaze, resting intently on their hawk friend. She gritted her teeth, watching Jet bask in the company of his new girlfriend and several other new friends.

"I would be if Jet wasn't such a prick." She grumbled, "I don't get what his deal is. It's fucked up."

"Trust me, he's got his reasons."

* * *

Outside, on the center of campus grounds stood Sally. She sat on the ledge of the large fountain, humming a tune as she read through a book. Completely oblivious to her surroundings. She was waiting for Ken so they could go grab lunch as they usually did when her other friends were busy.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 ** _Sonic:_** _Hey, wondering if you'd want to skip out on lunch and go for a run?_

 ** _Sally:_** _A run? Do you have any other hobbies at all? Lol_

 ** _Sonic:_** _Fine, if you don't want to run we could go grab a chilidog._

 ** _Sally:_** _I'm a vegan, and I wouldn't want to risk getting my head chopped off for having lunch with 'everyone's crush'._

 ** _Sonic:_** _More like 'everyone's punching bag' now. Some girls just threw tampons at me._

 ** _Sally:_** _Join the club Carrie._

 ** _Sonic:_** _You got jokes. I dig that. But seriously, when can we hang out again?_

 ** _Sally:_** _We've hung out every night at the lake for the past week. My nose is still recovering from the frostbite. Besides, I'm having lunch with Ken today._

 ** _Sonic:_** _Ugh._

 ** _Sally:_** _What?_

 ** _Sonic:_** _Nothing. Just don't like him._

 ** _Sally:_** _He's a good friend of mine, and we have lunch together all the time._

 ** _Sonic:_** _So no hanging out for lunch?_

 ** _Sally:_** _Sorry. Raincheck._

 ** _Sonic:_** _Ugh, fine. Just don't make this a habit…blowing me off for him._

 ** _Sally:_** _Somebody's J-E-A-L-O-U-S_

 ** _Sonic:_** _Don't you wish._

The chipmunk giggled to herself, completely engrossed in her text conversation with her desk-buddy from English class. The two had grown quite fond of each other in this last week, but of course kept their budding friendship under wraps in fear of how everyone would react, especially Amy and the Freedom Fighter group.

"Hello Love." A voice called out, making her jump up and nearly drop her phone in the fountain. She turned to see an old friend from Moebius standing before her. Geoffrey St John. The skunk extended his arm out to her, pulling her up to her feet to meet her with an embrace. She smiled as her inhaled her lavender scent before pulling away so he could admire her face.

"Did I ever tell you how beautiful you've become over the years?" He questioned, smiling at her.

"About every time you've seen me since you got here." She giggled, adjusting her glasses a bit.

Their conversation was very short-lived, as the bell signifying next class would be starting sounded. She turned around to retrieve the bag and book she had placed on the ledge. As she kneeled over he tried to make out the curvature of her body through the baggy pants He played off his ogling once she turned around to say goodbye.

"I was just waiting for a friend, but he didn't show. Guess I'll just be heading off to class."

"Little Sally has a boyfriend?" He mused curiously.

"Oh no, nothing like that." She assured him. "Just lunch with a friend."

"Ah, I see." The skunk nodded, putting on his most charming smile. "Well, I'll see you around I suppose. Please tell your sister I said hello."

"I'll be sure to do so when she calls me back. She's still in Moebius, reception is pretty terrible out there."

"Oh believe me I remember." He laughed, giving her a goodbye hug just as long and awkward as his greeting one.

The two were oblivious to the set of blue eyes staring daggers at them from the parking lot. It was Scourge again, squeezing the steering wheel of his car as he gritted his teeth in anger watching the skunk pull the auburn-haired girl into an intense embrace.

It made his stomach twist, sending a violent pang of envy to his heart as memories of their youth in Moebius hit him like a freight train.

He knew it shouldn't bother him, not after their last conversation, but the sight of her with anyone else drove him crazy. He saw the way the skunk looked at her, with such hungry lust. It made him want to hop out of the car and flip out, but instead he did all he could think of.

He picked up his phone and shot his pink mistress a text, telling her to meet up with him as soon as possible.

* * *

 _'Last week I woke up in the nurse's office. She was going on and on about filing a report although I insisted that I didn't want too. Such an overbearing, arrogant, and stuck up woman. The constant clicking of her heels on the tiled white floor was almost as annoying as her obnoxious voice which wouldn't silence for more than a moment._

 _She didn't peak my curiosity in the slightest, being as easy to read as a picture book. A hard working nurse would know better than to wear heels, and wouldn't bother to cake her face with makeup just to see a bunch of sick kids. She wore no wedding ring, and had no pictures of family on her desk._

 _"Why did you become a school nurse Ms. Bernadette?" I questioned curiously._

 _"I want to help children of course. I've always loved kids."_

 _"Do you have any of your own?"_

 _"No." She was obviously lying, the way her brows furrowed in nervousness gave it away._

 _"I thought nurses had a policy of honesty or something of the sort."_

 _"I'm—"_

 _"You're pretty young, I'd say around thirty-five or so. You must have had your child sometime in high school with a boy you thought would love you forever and ever. You're not married, so clearly that wasn't the case. You look more inclined to be a stripper or some kind of airhead in the fashion industry, but you chose to put that very limited amount of brain power to use and became a nurse to care for children. Trying to compensate? Ease some sort of guilt?"_

 _"I…It's…How did…What are you?" She stammered, taking a few steps back._

 _"Just someone who knows a lot."_

 _"Excuse me?" A voice called out from beyond the baby blue curtain shielding my rest area. We both turned our heads to see Rose walking in. "I came to visit my friend."_

 _"O-Of course." The purple woman stammered, thankful to be relieved of standing by me. She quickly vanished beyond the curtain, and after hearing the door to the office slam I knew we were completely alone._

 _Rosy took a seat by my bed, her gaze fixed on the floor. She had her arm-warmers and bicycle chains back on, leading me to believe that she hadn't come to the nurse for help after I found her earlier. I wasn't too surprised. Years of self-harm had probably made her a pro at first aid._

 _"Were you the one who found me?"_

 _"Scourge told me he hit you, and that I should go to the parking lot and to make sure you weren't dead."_

 _What really caught me off guard was how much more open she seemed compared to before. She was usually so stand-offish, but it seemed that I had torn those walls down. I've always been interested in learning about her, maybe even keeping her as something to amuse me._

 _"He got you pregnant four years ago." I spoke up, making her look over to me. She cringed at my blackened eye. "Was it a boy or a girl?"_

 _"A girl." She mumbled. I was surprised she even answered. I expected her to go biolistic and try to strangle me. "I was going to name her Lily, like this pet flicky I had when I was younger."_

 _"You said you didn't want to…so why did you get the abortion?"_

 _"Because it was a mistake. Scourge was so angry, like it was my fault when we both fucked up. He would have been a shitty dad, and I…I was supposed to be with someone else."_

 _"Someone else?"_

 _"Yeah…but I was angry and stupid, so I slept with him…and because of that, the love of my life just walked away from me." She whimpered, clutching her black jeans tightly. "I didn't want to, but he put so much pressure on me to get rid of her…and I thought if I did the one I really wanted would come back to me."_

 _"So…you two weren't dating?"_

 _"Chaos no. We were both mad at someone, and wanted to get back at them. It was before he and Fiona started dating, and she has no idea about the baby."_

 _Her story didn't move me, but hat fact that I was fond of her and had seen the aftermath of the ordeal made me feel a bit empathetic. I took her hand in mine, squeezing it to make her eyes lock with my own._

 _"I would never ask such a terrible thing of you." I told her, "You're not crazy, just broken, but you can be repaired."_

 _"How?"_

 _"Belong to me Rosy..." '_

"Mephiles." Rosy called out as she wormed her way out from underneath the covers. They both laid naked on her bed, enjoying the peace and quiet after a long morning of intimacy.

It had been like this for a week, the two coming back to her dorm to lie together, and play along with his manipulative mind games. He knew he'd get her eventually.

In the end, whether anyone liked it or not…no matter how little or how much time it took…Mephiles always got what he wanted. Rosy was just one of the many conquests he had on his agenda.

* * *

"Yo Silver!" Manic called out, intent on getting a few notes from the white hedgehog since he hadn't been taking his own during English. He didn't feel the need too anymore, not when he had genius like Silver sitting next to him to copy off of.

The white hedgehog turned around, greeting him with a smile and a wave of his free hand. Manic quickly noticed his other hand, clasped around one belonging to a purple feline. One of the people on his apology list.

Silver's halt in walking caught Blaze's attention, just as his gaze did. She turned around to see Manic walking up to them.

"Wow, it's good to see you two hangin' around again." The green hedgehog smirked before looking over to the distant Blaze. "Hey you, I've been meaning to apologize for a while now. What I said that night—"

"No need." The cat waved in dismissal, a kind and thankful smile on her face. "As cruel is it was, it made me realize a lot of my faults and mistakes. I took it as a learning opportunity, a chance to understand what I want, and mend relationships my idiotic actions nearly destroyed. I'm thankful." She added, squeezing Silver's hand lightly.

"Wow." The green hedgehog chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "Didn't expect all that. Hopefully Knuckles and Amy will feel the same if I ever get around to apologizing to them. Anyways, it was good catching you guys. I just needed some notes from Ms. Breezie's class."

"Really?" Silver whined, fishing out papers from the bag he brought off his shoulder. "I see you writing in that class all the time!"

"Yeah, not notes though." He laughed as Silver handed over his binder.

"Then what are you doing in that class?"

"Just writing a song." Manic smiled to himself, thinking of the lavender-haired mongoose. "I feel really inspired to get back into music. Never thought I'd be saying that."

"Good for you Manic." Blaze nodded.

"Well, I've gotta get going. Don't want to be late for science. Catch you guys later!" The green hedgehog said before rushing past them and down the hall. They looked back at him, both blinking to make sure it wasn't an illusion.

"Manic worried about getting to class on time? And getting back into music? Wonder what's up with him." The feline mused, curious at her friend's sudden shift in personality.

"Just be glad something's got him feeling all productive." Silver shrugged.

Manic dashed down the hall, rounding a few corners until coming to a stop at his locker. He whistled a happy tune to himself as he put his books away and took out new ones for next class.

"Mind sharing a bit of that sunshine my way? I sure as hell need it." Someone huffed. When he turned to look over his shoulder he saw a not-so-lively Rouge, crossing her arms and smiling his way. "Don't you look happy? I take it things with Mina are going well?"

"You don't know the half of it." He smiled, mind floating back to the mongoose once again.

"Don't get too excited. Everyone has a way of letting you down eventually…"

"C'mon Rouge, you're starting to sound as pessimistic as Shadow now."

"Rouge?"

"What? That's your name isn't it?"

"Yeah but, you usually call me some stupid petname like _'Baby Girl'_ or _'Babe',_ something along those lines."

"I figured my girlfriend wouldn't like it." He shrugged, gathering a few more papers out of his locker.

"I'm a little worried about you Manic. The Songoose isn't as sweet as she lets on—"

"Jeez Rouge, I get this enough from Shadow. I get that you're upset about your breakup, but that doesn't mean you have to worry about my relationship."

"I don't trust her."

"You say that about **EVERY** girl me and Shadow like."

"And I'm right every single time too."

"I'm a big boy." He told her, shutting his locker.

"Well, don't say we didn't warn you." The bat shrugged, "Anyways, smoke sesh under the bleachers? Shadow said he'd meet us there."

"I'll pass." Manic replied, adjusting all of the books and papers he'd been carrying. "I've got to get a leg up on some late classwork, and there's a job seminar in the gym later. Tell Shads not to wait up. I've got a long day ahead of me."

"Wow, who are you and what have you done with my stoner, carefree, lazy hedgehog?" Rouge laughed.

"Haha, very funny." He chuckled, "I just finally see a future for myself...a good one."

 _'With Mina and my baby…I have something to strive for, something to be better for. I've never seen a future for myself before, but they've given me one.'_ The hedgehog thought to himself as he walked off with a smile.

* * *

Shadow and Sonia walked hand in hand across the grassy lawn of the school, just before the parking lot. No one was out, the weather getting a little too cold for anyone to be lazying about outside anymore. The two hedgehogs had been discussing how to go about coming out to the world about their secret relationship for the last week, not quite deciding on what to do.

The magenta girl had made a seemingly full recovery, no longer feeling the urge to even starve herself anymore. She was in a better place, all thanks to the handsome friend of the family. She felt both confident and comfortable enough to get serious about the relationship, feeling as though their journey was just beginning.

"Should we just say _'fuck it'_ and tell the first person we see?" She asked the ebony hedgehog, looking up at him with a smile.

"I guess so. I just hope it won't be either of your brothers." He mumbled, dreading the idea of telling either of the two.

As of recently, his interest in the magenta hedgehog had been diminishing quite a bit, conveniently after his last encounter with Honey the Cat last week. It was within that last encounter where he started to realize how much his relationship with Sonia had been lacking. Her self-consciousness about her body prevented a lot of intimacy, and her recovering mental health had him feeling less and less needed.

"Look! There's someone in the parking lot." She yelped, pointing toward someone in the distance waving goodbye to a car that had pulled out of a space and drove away. "Here's a chance." Sonia squealed, pulling Shadow over to the student in the parking lot.

After a short sprint, the person in the parking lot became more visible, making all of Sonia's enthusiasm come to a screeching halt to be replaced with bewilderment. She recognized him. That long auburn hair blowing with the wind, and those beautiful sapphire eyes that fell onto her once he had turned around.

"Elias…" She breathed in a whisper, quickly snatching her hand out of Shadow's.

"Sonia…" The squirrel uttered in exchange, a thousand sorrowful emotions pooling in his chest, making his heart ache with every beat.

The car he had just waved goodbye to belonged to Joss, who had come to pick up Megan after receiving a call from Principal Acorn last week to come get her. The squirrel was nearing her third trimester, and couldn't legally be allowed on school grounds in such a crucial state.

The prince was left behind to continue his education on campus, no longer forced to cling to her side every waking hour.

After Megan had threatened him to stay away from Sonia, he had done an incredible job of avoiding her, but it seemed those days of avoiding the inevitable were over. At least Megan was not around to see their reunion, otherwise he would've kissed fatherhood goodbye.

There was an awkward tension in the air. Both Sonia and Elias just stared at each other not quite sure what to do next. Shadow eyed both of them curiously, feeling all of the angst in this reunion.

"Where have you been?!" The magenta girl finally spoke, tears brimming her jade eyes. "I haven't heard from you in over a month!"

"I've been…struggling with some things." He sighed, looking down at his feet. "It's really complicated Sonia, but I'm sorry."

"Eli." She wept, leaving Shadow's side to throw her arms around the prince.

His eyes went wide, surprised by the sudden action. He kept his arms at his side, not sure what to do. Then he caught that familiar scent, the peach fragrance of her pink hair. All those suppressed feelings, that painful ache in his heart, all of it was put at ease once he finally wrapped his arms around her again.

While standing behind them, the ebony hedgehog studied the squirrel's face as he rested in his blissful hug. He recognized that look. That seemingly hopeless yearning, that emotional anguish, and that stormy cloud of denial. He was in love with her, just as the hedgehog was once in love with his own best friend, and Sonia seemed just about as clueless as Maria was.

Elias opened his eyes, catching Shadow's intense stare and quickly pulling away. Sonia smiled, relieved to have finally run into her childhood friend.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your walk…" The prince mumbled, a hint of envy in his tone as he caught Shadow's gaze again.

"That's okay. I was just helping him find my brother." Sonia lied, making her secret boyfriend raise an eyebrow.

"I see." Elias nodded, accepting her lie as fact. "Well, I've got to go find my sisters. See you guys later." He added, but just before he could walk away the magenta girl grabbed his hand.

"I will see you again…right?" She questioned nervously. He nodded before she released his hand and allowed him to walk off, mouth dropping into a slight frown as he did so.

* * *

Fiona and Tails walked down the hall together, both smiling and carrying a stack of textbooks as they did so. The kitsune never dreamed this would ever happen, that he'd be talking to her so innocently again. He never wanted it to end. She had stolen his heart all over again with little to no effort, completely outclassing both his childhood friend Cream, and best friend Cosmo.

There was just something about Fiona Fox that always had his interest. It wasn't just her model-status looks, or her intense personality. The vixen just had so much potential to be grand. Potential he always saw, even when she had on her rough exterior.

No one saw her the way he did. He only wish others could see that this good-girl image wasn't a façade. This is the real her, the bad-girl from earlier on in the year was the real façade. If only everyone else could just realize that.

"Everything alright Tails?" The vixen questioned, peering over at the boy walking beside her.

"Oh yeah. It's just…Well, I'm happy you're different now, and that we could spend time together like this."

"Me too." She smiled, "I was just so sick of living a lie, of letting that bastard hurt me, and ruining my own life. There was always good in me. I just never saw it, but you always did."

"I just wish everyone else could too. You don't deserve all the hate you get." Tails pouted, shifting his gaze to his feet. "Cosmo thinks this is all just an act, and doesn't trust you. It's so annoying. She just doesn't get you—"

"Well, I've never really given her a reason to like me." Fiona cut him off, ceasing their walking to stand in front of him. She gave him a stern yet sympathetic look, kneeling a bit at eye-level with him. "Don't be so hard on her, she's just looking out for you."

"Yeah…" He mumbled, getting lost in those gorgeous two-toned eyes he missed so much. Pools of gray and blue.

"I'll see ya' later. I've got to go find Mighty and Ray. Bye!" She said, walking off as she waved goodbye.

* * *

Shard and Mina sat outside on the top of the empty bleachers. It was freezing out, giving her the perfect excuse to bundle up on extra clothing to hide her belly. She sat comfortably in his lap, arms draped around his neck as he leaned back into the bleachers.

She wore a thick purple jacket, and black sweatpants. Her long hair blew with which ever direction the wind picked up, and the tip of her nose red from the cold. Her boyfriend however was dressed in nothing more than a thin gray hoodie and black jeans.

"Aren't you cold?" She questioned, shivering a bit although quite bundled up.

"Eh, this is the kind of weather I'm used to." He shrugged, not fazed at all by the cold air. "DigItaly is always either extremely cold or extremely hot. This is nothing."

"So did you just call me out here to impress me with that information?" She giggled.

"No you Hannah Montana rip-off." He replied sarcastically, making her narrow her eyes at him before he threw an arm over her shoulders and pulled her in. "I wanted to talk to you about something…"

"Something?" She gulped nervously, "Like what?"

"Nicole came to see me last week." He admitted, averting his eyes from hers. "She found out about the letter, and made me show it to her."

"That explains why she's been avoiding me all week." The mongoose sighed, turning his chin toward her with her hand. "So what happened?"

"She read it and cried. I even showed her the necklace. Can you believe she literally had no idea? As if it wasn't totally obvious." He explained in a strained tone, "I had to explain it all to her like a math lesson. She felt awful, I could see it in her eyes. I really wanted to kiss her…so badly—"

"Did you?!"

"No…" He answered in an assuring tone, cupping her face in his hands as he looked her dead in the eye. "Because I tried to show her the best of me, and that wasn't enough. It'll never be enough, because I'm not a good guy by nature. I'm a bad guy with good aspirations, and you know that…and you accept that. Which is why what we have means so much to me."

"Shard…"

"But I do still have feelings for her, and think about her constantly—"

"Did you really just say that to **ME** , your girlfriend?" The mongoose pouted, crossing her arms with a huff.

"Well, no one else is here so obviously." He rolled his eyes with a slight chuckle. "I feel like I can be honest with you like that, because you're honest with me…Unless you've got some deep dark secrets you're keeping from me?"

" **NO!** " She yelped a little too defensively. She blushed in embarrassment as he cupped her face and kissed her pretty pink lips.

"Relax, it was just a joke." The hedgehog smirked.

"Right…a joke." She mumbled as she nodded her head in understanding.

* * *

Amy creaked open the door to the green hedgehog's room, stepping into the darkness as she strained her eyes trying to make out Scourge's figure in the dark. She had never been to his room before. He usually told her to go to his car, or to the forest area lining the parking lot.

"Scourge? Are you in here?" She whispered, taking a few more steps in and closing the door behind her.

As soon as she did so, she felt a pair of arms snake around her waist and pull her in their direction. Her surprised yelp was muffled by a sudden kiss. She instantly relaxed when she felt that cool steel bar, instantly knowing whose tongue had just been rammed into her mouth. Through the darkness they maneuvered their way over to his bed, and he quickly threw her down on it.

She prepared herself to feel the weight of his body fall on top of hers, but instead the green hedgehog took off her shoes and tossed them to the floor before laying down beside her. He switched on the dim lamp that only barely illuminated his dark room.

The pink girl was confused. What else would a guy invite a girl to his room for at night? She thought maybe he wanted her to initiate things for once, but her attempts at kissing his neck were quickly rejected when he pushed her head away rudely.

"Not in the mood." He told her in a flat tone.

"Then why'd you need to see me so bad?" Amy questioned, a bit upset by the rejection.

"Because you're the only person I can talk to these days." He sighed, turning his face toward the ceiling. "Now that Fiona's A-Wall and Mephiles is starting to annoy the shit out of me."

The pink girl was surprised, but loved the idea of getting to talk with him like this. The entire time they talked about seemingly nothing she felt her heart flutter at the sound of his voice, and didn't dare turn her gaze away from his pure blue eyes for a moment.

"This tattoo." She pointed out, holding up his hand to the light to see the ' _K_ ' on his wrist a little better. "When did you get it?"

"Fourteen I think, maybe fifteen." He shrugged, "Can't really remember."

"Well the shop butchered the hell out of it." Amy cringed, taking note of how the ink had faded and the lines were a bit shaky.

"Didn't get it at a shop. It's home-done."

"What does it stand for?"

"King, what else?" He laughed, leaning on his side to face her again.

"You sure like being called a king." The pink girl smirked, "Talk about arrogant."

"Well, I am a king." He shrugged, their eyes locking before he turned back to the ceiling. He put both arms behind his head as she snuggled up to his side. He let out a frustrated sigh, a sorrowful expression crossing his face. "But there's really nothing in being a king without a queen…"

 _'A queen…'_ Amy thought to herself, her cheeks glowing red as she stared intently at him.

* * *

 _"Why did you lie to him about us?"_ Shadow questioned his girlfriend over the phone as he rummaged around the dorm room he shared with Manic for a cigarette.

 _"I haven't seen him in so long."_ Sonia sighed, gathering her toiletries to go take a shower. _"I didn't want that to be the first thing I told him."_

 _"I suppose I understand."_ The ebony hedgehog mumbled, fiddling with a lighter.

 _"Just please don't freak out and get all jealous like Knuckles did."_ She sighed in annoyance. He could imagine her rolling her eyes. "He and I are just good friends."

"Well, I won't get jealous unless you give me a reason to be." Her boyfriend smirked, finally getting his cigarette lit and at peace. _"Anyway, you should come over…"_

 _"And risk getting caught by my brother? I don't think so." She giggled._

 _"He'll be out for a while, his job seminar thing is running late tonight."_

 _"Job seminar? Are we even talking about that same lazy idiot anymore?"_

 _"I'm not even sure myself. All week he's been hitting the books, going to meetings, and getting tutoring lessons."_

 _"Wonder what got through to him."_ Sonia shrugged, _"Let's just hope it lasts."_

 _"So…come over."_

 _Shadow I—Oh, hold on! I'll call you back. Eli's on the other line!"_ She then ended the call, forcing Shadow to pull his phone away from his ear with a sigh.

This relationship seemed to be strained, but only at his end. He was glad about her recovering, but found that there was no longer a foundation for them to stand on. Although physically better, she was still so self-conscious. Always dodging every attempt at being more intimate. It was frustrating.

He turned off his cigarette, flicking it into the nearby ash tray as he scrolled through his contacts. He knew he shouldn't, but he just couldn't help himself.

 _"I knew you'd come around eventually."_ The tempting voice on the other line mused, _"They always do."_

 _"Come over."_ He commanded, caving in to his selfish needs.

 _"Roger that."_

* * *

 **Welp, after all that build up and romanticism, Shadow proved to be no better than Knuckles after all. What effect will this have on Sonia? Will she cave into her insecurities again? Or forgive him? Will she ever even find out?**

 **Rotor is feeling the full-force of bullying, all thanks to Jet and his new narrow-minded followers. Will the new king of everything rein forever? Or will a new challenger arise and finally knock him off his high horse?**

 **The best thing about writing a character like Shard is the ability to be a complete asshole and a sweetheart at the same time. His nature absolutely contradicts his personality and makes for a fun character. He's never really felt 'good enough' but believes he's found acceptance in the form of a Mina. He feels like they can be honest with one another...but honesty might be what ruins them.**

 **Rosy was going to name her baby girl Lily, after a flicky she had as a child. In reference to Sonic Adventure.**

 **Tails and Amy are both falling fast and hard for notorious heart breakers...will this prove to be fatal in the end? Or do they have the potential to tame wild hearts?**

 **Manic's getting it together, making amends, and working hard. He's always been described as lazy, carefree, and reckless...but for the first time in his life something has given him drive, a reason to better himself. Will Mina be the best thing to ever happen to him? Or the worst?**

 **Let me know your thoughts. Who do you love? Who can't you fucking stand? Who can you most relate to at the moment? I really love how open and respectful people are being about opinions in reviews. You guys make me so happy! Wish I could say the same about angry PMs. Lol, oh well. You win some you lose some.**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy**

 **Amy sees a softer side of Scourge, one he doesn't show quite often**

 **Fiona takes on the role of Cupid, juggling several hearts**

 **Silver is giving Blaze another shot, but will her friends ruin it for her?**

 **Knuckles has a heart-to-heart with Julie-Su, not going at all how he would have liked**

 **Mina puts a plan in motion, one that might land Manic in hot water**

 **Shade the Echidna finally makes her first appearance**

 **A new challenger arises, threatening to kick Jet right back to the bottom of the food chain, but he won't go down without a fight. Just who is this opposing force?**


	37. Chapter 37

**WARNING: Topic of abortion, bullying, and mention of bulimia **

**Song: Sonic Heroes-Follow Me (Team Rose)**

* * *

 **Chapter 37: A Shot At Happiness**

"I've noticed Nicole giving you the cold shoulder." Honey spoke up, studying her face intently in the girl's bathroom mirror as she applied some blush to her cheeks. "You start another war on DigItaly?"

"I don't think that way anymore." The mongoose corrected her sharply, turning to give her a cold glare before turning her attention back to the mirror. "She found out about me hiding that box Shard sent her."

"Can you blame her? You totally made her miss out on a hottie." The cat laughed.

"Well, that hottie is mine."

"Until you tell him about the bun in the oven."

"I'm not going to." The mongoose sighed, looking down in disgust at her concealed stomach. "I'm gonna tell my Mom today…and I am getting the abortion."

"It's not as easy as it sounds Mina." Honey mumbled, thinking back to when she was in a similar bind. "You have to be sure…you won't regret it—"

"I won't. I don't want this."

"So I take it Manic is willing to sign the papers?"

"Not exactly." Mina replied in a frustrated tone, tightening the grip she had on the counter top. "But he will."

The two girls were by the sink, both of them had come to apply makeup and gossip as they so often did early morning before classes. Occasionally other girls walked in and out of the bathroom behind them, offering a greeting every once in a while.

"Enough talking about this." The mongoose shook her head, gathering her makeup brushes back in her bag. "Let's talk about you, and how you didn't come back to the dorm until three in the freakin' morning. So where were you young lady?"

"Oh you know, paying a special visit to a special friend."

"Which one of those losers was it this time? The autistic polar bear or the bird who can't last more than thirty seconds?"

"None. I've got my golden star back." The cat purred, eyelids dropping halfway as a dreamy smile crossed her face.

"Oh my Chaos, are you talking about Shadow?" Mina gasped, resting a hand to her chest in emphasis of her surprise.

" **YES!** " Honey squealed, unable to control her excitement. "He called me last night and asked me to come over. It…was… **AMAZING!** Chaos I missed that down-for-anything attitude, those strong arms, and that huge—"

"Okay, okay!" Mina cut her off, waving her hands in the air. "I get it. Wow, who woulda thought you'd ever get to sleep with Shadow again huh? Especially after the way you left him hangin'."

"Excuse me? Did you say…Shadow?" A voice called out to them. Both girls turned their heads toward the doorway to see Sonia had just walked in.

The magenta hedgehog did her best to not freak out, still trying to keep up the charade of nothing going on between her and her brother's best friend. She bit down hard on her tongue in an attempt to stifle an angry outburst as she watched the cat in a short poke-a-dot red dress twirl one of her raven pigtails shyly, and twist her cute red heel on the pink tiled floor.

"Yeah…" The yellow cat giggled.

"Doesn't he…Doesn't he have a girlfriend?" Sonia questioned with mock-ignorance.

"Doubt it." Honey shrugged, zipping up her makeup bag before tossing it in her purse. "He probably wouldn't have called me last night if he had one. C'mon Mina, we're gonna be late." She added before exiting the bathroom, the mongoose right behind her.

Sonia looked down at her feet, feeling that same wave of devastating betrayal and anguish wash over her. The feeling she got after discovering Knuckles and Rouge. When it came to relationships, the magenta girl couldn't seem to catch a break.

She had been cheated on for the second time. This time by someone who swore he'd do her no harm.

* * *

Silver and Elias both had a free period, and decided to wait it out in their dorm room instead of roaming around outside in the cold. It had been a while since the two had sat down and had a chat.

Elias sat with his legs crossed, a book in his lap as he stood on his bed flipping through pages. Silver was on his bed, lying on his stomach as he texted away with a blissful smile.

"Who could put a smile on your face like that through the phone?" The squirrel sang, smirking as he watched Silver blush in embarrassment from his peripheral vision. "Is she purple?"

"Well…I…I've decided to give Blaze and I a second shot." The white hedgehog mumbled, waiting for his friend's protest.

"Good for you Silver." The prince smiled, closing the book in his lap and tossing it to the dresser. "At least one of us will have a shot at a happy ending…"

"Eli…"

 **INCOMING CALL**

Both boys jumped at the sound of his cellphone. The prince quickly snagged it off the dresser, a picture of him and Megan at the Halloween party lighting up on screen. He sighed, picking up a bit reluctantly.

 _"Hey you."_ Elias greeted.

 _"Hi Sweeite."_ The squirrel on the other line cooed, _"I miss you so much."_

 _"I miss you too, but it's only been a day."_ He chuckled awkwardly.

 _"Yeah I know, but I'm just so used to being with you all the time."_ She whined, _"So, anything interesting happen in my time away?"_

He thought back to Sonia and their encounter in the parking lot as soon as Megan had taken off with her father. He quickly shook the memory away. _"No, not really. Hold on Meg. Someone's on the other line."_

The prince pulled his phone away from his ear to stare at the screen. It was a picture of him and Sonia. She had her arms draped around his neck, and his around her waist as they both smiled at the camera. A picture taken at prom two years ago, where he was crowned king and she was crowned queen.

 _"Who is it?"_

 _"Um, it's my mom. I'll call you later."_

 _"Okay I guess."_ His girlfriend pouted, _"I love you."_

 _"Bye."_ He ended the call hastily, just in time to pick up the call on the other line. _"Sonia…Hi."_

Silver just stared over at the auburn-haired boy with a sympathetic expression. He knew about Megan's seething distaste for Sonia, and the threat she had held over the prince's head. He only prayed that things would turn out okay, and that Elias' lies wouldn't bite him back in the end.

 _"Hi Elias…"_ Sonia murmured on the other line, _"I was wondering if we could have lunch together later."_

 _"Sure. Are you okay? You sound…sad."_

 _"I just…I just really miss you."_

 _"I miss you too Sonia."_

* * *

Fiona, Mighty, and Ray were in the gym. No classes were being held in here today since Coach Sleuth wanted to be totally heartless and make everyone run through the blistering cold outside. Thankfully snow hadn't fallen yet, chances are he would have made them run through it too.

The red vixen was dressed in a white T-shirt that she had tied up to expose her lean stomach and the silver bellybutton ring always concealed by her shirts. She had black yoga shorts with a white hem and matching all-white sneakers. Her hair was tied back into a high-bun, with her little yellow bow resting comfortably in its usual spot.

She shifted her weight to one leg, bending over to stretch out and touch her toes as she hopped about and prepared herself for a workout.

"Are you sure this will help me at all?" Mighty questioned, standing opposite of her as he did his own stretches. Ray sat on the bleachers by the little radio they had set up, staring at his feet as he let his mind wander.

"Of course it will!" The vixen assured him, bouncing back up to her feet and running over to him. She took his hand in one of hers, resting the other on his shoulder after maneuvering his free one to her waist. "No girl can resist a guy who can dance."

"This sounds like it'll take a while." The armadillo cringed, following her lead as they twirled around the gym, doing his best not to step on her toes at such a brisk pace.

"Relax, you only need to know a few simple steps." She giggled, "Ready? One, two, and twirl!"

He couldn't help but join in on her laughter. He was a fumbling idiot, and thought this was completely ridiculous, but was enjoying himself quite a bit. She seemed to be happy too, finally back at the side of the only person she ever wanted to truly be with. As they twirled across the gym to the slow music they smiled at each other, and away went that cold feeling in her heart.

Mighty was paradise.

"Can we talk a break?" He whined, face paling a bit. "All of this twirling has me kind of—Oh Chaos!" He yelped, clamping his mouth shut as his cheeks filled to the max with vomit. She laughed hysterically as she watched him stumble out of the gym in search of the nearest bathroom.

"Silly as ever." Fiona laughed.

From out the corner of her eye she spotted the distraught look on Ray's thinking face. She frowned a bit, walking over to shut off the radio before taking a seat beside him. "Ray? Everything okay?"

"I'm fi-fi-fine." He stuttered, a pain in his voice.

"C'mon, it's just me. I know something's bugging you." She persisted, "Is someone bothering you? Is it that asshole Jet?"

"N-N-No." The squirrel shook his head, "It's just…I li-like this girl, but she li-likes someone else."

"Awe Ray! You have a crush on someone? Who!?"

"Her name is C-C-Cream." He blushed, shifting his gaze to his shoes. "But she likes y-y-your friend Tails. I can't co-compete with someone li-like him. Ju-Just look at m-me."

"Hey!" Fiona scolded him in a stern tone, lifting up his chin with her hand gently to stare into his eyes. "Don't count yourself out like that. Not when you have me here to help."

* * *

 _'Julie-Su the Echidna, the girl all the guys wanted…on their football team, or their street hockey team. The MVP of sports, but totally invisible when it came to things like school dances and dating. No curves, no long beautiful hair, and no pretty pink skirts._

 _As far as anyone was concerned, I was just one of the boys. At first I was fine with it. It didn't bother me…until puberty._

 _The girls were starting to blossom, and the boys were starting to notice. While girls like Sonia and Rouge started filling out their pretty dresses I was on the sidelines, flat-chested in a T-shirt and basketball shorts._

 _Just because I didn't strive to be feminine doesn't mean I didn't want that kind of attention…_

 _Knuckles started paying less and less attention my way, too focused on waiting for Rouge's skirt to fly up whenever a gust of wind came though. It was around that time were I realized there was more to our close friendship, at least on my end._

 _I was so jealous, the way he'd stare at Sonia prancing around in the schoolyard. The way anything Rouge said—whether it nice or not—made him blush. I felt invisible to him._

 _I just wanted him to see me the way he saw them, like a beautiful girl rather than one of the boys. Mighty knew of my dilemma, hiding anything from him has always been useless. He was there to comfort me in times of sorrow, like when Knuckles took Sonia to the school dance. Mighty always assured me he'd smarten up and come around someday, but I got tired of waiting._

 _I wanted someday to be soon. I just wanted him to see me as one of the girls._

 _So I pushed all my pride aside and went to the only person I could think of for help. It was evening when I got to her house. The sun was setting behind me as I rang the doorbell. Some black hedgehog boy answered the door before retrieving the bat for me._

 _"Well, well." She mused in her annoying taunting tone. Just as irritating back then as it is now. "If it isn't the little boy in drag." I gritted my teeth as I clenched my fists tightly, trying my hardest to control my temper. She was the only one who could help me, and I knew it._

 _"I need a favor."_

 _"A favor? What makes you think I'd help a troll like you?" She huffed, narrowing her eyes at me._

 _"Because…you're the only one who can…" I mumbled, an edge to my voice. Although a complete bitch, the bat has never been one-hundred percent selfish. There was some humanity to her, just deeply buried under the bullshit._

 _"What do you want?"_

 _"I want to be a girl!"_

 _"Um…you are?" She retorted in a sarcastic tone, leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed._

 _"A girl like you I mean…A pretty girl." I confessed, letting tears escape me as I looked at my feet in embarrassment. "I don't want to be one of the boys anymore. I want them to look at me like a girl! I want to get asked to a dance, and get flowers on Valentine's Day."_

 _She felt for me, I could tell. I felt her sympathetic look casted over me as I looked at my dirty shoes. I heard her shifting around, then the creak of her door._

 _"C'mon then you big baby." She groaned, making me lift my head. "We've got_ _ **A LOT**_ _of work to do."_

 _She brought me up to her room and threw me in the seat of her vanity without a second to spare. She stood over me, scoping my face out as she decided what to do with the mess that was me. She turned back toward her giant closet, rummaging through tons and tons of clothes until she pulled out a body-hugging silk blue dress, and short white heels. I cringed, blushing at the thought of putting them on._

 _"You've got some curves, a dress like this would bring out the booty a bit, but you'll need to put this on…" She babbled, tossing me something from her sock drawer. "It'll help with all you're lacking up top."_

 _"What is this thing?" I questioned, turning it over my hands in confusion._

 _"Doesn't look like one of your sports bras huh?" She laughed, turning it the right way in my hands. "It's a push-up bra."_

 _My mom died of cancer when I was young. I never really got the chance to learn about girly stuff like this. Most of my knowledge came from movies or information flyers from the school nurse._

 _She taught me a lot that night. What made a dress look nicer, what makeup products were used for, and how to put in extensions. I owe a lot of the things I know today to her, but I'd never admit that._

 _Lastly, we topped off the dress with a teal mask she had been designing for Vector's party that night. She said the dress she decided upon didn't match it, but thought it would work well with what I wore._

 _After that, we headed off to Vector's party._

 _I don't know how it happened, but somehow I ended up in a broom closet with him. We were both drunk, both so close. The alcohol made me weak, caving in to my untapped desires. I kissed him first, truly realizing in that moment…I loved him. I had always loved him._

 _But my heart was shattered, as with every moment we got more intimate it became evident that he still wasn't seeing me. That I was still invisible to him._

 _"Rouge." He mumbled through kisses as he found his way inside me, "I fucking love you Rouge."_

 _In the same moment I realized I loved him, I knew he would never see me the same. No matter what I did or how hard I tried, he'd never get the memo._

 _He wanted her, not me._

 _That's why I left. I didn't want to put my heart through it anymore…or my daughter's.'_

"Julie-Su!" Knuckles shouted, chasing after the echidna girl before finally catching her. He grabbed her wrist, sure to keep her around to listen. "I'm sick of this damn cat-and-mouse game. We need to talk."

"There's nothing to talk about."

"Yes there is. There's so much to talk about." He replied, turning her around to face him. They were in an empty hallway, nothing but the ticking of the clock and the echoing of their voices to be heard. "Why didn't you just tell me who you were that night?"

"Because I knew I'd be invisible to you again if I did." She explained, watching the sorrow fall over his face. "I just wanted a chance. For one night I wanted to be one of those girls you wanted so much."

"Julie, I swear to Chaos I didn't know you liked me…" He assured her, his voice cracking as tears built up in the corners of his eyes. "I didn't mean to push you away like that."

"I didn't just like you dummy!" The echidna girl scolded, losing her temper as tears threatened her violet eyes as well. "I loved you…but you were too busy being a fuck boy."

"You didn't have to leave me like that…without so much as a fucking call! For four fucking years!"

"Yeah I did, because I wasn't gonna sit around and watch you fuck around anymore."

"I made a huge mistake. Julie-Su I'm sorry—"

"You always make mistakes." She cut him off coldly, shaking her head. "Don't be sorry. Be better."

"I don't want to be that guy anymore. I want to change. I want to be better. Just give me a chance Julie—"

"Are you crazy? I've seen what you do. You leave a string of broken hearted girls behind you wherever you go, and I won't let myself be one of them—or my daughter." She cut him off again, "You've got a lot of growing up to do before you're ready for anything with anyone, especially for Lara-Su."

"Lara-Su…when are you gonna let me see her? Or tell her?"

"We'll see Knuckles. Just…Just get it together." Julie-Su whispered, a pleading to her tone. "I've gotta go. I'm late for a meeting." She added, turning back toward the direction she had been walking in.

"A meeting?" Knuckles questioned.

"I'm seeing a counselor." She told him before walking away. He sighed, thankful that she was finally getting help, but heartbroken at the outcome of their long anticipated chat. Just as he was about to turn around, his foot tapped on a something. He looked down to see a random basketball rolling away from him.

"What the hell?" He questioned, starring at the ball until a voice called out and he saw a pair of hands clasp over it.

"Sorry." The voice apologized. He looked up to see a gorgeous orange echidna girl standing before him with the ball in her hands. "It fell out of my locker."

"It's…It's cool." He stammered, completely starstruck.

"I've seen you before." The girl smirked, extending her hand out to him. "We have the same history class. Knuckles right?"

"Yeah…" He mumbled, taking her soft hand.

"I'm Shade the Echidna." She introduced herself, an allure to her voice. "I just transferred here not too long ago."

* * *

Nicole and Espio sat facing each other on his neatly made bed. His roommates were always off somewhere, giving him a decent amount of alone time. Time he usually spent with Nicole.

The lynx stared at his black comforter as she expressed her bitterness toward Mina for withholding something so important.

It irked the chameleon, but of course his outward demeanor would never show. He disliked Shard by nature, the two of them being polar-opposites, but what really bothered him was Nicole's obvious soft spot for the hedgehog.

"It was very important to him that I got that package, and she must of known that when she found it." The raven-haired girl grimaced, "She shouldn't have hid it from me like that."

"Can I ask you something Nicole?" The chameleon spoke up, a hint of agitation in his usually calm voice.

"Of course."

"If you had gotten that package…would it have changed your decision? To be with me I mean…"

"Is that why you think I'm upset?" Nicole tilted her head.

"Well, what else am I supposed to think?" Espio mumbled, turning his hazel eyes away from her.

"Espio, no. I don't think it would have changed a thing. I like you because you offer me peace of mind, and stability." She assured him, pulling his gaze back toward her as she smiled. "I'm upset because all of this grief could have been avoided for him if I had just known what he felt, and told him that I didn't feel the same."

"I love you Nicole." The chameleon mumbled, leaning in to close the space between their lips. "And I'm thankful that you chose me."

"I'd choose you every time." The lynx blushed.

* * *

Sonic was the last person to arrive at the signature table he shared with his group of friends. After being shoved out of the lunch line right before he could snag a couple chilidogs he caved and grabbed a salad before trudging over to his table. He set his tray down in the empty space beside Tails, who was furiously texting away on his cellphone.

"Jeez Tails, take it easy." He cringed, looking around at the other occupants of the table. He rose an eyebrow in confusion, taking note of several missing faces. "Shads, where the heck is your little triangle?"

"Rouge isn't up for being in the same vicinity as the asshole who threw her out on Thanksgiving, and Manic is off filling out job applications."

"Understandable I guess—Wait, did you just say Manic is filling out job applications?" The blue hedgehog questioned in even more confusion.

"Apparently so."

"I wonder what's brought on such a change in him." The rabbit beside the ebony hedgehog spoke up, chomping down on a carrot. "My mom gave him a job at the bakery this morning. I guess he just wants another for some quick cash."

"Wow…well, I'm sure our parents will be just as shocked to hear that one." Sonic whistled, shifting his gaze to the empty spot in front of him, and the purple feline sitting beside it. "Where's Ames?" He questioned, a hint of woe in his voice.

"What? Oh, I have no clue." Blaze perked up. Her eyes were fixed on the doors to the café. Sonic quickly followed her gaze, turning back to look at her.

"Then who are you waiting for?"

"Um...Silver." She squeaked, making all the occupants of the table groan in annoyance. She blushed in embarrassment at their reaction, rubbing her arm as she stared down at the table.

" **PLEASE** tell me you didn't invite the weirdo to sit with us again." Knuckles groaned, allowing his head to fall on the table.

"He and I are trying to work things out." The cat explained, "I asked him to come. He's not bad, he's just—"

"Super weird and annoying." Shadow cut her off, finishing her sentence.

"He just likes different things that's all." Blaze shot back in defense. "Tails, surely you can understand. Being into science and—"

"Don't put me in his category!" The kitsune cringed, finally looking away from his cellphone. "I like science too, but I'm not a weirdo who dresses funny and has a stupid haircut. No offense Blaze, but that guy is an actual nerd, and that's coming from me."

"And the smarty has spoken." Knuckles sang, bowing to Tails as he chuckled.

Blaze pouted, upset that her friends still hadn't come around to liking Silver after all this time. He was a little weird sure, and a lot more open and engrossed in nerdy activity than a high school boy should be, but he had a charm to him that she liked.

She pulled out her cellphone from her purse, intent on canceling, but she already felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see him taking a seat beside her. She blushed, looking from him to Sonic, then back at the table.

"Hey guys." He waved, making Tails and Shadow roll their eyes while Sonic and Knuckles groaned in annoyance. Cream was the only one to offer a wave back, a weak and uncomfortable one at that. The cat sank in her seat, instantly regretting her decision to invite him. "Chemical imbalance much? Where are the applause?" He joked, no laughter following suit.

"What the hell does that even mean?" Knuckles whined.

"He thinks we're depressed because we're not enthusiastic about his appearance." Tails explained in a less annoying way than the hedgehog.

"This is cancerous." Sonic sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Sonic, please." Blaze begged.

"Look Blaze, none of us have the patience to pretend to like even remotely like your annoying weird ass boyfriend alright?"

"Preach." Shadow agreed, Tails and Knuckles nodding along. Silver let his smile quickly fall, instantly getting up from his chair.

"That's cruel Sonic." Cream scolded the blue hedgehog.

"No, it's honesty. You don't like him either so…"

"A simple _'go away'_ would have sufficed." Silver muttered, running off. Blaze reached out to him, getting up to chase after his figure as it disappeared out the doors. Everyone at the table sighed in relief, thankful he had gone. The table then proceeded to resume back to their peaceful chatter.

"Where is Sonia?" Shadow asked the table, earning him curious looks all around. He averted his eyes from them, opting to focus on the fries he was consuming. "She has a few notes I need."

"Don't know." Sonic shrugged, "Seems all my sibs are busy these days…" He added, eyeing the cellphone engrossed Tails who no longer responded to such a title.

From the table behind them, a pair of reptilian eyes darted left-to-right, studying each of them after seeing the upset hedgehog run off with that purple cat chasing after him. He smirked to himself, taking a bite out of an apple the girl sitting in his lap held out to him.

"He's so ugly." Rosy snarled, remembering the ridiculous looking white hedgehog who had just fled. "She's no prize, but not ugly enough to stoop to someone like him."

"As confident and feisty as she lets on…she's a thousand times more insecure than meets the eye." Mephiles smirked, licking his lips as he thought of the easy prey. "She's stubborn, yet at the same time so damn easy she makes it no fun."

"If you can tell so much about her, why don't you tell me why she's with that loser?" The pink girl scoffed.

"Think of it this way Rose, if you were to stand on the first step you wouldn't be so worried about falling compared to being at the top of the steps." He explained cleverly. When he realized Rosy wasn't understanding he dumbed it down tenfold. "She was heartbroken by the popular boy, now she keeps her standards low. That way there can be no disappointments. Unfortunately for her, Slipper isn't as dumb as she'd like."

* * *

His eyes were bloodshot due to a lack of sleep. He smelt horrid, refusing to set foot near any of the showers in fear that he'd be teased. His body was sore from random objects ranging from shoes to dumbbells from the gym being thrown at him. His strength diminished, both physically and mentally. He no longer was the big jolly walrus with a warm heart. The torment had left him in ruins, sucking the lively spirit right out of him.

He walked slowly and quietly like a zombie, hoping he wouldn't alert those around him to his presence. He wanted to be a ghost, someone no one could see. He walked toward his locker, opening it quietly as he retrieved his books. His face was blank, expressionless with lifeless eyes.

"There he is again!" The deviant transfer student Eclipse snarled, pointing a sharp-nailed finger toward the walrus standing by his locker. "I think he's got a crush on you Jet." He sang, elbowing the green hawk beside him.

"Fuck off." He grumbled, turning his cold blue gaze toward the walrus with disgust. "Hey Homo! Clear the way. The king has arrived." The hawk called out.

Rotor didn't do as ordered, or even move for that matter. He just stood there, completely drained.

"Did you hear me Tubby?"

Eclipse snickered, making Jet's blood boil. On the right of the hawk stood his new and over-talkative girlfriend, behind him his childhood friend Storm, and to his left the mischievous darkling. The albatross cringed, recognizing that upset look on his friend's face.

Watching Jet scrutinize and belittle the poor walrus first hand was agonizing.

"Jet, chill out." Storm pleaded, placing a hand to his friend's shoulder only to have it swatted away like a fly. Jet seethed with anger, unlinking his arm from the canary to march on over to the seemingly-deaf walrus.

Rotor was tall and quite large while Jet was skinny and shorter than the average male. Although the walrus was twice his size he managed to shove him to the ground with little to no effort. Rotor instantly threw his hands up, bracing himself for the inevitable blows he was to face.

It was nothing compared to the emotional torment he'd suffered around campus these last few days.

"I run this show, and when I say something….you do it!" Jet screeched, hovering his foot over the walrus' covered face, ready to stomp down on it at any moment. Before he could even get the chance he felt a force ram him clean into the lockers.

He was taken by surprise, even more so when the force pulled back from him and he got a clear view of who had just embarrassed him in front of all his friends. Standing before Rotor was a nervous yet bold Antoine. He cowered slightly, not used to being so confrontational, but the coyote wasn't going to stand by and let this happen.

Upon sight of him, Jet immediately flew into a hysterical laughter, holding his sides as tears peaked from his eyes. "Aren't you that retard who pissed himself last year after Drago beat your ass?"

"You are nozing but a bully." The coyote retorted, face flush with embarrassment as the laughter erupted by the small gathered crowd behind the bird. "Your hate towardz those who are different is more intolerable zen your squawking."

"Ohhh, he's calling you out Jet—" Eclipse instigated, but was immediately cut off and silenced by the furious hawk.

"Shut the fuck up Eclipse!" He growled back before turning his attention to the coyote. He rolled up his sleeves, cracking his knuckles before stomping over to Antoine. "See, now I have to beat your ass too. Just try not to piss yourself." As soon as he finished his sentence he lunged at Antoine with a punch.

Rotor peered up at Antoine, astonished by the coyote's courage, but feared for his safety.

Antoine was by no means a fighter, quite fragile in fact. He cowered, bracing himself for the punch that was never delivered. When he opened one of his eyes he saw a furious Bunnie grab Jet's wrist with her bionic limb.

"Antoine are you alright?!" Another voice called out. He turned his head to see a worried Nicole cup his face to inspect for any sort of damage. She sighed in relief upon seeing neither he nor Rotor were injured. Then she turned to Jet and gave him a nasty glare. "You're a bastard."

"Looks like the freaks have come out to play." Eclipse smirked, eyeing all of the new faces. Two weird foreign kids, a homo, and a cripple.

"Let go, whore." Jet growled at Bunnie, who only twisted his wrist in response. He let out a sharp yelp in pain.

"You wanna know what happened to Drago after he hurt muh man?" She hissed, twisting his wrist even harder until he dropped to his knees in agony before her. "I broke his arms, both of 'em. This is only a taste Sugah—"

"Bunnie, enough." A voice commanded, "Let him up."

The rabbit did as told, releasing her grip on him to walk back to her friends.

Tekno and Storm both helped Jet up to his feet. The canary girl inspected his wrist. Not broken, but quite sensitive. She peered back up to his face. It was red to the core, and he seethed with rage as he looked over to the gang of freaks. They all stepped aside, and emerging from the distance like a bat out of hell was their leader, Sally Acorn.

The canary gulped, having read tons of blog posts about the chipmunk and her history of vicious and seemingly random assaults. She wore a stone-cold look, her sapphire eyes like blue flames as she glared intently at the hawk who did the same.

"I take it she's queen of the freaks?" The young darkling asked around to the now huge crowd that developed around the scene. "Sure looks like it, ugly bitch."

"Sally…" Rotor mumbled as Nicole helped him up to his feet. The walrus looked around, the first smile in a long time finally crossing his face upon seeing them all. "You guys came to help me…"

"Of course we did Rotor." The auburn-haired girl smiled back at him, breaking the staring contest with Jet as she twirled around to address the crowd. " **NO ONE SHOULD BE CHASTIZED FOR WHO THEY ARE.** " She bellowed.

"That's the girl who beat up Mina Mongoose!"

"She's gonna hit Jet now too?!"

"Those guys are such desperate attention-seeking losers."

"Like Jet says, who cares about homos? Or what a bitch like her has to say."

The reactions from the crowd weren't very good, but they didn't deter the chipmunk a bit. She had one goal and one goal only, protecting those lesser on the food chain. She turned back to Jet's smug face.

"Sorry Sweetheart, but I'm not as easy as Sonic when it comes to choking."

"You're probably right." She mused, placing both hands on her hips. "With your homo-fixation I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't have a gag-reflex at all anymore."

" **WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME BITCH?!** " Jet screamed.

"Oh shit! She did not just say that to you!" Eclipse howled, falling back into the crowd for dramatic effect.

Jet was livid, physically shaking from so much pent up anger. He'd never hit a girl before, but he was about half a second from doing so.

"Jet don't." Tekno begged, grabbing his forearm to stop him from lunging at her. "She's dangerous. I've seen the videos."

"Enough with this following crap! Just because someone is popular doesn't mean you should change your opinions for them. I bet half of you only pick on Rotor because this scumbag told you to! How could you allow someone to have that much power over you?!" Sally shouted at the crowd, "If you really think a homophobic and sexist prick is cool, then you're the ones with the real problem. Just live and let live."

"She's right!" Wave shouted from the crowd, shoving her way over to Rotor's side. "Everyone deserves a chance to be happy, and idiots like Jet don't deserve to be shit in this world."

"It's true." Storm nodded, leaving his place by Jet to walk over to Rotor and Wave.

"Storm? Storm?! How could you take that bitch's side!?" Jet flailed his arms, panic stirring in him as the crowd slowly migrated behind Rotor.

"I'm not." The albatross told him, taking Wave's hand as he did so. "I'm taking the right side."

Jet felt his heart sink, and his palms began to sweat as he watched more and more people disappear from behind him. His popularity was slipping, all thanks to the auburn-haired girl. He directed all his anger at her, and the walrus she was protecting.

"Stupid cunt." He snapped, "You're just an ugly bitch who can't get dick. You're probably a faggot too."

"You know what I think?" The chipmunk questioned, stepping over until she was toe-to-toe with the recently crowned school king. "You're a little bitch who thinks he's tough. You don't know tough until you grow up in Moebius."

"Shit dude! She's tearing it **UP**!" Eclipse swooned, only serving to rise Jet's blood pressure.

"I'm not Sonic's bitch ass. You don't want war with me." The hawk growled, his spittle falling on her face. "I won't pull any punches."

"Try me." Sally shot back before turning to walk back toward her friends.

Thus, a school war was born.

Sally and the freaks Vs. Jet and the jocks.

* * *

 ** _Manic:_** _Babe! I found this awesome crib online for about $700. I know that sounds expensive, but it's a hella nice crib! I want my kid to have the best, even if I gotta work a hundred hours a week to afford all of it._

 ** _Manic:_** _I've been reading on stuff, and found out we're far along enough to find out the gender! We should make an appointment as soon as possible! I'd like a girl, but I'm more hoping for a boy to be honest._

 ** _Manic:_** _Call me back okay? I really want to know how you're doing. It feels like we don't see each other enough lately._

Mina let out a shriek of frustration, tossing her phone to her bed as she grabbed at her hair with both hands and threatened to tear it off her head. He was off on cloud nine about everything while she was wallowing in the pits of hell looking for an escape.

He was sweet, but not who she wanted at all. None of this was what she wanted at all. She had racked her brain for a full week and a half, trying her best to come up with an escape plan that wouldn't need Manic's aid, but it proved worthless.

Abortion was her only out, but with how overjoyed he is….he probably wouldn't let her.

Willingly at least.

She had a dangerous trumpcard, one she only used when the need called for it. Right now seemed like one of those times. She picked up her phone, putting on her most sweet and innocent voice.

 _"Mina?"_ The woman who picked up greeted with concern, hearing nothing but sobs on the other line.

 _"Momma…"_

 _"Did something happen Angel?"_ Isabella shot up from her desk, shushing the client she had in front of her. _"Are you alright?!"_

 _"No…something terrible happened."_

 _"What?! What?!"_

 _"If I tell you…you probably won't love me anymore."_ Mina stammered, tears cascading down her cheeks as she wiped them away on her sleeve.

 _"Mina, there's nothing on this planet that could possibly ever make me not love you anymore. You're my sweet little girl."_

 _"Momma, I got pregnant…"_ She whimpered, Isabella quickly shewing away her client and slamming the door to her office shut.

 _"Mina how could you?! Your career! Your future!"_ Her mother bellowed in an upset tone, but upon hearing Mina's sobs worsen she immediately eased up. _"What are your plans?"_

 _"I want…I want an abortion."_

 _"My Chaos."_ Isabella breathed, holding a hand to her forehead as she collapsed in her chair.

 _"I have a future like you said. My singing career is everything to me Momma. I just got signed by a ton of labels last month. I made a mistake…Please help me."_

 _"If the father is willing to sign, I can take you to a doctor who keeps everything under wraps for me-"_

 _"That's the problem Momma. He won't sign. He wants to ruin my life."_ Mina explained, _"I was hoping you could use your lawyer skills to try and scare him into doing it."_

 _"Well who is the son of a bitch?"_

 _"His name is Manic the Hedgehog."_

Isabella used her shoulder to press her phone to her ear as she typed away on the computer at her desk. She put in secret passcodes, and navigated her way to the Government Juvenile Database. She typed in the name her daughter had provided and up popped the boy's file.

 _"Son of Aleena and Jules the Hedgehog."_ She spoke, more so to herself than Mina. Through more clicking around, she had managed to pull up a sealed file, a criminal one.

Apparently a little over two years ago Manic had been arrested in the city of Moebius, along with his friend and repeating offender Scourge the Hedgehog. The two were caught breaking into an apartment, but the tenet didn't want to pursue any charges due to no actual damage. Before that the two were on the run, wreaking all sorts of havoc around Moebius for two weeks.

 _"Well Momma? Do you think you can try to scare him into signing the papers?"_ Mina called out from the phone, making Isabella smirk with confidence.

 _"I can do more than try."_ She assured her daughter, printing out the green hedgehog's file. _"I can force him."_

* * *

Scourge had driven Amy into Metropolis for something of a getaway. She needed a ride to go shopping, and with all of his friends gone he had nothing better to do. It was sunset, and after loading tons of her shopping bags into the back of his car he decided to take a break and rest on the hood in the mall parking lot.

Amy huffed in annoyance, sitting in the passenger seat as she watched him from out the window enjoying his disgusting cancer stick. Although the heat in the car was on she shivered, not used to the cold weather of Metropolis.

"Can we go now?! I'm freezing!" She hollered after opening the car door to shout at him. He just waved her to come out.

"No point in being in there when the heater's busted." He chuckled, "I'll keep you warm though."

She blushed, obliging with his request and stepping out into the cold air. It really was no different inside his car. She walked over, watching him as he laid back with his eyes shut, the cigarette poking out of his lips.

"Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase 'chill' huh?" He snickered, opening his eyes to peer over at her with that cool shade of blue.

"You're such a moron." She huffed.

"Ew, don't do that." He grimaced, turning back up to the sky.

"Do what?"

"Bitch." He smirked, blowing out smoke without even removing the cigarette. "You really need to loosen up."

"I just don't like the cold—"

"Wait." He cut her off, sitting up as his ears perked up too. "Do you hear that?"

"Um, yeah. I left the radio on." Amy rose an eyebrow as he leapt up, standing on the hood with a huge smile.

"That song!" He howled, dancing like a fool on top of his car.

"What…are you doing?" The pink hedgehog yelped, face beat red as she watched the green hedgehog make a fool of himself. "Stop before someone sees you!"

"Who the fuck cares? This song is the shit!" He shrugged before extending a hand out to her. "C'mon Pinky! Get up here and dance with me."

"Are you nuts?! People are looking at you!"

"So? Don't make me serenade you." He winked before singing along with the once very popular song. It was one of Amy's favorites actually.

' _Anywhere you wanna go..._

 _Anything you need to know!_

 _All the best in life..._

 _I wanna get it for you!_

 _Lately I just feel so fine!_

 _I imagine that you're mine!_

 _In my world you're gold..._

 _I only wanna protect you!'_

"Oh my Chaos, Scourge!" Amy whined, face red as a cherry. She had never pegged him for a singer—but he sounded gorgeous. She had noticed his taste in music was very diverse, always tuning in on whatever the radio played whether it was country, hardcore rock, or anything in between.

"Get up here!" He laughed, pulling her up and onto the hood with him. He held her close by the waist, forcing her to move along with him. So romantic, yet so embarrassing.

 _'And whatever I want, I get..._

 _I want a shooting star!_

 _Whatever I need, I have..._

 _When I'm with you!'_

"C'mon!" The green hedgehog whined, twirling her around on the car. "Don't leave me hangin'!"

She bit her lip before outing her embarrassment, opting to sing along with him for the next verse instead. She swayed with him, as people looked at both of them on the hood of a Hummer like two morons. They were off in their own little world, one where judgements didn't exist.

 _'Follow me inside!_

 _Outside!_

 _Through the stratosphere!_

 _The moon is shining for you..._

 _It knows that I adore you!_

 _Suddenly all that sadness will just slip away..._

 _And you will see what I mean..._

 _If you just follow me in my dreams!_

 _I was searching everywhere..._

 _Suddenly I saw you there!_

 _And my love arrived..._

 _Just in the nick of time!'_

She was getting lost in those beautiful blue eyes, her heart growing for him with every beat. They couldn't even finish the song, she wouldn't allow it. Amy just pressed her lips onto his, ensuing in a kiss much unlike their past ones. This one was deeper, more passionate, with so much more meaning behind it.

There were fireworks.

After a while they wrapped things up and drove back to Green Hill Academy. Instead of saying their goodbyes and heading in right away they stood out there. Amy's bags were tossed to the floor of the car as they took refuge in the backseat from the cold, holding each other for warmth.

She looked up at him adoringly, tracing all the features of his face. Something peaked her curiosity then. The piercings shining on his right ear. Two hoops at the top, one stud at the bottom. She had seen it before, but not just on him.

"These piercings." She mumbled, poking at them. "They remind me of this friend—well, jerk named Manic."

"Observant aren't we? Well they should, considering he and I got them done together. Only his are on the left ear." The green hedgehog shrugged, "And he's no jerk. If I remember correctly, he actually kinda liked you. And who could blame him? You're so damn cute."

"You think so?" Amy blushed, batting her eyelashes in a shy manner.

"Well, duh. I don't fucks with ugly chicks." Scourge joked, completely ruining what could have possibly been the cutest moment of her life.

"Way to trash a romantic moment."

"Romantic?" He laughed, making her blush worsen. "I guess you deserve one. Think of it as thanks for sticking around while my friends are off dickin' around."

"What?—" She yelped, but was cut off by a sudden kiss. Not the rough lustful kind she was used to. It was soft, and tender. She closed her eyes, letting her soul escape her body so she could look on at the scene from a third-person view. She imagined it to be the kind of kissing scene she eagerly anticipated throughout watching her romance dramas.

It was perfect.

* * *

"Sonia?" Shadow called out into the night as he watched the magenta girl quicken her pace as she walked across the campus grounds. "Sonia!"

He jogged up to her with ease, putting a hand on her shoulder to turn her around. His crimson eyes widened in shock as he saw the shiny tears slipping off her cheeks. There was a severe hurt in her gaze, a look of betrayal.

"Don't touch me!" She yelped, swatting his hand away.

It was late. The main building had just closed down and she was forced to walk back to her dorm. She knew he'd be looking for her.

"What's wrong? You've been ignoring my calls all day." The black hedgehog persisted, stepping closer to her.

"You slept with Honey." The magenta girl spoke in monotone, stepping away from him as he tried to reach out to her. "You cheated on me Shadow. **ALL** that shit you talk about Knuckles and my brother…and here you go doing the same shit."

Shadow's voice got caught in his near swelled shut esophagus. The hurt in her eyes causing guilt to pool in the pit of his heart. He had no excuse, not one that would make her hurt any less at least.

"Sonia, it was—"

"You don't have to say what you did. I already know, I found out from her." Sonia shook her head, tears flying about as she sobbed slightly. "What do I keep doing wrong? To deserve this…"

"I made a mistake. I was feeling needy and—"

"I wouldn't have sex with you so you get it from her?" She cut him off, "I'm a recovering bulimic and a virgin. You knew that."

"It was wrong and selfish. I swear to Chaos I'm sorry Sonia." He pleaded, a pain to his tone.

She wiped her tears away, holding her head up to deadlock with his eyes. "You said you'd treat me better than Knuckles, but you wanna know what makes you worse than him? You made me believe in you…That I could trust you with myself."

"I…I'm sorry." He repeated, not sure of what else he could possibly say. Everything was just happening so fast, too much for his heart to process.

"It's a good thing we didn't come out to anyone." She replied coldly, putting the final nail in their relationship's coffin. "Because now we don't have to."

The wind blew harder, carrying her hair in its direction as she turned her back to him. He quickly grabbed her hand.

"I can't let you go…not back to that hell you were living in."

"You're worried about my bulimia returning…Well, don't." She commanded, snatching her hand away. "You're not worth it." She finally walked off, leaving a speechless Shadow to stand alone out in the cold.

She wanted to get away from him, away from all the pain in her heart. Her intentions were to go back to her dorm and cry under her blanket, but her feet carried her off in another direction. It happened so fast. One moment she was walking away from yet another cheating ex-boyfriend, the next she was standing in front of a door in the boy's dorm.

It was late, and she didn't expect anyone to be awake, but her hopes and desperation made her persistent. After several knocks someone finally answered.

"Sonia…what are you doing here?" Elias questioned upon seeing the distraught looking hedgehog in the doorway. "Everyone's asleep."

"I want to sleep with you." Sonia mumbled between sniffles. The prince's face instantly lit up like a Christmas light.

"You-You what?!" He stammered, not understanding what she meant at first.

"Like when we were little and I was upset." The magenta girl explained, "When Manic used to melt the faces off my dolls…I used to come to your house and sleep over. You'd hold me all night while I cried like a big baby."

Is it weird that his self-conscious was no longer his own voice? In his head he could hear Megan mentally screaming at him to shut the door, but he pushed it to the back of his mind and let Sonia in.

She tiptoed over to his bed, kicking off her pink shoes before slipping under the covers. He watched her do so, a slight blush on his face as he got into bed with her. She cuddled up to him, the skin exposed by her tanktop pressing against his uncovered chest as she nuzzled into him like a laying down hug.

He wasn't sure why she had come, or why she was so upset. She had fallen asleep before explaining anything.

They were nose-to-nose, his view being nothing but her face. The face of the girl he so desperately adored. Her mouth just inches from his own. So many thoughts raced along with his heart, but he pushed it all aside to fall asleep with her.

The next morning Silver woke up first. He sat up in his bed, stretching as he let out an exhausted yawn. No matter how much sleep he got he always felt so tired. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands before looking around the room.

Larry was curled up in a ball on his bed under the covers, Shard was a sloppy mess tangled in sheets and snoring loudly while Elias...

Silver blushed, smiling at the sight once his gaze crossed over the prince.

The squirrel had both arms wrapped around a sleeping Sonia, and a blissful smile as he slept.

 _'If either of us has a shot at happiness…'_ Silver thought to himself, _'It's probably you Eli…'_

* * *

 **Right off the bat, already killed one of my most genuine relationships (Sonia/Shadow).Just what the hell was he thinking? Stick around and find out...**

 **The new Fiona is a breath of fresh air to all of us, and we have Mighty and his incredible good influence to thank for that. Now she's taken on the role of Cupid and is trying to make both of her friends' dreams come true.**

 **It's official, Amy is head over heels for notorious bad boy Scourge, and the feeling actually seems mutual maybe?**

 **Sonia and Elias have reunited, possibly for the better in both their cases, but is Silver right to worry about his friend?**

 **The challenger has emerged. Sally and the Freedom Fighters are causing an uprising against Jet and his intolerant followers in the defense of innocent Rotor Walrus. Will this rebellion prove to be the rise of Sally? Or her greatest down fall?**

 **It's no secret absolutely none of Blaze's friends even remotely like Silver at all. What measures will she take to preserve both her friendships and rekindling relationship? And at what cost?**

 **Mina's trumpcard is definitely one to be feared. Isabella Mongoose has proved to be no joke, and is notoriously known to be very cut-throat and vicious. Manic's rebel past is catching up with him. Is there any hope with him going head-to-head with the fearsome Isabella?**

 **Knuckles is starting to get it through his head that he needs to get it together...but will the mysterious Shade put yet another halt on that?**

 **Review Replies**

 **Superbook5012: I found that question very interesting "Why doesn't the principal ever do anything?" It's simple. Teens are super-duper good at hiding the shitty things they do from adults. If you've ever been to an actual boarding school you'd be surprised at how often people sneak out, party, bully, and do all sorts of things without getting caught. They always say "If something's going on, tell an adult!" But about 99% of the time kids never do. Besides, wouldn't it be a boring story if everyone was suspended all the time?**

 **WordVomitComet: I'm glad you appreciate the civil rivalry of Cream and Cosmo. They are a constant reminder to the audience that not all girls are catty and that not every love triangle has to be an ugly one. **

**TheHunterPersian: Coming out isn't always horrible like this (Please don't take it as something to discourage you) but it is a harsh reality for some...not so much today anymore. We should all be thankful that our society is evolving and that people aren't this cruel anymore. And you will see where Jet's animosity comes from. It by no means justifies his actions, but maybe you might sympathize after hearing his story...or still think of him as a complete asshole. **

**yodda123: Rouge isn't innocent whatsoever, but the redeeming thing about her is that she does have a heart. Her downfall was only due to her selfish desires. Knuckles isn't meant to be a bad guy either, just an undecided boy who almost always makes the wrong moves, but he wants to be better. **

**MeBeKiki: You're on to something! I've actually hinted at Mighty's crush in the past.**

 **Mimi Good: Please get your tea ready, and I'll grab my umbrella, because there will be TONS of shade being thrown next chapter.**

 **Next Time ON Green Hill Academy**

 **Sonic and Sally go off on a secret adventure coming across an interesting stump in the middle of the forest**

 **Desperate to appease her friends and keep Silver by her side, Blaze starts making all the wrong decisions**

 **Knuckles starts his journey down redemption road, his first stop being Rouge the Bat**

 **Jet starts to formulate a plot to knock Sally off the charts-who has begun rising from her punching bag status**

 **Sonic finally learns about Amy's past...and the mystery behind the boy named 'Nikki'**

 **Fiona manipulates Tails for the final time**

 **FINALLY! It's what you've all be waiting for. The long anticipated scene that will have you on the edge of your seat with your heart in a frenzy! You've waited forever for these two to rekindle their old spark, and the time has finally arrived! That's right everyone I'm talking about AMY ROSE...and...Manic?! What are you doing here?**

 **And so much more!**


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38: Playing With Hearts**

After everyone finally woke up and noticed an extra occupant in their room, they each awkwardly and slowly took off one after another.

"I'm gonna shower." Silver murmured, trying to keep his line of vision away from Elias and Sonia, who sat up and watched all the boys scurry off.

"I've got a paper to wri-write." Larry stammered, leaping after Silver out the door.

Shard was the last one to leave, and he took his sweet time doing so. He stretched, yawned, and did everything to prolong his stay so he could cast Elias that _'I see what you're up to'_ kind of look.

"Inviting girls back to the dorm when we're all asleep? Real classy Prince Charming." The hedgehog boy smirked, making both Sonia and Elias blush.

"It's not like that! We were just sleeping." The squirrel replied defensively.

"Sure, next you'll try to tell me you're just _'super-duper close besties for life'_." Shard mocked in a girly voice. Elias took one of his pillows and threw it at the hedgehog, who laughed at the action.

"Just leave already Shard." He huffed, his face red as his hair.

"Fine, fine." His friend sighed, walking out the door. "Just don't _'sleep'_ in my bed alright?" He added before closing the door behind him.

Elias instantly threw himself back on the bed, relieved that the awkwardness was all over. Moments later Sonia fell back too, and they were once again laying down with their faces mere inches apart.

"He reminds me of Sonic." The magenta girl giggled, "I feel sorry for you."

"I feel sorry for me too." He laughed along, "Sometimes it feels like I'm the mom of the room."

"Thanks for letting me stay, even though you probably won't hear the end of it from your friend."

"Why did you come here anyway? You fell asleep before you told me a thing."

She frowned a bit, remembering the bitter end of yet another failed relationship. He saw the hurt in her eyes, instantly cupping her cheek with his hand. How he missed this, being so close with her, and being able to caress her face.

"Hey, you can tell me anything." He reminded her, putting on his most charming smile. It never worked on her the way it did on other girls, or the way he wanted it to, but it had some effect.

She felt safe with him, a hundred percent sure that he would never cause her harm of any kind. The only boy in the world she truly believed she could trust with her heart, her entire being in fact. That's why she finally let her walls come down, tears falling down with them as she explained all that she had endured since their last encounter. About her self-loathing, bulimia, loss of Tails, and her secret relationship with Shadow. It was all finally out in the open, and she felt a huge weight lifted off of her shoulders.

"Bulimia…" The prince repeated with such dread, remembering how frail she had looked on the occasions he saw her around. He felt guilty for not being there for her when she needed him most.

"I know, I'm so terrible. I had all these delusions, and I thought Shadow was going to be the one to help me…to care for me…but he just fucked me up even more. I just don't know what I'm doing wrong. Why do they keep doing this to me? What's wrong with Eli—"

"Look at me Sonia." He commanded, cupping her face in both his hands to lock their gazes. "There's absolutely nothing wrong with you. You're perfect. Guys like Shadow and Knuckles only think with their dicks. The only problem you have is chasing after pathetic little boys."

He pulled her in for a hug, and she cried silently into his shoulder with a smile. She needed to hear something like that for the longest time, something she actually believed, and coming from him of all people.

No one could ever cheer you up the way a best friend can, especially one who…loves you.

"Thank you Elias…I've missed you."

"Well you don't have to anymore." He whispered to her, stroking her back. "I'm here always Sonia. I might have not been all there before, but I will be now, and I won't let you fall."

 **INCOMING CALL**

They pulled away from their hug so he could swipe his phone off the dresser beside his bed. His heartbeat quickened its pace when he read the caller ID.

It was Megan…

"Who is it?" Sonia asked, sitting up to peer over his shoulder. He quickly swiped to reject the call before she could get a glimpse at the picture.

"Just my mother, probably about my car payments." He lied, hopping out of bed before pulling her up too. "We should go get some breakfast."

* * *

 _'Second grade in Soleanna Elementary School. It was probably the greatest year of my life. I was about six. I was much skinnier and shorter than all the other kids, even some girls stood taller than me._

 _To put it bluntly, no one's ever really liked me. I always got bullied for the way I walked, spoke, and for my love of science. I guess you could call me a nerd._

 _My parents tried to push me into more socially-acceptable things like music and theater, but my interests were more along the lines of comic books and stargazing._

 _I remember during one night of stargazing I caught sight of a shooting star in the huge telescope I had setup in my bedroom. I followed it until it was no longer in view, wishing for a miracle in my pathetic life._

 _That miracle came in the form of Blaze the Cat._

 _"_ _ **I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY!**_ _" I wailed, running across the schoolyard with my arms flailing about. I don't even know why I ever tried to run. Even as a kid Mephiles was so…creepy. He'd only briskly walk, and no matter how fast I ran he'd always catch up. Like some psycho-killer in a horror film._

 _I tripped and fell face first into the sandbox. He grabbed my quills and hoisted me back up to my feet, forcing me to look at his horrific monster-like eyes._

 _"You're so pathetic. Just look at those callused fingers from all those hours of piano lessons…" He hissed, making me shudder. "Do you think Mommy would be upset if I broke a few?"_

 _"Please don't hurt me!" I cried out as he took hold of my hand. I never understood why he loved picking on me so much. He loved causing misery almost as much as he loved watching it._

 _Just before he could twist my fingers back and snap them like twigs a voice shouted at him to put me down, which he obliged, turning his head to a more amusing sight than me. I looked too, and that was the first time I ever saw her._

 _"Leave him alone!" She scolded Mephiles, who just grinned evilly at the sight of her._

 _"You must be the new girl." He chuckled, a sound I hear often in my nightmares even now. "My new punching bag. You've lost my interest Silver, for now at least." He then walked off, allowing me to finally sit up and rub my face. The girl who had just saved me quickly kneeled down by my side._

 _"Are you okay?"_

 _"Uh huh." I nodded, wiping my tears away, face red with embarrassment. "Thank you…"_

 _"What's your name?" She smiled, her hazel eyes shining down on me like stars. "I'm Blaze the Cat."_

 _"I'm Silver the Hedgehog." I mumbled._

 _"Do you have any friends?"_

 _"N-No…"_

 _"Me either. My family just moved here and I don't know anybody. Not that I had friends anywhere before." She frowned, starring down at her white dress. I felt sorry for her, more so than myself. I've lived in Solenna all my life, and never once had I ever made a friend…until I met her._

 _"Maybe…Maybe we could be friends." I stammered shyly._

 _"Really?! You mean it!?" She yelped in excitement. I nodded my head and she instantly threw her arms around me. It's been love ever since…at least on my end anyway._

 _Those days it was just us, me and her. No one else. Everything was simple. We protected each other, comforted each other, and did everything together. A dynamic duo with nothing in our way. We were the perfect two. Sure she didn't like my science stuff, and I couldn't stand her love of sports, but the contrast made our friendship all the more interesting._

 _She liked my quirks, and I liked her responsible-nature. We still supported each other with everything we did. I'd drag her to science conventions, and she'd drag me to stupid track meets._

 _She was never embarrassed of me before. She used to love everything about me when it was just us, before she made these new 'friends'. Maybe I'm just being possessive, or jealous, but I wish it was just us against the world again…No one else.'_

"Silver?" A voice called out, making the white hedgehog look up from his book. It was Blaze, standing in front of him and staring down at him with a frown. He was seated at a desk in the library, trying to drown out the frustrations of yesterday in reading, but somehow got caught up in memories.

He closed the book, tossing it to the side before getting up to walk away from her. He wanted to be alone. She quickly grabbed his hand, ceasing his movement.

"I'm sorry about them. They really are good people Silver." She began, making him roll his eyes.

"Good to everyone but me probably." He grumbled.

"Silver I care about you, more than you could imagine. I want to be with you all the time, even when I'm with my friends.—"

"We've tried this, and it doesn't work. They hate me, and I'm not exactly a big fan of them either." He turned around, revealing his sorrowful expression. "I want to be with you too, but they make it impossible. I want things to work…but they don't think I'm good enough for you, and clearly their opinions are so important to you."

"You are good for me—the best for me." She assured him, throwing her arms around his neck. "They just don't get it, but we can make them understand."

"How?"

"Let's set some ground rules for when we hang out with them."

"Like what?"

"For starters; no eyeliner, no talking about anything science related, and fix your quills—"

"You want me to stop being me pretty much?"

"No!" She yelped defensively, "Just when they're around I don't want them to have any reason to tease you. I love who you are Silver. You know that…"

There she went, using those big beautiful hazel eyes to cast a spell on him, making it impossible to refuse her anything. He sighed a bit, before finally nodding in agreement. "I guess I could try…"

* * *

Since both of them had a free period, Sonic and Sally decided to go on one of those runs he desperately begged her to accompany him on. She wasn't nearly as fast as the star track-runner, but she was much more coordinated, and free running through the woods had them both at a somewhat equal pace.

"You think this is fun?" She laughed, slightly out of breath as she brushed branches out of her line of vision.

"Heck yeah! Nothing like moving with the wind! Man I can't wait for indoor track to start up!" The hedgehog bellowed from a few steps in front of her, not giving a damn if branches whipped at his body.

"For someone who eats nothing but junk you sure have a lot of energy." The chipmunk remarked, impressed by his stamina.

They ran whichever way they felt they wanted to go, no real direction. Her view was mostly the back of his head, but occasionally he'd glance back at her with a smirk.

"So there's a new video going around of you giving Jet the business." He hollered over his shoulder, making the chipmunk grimace at the mention of that ignorant hawk. "It's good to not be the loser in the video for a change." He added with a chuckle, referencing the earlier videos of him being the one called out.

"Someone had to put him in his place, and it seems like no one around here is capable of thinking for themselves." She grumbled, hopping over rocks.

"Just don't go on a power trip Wonder Woman." The blue hedgehog warned her, "Jet isn't like me. He's much more…ruthless."

"I was raised in Moebius. People like him are nothing but clowns out there. Besides, he's wrong, and I won't allow him to torment Rotor like that or any of the LGBT students."

"I'm with ya' Sal." Sonic agreed, "It's time for Jet to get kicked off the high horse."

"Because you miss being in charge?"

"No, because Rotor was my friend once…" He corrected her.

After sometime of running, the chipmunk had finally reached her limit, and the two decided to stop for a break. It was chilly out, but not cold enough to make free running unbearable. They slowed down into a walk until they came across an unusual sight.

Out deep in the middle of the forest area and mass of gargantuan trees was a single stump. They both tilted their heads in confusion as they walked up to it.

"Who'd cut down a tree way out here?" Sally questioned, kneeling beside the stump to inspect it.

"Dunno." Sonic shrugged, pointing at something he noticed on the side. "But this might be a clue."

Sally tilted her head to where his finger was pointed to. On the side of the stump were what appeared to be initials carved into it, and pressed over it were two bloody thumb prints crossed like an 'X'.

"S/M:BFL" The chipmunk read aloud.

"Sadists/Masochists?" Sonic scratched his cheek, blurting out the first thing he could associate with those letters in his mind.

"No you pervert." The auburn-haired girl sighed, running her thumb along the inscription. "I've seen this before. Whoever did this was probably from Moebius too."

"Just what the hell does it mean exactly?"

"It's a promise ritual that originated in Moebius. Now people all over the country do it."

"A what?" The hedgehog questioned still in a fog of confusion.

"You and another person are supposed to carve your initials into something, then prick your fingers and cross your blood over it. Sort of like a blood oath, a contract to bind you to a lifelong promise."

"Wow, that's one hell of a commitment." Sonic cringed, imaging two people cutting their fingers and pressing them against the tree trunk.

"I wonder what they promised one another." Sally mused, standing back up to her feet. Sonic did the same, both of them turning to face each other. He smiled at her, and she did the same in return.

 **INCOMING CALL**

Just before Sonic could utter a single word on his mind she broke their staring contest to pull her phone from the little blue bag hanging off her shoulder.

 _"Ken?"_ She greeted into the phone with a smile, making Sonic stagger back with a slight roll of the eyes. _"Something important? Of course. I'll be there right away I promise."_ She nodded before hanging up and throwing the phone carelessly back into her purse.

"We've gotta get back to campus. Ken needs to talk—"

"Ugh." Sonic groaned, cutting off her sentence.

"What?"

"You know he likes you right?" The blue hedgehog pouted, "So why haven't you kicked him in the face or set the record straight with him yet? Hmm…"

"Ken is just a friend, and unlike you perverted hedgehogs he hasn't given me a reason to." Sally retorted, in reference to how both Scourge and Sonic tried to put the moves on her.

"Whatever." Sonic huffed, sticking his nose up in the air. "He's probably gonna try to ask you out."

"And does that worry you?" She smirked, noticing the slight glow to his cheeks. He scoffed in response before stepping over to her.

He cupped her face, giving her his trademark grin before kissing her. "Not at all."

* * *

"Lookin' good!" Mighty whistled as he emerged from down the hall and eyed his best friend standing outside of the main office. The echidna girl blushed, puffing her cheeks out in annoyance at his comment.

She wasn't in her usual boyish attire. Today she sported a long purple dress that fell at her feet. A slit ran from her hip to her ankle, revealing the long, toned, and healing bruised leg hiding underneath. Matching high-heels propped her up three more inches, and large gold earrings rested at her shoulders. Her hair was done up in a messy yet elegant bun, and it appeared as though Rouge had done her makeup today.

"Shut it." She grumbled, crossing her arms.

"And just where are we off to looking so fabulous?" He joked, receiving an angry scowl in return.

"Lara-Su has another play tonight. Grandfather Dimitri is coming to get me now so I can take her out to eat before the show."

"How is she taking things?" The armadillo questioned, remembering how upset Lara-Su had been the first few days after Thrash was away.

"She still asks about him, but not so much anymore. I told her he wouldn't be back for a long time. She probably wishes he could be at her play tonight." The echidna girl sighed before turning over to her friend. "Maybe you could come in his place? She adores seeing you."

"I'd like to, but I've got work tonight." Mighty declined, his heart aching at her disappointed frown. "But maybe if you aren't busy Friday night we could go pick her up and catch a movie. It'll be my day off."

"That sounds great." She nodded, her smile slowly returning.

"Great. Awesome." He nodded, rubbing the back of his head while checking his watch. "I've gotta go, but I'll see you then. Call me if anything alright?"

"See ya' later, Squirt." She waved him off, smiling after his disappearing figure.

From the other end of the hall were two amethyst eyes, peering their way with a somewhat envious distaste. They belonged to Knuckles, who had been conveniently walking down that hallway when he spotted his two good friends having an obviously good conversation.

Julie-Su looked so beautiful, all dolled-up like a model. So unlike what he was used to seeing her as. He kicked himself, for all those missed signs, and for being such an idiot. His heart only broke more when a little echidna girl ran in through the double doors accompanied by an elder white echidna.

" **MOMMY!** " The little girl squealed before throwing herself into Julie-Su's arms.

That voice he used to find so adorable only broke his heart now, but at the same time it was also his wakeup call. Julie-Su was right, he was immature, and way not ready to be a parent. She wanted him to smarten up, start taking things more seriously, and realize what he wanted in his life.

He already knew that much. All he wanted was to be in his daughter's life, but the difficult part was proving that.

* * *

Back at the Hedgehog residence, Jules was on his knees vigorously scrubbing the kitchen floor with a sponge while juggling several other household chores Aleena usually tended to. She was still not quite herself, but she was starting to slowly ease back into her routines. Her husband tried to ease the load by helping out with cleaning and groceries.

The blue hedgehog sat back on his knees, using his soapy damp hand to wipe the sweat from his brow. It had been a day of nonstop cleaning for him. He was to take his leave in another week, and wanted to help his wife as much as possible before then.

 **INCOMING CALL**

The hedgehog set the sponge down on the floor, wiping his hand over his pants leg before pulling out his cellphone. He cringed at the familiar unknown number. He quickly got up from the floor, looking out the doorway into the living room to make sure Aleena was still seated before answering the call in a whisper.

 _"What the hell are you thinking calling me like this?"_

 _"A howdy-doo to you too cowboy."_ The voice on the other line huffed.

 _"Bernie, I'm not in the mood."_ Jules growled, taking a few nervous glances back at his wife in the room over. _"I'm home with my wife—"_

 _"Oh please, if that mattered any you wouldn't be visiting Alicia, your ex-girlfriend or whatever you call her."_

 _"I was there to visit an old friend, nothing more."_

 _"Conveniently after I tell you about her divorcing Max? As if it matters now that…she's engaged again."_

 _"Engaged?!"_ Jules shot up from the floor, his brows coming together on his disgruntled face. _"To who?"_

 _"Locke the Echidna, you remember him right? Her little gay best friend from high school."_

Jules glanced over to Aleena who was still firmly planted on the couch before he took a seat at one of the stools by the kitchen island table. He ran a hand through his brown hair as he let an upset huff escape him.

 _"I guess she realized who the right person for her finally was, the person standing beside her the whole time."_ Bernadette sang through the phone, _"Maybe you should do the same Jules."_

 _"I have a wife."_ Jules stated bluntly, clearly infuriated by the nurse's taunting tone. _"Don't call me anymore."_

 _"You say that every time."_ She sighed, _"But you end up right at my doorstep the same night. The key will be under the mat, like always."_

* * *

Knuckles trudged down the hall toward his locker, staring at his feet while he lugged his bag lifelessly. His senior year was proving to be one of the worst he's ever had. It's been nothing but ups and downs the entire time, leaving little room to breathe and just enjoy life like he wanted to.

Not even in this simple journey to his locker did the universe give him a break to ease his mind, because standing at the locker beside his, was Rouge the Bat.

He noticed her first, provoking a regretful frown. He knew he couldn't avoid her forever, and honestly…he didn't want to.

True she had lied to him, kept him away from his daughter with selfish intentions unlike Mighty who was only looking out for a friend, but even so he still carried a lot of feelings for her. Although he wanted a shot at family life, the only real thing holding him back besides his indecisive stupidity were his feelings for the old schoolyard bully.

As he got closer she finally spotted him, a hint of woe in her eyes, but a snarl on her face to hide the sorrow. He bowed his head slightly, averting his eyes from her as he set his bag on the floor.

"Haven't seen you in a while." She grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. "Come to throw me out of the building now too? I don't believe it's a holiday yet—"

"Rouge." He cut her off, not up for another person he cared about laying into him about how stupid he was. "I'm sorry. I over-reacted—"

"Yeah, you tend to do that with your breakups I hear." She retorted, mimicking the way he cut her off. She expected to earn a rise out of him, another one of his dramatic outbursts, but all he did was stare at his feet in shame.

"It wasn't supposed to end like that…but I'm sorry." He repeated, going over to the metal locker to enter the combination.

That bat girl frowned at the obviously pained expression on his face, and was not a fan of the new gloomy demeanor at all. She's been in love with the hot-headed echidna for as long as she could remember, all the way back to the schoolyard days. No one gripped her interest quite like he did, although she's had her fair share of one-nighters and exes.

"So what now?" She asked, leaning into the locker beside his, trying her best not to let her emotions get the better of her. "You just go off and date her? Live a happy life with your little family and forget we ever had anything?—"

"I could never…forget you Rouge." He cut her off dramatically, shooting his head back up to face her. "I love you. I know you've always been the one for me."

"Then why can't we make this work?" She wailed, tears brimming her topaz eyes as she took hold of his hand. "Because I love you too."

"I kissed Julie-Su once, while we were dating. It was a spur of the moment thing. I was just so upset about finding out what Thrash had been doing to her. At first I tried to convince myself that it was just an accident, but I can't deny that I feel something for her too." The echidna confessed, causing a cloud of sadness to loom over the bat.

"So what do you want Knuckles?" Rouge asked after inhaling a deep breath to keep the tears at bay.

"I just want to be a father." He breathed, thinking back to a time where he swore he would be there for his future child no matter what. "I wanna get it together, for Lara. I hope you can find it in your heart to understand that…"

"I can try…" The bat sighed, nodding reluctantly to what he was insinuating. A tear slipped her cheek, which he brushed away with his thumb, forcing her to look up at him.

"Thank you." He whispered, kissing her cheek before picking up his bag and walking off.

* * *

"What's wrong Rose? Are we feeling a bit jealous?" Mephiles mused, watching the pink hedgehog in his lap stare daggers at the Hummer sitting in the parking lot, and silhouettes of the two hedgehogs in the backseat.

"No." She grumbled, tightening her fists.

"Then why the long face?" The dark hedgehog persisted, enjoying the negative aura around her. "Are you sure it's not because he's paying attention to another pink girl?"

"I'm just worried."

"I was under the impression you weren't fond of the other Ms. Rose."

"I'm not." Rosy growled, gritting her teeth as she watched their silhouettes dive down from view. "She's a stupid little brat…and he'll use her until she dies…because he is the devil."

The two were seated at a picnic table by the fountain. Classes were almost over, not that either of them had been attending them in the first place, and they had just watched Amy Rose sneak into the big car that used to be their hangout space.

"The devil." Mephiles mused, "How interesting."

* * *

Jet paced his room angrily back and forth, biting his thumb as he thought to himself. On his bed sat girlfriend Tekno, scrolling through her tablet like a madwoman.

"You've already lost over a hundred followers on Twitter and Facebook." The canary cringed, "And there are some horrible rumors and statuses going around."

"Rumors?" Jet repeated, looking back at her for an example.

"Yeah, like that you might be gay like that girl with glasses said…" Tekno mumbled, running over to him for a hug. She kissed the obviously enraged hawk in an attempt to comfort him. "But you and I know that's like, so not true."

"That fucking bitch." Jet hissed, shoving Tekno away as he went back to passing.

Ever since Sally's rebellion and her smart remarks, his following has dropped tremendously, and people were actually starting to dislike him more than ever. He was livid, all that hard work getting to the top to finally be somebody, and here she was threatening his ego.

Well, he wasn't going to go down like Sonic. There was no way he was gonna let an ugly girl in clothes three sizes too big and ridiculous glasses get the better of him.

It did have him on edge though, how fearless she was, and how she had convinced his closest friend Storm to break away. Even so, he wouldn't allow it. His popularity was everything, and he intended to keep it by any means necessary.

This was war, and Sally Acorn was going to lose.

"Go to Nack." He ordered his girlfriend, pointing out toward the door. "Ask him for any information he has on the little bitch. Tell him I'll pay double the usual price, and if he asks you to suck his dick for a discount you better make it happen."

"But Jet I—"

" **NOW.** " He commanded, making the canary girl reluctantly get up from his bed and trudge over to the door. Her face paled a bit, thinking about doing something so vial.

But when Jet tells someone to do something, they do it.

She hugged herself, pouting as she walked the halls of the boy's dorm looking for the weasel's room. He hoop earrings clang with every step, and her gaze rested at her feet…until she heard a familiar voice.

She lifted her head up to see Sonic the Hedgehog walking her way…the same hedgehog her old best friend was so in love with.

Being the social media obsessed girl that she was, she had heard all about the blue hedgehog, and the way he so cold-heartedly dumped her old friend. She gritted her teeth in disgust at the sight of him. Although she and Amy aren't so close anymore, she couldn't help but want to stick up for the girl she used to know.

Instead of heading straight to Nack, the canary took a detour and marched over to the blue hedgehog. He looked at her in confusion before she angrily shoved him.

"What the hell?!" He bellowed.

"You've got some nerve doing Amy like that! You asshole."

"Seriously?" Sonic whined, "That was weeks ago! I'm so over getting shit like this."

"She was so in love with you! No one even sees her anymore." Tekno continued, "She used to love you so much. Even back in Mercia High she used to talk nonstop about how perfect and amazing you were. I figured you'd be a little more sensitive and understanding…especially with her past."

"Her past?—"

"But you're worse than Nikki!"

That name struck a chord with Sonic. It was the name Amy was so intent on avoiding in conversation. Come to think of it, she never really told him anything about her past. She always made him feel like nothing but the moment really mattered.

"Nikki?" He repeated, "Who was that? She never told me anything…ever."

"Are you like, serious?" The canary scoffed. She dropped the skepticism when she got a look at the genuinely curious look on his face. The coldness in her voice dropped along with her gaze.

"Please, tell me." Sonic urged her, placing both hands on her shoulders to make her face him again. "I want to understand..."

"Amy and I weren't very popular at Mercia High. We were probably the lowest of the low on the food chain. We mostly had each other to talk to. No one else really wanted to associate themselves with us…until Nikki. He was popular. So hot, and so cool. All the girls wanted him, but he surprisingly wanted Amy one day. He was persistent, but so was she. She'd never give him a chance, always going on about how her heart belonged to a boy named Sonic. But eventually he broke her walls down, and she caved in for one date. She was madly in love, until the next day she found out it was all a big joke. A bet he made with his buddies for a few dollars. She didn't want to believe it, so she confronted him on it, and it turns out he had a girlfriend. Her name was Eimi. Amy didn't take it very well, and beat them up both pretty badly with a hammer she had in her bag. That's why she got expelled and sent over here. I know it sounds awful, but that's to be expected with how she grew up..."

"How she grew up? Isn't she rich?"

"Well now that she's with Rob, but before that she was living in Mobotropolis with her parents." The canary mumbled.

"Her parents?"

"Her mother has Schizophrenia, and her father was abusive. She was living a nightmare until her cousin took her in."

Sonic stared down at his shoes, soaking up every bit of information the talkative girl before him was spewing out. He had never known the horrid history behind Amy Rose, or that she had been so hurt in her life. It made him feel terrible.

To think that there was such darkness behind her adorable happy smile.

* * *

Tails made his way over to the red vixen sitting alone at her desk in the empty science classroom. It was lunch time, and Dr. Robotnik had scurried off to the teacher's lounge and forgot to lock the door. Fiona sat with a journal, singing to herself with her eyes fixed on the book. The kitsune just smiled to himself as he walked closer to her, admiring her beautiful voice.

"Hi Fiona." He greeted, making her pick her head up. She smiled at him, melting his heart completely.

"Oh, hey you." She replied, brushing a stray strand of her rust-colored hair out of her face.

He blushed, taking his usual seat beside her. "What are you up to?"

"Just making another entry in my diary." The vixen sang, setting her pencil down. "My counselor said I should use writing as an outlet for my emotions."

"I didn't know you were seeing a counselor."

"Yeah. Mighty's the one who encouraged me. It's more like a group thing for troubled girls." She shrugged, closing her book. "So how about you? What are you up to?"

"Oh I uhh, just wanted to see if you'd have lunch with me…maybe." Tails stammered nervously, rubbing the back of his head as he awaited answer.

She almost said yes, but then realized something she hadn't before. There was a bit of hope to his voice, and a spark of love in his shimmery blue eyes. The poor boy was in love with her all over again, and she had done nothing at all to provoke it.

"Tails, we should talk about something first…" She cringed, looking away from him as she put her things away.

"What is it?" He asked, heart racing and blush still clear on his face.

"You know that we're just…friends right?"

"Yeah but…I was hoping maybe we could…be more than that…eventually." He mumbled shyly, rubbing his arm.

She let out a heavy sigh before scooting her chair over to his. She placed a hand on his shoulder, making him look up into those beautiful eyes he loved so much.

"Tails, there's really no other way to say this, but we can never be more than that."

"B-B-But why?" He could feel his heart shatter to pieces once again, all that effort in trying to keep it together now lost. "I like you. Is this about Sonic and Sonia? They aren't my brother and sister anymore! Cosmo and Cream? I don't care about them even half as much as I care about you! I—"

"Stop." She cut him off in a stern tone, a little disappointed at how quick he was to throw some of his most precious relationships under the bus for a simple crush. She didn't want to hurt him, but she had to be stern. "You shouldn't say such things. They care about you a lot—"

" **BUT I LOVE YOU.** " He shouted, tears trickling down his face. "And they only get in the way of that."

"Enough." The vixen replied in aggravation, standing up with her bag. "You need to get it through your head that there will never be an ' _us_ '. You're thirteen and I'm sixteen—"

"I turn fourteen this year." He pleaded, getting up to keep her gaze.

"You're just too young Tails, and obviously immature if you're willing to write off people you care about that way to get what you want. Besides, I'm in love with someone else." She stated bluntly before finally walking away and out of the classroom.

He stared down at his feet, tears splashing onto the tiled floor as he tried to process everything. His heart was in ruins again. He mentally scolded himself for thinking he had a chance…and for ever doubting Cosmo, the only person he knew with the ability to heal his heart.

 _'How could I be so stupid again?'_ He thought to himself as he rubbed away his tears on his sleeve. _'I should have just listened to Cosmo…I have to apologize to her.'_

Tails then darted out of the classroom, off in search of finding the seedrian to apologize for his cruelty. He ran so fast he didn't see the vixen was standing just outside the classroom, leaning on the doorway with tears of her own trickling down her face. She clutched her bag to her chest, and smiled as she watched him run off.

 _'I do really like you Tails, and there could have definitely been something there, but Mighty means the world and more to me.'_ She thought to herself, _'I promise you this will be the last time I play with your heart like that. Now go, find Cosmo…and leave Cream up to Ray.'_

* * *

Scourge walked down the first floor hall of the main building, skulking around while he waited for Amy to get out of her classes so they could go hangout. He never realized how lonely things got without Mephiles, Fiona, or even that brat Rosy around.

"Haven't seen you in a while, eh?" A familiar voice called out. The green hedgehog picked his head up to see Geoffrey leaning against a few lockers, smirking in his direction.

All Scourge could think about was how the skunk was so grabby at the chipmunk, and how he was always staring at her with hungry eyes. That old jealous feeling stirred back inside him, and not even a second later he had the skunk by the collar and pinned against the lockers. He gave him the coldest scowl, but Geoffrey was not moved. He smiled staring right back into the devilish eyes.

"That's one way to say _'hello, long time no see old friend'_." The skunk remarked in a patronizing tone. It earned another slam of his head back on the lockers from the hedgehog.

"I've seen the way you fucking look at her, always trynna grab ass." Scourge growled as he tightened his grip on the boy's collar. "I should gouge out your fucking eyes—"

"What's with the jealousy? She's not yours ya'know."

"I don't—"

"Hey! Let him go!" A voice called out, making both of them turn their heads in confusion.

Jogging over from the other end of the hall was yet another transfer student, one that only fueled the envious rage of the green hedgehog. It was Ken, running to the aid of someone he assumed to be getting bullied. He quickly shoved Scourge off of Geoffrey and sent him staggering back with a surprising force.

Scourge just glared on at the monkey, remembering all of those days he saw the kid sitting with the auburn-haired girl by the fountain. Then she miraculously appeared out from behind him, quickly running over to a slightly dazed Geoffrey.

The hedgehog watched as she cupped the skunk's face in her hands, trying to make sure he wasn't injured. It made his stomach turn. He felt sick at the sight, like he wanted to hit someone.

"Why the hell did you just attack him like that?!" The chipmunk shouted, stomping over to get in the hedgehog's face.

" **BECAUSE I DON'T LIKE THE WAY HE LOOKS AT YOU.** " Scourge screamed in her face, "Either of them." He added, gesturing toward the monkey.

"I already told you—"

"But did you tell him that too?!" He cut her off, pointing an accusing finger at Geoffrey.

"I didn't have to." She replied, only making him more furious. His chest heaved with anger as he glared at all their faces, especially the skunk.

"So why the fuck does he look at you like—Fuck!" He cut himself off, turning away to run a hand through his long quills. "I can't fucking handle it okay? Seeing you with anyone else, because—"

"Hey, you four!" Officer Zonic's voice echoed through the hall, "Get to class before I write you up."

Geoffrey walked off without a second thought, bored since he couldn't hear what Scourge had been whispering to the auburn-haired girl. Ken grabbed Sally by the sleeve, edging her over his way so they could walk back to class. She kept her eye on the sorrowful hedgehog, feeling empathetic toward his frustrations.

Scourge just shook his head, turning around to head back out the building and toward his car. Seeing Sally always made him feel so helpless, but seeing her with Geoffrey brought back memories he'd rather forget.

* * *

Amy sang to herself as she skipped across the grassy lawns of campus and toward the school parking lot. The sun was setting, making the sky a beautiful mixture of pinks and purples. The clouds appeared like cotton candy, and the air was cold without a chilling wind.

She stopped halfway to that familiar black truck, taking a moment to smooth out her new red sweater dress. She adjusted the matching red beanie, brushing through a few of her shoulder-length pink quills with her fingers to make sure she looked her best. Then she walked over to his car with a bounce to her steps.

Her growing feelings for the green hedgehog were too much to ignore or put off any longer. She liked him, and there was no use in denying that. He clearly enjoyed her company too, constantly calling her over more and more every day. It got to a point where she couldn't keep it to herself any longer.

She wanted him, in more ways than one.

"What's with the face?" The pink hedgehog questioned, plopping down in the backseat with him as she slammed the door shut.

"Bad day." He replied nonchalantly, no hint of emotion in his voice. He leaned over and threw his arm around her to pull her down with him as he laid his back on the seat. She rested her head on his chest in silence.

He was usually only cuddly like this when he was upset, and she knew he didn't like to be bombarded with questions. She had learned so much about the mysterious bad boy, like his habits and quirks. This was only one of many.

After some time she lifted her head to face him. He looked back at her and grinned, rising his hand to her cheek.

"You're cute." He chuckled.

"Stop lying." She giggled, cheeks already beginning to flush at the sight of his ice-blue stare.

"I mean it." He assured her, brushing the quills out of her doll-like face. "Sonic's an idiot for letting a girl like you go. So loyal, so cute, and so good in bed—thanks to me of course."

"I doubt he even thinks about me anymore." The pink hedgehog frowned a bit.

"Insecurity is a big turn off Babe." Scourge scolded her playfully, pulling her in for a kiss. "Any guy would be lucky to have a girl like you…"

She kissed back, forcing his head back onto the seat as she straddled him. It was so cold, and their breathing started to make the windows fog as they continued their kissing.

"Even you?" She mumbled through kisses, making him raise an eyebrow.

"What?" He muttered back, sitting up with her still in his lap as they didn't let up on their kissing contest.

"Would you be lucky to have me?"

"Don't talk like that Pinky. Makin' it sound like you wanna date me and shit."

"I do—"

"Huh?" He cut her off abruptly, pulling back to give her a curious look. The blush on her face worsened as she dropped her gaze to her skirt and twirled her fingers. She bit her lip, taking a moment to find the confidence to look him straight in the eye before speaking her mind.

"I like you…and what we have. With you things are so easy, and I don't feel like I have to try so hard. You're the bad boy and I'm the innocent school girl. I know I shouldn't, but I do. I want to be your girlfriend…"

Scourge looked away from her, sending a wave of worry over her as he rubbed the back of his head and muttered something under his breath.

"What happened to the no-strings attached rule we had?" He questioned.

"That was before." She whined, pulling him back to her face by the collar of his leather jacket. Planting another soft kiss on his lips, this one much more gentle and kind. "So…"

"Amy…I couldn't even if I wanted to—"

"Why?!" She yelped, "Is it Sonic? Who cares what he thinks, or anyone! I want to be with you Scourge."

"It's got nothing to do with Blue, or any of those other dumb fucks. I couldn't possibly give a fuck about what anyone thinks of me."

"Then what is it?"

He bit his lip after looking back to her, already able to see she was going to start crying at any moment.

"Mi corazón pertenece a la reina."

"A queen?" She questioned, making sure she understood the foreign sentence correctly. He raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"You speak Spanish?" He asked curiously.

"No. French is the common language of Mercia. The two languages are pretty similar, so I got the gist of what you were saying." She explained, getting off of his lap to sit beside him. "You said something about a queen."

"I said…my heart belongs to the queen."

"So there's someone else—"

"No." He corrected her, shattering her heart to pieces. "There's never been anyone else but her."

" **THEN JUST WHAT THE HELL WERE WE?** " She shouted, upset tears escaping her. "Didn't…Didn't this mean anything to you?"

"You were just something to do when there was nothing to do…like Fiona. I thought you figured that." He shrugged, not fazed by her outburst at all. "And no offense…but pink hedgehogs aren't my type at all."

"Then what is?" Amy huffed, her heartbreak slipping into anger. "Just who the hell is this fucking queen?!"

"Red-headed chipmunks…"

Amy's jaw literally dropped. She felt like it was going to unhinge and drop to the floor at any moment. She instantly knew exactly who he was referring to, and she was livid. The same girl she had assumed was trying to steal her last boyfriend had stolen the potential new one right out from under her.

Before she could freak out or say anything the door to the backseat flung open. They both turned their heads to see another green hedgehog staring back at them with an upset look.

"Dammit Amy!" He scolded, pulling the pink hedgehog out of the car. His eyes never left Scourge's for a moment as he did so. It was only when he broke their connection to turn back and scold the pink girl. "Are you fucking crazy?"

"Let me go Manic!" She shouted, her face a hot mess with tears and running makeup. He gripped her arm tightly so she wouldn't wiggle out of his grasp.

"Hell no. I'm not gonna let you do this to yourself…or Sonic." He glared back at Scourge coldly, "This guy will do nothing but use you and toss you out when he's done."

Amy instantly ceased her attempts to get away. He had summed up exactly what just happened before he arrived, and it struck a nerve in her.

"You've been hanging around Blue too much. You're starting to talk shit like him too."

"Since when do you talk to me?" He retorted, slamming the car door in his face before dragging Amy out of the parking lot.

The two walked over to the picnic tables by the fountain where he sat her down. She was too distraught, sobbing and wailing with her hands cupping her face as she sat before him. He kneeled down in front of her, pulling her wrists away to see her face.

"Are you okay?" He asked her with concern, "Did he hurt you Amy?"

"Everybody hurts me." She mumbled through heavy sobs, "Scourge, my parents, and Sonic—"

"Hey…I won't hurt you." He assured her, pulling a napkin from his fanny-pack to wipe the runny makeup off her cheeks. "And Sonic didn't mean to…That was my fault—"

"No it wasn't. I made a stupid mistake, and ruined everything I had with him." She sobbed, "It was all based on a lie. I thought he was the one who handed me that umbrella."

"It might have been based on a misconception, but that love you have for my brother…that shit is real. He cares about you a lot Amy. Everyone makes mistakes, even him. You've gotta remember no one is perfect. This is high school for Chaos sake!"

"You've got that right." She chuckled a bit, making him smile in relief.

"There's that smile." He cheered, wiping away the last of her tears with his finger, capturing her gaze as he did so. "I usually say _'pretty girls shouldn't cry'_ right about now…but it's funny cause even when you're crying you're beautiful too."

She blushed at his incredibly sweet comment, her frown immediately uplifting into a sheepish smile under his kind stare. It brought her back to her most favorite memory…of her hero coming to her rescue with an umbrella in the pouring rain.

"Maybe you were the hero I've been looking for all along." She mused.

"I guess we'll never really know for sure." He shrugged with a slight chuckle

Just as he was about to get up to his feet, the pink girl had swooped in and closed the gap between their faces, crashing her lips onto his. His eyes widened in surprise, quickly pulling her away by the shoulders.

"This again?!" He yelped, making her tilt her head in confusion. "Why do they want ya' when the chase is over?" He mumbled to himself before looking back up to Amy with a deep blush.

"What?" The pink girl questioned in confusion, a bit upset by the rejection. "You don't like me still?"

"It's not like that…I'm just in a relationship, and a really, really, really good place in my life." He explained the best he could without revealing any details Mina wouldn't want him to. "You're my brother's girl…with him is where you really belong."

"He'd never take me back." She sighed, staring back down at her feet. "I slept with his worst enemy before and after we started dating…and I just tried to make out with his brother."

"We all have are nights." Manic smiled, taking both her hands in his. "Just give it time and he'll come around, but when he does…just be honest. He loves you for you, and nothing else."

"Thank you Manic." She smiled, throwing her arms around him for a hug.

"C'mon, it's late." He told her, "I'll walk you back to your dorm."

Scourge let out an angry shout, kicking the back of his seat as he watched the green hedgehog walk off with the upset Amy. A single tear escaped him, fighting back every fiber of his being to stop himself from running after the younger green hedgehog. He hated seeing Manic, because he's the only one who could get a real rise of emotion out of him.

As much as he hated seeing him, he desperately wanted to at the same time.

It's hard…staying away from someone you care about so much.

 _'Fuck.'_ The green hedgehog grumbled as he got out of his car to start the walk back to his dorm, ' _Now I've got no choice but to patch things up with Creepy and Psycho. Wonder when the fuck Fi will get over the bullshit…'_

* * *

 ** _Hope you enjoyed a chapter that really didn't need any warnings!_**

 ** _Blaze and Silver both desperately want things to work between them. So much so that she's going to force him to change for her friends, and he's actually gonna go along with it. (Blaze can be described as an insecure girl who is also a people-pleaser. Desperate to keep her friends happy because she's never really had friends before. Silver can be described as a socially-awkward 'loser' who is sort of a push-over and very unconfident in himself.)_**

 ** _Knuckles has started his journey of redemption and change. He wants to prove to Julie-Su that he isn't some little boy chasing skirts anymore. He's vowed to do anything in his power at a chance with his daughter. But along the long road of redemption comes many temptations. (Knuckles can be described as an indecisive and dimwitted teen who doesn't realize the severity of his actions until confronted by them.)_**

 ** _There's a lot more to Sally and Sonic than just friendship, but what about all these other dudes hanging on her coattail? (Sally can be described as the unappealing shy girl in glasses. She's very intelligent and caring with a bit of an attitude that rivals Sonic's.)_**

 ** _Fiona has once again manipulated Tails, but this time was much different. She did it all for Ray, and even admitted to somewhat reciprocating Tails' feelings, but not nearly enough to rival her love for her foster brother Mighty. (Fiona can be described as a girl with a troubled past attempting to better herself. Tails can be described as academically intelligent, but socially ignorant...especially when it comes to matters of the heart. All due to his young and naive age range.)_**

 ** _Poor little Amy, getting her little heart torn out again. After hearing Tekno discuss the girl's history it's apparent that she's been used before...and doesn't take it very well. (Amy can be described as a bubbly socialite who isn't very sensible and bases her life off TV dramas)_**

 ** _Manic came in to save the day once again! He's really taking this growing up thing seriously...but just what the hell is with the constant tension between him and Scourge? Just what the hell is with Scourge in general? (Manic can be described as carefree and rebellious with a kind-nature. Scourge can be described as a mysterious delinquent with quite a bit of history behind him. Too hard to figure out, but too interesting not to wonder.)_**

 **Jules, a military official and father of three. His marriage to Aleena itself was merely a runner-up prize. So will her depression destroy this already rocky marriage? Or will it be a lust-hungry nurse? Or maybe even an old flame? (Jules can be described as a confident, brave solider who just can't let go of a promise he made to his very first love.)**

 ** _These next few chapters will be very interesting because there will be some HUGE REVEALS. From Jet's homophobia to Scourge and Manic's...thing...all the way up to why the hell Sally doesn't remember Scourge and her face scars. STAY TUNED._**

 ** _Next Time On Green Hill Academy!_**

 ** _A new threat arises for Mina when someone discovers her secret_**

 ** _Jet's history is revealed...and we finally see where his hatred comes from_**

 ** _Wave starts to question her sexuality, while Rotor starts to get more comfortable with his_**

 ** _Silver finally has a run in with sweetheart Gold, but she isn't a fan of his new change_**

 ** _Alicia and Bernadette have a bitter talk on Jules, and their days in high school_**

 ** _Sonic and Amy finally have a sit down, and only Chaos knows where it could go_**

 ** _Manic faces off with Isabella...and is forced to make an impossible choice_**

 ** _And so much more!_**

 ** _(For every warning this chapter lacked there will be double next time. It'll be a very triggering and upsetting chapter for a pre-warning)_**


	39. Chapter 39

**WARNINGS: Child abuse. alcoholic parent, extreme homophobia, forced sexual act, and the topic of abortion, suicide, and bulimia**

* * *

 **Chapter 39: Amongst Heartache Is Hope**

 _' "Awe, c'mon! What's with the tears? Don't I taste like a lollipop?" That weasel taunted me as I sat up and wiped my tears. I was grateful that it didn't last very long._

 _"That's a fine mouth you got there, Love." He continued, sitting up to pull his pants back over himself. "You should try using it for more than just talkin' all the damn time. Anyways, what does Jet wanna know exactly?"_

 _I finished wiping my face, swishing saliva in my mouth a few times in an attempt to get the vial taste of him out. I didn't want to do it, but there's no way in hell I'm gonna be a loser at this school too._

 _"He wants to know about this girl. I think her name is Sally Acorn." I explained, handing him my phone with the chipmunk girl's picture pulled up. He took it from my hand, studying it quickly before handing it back to me._

 _"Ahh, Sally Acorn." He sang, adjusting the brown hat on his head by the brim. "Well she's sixteen in junior year. She just transferred here from Moebius, and her mother's Principal Acorn—"_

 _"Jet just wants the dirt." I cut in, hoping to hear something more interesting to report to Jet._

 _"Oh, I get ya'." He nodded, "Not much to be said really. She's too new to have made any enemies."_

 _"What about the fight with Mina Mongoose I'm always reading about? The savage attack over jealousy—"_

 _"Feeble misconception. Sources tell me the attack was retaliation for the Songoose had previously attacked her adopted sister, Nicole the Lynx."_

 _"So there's nothing you can tell me at all?!" I shrieked, getting up from his bed. "I blew you for nothing?"_

 _"Well…there is something."_

 _"Like what?!"_

 _"Sources say she doesn't like to use the communal showers very often…and when she does she doesn't take off her glasses. I think she's hidin' something interesting behind the lenses." He looked over to me with a smirk, "And contrary to popular belief…she's got a big crush on good 'ole Sonic the Hedgehog."_

 _I tossed him the clip of money Jet had sent me off with before bolting it out the door and back to Jet's room. I told him everything. I thought he'd send me back, or at least tell me if it was good info or not, but he didn't really react._

 _Just what are you planning Jet?'_

Tekno stared over at her boyfriend, who stood by the window of his room as he stared out into the distance. He had a plan brewing in the back of his mind for the auburn-haired girl.

Out the window he spotted the Freedom Fighters at the picnic tables by the fountain. The hawk furrowed his brows in annoyance, watching his followers walk up to the walrus and apologize or go over to chipmunk to offer their support.

His frustrations only grew when he saw Storm and Wave approach the group, taking seats by Rotor as they smiled and laughed.

"She wants war…" He grumbled under his breath before turning away with malice radiating in his voice. "I'll give her a damn war."

* * *

Gold sang to herself as she undid the pins holding up the turkey cut-out decorations on the walls of the hallway. As part of the volunteer club it was one of her duties to help take down last holiday decorations to make way for new ones.

The tenrec was perched up on a stool, reaching out on her tiptoes. The last pin was giving her so much trouble, way too high for her to reach up and grab. In an attempt to undo the last thing holding the strung-up leaves, she hopped up and finally got the pin, but lost her balance in the process.

"Whoa!" She yelped, flailing her arms in an attempt to steady herself, but the stool had tipped over and down she went. Just before her face could meet the ground she was caught. She instantly breathed a sigh of relief before looking up to thank her rescuer.

"Thank you so much—Silver?! What's all this?" She stared wide-eyed at her friend as he set her back up on her feet.

He wore a simple white T-shirt with no logo, plain black jeans with just as boring sneakers. His quills were all slicked back, not sprung out all over the place as usual, and he didn't sport his signature dark-lined eyes.

She tilted her head in confusion as he rubbed the back of his and fixed his eyes on the floor beneath them.

"Just trying something new…" He mumbled, obviously not comfortable with the change.

"You mean, something not you?" She remarked in a sassy tone.

"It's just…something Blaze wanted me to try. She thinks her friends would be more open to the idea of us dating if I wasn't such a…loser."

"You aren't a loser Silver. You shouldn't care what others think of you." The tenrec told him, upset that he felt he needed to change.

"I don't." He assured her, "But Blaze wants her friends to like me…and I want her to like me."

"But this isn't you—"

" **SILVER!** " A voice shouted their way. They both turned to see Blaze waving him over to her. He turned back to Gold to say goodbye.

"I'll see ya' around." He told the tenrec before trudging down the hallway toward Blaze.

She watched him run up to the cat and kiss her cheek. She was at least thankful that he couldn't change his smile. However, the fact that he was trying to change himself had upset her greatly. She was there when Sally Acorn gave the speech in the hall.

 _'No one should be chastised for who they are.'_ Gold recalled the chipmunk's words, glaring hard at the purple cat as the two took off down the hall.

* * *

Nicole sat on her bed as she eyed her mongoose roommate. Mina was dressing her bed, feeling the lynx's cold stare on her back as she did so. She sighed, no longer able to ignore the elephant in the room. She turned around to face the raven-haired girl with an annoyed expression.

"Nicole, this has gone on long enough. I've already apologized for not showing you the box. I just wanted to spare his feelings and save him from a heartbreaking conversation about how you wanted Espio and not him okay? Can you stop glaring at me now?"

"You shouldn't have meddled with something so personal." Nicole pouted.

"Does it really matter anymore? You've got Espio, and Shard is totally happy with me. Who cares? It worked out for everybody in the end anyway."

"I…I suppose." The lynx sighed. She was never really one for holding grudges, or able to hold on to negative emotions.

"Good." Mina smiled, turning her attention back to her bed. "If Honey comes back looking for me tell her I left for my appointment. Bye!"

With that, the mongoose took off out the door. Nicole sighed, falling back onto her bed as she stared at the ceiling for a while. She thought back to the letter, how it was so beautiful it brought her to tears, and that breathtaking necklace he made just for her.

Her face flushed at the thought. She turned her head toward the mongoose's bed, a few negative thoughts crossing her mind too.

 _'I wonder what else she's hidden from me.'_ The lynx thought, sitting up to move off her bed and toward Mina's. _'Wait, what am I doing? This is wrong!'_

She quickly regained her senses just as she made it to the bed. The lynx turned around to retreat, but felt her heel brush up against something. Upon contact, she immediately turned around and got to the floor. Curiosity led her to lift the bedsheet and inspect the area where her heel had made contact.

That's where she saw another box, and instantly assumed it to be something else Shard must have sent her. She huffed angrily, pulling the box out from under the bed. She set it in her lap, undoing the folds to reveal its contents.

Nicole let out a surprised gasp. Inside the cardboard shoe-box were…sonograms.

She picked one up, turning it over in her hand to inspect the writing on the back. Her eyes went wide with realization as she reread the numbers to be absolutely sure.

The estimated date of conception was dated back about seven weeks ago.

Mina and Shard had only been dating for five weeks…

* * *

Rotor was once again at his locker retrieving books. Today he wore a hopeful smile, and walked with a bit of pep in his step. Knowing that the Freedom Fighters were a hundred percent behind him had him feeling much more confident and lively. His father may have abandoned him, but Sally's revolt proved to him that there was hope for a better future, and that people did care about him.

One of those people had just tapped his shoulder, making him turn around.

"Cobar…" The walrus breathed in shock before letting his smile drop into a slight frown. He felt so guilty for purposely avoiding the echidna boy for some time.

"No don't…" The echidna pleaded, "Don't let that smile disappear. I've missed it."

Rotor blushed, allowing the smile his crush loved so much to take over his face again.

"I'm sorry for ignoring you and the rest of the committee Cobar. Things have just been hard, with Jet and all."

"I completely understand, but I sincerely hope it doesn't have to be like that anymore." Cobar frowned, taking the walrus' hand in his. "Sally's changing things Rotor. Not just for us gays, but for all those who are too afraid or too weak to stand up for themselves. Her message is reaching everyone's ears, even some of Jet's most loyal followers are starting to get it together. A lot of people have even forgiven her indiscretions with Mina Mongoose and are standing by her and your friends."

"I know." The walrus nodded, joyful tears escaping his eyes. "Sally's always been a leader, someone people should actually follow. I don't know how me and the others ever got along without her."

"You don't have to be afraid or ashamed anymore." The echidna told him, squeezing his hand a bit to grab his full on attention. Rotor looked up into those baby blues he loved so much, admiring that warm smile. "Have lunch with me."

The walrus bit his lip as he thought for a quick moment before nodding in agreement.

"I'd love that." He told his crush, giving his hand a squeeze back before letting out an embarrassed chuckle. "But, I'd really like to shower first…I must smell awful."

"Wait until lunch time. No gym classes will be going on so the showers will be empty and you'll be comfortable." Cobar suggested, "I'll wait for you with a homemade lunch in the library." He added, leaning over to peck the walrus on the cheek.

* * *

Shadow sat on his bed back at his dorm, completely alone with nothing but silence and a bottle of liquor. He sat with his legs crossed, staring out at nothing as he drank away the feelings of regret and sorrow within him.

He'd been sitting there for hours. Missing all of his classes while he drowned in misery.

"Drinking this early?" A voice called out to him, snapping him out of his thoughts. He looked over toward the door to his room, watching Rouge close it before walking over to sit beside him. "I guess it's five somewhere, huh?"

"Le-Leave me alone." The black hedgehog grumbled.

Just before he could bring the bottle to his lips again, the bat had snatched it right out of his hands. She pouted, setting the bottle down as she gave him a stern look.

"That's enough for you Mr. Doom."

"Fuck off." He snapped, upset that she had taken away his only escape from his sorrows. He brought his knees to his chest, resting his head on them as he pretended to disappear.

"I take it things with Sonia didn't turn out the way you wanted…"

"What?!" Shadow gasped, turning his head to the bat in complete disbelief. "You knew?"

"You really thought I didn't?" She laughed, "C'mon Shadow, I known you better than anyone."

"Then why didn't you say anything this time? You're always so quick to butt in." He remarked bitterly, "Quite surprising you didn't, considering it was Sonia."

"As much as I can't stand her…I thought she'd be good for you." Rouge admitted, crossing her arms as she stared back at the hedgehog with a slight-frown. "I take it that I was wrong?"

"No…you weren't." He sighed, looking back down toward his sheets. "I slept with Honey again and she found out—"

"You what?!" The bat yelped, leaping from the bed to stand on her feet.

"She was recovering from bulimia…and kept me at a distance. I didn't like that. Sleeping with Honey wasn't about sex or love. I just wanted closeness. Distance gives me anxiety. I wanted to hurt her before she had the chance to hurt me, even though I knew she never would. She was perfect for me Rouge…but she's not Maria."

"Shadow…"

"None of these girls will ever be Maria, and I know that." Tears began to brim his crimson eyes, making Rouge sit back down beside him. She stroked his flushed cheek, chalking his openness up to the alcohol. "I blew it because I was scared…that the same thing would happen. It was that distance, making me so fearful. I don't want to be alone all my life…I want to love…but I don't know if I can. Not after Maria."

Rouge instantly threw her arms around him without a second thought, tears of her own escaping her as she joined the hedgehog in his trip down memory lane. Their minds both wandered to the same girl. The innocent blue eyes and golden hair.

"Maria wanted you to be happy Shadow." The bat reminded him, "You can't live in the past forever, because you're missing the present. I hear there's a new school counselor. Let's get you sobered up so you can go talk to someone, okay?"

* * *

 _'I was in the library, sitting at the table Tails and I usually sat at together. I had my books out, but wasn't really paying attention. I just needed something to look at while I thought to myself._

 _Tails had been ignoring me ever since my negative outburst on Fiona. It was the very first time he and I didn't talk since I first came across him in the parking lot a few months ago._

 _I had almost forgotten how lonely I was before I met him._

 _"_ _ **COSMO!**_ _" A voice called out to me, making me lift my head from the book. It earned him a shush from the librarian, but he continued to run past the shelves until he made it to me._

 _I instantly turned away from him, trying to mask my pained expression. He must have noticed, because he rested a hand on my cheek and turned my face back towards him. He was slightly out of breath, and looked as though he'd been crying. It broke my heart._

 _"I'm so sorry, about being so mean to you the other day." He apologized, nothing but sincerity in his eyes. "I'm so stupid. I don't know what I was thinking. How could I ever doubt you? The only person who's always been all there for me at this school."_

 _"But you were right." I mumbled, "I was just jealous. I didn't want you to like her again…because I like you."_

 _"I like you too Cosmo." I couldn't believe it. He was blushing so badly when he said it, and I must have been too._

 _"But what about Cream? She likes you too…"_

 _"My answer doesn't change." He told me, "Cream will always be my friend, but you're the one whose always really been there…in my heart I mean. Not Fiona."_

 _"Oh Tails." I cooed, completely moved by his words._

 _"D-Do you wanna go for a walk around campus together? I could really use one of our talks." He stammered, rubbing the back of his head nervously._

 _I nodded happily, allowing him to take my hand and help me up from my seat. He never let go. He held my hand the entire time._

 _After he took me back to my dorm I instantly ran upstairs to tell Cream. She gave me her best wishes, but I could tell she was slightly disappointed. I hope this doesn't change things between us, and I pray that she isn't too upset.'_

"Cosmo?" Tails questioned, waving a hand in front of the seedrian's face as she stared blankly at the tray before her. She shook her head before offering him a sheepish smile.

"Sorry…Just got lost in thought." The green-haired girl giggled.

The two of them picked back up into their happy conversation, all smiles and giggles. Completely oblivious to the rabbit at the table behind them, sitting alone as she watched them with a sorrowful gaze.

All the way across the café, by the double-doors were a jittery squirrel and a red vixen. Fiona kneeled down beside Ray, pointing out toward the rabbit sitting all by herself with a frown.

"There she is Ray, and she looks a little down. Maybe she could use the company of a fine little gentlemen like you." The fox teased playfully, patting her friend on the back.

"A-A-Are you sure?" He asked again in nervousness, twirling his fingers shyly.

"It's now or never." Fiona encouraged him, shoving him lightly toward the rabbit.

His feet led him unconsciously to her, and before he knew it he was right behind her. He breathed in nervously before tapping her shoulder. She turned around, and after the surprised expression left her face all that remained was a genuinely happy smile.

"Ray." Cream greeted, sorrow instantly flying out the window.

"H-Hi Cream." He waved shyly, "M-Mind if I j-join you?"

She patted the seat beside her for him to sit on. Then the two ensued in their own happy conversation, all smiles and giggles.

Fiona nodded to herself, allowing a big smile to cross her face as she watched all four of the younger students in such a happy mood. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder, making her jump. She turned around to be met with Mighty's kind smile, completely melting her heart.

"Thanks Fi." He whispered to her, throwing an arm around her and pulling her in closely to him as they watched Ray from across the café.

* * *

Back in the girl's dorm, laying lifeless on her bed was a distraught Amy Rose. She was staring at the ceiling with her arm shielding her eyes as she whimpered lightly to herself. The poor girl was devastated. Her heart in ruins after Scourge's _'attempt'_ at letting her down gently.

She tossed over onto her belly, using her pillow to muffle her screams of anguish as she let out all her frustrations with a shriek.

She thought she had found something within the green hedgehog, thought that she could be the one to tame his wild heart.

 _'This isn't how it's supposed to be.'_ She thought to herself, _'The cute girl_ _ **ALWAYS**_ _gets a happy ending.'_

The poor hedgehog had to learn the hard way. Life isn't like one of those romance dramas.

Her ears perked up as she heard a click of the doorknob. She instantly sat up, face red from crying.

" **GO AWAY MARINE** —" She shouted before turning around to see that it wasn't the annoying little raccoon girl by the door. Her eyes widened in shock as she watched another hedgehog enter the room and take a seat beside her on the bed.

"Hey Ames…" He mumbled weakly.

The pink girl instantly sat up correctly, wiping away the tears with her pink sleeve.

"Sonic…" She breathed, in total disbelief that he was actually sitting in front of her. She hadn't seen him in so long, most of her time being occupied by Scourge these last few weeks.

"So how are you doing?" He asked, staring awkwardly at his shoes.

"Okay I guess."

"I've been meaning to talk to you for a while now. Well, more like apologize really."

"Apologize?"

"Yeah." He nodded, turning his head to look at her. She had almost forgotten how beautiful his smile was. "I'm sorry for being so hard on you, especially when I wasn't the best guy in the world either."

"Did Manic put you up to this?" She pouted, crossing her arms.

"No. I'm being me…for once." Sonic assured her, "In my time off of being Mr. Popular, I've started to do some deep thinking, and recheck my priorities."

Amy frowned, moved by the sincerity in his voice as he turned his body completely toward her and mimicked her cross-legged position on the frilly pink-sheeted bed. She shifted nervously under his unreadable gaze.

"Tekno told me about your parents, what happened at your old school, and Nikki." He told her, making her eyes shoot open.

" **SHE DID WHAT!?** " Amy cried out angrily, tears of frustration and embarrassment beginning to roll down her face.

"Why didn't you ever tell me about any of it Amy?" The blue hedgehog questioned, taking hold of her wrists in an attempt to calm her.

"I don't want people to know I lived like shit! I'm Amy Rose! Instagram famous, and Mobius' Sweetheart. I don't want people to pity me! I want them to…love me." She whimpered, bowing her head in shame.

"Hey, don't be embarrassed." He told her, lifting her chin up in his hand. "This is good. Us just talking like this. I think this is all we were missing. What ruined us was a lack of communication…Everything else was perfect."

"Wasn't I the worst thing to ever happen to you?"

"Are you crazy?" He chuckled, wiping her tears away with his thumb as he caressed her cheek. "Amy, you made me the happiest dude on the planet! There's just something about you that gives me such positivity. I felt like I could take on the world with just you at my side…Like I was king of everything."

This was the last thing she ever expected to happen. A midst her heartache over Scourge's rejection, her original love had swooped in to her rescue. Although she knew he wasn't her true hero, that love was still there, and it hadn't changed or diminished a bit.

She relished in the feel of his gentle hand at her cheek, and stared adoringly at his jade eyes.

"I miss ya' Ames, and I don't want us to keep avoiding each other like this."

"Me either."

"How about we fix this communication problem? Let's just make a promise to be honest with each other, starting now. How 'bout it?" He asked, pulling his hand away from her cheek to hold his pinky out to her.

He smiled at her, giving her all the encouragement she needed to raise her pinky to his and link them together in promise.

"I've been messing around with Scourge the entire duration of our breakup." She blurted out, "I ended up falling for him for real and tried to ask him out yesterday. He…He was only using me."

Sonic felt a horrid pang of jealousy spike in his heart, but he only nodded in understanding.

"I kissed someone else while we were dating." He confessed, earning an understanding nod from her although she felt that same pang of jealousy.

It felt good for both of them, airing their dirty laundry, and no longer having anything to bury. The two hedgehogs sat across from each other, still holding their pinkies together as they smiled at one another. It was so peaceful. It felt like they were back in their own little world where they ruled together…until he pulled away from the staring contest.

"Wow, this is good. We're on the right track Ames, and I'm happy." The blue hedgehog smiled, hopping up to his feet. "I've got music class soon. I'd better get going. Text me though."

" **WAIT!** " Amy yelped, reaching out to him in desperation as he made his way to the door. He turned around to give her a curious look before she pulled out her cellphone. "Don't you wanna take a selfie? If I post it with a sweet caption people won't be so harsh on you around campus."

"Nah." He waved, turning back to the door with a big smile. "Someone taught me that popularity isn't everything. I'm actually starting to dig this loser thing…It's peaceful…with her."

"Her?" The pink hedgehog repeated. He turned around again, this time a deep blush on his face as he rubbed the back of his head shyly.

"Yeah…I kinda…like someone."

"Someone I know?"

"Do you know that girl I sit by in English class? That red-headed chipmunk…"

Before she could say anything the bell signaling next class rang clear across campus. Sonic nearly jumped out of his skin before dashing off, mortified at getting another detention slip for being late. He quickly waved Amy goodbye before slamming her door shut.

She fell back into her bed, angry tears rolling off of her cheeks as she clutched at her blankets.

The auburn-haired chipmunk, stealing away yet another chance at her happy ending.

* * *

After getting out of math class, Wave and Storm stood out by their lockers as they awaited the calling of the next bell. The swallow had her back to the lockers, crossing her arms as she glared in disgust at Jet and his new group walking by. She loathed that smirk, and couldn't wait for the chipmunk's message to get through to everyone.

Mindlessly following someone because they're attractive or popular is pathetic. There shouldn't have to be a social latter to determine the worth of one person to another. Live and let live. The phrase itself sounds so peaceful.

"Wave…" Storm called out, calling the purple girl's attention back to him. She turned his way, the negative thoughts completely washing away at the sight of her good friend. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, averting his eyes from her. "I'm sorry I went along with his games so long. I should have tried to stop him myself. I swear I'm retarded—"

"Don't down talk yourself like that. I know you're not one of those idiots following Jet because you believe any of his garbage." She told him, standing upright before him. "You're loyal to your friends no matter what they do…and that's my favorite thing about you."

She rested a hand on his shoulder, making him lift his head to smile at her. Without even realizing it, he had leaned over and kissed her. Shockingly enough, he pulled away first too.

"Oh fuck, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to—" He fumbled over his words, until she finally cut off his ramblings with a blunt statement.

She put her hands up between them, shaking the intense blush on her face away.

"I'm gay." She stated flatly.

The bell had saved them from the rest of an uncomfortable chat. Everyone began to pool out of classrooms and into the halls. The albatross rubbed the back of his head, cringing in awkwardness.

"I know." He told her before beginning to walk off, "I didn't mean to, it just happened. I'm uhh, just goona go. See you at lunch."

He disappeared into the crowd, leaving the swallow all alone. She touched her fingertips to her lips, a whirlwind of confusing thoughts ravaging her mind.

 _'I am gay…right?'_

* * *

Strolling down the first floor hall of the main building was a cheery purple hedgehog in her nurse attire. Bernadette whistled a loving tune to herself as she carried a stack of medical reports over to the main office. The clicking of her heels were loud, and her chest bounced with every step she took.

She smiled to herself, balancing the files in one hand as she used the other to adjust the tiny glasses on her face. She could feel the eyes of several security staff gawking at her, and she loved it. The blonde just loved toying with them, feeling so empowered by the control.

As she walked toward the main office, she noticed her favorite officer standing by the door. Her eyelids dropped halfway and an adoring smile crossed her face at the sight of his long blue quills.

"Officer Zonic." She cooed, making him look over at her.

"Hello Nurse Bernadette. Would you like some assistance with that?" He questioned, taking the stack of files from her hands without even waiting for her to answer.

"Such a gentlemen." She giggled, pointing him toward Alicia's office. "But there's really no need. I'm just going in to drop these off for the lady in charge." The nurse explained, grabbing the stack of papers back from him.

"Alright then. I should get back to my post."

"Thanks anyway Sweetheart." She winked, making him blush. He nodded, scurrying off back to his post by the door.

The nurse sighed, watching him completely disappear before carrying on toward the principal's office. Her mood quickly hardened into one of a more skeptical and unpleasant nature. She barged in without warning, dropping the stack of files on the chipmunk's desk with a thud.

Alicia instantly jolted up in her chair, pulling away from the documents she had been signing for school renovations.

"Bernadette, you scared me half to death!" She yelped, "Why didn't you knock?"

"Didn't think I had to." The hedgehog shrugged with a taunting tone. "Jules didn't when he came to see you."

"Take a little more sugar with your coffee. I don't like the bitterness coming out of your mouth." Alicia retorted, annoyed at both the mention of Jules and the tone of the nurse's voice.

"I'm curious Alicia…why did he come to see you of all people? I mean, you haven't spoken in almost eighteen years."

"He wanted to know how his children were doing—"

"Don't give me that bullshit." Bernadette huffed, crossing her arms as she narrowed her eyes at the principal. "Are you sleeping with him? I wouldn't blame you, he was your first love after all. Wasn't he—"

"He's married to Aleena, and I'm engaged to Locke." The chipmunk stated sternly, standing up to be at eye-level with the hedgehog woman. "I'm above being the _'other woman'_ …and so should you."

"Too bad you didn't think like that in high school, huh? The way you'd sneak around at that lake you loved so much—"

"I didn't know he was seeing anyone else—"

"Oh please, everyone knew Aleena was his girlfriend." The hedgehog cut her off again, "You, me, Isabella, Clove, and all those other girls…"

"I ended it as soon as I found out about any of you." Alicia shot back, losing her temper. "And you should have done the same Bernadette. Now get the hell out, before I throw you out."

The purple hedgehog nodded in response, uncrossing her arms to turn around and walk out the door. Once the door clicked shut behind her, the chestnut-haired chipmunk fell back into her chair with a frustrated growl. She slammed down hard on the desk with her fist, chipping the wood.

She hated talking about her ex-husband Maximilian Acorn, but she absolutely despised talking about her first love even more. The first person who had ever stolen…and broken her heart, Jules the Hedgehog.

She shook off the anxiety after a quick meditation to calm down. Then she begun looking over the medical files of all her students. Of course, the first file she had picked up happened to be one of Jules' children, Sonia the Hedgehog.

Everything seemed normal, and she was just about to sign it…until she noticed the weight chart.

Alicia tilted her head in confusion, using her finger to trace the line graph and its incredible decline. At the start of the school year Sonia had weighed a healthy one hundred-thirty pounds, but the chart from last week's exam showed she now weighed a sickly eighty-four pounds. A drastic change in these last two months specifically. Not only that, but her grades had taken the same decline.

"Oh sweet little Sonia…" The principal mumbled to herself with a frown, "Just what are you doing to yourself?"

* * *

 _'Born Jet the Hawk fifteen years ago. I lived in a big house in Armada, a gated community for wealthy people in the city of Sky Garden. It was me, my older brother, and our parents. We were the perfect family, with the perfect life._

 _I was such a happy kid, always outside playing on my skateboard. Storm and Wave were my neighbors. He lived in the house right next door, and Wave lived down the street. She always had the sickest boards, her dad being a mechanic and all. He used to make us all some cool shit._

 _We even gave our little skateboard group a name, the Babylon Rogues. Can't really recall how we came up with it._

 _Chaos those were the days. We'd be out skating in front of my house on our makeshift ramps and pipes. My mom would bring us out lemonade. Hell, sometimes my big brother would even join us every once in a while._

 _Dad was always off at work, but he always made sure to call every day after school._

 _Fast forward to age eight, when all the bullshit started._

 _I came home early from school that day, hoping to catch dad in time before he went off to work. Come to find he wasn't there, and neither was any of his stuff._

 _Confused, I ran over to my mom. She was sitting at the kitchen table, a pint cup in her hand and about two or three empty whiskey bottles around her on the floor. She held a hand to her red face, cheeks stained with tears._

 _"Mommy? Where's Daddy?" I asked her._

 _She snapped, letting out a blood curdling screech before tossing her glass to the wall behind me, just barely missing my face by inches. She cupped her face, sobbing loudly._

 _"Mommy…" I mumbled, fearful tears escaping me._

 _"_ _ **HE'S NOT COMING BACK!**_ _" She turned around to scream in my face. "He's never coming back. He ran away…to be a faggot."_

 _I didn't know what that word meant at the time…but eventually I came to know._

 _My dad was sleeping with some dude at work named Kukku. He ran away with him, and left my mom and us completely on our own. We were nothing but a cover story for his wealthy business friends to that faggot…and when he realized he didn't need us anymore he split._

 _I hate him…because he ruined my life. Shattered everything I ever believed in._

 _His abandonment was hard not only emotionally, but financially too. Bills racked up, and the mortgage was too much for an uneducated single mother of two. To make ends meet my mom started selling herself._

 _To cope with the loss of my father and her new occupation…she drank…every…single…day._

 _The drinking made her angry and violent. She'd sit me and my brother down and give us long lectures everyday about how two men together is disgusting, and how she'd kill us if we ever even thought about another boy. Sometimes she'd beat us just because we reminded her of him, and sometimes it was just for nothing._

 _One time Storm had given me his new G.I. Joe doll to play with. I took it home. Storm's window was directly across from mine. It was a rainy day, so we couldn't play outside. Instead we both sat by our windows and pretended our action figures were fighting._

 _I must have made too much noise, because she came all the way upstairs to yell at me._

 _"_ _ **JET! MOMMY WANTS QUIET—**_ _" She gasped upon sight of my new toy, then that anger took over her. She swiped the figure from my hand and glared at me hard. "What is this?"_

 _"It's an action figure Mommy…."_

 _"Playing with a half-naked man?!" She screamed, tossing the toy across the room. "Disgusting, disgusting, disgusting."_

 _"Please don't hurt me Mommy. I'm sorry." I cowered, putting my hands up in defense as she rummaged around the room for something to hit me with. She chose one of my hockey sticks before stomping back over to me and swinging._

 _I curled up into a ball, feeling the wood of the stick sting with every blow. I shoulda been used to it by then. As she continued whipping me, I opened my eyes and stared out the window and straight into the horrified eyes of my neighbor and best friend._

 _He watched while she beat me bloody and raw that night…and many nights over._

 _The next day I'd see him and be covered in bruises and sores, but we'd never speak of it._

 _It went on like that for years. Every day she'd find an excuse to beat us, or lecture us on how disgusting being gay is._

 _Drink, hit, drink, hit. It was so routine._

 _There was another time after a ferocious beating where I went to my brother's room. I was scared and didn't want to be alone that night. So he let me sleep in his room. My mom found us in bed together and bathed him in boiling hot water._

 _His feathers never grew back the same._

 _One day I got sick of it all and decided to call my dad while she was out walking the streets in search of customers._

 _"Dad?"_

 _"Jet? Is that you?"_

 _"Dad I miss you, please come home."_

 _"Oh Jet." He sighed, obviously not prepared for this call. "Did your mother tell you why I left?"_

 _"She said you ran off with Mr. Kukku. Another man, because you didn't love us."_

 _"That's not true." He told me, "This is hard to explain after I'm sure she's put so much in your head these last three years. I didn't leave because I stopped loving you or Predator. I just wasn't in love with your mother."_

 _"_ _ **IF YOU LOVE US SO MUCH THEN COME HOME!**_ _" I screamed, no longer able to control my pent up frustrations. "She beats us…every day."_

 _"I'm sorry Jet, but I can't—"_

 _"Daddy who is that?!" Another voice on the line questioned, making my eyes widen with shock._

 _"It's no one Speedy." My father told the little boy, "Go find your father so we can go to the park."_

 _"Dad?" I breathed, upset tears rolling down my face._

 _"Forgive me Jet…but I can't go back. I'm finally happy…and someday you'll understand. I should have never used your mother the way I did, and I deeply regret it. How she chooses to raise you boys is up to her-"_

 _"_ _ **I HATE YOU!**_ _" I shouted into the phone, "_ _ **YOU USED US, LIED TO US, AND NOW YOU'LL LEAVE US HERE TO ROT TOO? GO TO HELL…YOU AND YOUR FAGGOT FAMILY. I HOPE YOU DIE.**_ _" I slammed the phone down on the hook, sliding down the wall as I cried and cried._

 _That was the last time I ever spoke to him._

 _It was another three years of living in a hellish nightmare that only seemed to get worse. Mom's drinking never let up, if anything it worsened just as the beatings._

 _My brother couldn't take it anymore._

 _At age fifteen my brother Predator Hawk hung himself from the ceiling fan in his room with a belt._

 _I was the one who found him and cut him loose. I didn't call the police or anyone. I held his cold body in my arms as I sobbed into the shoulder of his corpse._

 _How could he? How could he leave me all alone in the world?_

 _My life was perfect. Everything was great until my dad abandoned us, like we never meant anything in the first place._

 _"I didn't make your brother kill himself Jet." My mom told me, placing a hand on my back as we stood in front of Predator's grave. "Your father did this…he ruined all of us with his disgusting affliction. Your brother is dead because your father chose to be a faggot."_

 _"I hate him….I hate them all." I growled, tightening my fists as I stared at the stone before me. "Faggots are disgusting…and I hope they all die." '_

"Yo Jet!" Eclipse shouted, snapping his fingers in front of the hawk's face to grab his attention.

"What?"

"Chill. You've been staring off into space for like an hour." The darkling cringed.

Jet looked around to remember his surroundings in reality. He was sitting on his bed, staring blankly at the wall until the darkling had come into his room and snapped him out of his trance.

"Everything good?"

"Yeah." The hawk assured his little friend, "I just can't wait to teach that homo a lesson."

* * *

It was evening time, and Mina Mongoose was standing out by the parking lot staring intently at the single dirt road connecting the school to the outside world. She was bundled up in a long pink trench coat, black pants, and a matching pink beanie. Her breath was visible in the cool air, and she shivered like a leaf.

She had texted Manic to come meet her so that her mother could take them out for lunch. He was running late, and so was her mother.

"So where are we goin'?" A voice called out before a pair of arms linked around her waist and pulled her back toward a mysterious figure. She yelped in fright before turning around to see…

"Shard!" The mongoose yelped, a wave of worry and nervousness washing over her as she thought of the horrid possibility of Manic running into them together. "Don't you have a robotic's club meeting to attend?"

"They canceled." The hedgehog sighed, "Some loser cut their pinky off with a machine. So the club's on hiatus—"

"Well don't you have something important to do right now?"

"Uh, not really." He shrugged, giving her a curious look as he turned her around to face him. He smirked, making her blush. "Sounds like you want to get rid of me. Waiting for a secret lover out here?—"

" **NO!** " The mongoose shouted a little too defensively, her blush worsening. "I…I'm meeting up with my mother for dinner."

"Sweet, I could go for a burger." Shard cheered, "Unless your parents still think I'm the scum of the planet."

"It's a mother-daughter thing today." Mina explained, "And they've actually become a lot more open-minded about your people…especially after finding out who your father was."

"I'm at least glad to hear that." He smiled, "Maybe one day we could all go out for lunch or something. Get the whole _'meet the parents'_ milestone out of the way."

"You wanna meet my parents?"

"Is that a bad thing? I know we all got off on the wrong foot but—"

"No, no. It's not bad at all…it just sounds like…you think we'll be together for a while."

"I mean…I'd hope so." The hedgehog chuckled, a slight glow to his cheeks.

He leaned over and kissed her, making all of the worries just flutter away. Then she opened her eyes and caught sight of a green figure in the far distance. She panicked, feeling her heart race as he became more visible.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

Suddenly, Shard's phone went off and he pulled away from her.

"It's a message from Nicole." He spoke aloud as he checked his phone, "She wants to meet up. Says it's important."

"Then you should go." The mongoose persisted, her eyes locked on the figure heading their way.

"It's probably some bullshit." He sighed, pecking her cheek before taking his leave. "Bring me back some leftovers."

Just as he walked off, Manic jogged his way into full view. He smiled goofily, waving his hand until he finally made it over to the mongoose.

"Who was that?" He questioned, watching Shard disappear into the girl's dorm.

"Just a friend." Mina lied, averting her gaze from both hedgehogs.

Manic just shrugged, taking her word for it before leaning over to kiss her on the cheek. She cringed at the contact, but he didn't seem to notice. He was just happy to finally be with her again.

"Sorry I'm late. Had to fill out a few more applications and get 'em mailed out in time." He apologized, taking her hands in his as he stood before her. "I've really missed you, both of you."

"Yeah…" Mina mumbled, not quite sure how to respond at this point.

Thankfully her mother's limousine had pulled up into the parking lot and saved them from a hellish awkward conversation. Manic gulped nervously, having only met Isabella Mongoose once on terrible terms, but he was intent on making a good impression.

The two teens filed into the car one after another. The interior was red, and quite spacious. Isabella sat on one side with one leg crossed over the other and a stern look on her face. Manic and Mina both took a seat across from her.

The green hedgehog fiddled nervously with his thumbs, opting to leave his drumsticks behind in fear that he might come off childish. He had his quills combed for once, and wore a simple black sweater and jeans.

He shuddered under the older mongoose's cold gaze, but did his best to come off as calm. The vehicle drove off down the dirt road toward Metropolis, the closest city in the area. The ride was awkward and silent for everyone. No conversation took place until they were seated at a small booth in a random coffee shop.

Once again Isabella sat across from the two teens, and she eyed the green hedgehog with an unreadable expression. The silence started to work Manic's anxieties.

"So you're the one who got my daughter pregnant." The mongoose woman finally spoke after a long sip of her coffee.

"Uh, yes Ma'am." Manic nodded, trying his best to sound confident. "But I assure you I will not be a deadbeat. I just got two jobs, and my grades are all in order so I'm looking to graduate next year, and I—"

"I didn't ask for all that." Isabella cut him off coldly, making him even more nervous.

"I promise you Mrs. Mongoose, I'm going to take care of Mina and this baby—"

"There won't be a baby."

"Wh-What?"

The lawyer replied by pulling out a few papers in the briefcase resting on the chair beside her and slapping them down on the wooden table. Manic pulled the papers over to himself before picking them up to read. His eyes went wide with shock at the title of the documents. He instantly turned to Mina with a baffled expression.

"Ab-Abortion papers?" He stammered in disbelief, "Mina, what the hell is this?"

His supposed-girlfriend just looked down at the table. A nauseating feeling brewing in her stomach for once not caused by the baby growing inside of her. The fact that she didn't respond sent a chilling fear down the hedgehog's spin.

"Mina…this is our baby—"

" **I DON'T WANT IT!** " She finally shouted, slamming her fists down on the table as she glared over at the hedgehog. "Or you…"

"What are talking about? Where is all of this coming from all of a sudden?"

"It's not all of a sudden." She retorted, "I've never really wanted you. I just wanted you to play in my band so I'd get signed because you were good. Once I got signed I was gonna break things off…but then I found out I was pregnant with your baby. **NONE** of this was supposed to happen."

Manic's mouth literally hung in the air as a wave of sorrow washed over him.

"Shadow and Rouge were right…." He breathed, turning away from her to stare at the papers on the table. "You were just using me…"

"Enough with the teen drama." Isabella cut in, pushing a pen Manic's way. "Sign these documents so we could put an end to all this. My darling Mina has a career ahead of her, so we can't have any baggage such as this floating around. These are the documents for the abortion, and these are confidentiality agreements. If you'll just sign—"

" **I'M NOT SIGNING SHIT!** " The green hedgehog bellowed, standing up and causing a scene. Mina sunk in her seat as she felt the eyes of everyone in the shop cross over to them, but Isabella was neither amused nor embarrassed. "I'm not gonna let you my kill my kid because you're a selfish bitch." Manic added, turning his angry blue gaze over to Mina.

"Just remember I gave you a choice…" Isabella sighed, sliding over a yellow envelope to him. "Go on…open it. See if I can't change your mind."

Manic eyed the older mongoose skeptically as he took the envelope in his hand and undid the seal. He slid the papers out before turning them over in his hands. His eyes widened to his own mugshot…alongside Scourge the Hedgehog's.

"How do you have these?!" He gasped, looking over the old police reports.

"Never mind how I got them." Isabella taunted, "Ask me what I plan to do with them."

"If you think you can scare me into doing this you're out of your fucking mind you witch." He retorted, tossing the papers back to her.

"You've underestimated me Mr. Hedgehog. I had no intention of _'scaring'_ you into anything." The woman smirked, a hint of malice in her tone. "You will sign these papers."

"Like hell I will." Manic growled, turning heel to walk away from them. Just before he could, she uttered something that made him freeze up entirely.

"I have extreme pull in the courts. I could have these charges against you brought right back up." Isabella sang, taking another sip of her coffee. "It'll be fun…ripping another son away from Aleena and Jules."

He turned around, expression one of both anger and resilience. "Do whatever the hell you want to me, but **I WON'T** sign my baby's life away for anyone—"

"Are you sure about that?" She mused, "Bold words, but then again these charges probably would only get you a year or so…but your little friend would be looking at about thirteen to fifteen years." She added, flashing him Scourge's mugshot.

Manic's voice instantly hitched in his throat, and his heart began to race.

"What?" He gasped, shaking his head. "Leave him out of it. He's got nothing to do with this!"

"Did I strike a nerve somewhere?" She grinned maliciously, "You two got into a lot of trouble together, running amuck around Moebius. Judging by these reports…I'd go as far as to say you were **A LOT** more than just friends—"

"What? Manic and…Scourge?" Mina questioned, looking from her mother to the green hedgehog in confusion.

"Shut up." Manic cut her off.

"Says here you were questioned for hours and they used every trick in the book to break you…but you wouldn't give him up. Even when you were gonna take the fall for it all, you never sold him out. If that's not pure devotion I don't know what is." Isabella continued, ignoring the visible anger brewing within him. "So tell me Manic…would you protect him today?"

"Please." Manic whimpered, tears brimming his eyes. "You can't make me do this."

"I'll ask you again." The older mongoose growled, slamming the pen down on the table again. "Will you sign these papers? Or be the reason this other boy rots in prison for the next fifteen years?"

Manic stared at the pen, glancing over to a desperate Mina as he bit his lip in contemplation. He tightened his fists, and clenched his teeth as tears begun to drip off his cheeks and onto the floor.

Isabella smirked victoriously as he trudged over to the table and took the pen in his hand.

He signed them all…and alongside his signature a tear on every page.

* * *

 **Jet's father was a closeted-homosexual, and used his family as a cover. Once he fell in love with a man at work, he found it too hard to repress his feelings and decided to run off with his gay lover, leaving behind his two sons and a wife he never loved. She was devastated by the betrayal, turning to drinking as a means of coping, and prostitution as a means of getting by financially. After finding out her husband never loved her and ran off with another man she developed a great hatred for homosexuals, and implemented that hate on her children through scoldings, beatings, and force. After six years of horrible abuse. Jet's older brother couldn't bare it any longer and committed suicide. Jet's mother had convinced him only his father's 'disgusting afflictions' were to blame, thus his hate for gays was born...**

 **Before you say something like "He should know better than to believe that!" Check yourself. He was a young child, an abused one. Kids soak up everything their parents say like a sponge, and she was saying some dark things. Her influence wasn't the only one either. His father knew what was happening and chose to do nothing, just moved on and started a new family. Then the death of his brother sealed his hatred.**

 **This doesn't justify his actions or intolerance in any way, but maybe now you can understand where it comes from.**

 **Predator Hawk was a member of the Destructix, Kukku and Speedy were apart of the Battle Bird Armada. All from Archie Comics.**

 **Gold is worried about Silver's change. Nicole has discovered Mina's secret. Sonic and Amy have reconciled, but that crush admission might ultimately crush her. Thanks to Rouge, Shadow is seeking help for his issues. And thanks to Fiona, Tails has finally chosen a girl, thus giving Ray one more shot with Cream.**

 **It seems that Sonic gets his attitude as well as womanizing tendencies from his father. Principal Acorn has discovered Sonia's secret. What will come of this information?**

 **Isabella had put Manic in a terrible bind, and ultimately forced his hand into signing the papers. It's set in stone now, Mina will not be having this baby after all Just how will Manic handle the guilt and trauma?**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Cosmo and Tails are finally together, but is Cream really as okay with it as she lets on?**

 **Rob O'Hedge visits Amy's mother in the psych-ward, and we're left to wonder...Is she actually crazy at all?**

 **We journey with Knuckles, watching him struggle for Julie-Su's acceptance, struggle with his still-all-there feelings for Rouge, and struggle with new obstacles.**

 **Blaze's friends start to come around and she's happy with the change. He's happy she's happy, but forcing himself to be something he knows he's not for people he doesn't care for starts to take its toll on his mental health...**

 **Watch as newly reformed Fiona struggles with heartache...**

 **Nicole reveals Mina's secret to Shard, and he doesn't take it so well...**

 **Mina has her procedure, leaving a devastated Manic to wonder what could have been...**

 **And so much more...**

 **Special Note**

 **Don't worry, I'm not dead! But I won't lie, I have been losing motivation lately. Reviews are always awesome and I love you guys, but PMs can get a little vicious. Just needed to take a step back for a while to prepare some craziness!**

 **As a pre-warning, these next five chapters are about to get super traumatic and real. There will be heavy subjects again, such as rape, gang assault, suicide attempts. And there will be MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH. I won't say when or who, but I can assure you this won't be a minor death like Tommy Turtle or Mellow Bee. This character is one that you've come to know and some of you love. I won't say when or who, but just brace yourself for anything...**

 **Drop a review! Let me know what you think about things so far, and who you're worried about or any of your thoughts.**


	40. Chapter 40

**WARNING: Abortion, suicide(?), and mental illness**

* * *

 **Chapter 40: I Need Help**

December had finally arrived, and Green Hill Academy's volunteer club was hard at work putting up the final Christmas decorations. Strings of fairy lights hung above the metal lockers of the halls, there was a big reef on every door, and the trophy case in front of the main office was turned into a snow-globe. Not only was the mood festive this time around, but it had also lightened among the student body.

Sally's revolt against Jet took place three days ago, and now more and more people were starting to get the message. Green Hill Academy's punching bag had proved herself to be the wakeup call and brave-hearted hero everyone needed. No longer did the entire student body mindlessly follow Jet, and no longer did the LGBT students hide in the shadow of fear.

It wasn't perfect, but it was a start.

However, as the auburn-haired girl rose to power there were two unknown forces waiting to push her back to the bottom.

After sending off yet another student who had come to ask her for advice, Sally finally breathed a sigh of relief before returning to her table of friends in the café. She smiled at them all, before taking a seat beside her sister.

"I'm grateful people are starting to see the bigger picture of things and aren't mindlessly following that idiot anymore, but I didn't expect people to start following me around like this…" She cringed, gesturing to the group of people waving over at her.

"Oh, you say that like it's a bad thing Sally-Girl!" Bunnie waved in dismissal, "Someone like you should be in charge 'round here."

"I didn't aim to be in charge…I just wanted people to stop harassing others, especially my friend." The chipmunk explained, smiling over at Rotor.

"Purposeful or not, you are ze perfect candidate." Antoine piped up.

"I don't know about that…' Sally blushed sheepishly.

"Antoine's right Sal." Rotor agreed, "You're a born leader. You've given people like me a voice, and have made things so much easier for the LGBT community. Chaos knows the good you'd bring as queen of the school."

"Well…It sure does beat being everyone's punching bag!" She joked, having the entire table bust out into a fit of laughter, everyone except Nicole that is.

The chipmunk turned to her adopted sister with concern. "Nicole? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." The lynx mumbled, tossing a napkin over the tray in front of her before getting up. "I'm just not hungry."

Sally frowned, watching the lynx walk off with her head hung low.

* * *

Back in Mephiles' dorm, he and Rosy were hard at work desperately scavenging around the room for one lousy cigarette. Like hungry animals on the hunt for food. They had run out of cigarettes and booze two days ago, and both of them were on edge.

He sifted through the drawers of his dresser, checking pants pockets before tossing them out onto the floor. The pink girl was laid flat on the ground, extending her arm out under his bed to check for anything underneath.

"Why the hell would anything be under my bed?" He grumbled at her.

"Maybe something might have fallen underneath!" She shot back in the same agitated tone as she got off the floor and stood up. "Don't talk to me like I'm a fuckin' idiot."

"Then what the hell am I supposed to talk to you like? Surely not a brain scientist."

"Are you calling me stupid?!" She bellowed, getting in his face as they stood toe-to-toe.

"Take it however you'd like you—"

"Trouble in paradise?" A voice called out in a sing-song tone. The two hedgehogs turned away from each other to see an entertained-looking Scourge crossing his arms as he leaned against the doorframe. He grinned, his hypnotic blue eyes fixed on the two.

Rosy gritted her teeth in disgust, tightening her fists as she watched him waltz on in.

"Shouldn't you be off with your rich whore?" The pink hedgehog snapped.

"Whoa, chill out. You seem a bit on edge Psycho. The both of you do." Scourge chuckled, pulling out a carton of cigarettes from his jacket pocket. "Almost like you've run out of cigarettes or something."

Both Mephiles and Rosy stared wide-eyed as he pulled a cigarette from the carton and plopped it into his mouth. It was like seeing someone eat a bowl of cereal after watching them use up the last bit of milk.

He cocked an eyebrow, amused at their longing stares while he lit the cigarette. Their looks had confirmed his suspicions, and now he had something to use as leverage.

"What? You guys want this?" He taunted, pointing at the cigarette hanging from his mouth. "I'd give you one, but it's much more fun watching ya' squirm."

"You're more sadistic than I am." Mephiles muttered, desperate to get his hand on just one cigarette. "Maybe you are the devil."

"In the flesh, and don't ever forget it." The green hedgehog grinned before tossing two packs onto the floor. He looked on in satisfaction as they both fell to their knees and swiped the boxes up in desperation. "Next time you guys wanna skip out on me or talk shit…remember I'm the only one who knows where the good shit is."

* * *

 _'I did as instructed and took off any sort of metal I had on me, my belt, and other various things that proved to be potentially dangerous. I sat in the all-white waiting room, elbows propped up on my knees as I covered my face in my hands._

 _The psych-ward of Mercia Hospital isn't exactly known for its productivity, or cleanliness. The floor was covered in several brown splashes of dirt, and the paint peeled off the walls. I adjusted my button-up white shirt collar, the heat getting to me a bit._

 _It felt like hours went by before my name was called._

 _"Rob O'Hedge?" The lady at the front desk called out. I immediately stood up and walked over to her, taking my name tag before standing in front of the steel door that separated the sane from the insane._

 _There was a loud clang and several bolt locks came undone before the door screeched open and I was allowed inside._

 _"She's at window seven." The receptionist called out to me, "You've got about twenty minutes. Mrs. Rose isn't having a good day."_

 _"I understand." I nodded in assurance. I then stepped into the visiting room and started the long walk down the corridor._

 _I rubbed my hands together nervously, taking note of the other visitors and the psychotics separated by glass. You'd think I'd be used to this place by now._

 _I finally found window seven, and took a seat on the wooden chair before the glass window. No one was on the other side yet, so I played the waiting game a bit longer. Sometime later, two male nurses dragged a raggedy pink hedgehog through the door, and threw her on the seat in front of me behind the glass._

 _She looked so pale and frail, like she hadn't eaten or seen the sun in weeks. My heart ached at the sight of her._

 _"Auntie, it's me…Robbin."_

 _She instantly picked her head up at the sight of me, her jade eyes glossing over with tears as she joyfully pressed both hands onto the glass. It was the most she could do, not being able to touch me physically._

 _"My sweet Robbin." She cooed, voice cracking a bit with dryness._

 _"Are they treating you alright in here Auntie? You look awful…"_

 _"I've been in solitary for my entire stay here. I was just released this morning back into the wing." She explained, "It's good to finally hear a familiar voice, one of my adoring nephew at that."_

 _"Why in the world would you be held in solitary for that long?!" I gasped._

 _"No one will listen to me Robbin, but I know you will." She whispered, turning to look behind her every once in a while out of sheer paranoia. "Amy is in grave danger, and it's your destiny to protect her. The devil, he is near. The spirits tell me so—"_

 _"Auntie please." I shook my head, "Enough of this. The voices in your head aren't spirits, they're illusions—"_

 _"_ _ **I'M NOT DELUSIONAL!**_ _" She screamed, pounding her fist on the glass. "I am an angel from the heavens of Chaos! He speaks to me. He tells me of a devil in flesh, a reaper who wants to steal my child's soul. But they also tell me of a great hero, of you. You're Amy's only hope for survival. He is near, the devil is near and she's slipping from grace."_

 _She looked so terrified, like she actually believed what she was saying to be true. She was sick and I knew so, but played a long for her sake._

 _"What makes you think I can save her?" I mumbled in sadness._

 _"Because she is your destiny. When I ask the spirits who will save my little flower's soul…they only recite back to me the name of my nephew. Rob O'Hedge will save my Amy Rose from the devil that threatens her life."_

 _From behind us I could hear the security guard talk into the walkie-talkie about restraining her, and how she was rambling nonsense again and needed possible sedation. I sighed heavily, trying to get in as much talk with her as possible before they could arrive._

 _"You have Schizophrenia. It's a disorder that makes you think things are there that really aren't, that you can hear things." I tried to explain, "They think Amy has inherited a mild case of it, but aren't entirely sure yet."_

 _"Robbin please! I'm not crazy! The spirits speak to me._ _ **YOUR FATHER SPEAKS TO ME**_ _."_

 _"My father was murdered during an armed robbery. I was there when it happened Auntie."_

 _"He speaks to me from beyond the grave. He's so very proud of the man you've become…and the grandson you have graced him with."_

 _That always got to me. Whenever she rambled about spirits I wrote her off as completely crazy, but the second she spoke of my father she always gripped my entire attention._

 _I looked up to her with a pained expression._

 _"You must protect Amy…" She whispered to me as the male nurses who dragged her in remerged behind her. "Save her from the devil."_

 _"How?" I called out to her as the nurses grasped both her arms. I stood up from my seat, watching her kick and scream violently in their hold as they attempted to drag her away. "Auntie! Who is the devil?!"_

 _One of the nurses grew fed up with her thrashing, and stuck a needle in her arm. Her body instantly went limp, and she could barely keep her eyes open. A security guard came up behind me and pulled my hand away from pounding on the glass._

 _She couldn't tell me a thing…but I did catch her last few mumbles._

 _"His eyes, they scream hell." '_

"Rob?" A voice called out, "Are you alright to continue?"

The teal hedgehog instantly looked up, blinking a few times as he adjusted back to reality. He was in the office of Principal Acorn, and she was seated in front of him behind her desk.

"Um, yes." He nodded vigorously, shaking off the memory. "I'm fine, thank you."

"I know this must be hard to hear, and I apologize if it brings up any trauma, but I do have deep concerns for Amy that I felt needed addressing." The chipmunk explained, "She's been cutting classes a lot lately, and her grades have begun to slip."

"I'll have a talk with her before I take my leave. I'm very sorry if she's caused any trouble." Rob apologized.

"This is the second high school she's attended. She may be having adjustment issues, but I feel as though these behavioral issues are much deeper than a teenager acting out."

"Principal Acorn, Amy has been through a lot in her life—"

"I understand that. A lot of the children attending this school have. Some worse than others. I'm not here to judge, I simply want to offer a helping hand…like I did for you when you attended my school."

"You always did know what was best for me." The hedgehog smiled at her, "You saved my life Ms. Acorn."

"You never needed saving Rob, just guidance. Right now, Amy needs some footing to stand on as well. Which is why I'd like to recommend seeing a counselor on campus."

"A counselor?"

"Yes." The chipmunk nodded, "I believe given Amy's domestic violence and mental illness family history that a counselor could really help her remedy some of her behavior issues such as the violent tendencies and bad habits."

"She'd hate that…but do you really think it'll help her?"

"I do." Principal Acorn nodded, handing him the paperwork.

* * *

Cream and Ray were once again back at her locker. He held up her enormous stack of books while she took one by one and crammed them back into the tiny metal locker. As she did so she spotted Cosmo and Tails from the corner of her eye. The two walked hand-in-hand, much chummier now than ever before.

It stung her heart, but at the same time she was happy for her love rival. Thankful that at least one of them got a chance at happiness with the adorable kitsune. Still, she couldn't help but think the odds against her were a little unfair.

"Cream?" Ray spoke up, making her turn back to him. Her lips immediately curved back up into a bright smile, and her lids fell halfway into a blissful expression.

"Oh, I'm sorry Ray. Just thinking. That's all." She waved in dismissal along with an awkward giggle.

He offered her a smile back as she took the last half of books out of his hands. They both blushed a bit as their hands brushed against each other. The squirrel looked down nervously at his shoes, not sure what to really say. He was just glad to finally be in her presence again.

"Umm…would you li-like to hangout this weekend?" He stammered nervously, trying his best to repress his stutters. "M-My brother can drive us into Me-Metropolis."

"You know what?" She questioned, shutting the locker. The rabbit then took hold of his nervous shaky hand and he looked up to meet her smiling face. "I'd really like that."

* * *

Shadow exited the school counselor's office with a heavy sigh as he shut the door behind him. He was so used to being closed off and bottling things up, but Rouge and the loss of Sonia had helped him realize it wasn't good for him.

He took the bat's advice and started getting help. It's been difficult, but at the same time very helpful and enlightening. The ebony hedgehog never realized how much angst and sorrows he had built up inside of himself until finally spilling them out in the open.

He threw his single-strap bag over his shoulder and walked off down the hall. Not long after leaving the office did he feel a pair of arms snake around his waist. He instantly cringed in pain at the memory of the magenta girl who used to always sneak up on him like that.

When he turned around to inspect who had been behind him he half-hoped that it would be her, but it wasn't.

Standing behind him with her arms still linked around his waist was the promiscuous cat named Honey. He scrunched up his face in irritation, immediately unlinking her arms.

"That's not very nice Shady." She pouted playfully, the smile never leaving her face as she tried to touch his forearm. "Then again, you've never been one to play nice have you? My legs still kinda hurt—"

"Go away Honey." He commanded, swiping her hand away. "I'm not interested in pursuing you, or being your little toy."

"What's with the sourness? I thought we had lots of fun the other night."

"Everything's just a game to you isn't it?" He growled, tightening his grip on the strap of his bag as he stared daggers at the confused looking feline.

"What the hell is your problem?" She retorted, losing her playful mood all together at the sound of his harsh tone.

"I was weak and needed that comforting reassurance I find in sex. It's one of my very few emotional attachments, and my biggest Achilles heel. I never liked you or wanted you. You just fed my insecurities." Shadow explained, making her even more confused. "I won't be your toy, and I won't cave into my delusional insecurities anymore. Now leave me alone. For good."

He began to walk away from a baffled Honey. She watched him take a few steps, mouth slightly agape and eyes wide in shock as a possibility struck her.

"You did have a girlfriend, didn't you Shady?" She called after him. He didn't look back at her, not wanting her to see the sudden sorrow evident on his face.

"Yeah. I did…."

* * *

 _'I was pacing my room back and forth, the sonogram I found under Mina's bed still in my shaky hands as a thousand thoughts flooded my mind._

 _She's pregnant! How could she do this to him? How will Shard handle it? Whose child is this?_

 _"Uh, Nicole?" A voice called out to me, snapping me out of my thoughts. I turned to look at Shard standing in the doorway with a confused expression. I nervously gripped the photo in my hand a bit tighter._

 _"Shard…" I murmured, tears peeking out from the corners of my eyes. It pained me so much, to think I was about to break his heart…again. I quickly ran over to him and threw my arms around his neck without even thinking._

 _"Hey, what's wrong?" He questioned, pulling me back by the shoulders to shoot me a curious look._

 _That's when I handed him the sonogram._

 _He took it in his hand. His eyes immediately shot open once he looked back up to me._

 _"Espio got you pregnant?!" He bellowed._

 _"No!" I replied quickly, turning the picture over in his hands._

 _That's when he caught sight of Mina's name…and the dates on the back. He quickly begun to shake his head, refusing to believe what he just read. He shoved the photo back in at me._

 _"Shard—"_

 _"No." He cut me off, "It's fake."_

 _"It's not fake."_

 _"She wouldn't do this to me…" He mumbled, averting his eyes from me. "She gets me."_

 _"She's been lying to you." I told him, placing a hand on his shoulder. I pulled him back my way, holding the picture up again. "I found this under her bed. This isn't your baby Shard—"_

 _"_ _ **JUS SHUT UP NICOLE.**_ _" He screamed, snatching the photo away. I shook nervously. He had never been so angry at me before. He ran his hands through his quills, head still shaking until he looked me in the eye again. "I gotta get the hell out of here. Do me a favor and don't call me—"_

 _"Shard, please." I begged, grabbing his wrist before he could walk away. He looked back at me, snatching his hand away as he started shouting again._

 _"Just fuck off okay? You've got yours and I've got mine." He scolded me before a painful frown crossed his face. "So stop trying to ruin it! You got Espio…Now you can just leave me the hell alone."_

 _"I…"_

 _Before I could even get another word out he was already gone._

 _I know better than to take his outburst seriously. One of his many unhealthy coping mechanisms is lashing out, probably a learned behavior from his bitter upbringing._

 _But still, it hurt a lot._

 _All Shard has ever needed was a gentle hand, someone to be truthful, kind, and guide him in the right direction._

 _Mina can't do any of that for him._

 _Not like me…_

 _Sometimes I wonder if I made a grave mistake.'_

"You shouldn't interfere in such personal matters Nicole." Espio calmly scolded his girlfriend, "Whatever Shard wants to believe or not is up to him, and you had no right to out Mina the way you did—"

"I don't care." The lynx huffed angrily, standing up from the chameleon's bed. "Shard is my friend."

"Nicole…"

"I know." She sighed, plopping back down beside him in defeat. She leaned her head on his shoulder, letting tears trickle down her cheeks. "It was wrong, but I couldn't keep such a thing from him. He's been hurt enough as it is."

* * *

It had been a lousy few days for Amy Rose. Heartache and sorrow seemed to be her only company while everyone was off living their lives with significant others or bettering themselves somehow.

She was definitely setting herself up for inevitable disaster with Scourge, and made one too many mistakes in her pursuit of Sonic, she understood that much.

Still, she was frustrated with how the year had been turning out for her romantic life, and saddened at the thought of never getting her fairytale high school ending…

All thanks to the auburn-haired chipmunk.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 ** _Sonic:_** _Yo! Wanna go on a chilidog run before class?_

 ** _Amy:_** _Sure. I'll meet you by the café._

She stood up from her messy bed and started the short walk to her dresser with a big smile on her face. The pink girl was at least grateful she reconciled with Sonic, and that they've been hanging out and texting these last couple days. Although just as friends now, it was better than nothing.

After getting dressed she dashed off out of the girl's dorm and toward the main building where the café was. Sonic was standing right outside, leaned against the wall with his foot tapping impatiently on the ground. Once he spotted her a big smile crossed his face and he made his way over to her.

"Took you long enough Slow-Mo." He joked.

"Sorry. Couldn't find my purse."

"It's fine." He chuckled, throwing an arm over her shoulder. "Let's go snag some dogs before they're gone."

As they walked into the café several eyes instantly fell upon them, a spark of hope lit in nearly all of them. Cellphones were immediately pulled out, photos secretly taken, and excited whispers went all around. The two hedgehogs didn't seem to notice, too engrossed in their pursuit of food.

Once the two snagged what little remained of chilidogs and other assorted foods, they took their trays and walked over to their signature table. That's where they saw Cosmo, Tails, Blaze, and a near-unrecognizable Silver.

Sonic's eye instantly caught the kitsune's hand wrapped around the seedrian's under the table, and let a big grin cross his face while he set his tray beside Tails.

"Alright Tails!" He cheered with a wolf-whistle, making the young fox blush. "Glad to see you've made your choice…and a good one too."

"Thanks." Tails mumbled shyly, squeezing Cosmo's hand to earn a giggle out of her.

"Hey Silvia, nice hairstyle!" Sonic jeered, giving the white hedgehog across from him a thumbs up. "You look a lot less stupid when your quills don't look like a giant potleaf."

"Thanks…" Silver mumbled, not even bothering to correct the way his name was pronounced. He just stared down blankly at the food on his tray.

"Your new style is really rad. Glad to see you've finally found a mature fashion sense." Amy chimed in with a giggle, making the white hedgehog sulk even more.

"Yeah…" He agreed unenthusiastically.

Blaze smiled over at her almost-boyfriend, taking his hand under the table. He didn't look to her, or offer her anything in return. His stare stood on the untouched tray of food, and a gray storm cloud hung over his head.

"I'm surprised Silver." Tails spoke up sometime after a few jokes and discussions. "You haven't made a single irritating physics reference or mentioned one of those nerd conventions at all. "

"It is quite refreshing." Cosmo added with an innocent smile.

"Looks like you're a big hit today Kiddo." Sonic snickered, leaning over the table to deliver the white hedgehog a playful punch on the arm. "Maybe you're not a loser after all."

"Sure…"

Blaze was ecstatic to see how her friends were adoring the change. They were actually starting to come around. She was overjoyed at the thought of finally having Silver merge into her group of friends, and make both their dreams come true.

She leaned over and kissed his cheek, and was happy to hear none of her friends cringe or whine about it.

"It's working Silver. They're actually starting to like you!" She whispered to him.

He offered her an obvious fake smile, nodding his head as he went along with her little fantasy.

"I'm happy..."

* * *

 _'I've never really given Blaze much thought before, solely seeing her as just some girl who used to tag along with Silver to cons although she obviously had no interest in any of it. Whenever I met up with the two of them at a science or gaming convention, Blaze would always just melt into the background while we chatted for what felt like hours about our favorite things._

 _Back then I only got to see him about twice or three times a year maybe, but each time was always a blast._

 _Where I'm from, no one likes anything that I do, and making friends was near impossible for me._

 _Blaze should feel lucky to have someone like Silver around, not try to change him to better suit her desires, or that of her stupid jerk friends._

 _She has no idea the power she holds over Silver, and right now she's outright abusing it. He'd do anything for her, and she knows that. Even if it costs him his own happiness._

 _He's so in love with her. He always has been. She could make a thousand mistakes over and over again, and he'd still end up being the one apologizing and sticking around in the end._

 _I can't bear to see him destroy himself for her, no matter how much he loves her._

 _I don't know what to do…._

 _I don't like this change._

 _I don't like seeing him mistreated…_

 _I don't like her._

 _But what can I do?'_

Gold strolled over nervously to the chipmunk standing by an open locker, putting books away for the day. The tenrec gulped, but was in desperate need of some positive advice. After hearing such a powerful message, and watching Sally take a stand for the LGBT community as well as the _'losers'_ , Gold thought her to be the appropriate person to seek advice from.

Ever since her last encounter with Silver and his _'change'_ , she's been worried about him, and missing the old cheery nerd she's come to love over their years of meetups at conventions.

"Ex-Excuse me…umm, Sally?" The tenrec mumbled, reaching out to tap the shoulder of the brave auburn-haired girl.

"Oh, hello." Sally smiled, adjusting her glasses a bit with one hand as she used the other to shut her locker. "Can I help you with something?"

"Y-Yes actually." Gold stammered nervously, staring down at her feet with a melancholy expression.

"Don't be nervous." The chipmunk told her, placing a comforting hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "Is there someone bothering you?"

"No, nothing like that." Gold explained with a wave of dismissal, "I just…needed some advice."

"Advice? Sure, okay. What's the problem?"

"Well, I have this friend…and he has this girlfriend." The tenrec began, doing her best to keep it anonymous, "He's very insecure and a great person. He loves this girl with all his heart, and supposedly the feeling is mutual, but she seems more concerned about the opinions of her friends rather than his wellbeing. She's forced him to make such drastic changes of himself so her friends would accept him. It's just not him, and I know he's miserable…but I don't know what to do."

"If she truly loved him she wouldn't feel the need to change him, or care about what anyone else would think of them together." Sally explained, a blue hedgehog on her mind. "If his devotion runs deep enough for him to go along with something like this…then the reality of it all will only hit him when the heartbreak does—"

"But I don't want that for him! I don't want his heart to be broken again." Gold cried out, clasping her hands together as if she were praying. "Please, tell me there's something I can do to help him somehow."

"Maybe the girl doesn't know what she's doing is wrong." The chipmunk replied, patting the upset tenrec on the head, "Perhaps having an individual sit down with both of them and addressing your concerns will help."

"Th-Thank you."

"You're welcome." Sally smiled before slinging her blue tote over her shoulder. "I've got to go help out the librarian with organizing books. I'll see you later!"

* * *

Knuckles and Julie-Su sat together on the steps of the main building, a little off to the side to make room for those coming and going from the building. It had been a while since they talked, and he had texted her to meet up with him for a chat not pertaining to any of the underlying drama between them.

It was nice just talking like they used to, and he had so much to fill her in on.

In his hands were a few papers, which he handed over to her for examination.

"I joined the tutoring club as a history tutor for some freshmen, and volunteer club to help boost my extra circulars. College loves that shit right? I joined wrestling and basketball this season too."

"Wow." Julie-Su whistled, flipping through the flyers. "You're really taking this _'grow up'_ thing seriously, huh?" She teased with a smile as she turned to face him.

"I meant what I said Julie." He nodded, a smile of his own forming as he stared back into her violet eyes with his own. "I'm just trying to prove that to you. I don't want to be the same loser who drove you outta my life in the first place."

"It's about time you got it together dummy." She jeered playfully, throwing her arms around him for a hug. He melted in her grasp, grateful that no matter what they go through the dynamic between them never changes. He was reluctant to pull away, but he knew he had to.

"So…I was thinking maybe you and I could take Lara-Su to the park tomorrow?"

"I don't know if I'm ready to do that kinda thing yet Knuckles." She mumbled, looking down at her feet. "Besides, we've got plans with Mighty tomorrow."

"Right, right. Mighty…" The red echidna replied, trying his best to brush away the envy in his tone. "Well, I'd better go meet up with that freshmen to introduce myself before our tutoring session tomorrow.

"Alright." Julie-Su smiled, picking up her things before getting up to bid him a farewell. "I'll see you some other time."

"Yeah." He nodded, watching her turn and walk off with such a look of distain.

He turned down the walkway toward the girl's dorm, checking the piece of paper in the pocket of his jeans to get the name and room number of the person he was supposed to begin tutoring tomorrow.

He trudged up the steps and down the halls of the girl's dorm. His mind was clouded with negative thoughts, and the seemingly hopeless idea of family life. His indecisive nature had him in a whirlwind of confusion with countless feelings and possibilities. He tried his best to shake it all off the best he could as he continued onward.

"Red? What are you doing here?" A familiar voice called out to him. He looked up to see Rouge, heading his way with a curious look.

"Hey." He greeted, a bit of yearning in his tone. "I was just on my way to meet some girl I'm supposed to be tutoring."

"Tutoring?" The bat rose a skeptical eyebrow, crossing her arms in her teasing fashion.

"Not the kind you're thinking of." The echidna sighed, rubbing his temple with one hand as he pulled out the flyer from his pocket and handed it to her with the other. She read it over, raising both eyebrows in surprise once she looked up to him.

"A history tutor?"

"Well, it's my favorite subject."

"How strange for someone as lazy and dumb as you." She giggled, handing him back the paper with a sincere smile. "Although you've become a lot more boring…I'm happy to see you're taking things seriously."

"Thanks." He smiled, getting lost in those teal-colored eyes he missed so much. But he brushed all those feelings aside, trying his best to stay focused.

"Well, I'm off to meet up with Shadow for a little smoke sesh. Enjoy your boring life, _'Daddy'_." The bat teased, walking past him with a wave of the hand.

He blushed madly, a little stirred up by her teasing. He chuckled to himself before turning back down the hall toward the direction of his new student's room.

"Hey Red!" Rouge called out once more, making him look over his shoulder at her. She wore a sorrowful look, breaking his heart a bit with the utter sincerity and reluctance in her tone. "I gave you up for this…You better not screw it all up."

"I won't…" He mumbled, turning down a corner so she was no longer in sight.

After a few more turns he finally came to a stop at the right door and knocked three times. He tilted his head in confusion as he heard rummaging and anxious mumbles before the door was finally opened.

Standing before him was a very short pika girl. She was dressed in black overalls with a white shirt underneath, and sported tiny purple glasses on her nose. She used her index finger to push them upright, her light-brown eyes shimmering behind the glass. Her hair was pulled back into two low buns that rested at her shoulders, with a single awkward curl out resting on her forehead. She looked incredibly young, about fourteen at least.

"Are you Relic the Pika?" Knuckles asked.

"The very one! What can I do ya' for?" She greeted a little too excitedly. Her energy and babbling were off the charts. It reminded the echidna of his friend Blaze's little sister, and made him cringe.

"I'm Knuckles the Echidna." He introduced, handing her the flyer. "I'm your new history tutor."

"Oh of course! How could I go and forget something like this?! Especially when I'm in such desperate need of tutoring in that silly subject! Come in, come in!"

"No that's okay. I just wanted to introduce myself before we begin our sessions tomorrow—"

"At least stay for a bit of tea! I've got my brewer all set." She persisted, dragging him toward the fold out table. She plopped him down on one of its fold out chairs before going over to the tea maker sitting on her dresser.

He was already dreading this. Her insistent chatter didn't let up for a second. Not when she was pouring the tea, not when she set the tea in front of him, and not even after it had been long gone. Her talking had only ceased after the jingling of keys at the door. The pika instantly looked toward it, her cheery and bubbly nature quickly subsiding.

"What's wrong?" Knuckles questioned, taking note of her sudden shift in demeanor.

"Nothing…My roommate is home. She doesn't like when I speak…at all."

Before Knuckles could say anything else the door creaked open and in walked in a familiar face. Standing at the doorway was the girl who had introduced herself a few days ago as Shade the Echidna…in nothing but a towel the barely circled her entire body, leaving a good amount of it completely exposed.

She walked over to her bed slowly, eyes locked on Knuckles the entire time with a hint of amusement to them. He instantly looked down as he got up to take his leave.

"Don't mind me." She called out, "Just got back from the showers. It'll only take a minute to get dressed—"

"That's fine." He cut her off nervously, "I was on my way out anyway. I'm sorry."

"Don't be." The echidna girl replied, crossing her arms over her barely covered chest as she talked to his back. "I hope my roommate didn't chew your ear off too badly."

"Stop teasing me." Relic muttered, sticking her tongue out at the echidna girl. "And trying to flirt with my tutor."

"Tutor, huh?" Shade mused, smirking as Knuckles briskly walked out the door in a hurry. "Guess that means he'll be around more often…"

* * *

 _"No Matilda. She's not my girlfriend yet."_ Mighty whined into his phone as he kicked off his shoes and threw himself back on his bed. His roommates were out again, leaving him a little time to talk to his sister on the phone.

 _"C'mon Mighty! I thought Fiona was helping you."_ The armadillo girl pouted on the other line. _"She helped Ray! He called me earlier and said that girl agreed to go on a date with him!"_

 _"I'm trying Tilly!"_

 _"Try harder! I don't want my big brother alone forever."_

 _"Why is it that you're more concerned about my love life than I am?"_ He chuckled.

 _"Because I want you to be normal."_ She stated bluntly, _"Normal eighteen year olds go on dates! And bring girls home! You've never even had your first kiss!—"_

 _"_ _ **WOW! UMM…**_ _"_ Mighty cringed with an intense blush on his face as he shot up from his laying down positon _. "Are we really having this talk?!"_

 _"I just want you to be happy."_

 _"I am happy Tilly, and I'll be even happier when we go visit you."_

 _"I'll be happy too…when you come visit me_ _ **WITH A GIRLFRIEND!**_ _"_

 _"Dammit! Matilda I—"_

 _"Aunt Lulumae needs me for something. Gotta go. Love you!"_

 _"Wait—"_

Mighty sighed heavily, the call ending mid-sentence. He threw the phone over to his dresser before face planting back into his pillows.

 _'How the hell did she know I've never…kissed anyone before?'_ He thought to himself, a wave of embarrassment washing over him.

"You've never kissed anyone before?" A voice called out, making him sit up to face the doorway. In came Fiona, strolling over to take a seat beside the flustered armadillo.

"Yo-You can read minds?" He stammered, and intense glow on his face.

"I heard you over the phone on my way in." She laughed, "These walls are pretty thin. So it's true then? You've never kissed anyone?"

"Yeah." He mumbled, bowing his head in shame, "I've always been so one-track minded. All my efforts and energy were put into figuring out ways to get Tilly and Ray home. I had no time to be a typical teen. I usually left the skirt chasing up to Knuckles and the rest of the Chaotix guys."

"I mean, I tried to kiss you at the hospital." Fiona blushed, thinking back to the one split second their lips actually touched.

"I don't think that really counts. You were distraught and confused. You didn't want to kiss me for real." He laughed, getting up from his bed to go over to the door. "C'mon, let's go get something to eat." He smiled back at her before disappearing out the door.

 _'But…I did…I did want to kiss you for real.'_ The vixen thought to herself as she followed after him.

* * *

It had been three days since he was forced to sign those documents by Isabella Mongoose, and today was the day Mina would be heading off to that final baby appointment in Metropolis Hospital.

The green hedgehog waited anxiously in the bushes near the parking lot until he saw the mongoose come out of the main building all bundled up in baggy clothes. Silent tears escaped him as he watched that familiar limousine pull up in front of her. Once she was in and the car drove off he jumped out of the bushes and ran toward the bike rack by the lot.

He picked the lock on a silver one with durable-looking wheels before throwing himself on it and hastily peddling after the vehicle carrying the mongoose and his unborn child.

It was an hour long drive. He was drenched in sweat, and his calves burned like fire, but he didn't once think of slowing down. Thankfully the bike tires had only popped moments after he turned into the hospital parking lot.

He lost balance and was subsequently flung face first into the cement. When he lifted his head he saw the two mongooses standing over him.

"You didn't need to come." Isabella remarked coldly as Manic got back up to his feet.

These last three days had been nothing but pain and suffering for him. He didn't want Mina to do this. He'd been having nightmares ever since signing the papers.

"Mina please." He begged, throwing both hands over her shoulders. Tears brimmed his baby blue eyes, and his voice ached with such pain. "Don't do this."

Her heart broke for him, but her mind was set. She brushed his hands off her shoulders, offering him a stern shake of the head in response.

"You won't be changing her mind." Her mother spoke up in that crude pompous voice, "Come Mina. It's time." She put her hand on her daughter's back and led her away from Manic and in through the double-doors of Metropolis Hospital.

Manic fell to his knees, blood from his earlier face plant and fresh tears dripping down his face as he stared after their disappearing figures.

"What have I done?" He whimpered, clawing at his own face in agony.

After some time he migrated to a nearby bench just outside the doors. He had his head in his hands, sobbing to himself. He looked out to the sky in an attempt to calm himself, feeling a few droplets of rain fall over him as he did so. Shortly thereafter, the sky started to cloud up in gray, and rain poured from the heavens like bullets.

His ears perked up at the sound of the automatic doors slide open, and he turned his head to see Dr. Quack waving off Isabella who wheeled Mina away in a wheelchair toward their car.

The green hedgehog got up instantly and rushed over to the doctor, clinging desperately to his white coat as his knees threatened to give out on him. The yellow duck offered him a sympathetic frown before pulling at his wrists.

"I'm sorry Mr. Hedgehog."

"Please." Manic begged, his cries becoming even more pained. "Just tell me…was it a boy or a girl?"

"Mr. Hedgehog, that's inappropriate." Dr. Quack shook his head.

"Please, I'm begging you…" Manic whimpered, falling to his knees before the doctor as he stared up through the rain with a pleading gaze.

Dr. Quack shook his head once more and sighed before turning to walk away.

"A girl." He said without looking at the hedgehog. "A little mongoose girl." Then he walked back into the hospital, leaving a frantic Manic alone to shout and cry in the parking lot.

Distraught and without a ride back to campus he started the long journey on foot back. The tears never stopped as he walked out of the parking lot and onto the sidewalk. Nor did the rain let up a bit. In fact, it got worse.

He was coming up on a bridge when he decided to pull out his cellphone and search for comfort within his best friend. No one knew of Mina's pregnancy, and he was legally sworn to secrecy, but the pain was too much to bear alone.

 _"Hello?"_ Shadow called out through the speaker, only being greeted by Manic's sniffles and sobs. _"Manic? What's wrong?"_

 _"Mina…She…She—"_

 _"Oh shut up."_ Shadow cut him off coldly, _"She finally did something to make you realize she was just using you exactly as I said and you want to cry to me now? Fuck off."_

 _"We warned you about that girl, you dumbass."_ Rouge sang in the background.

 _"Whatever she did, you deserve for being such a fucking moron."_ The black hedgehog continued, _"Cry to someone else."_ He then hung up, not bothering to let Manic get a word in at all.

The green hedgehog stopped his walking halfway across the bridge with rain pouring down so violently it actually hurt when it made contact with his skin. He clutched the phone tightly in his hand as he looked over the ledge at the water rippling below.

Without even realizing it, he had hopped up onto the ledge. His balance being the only silver lining between his life…and death.

Guilt, pain, and sorrow were the only things he could feel. All of the changes, all of the time spent bettering himself, and even the hopeful future he had almost seen for himself was all out the window…along with his willingness to carry on.

But he had one hope left. He took his cellphone and dialed another number. His last hope.

 _"Hello?"_

 _"I need help."_

 _"Manic? What the hell is going on?! Are you okay?"_

 _"No…I'm not."_ Manic sobbed into the phone, staring out at the ocean. _"I need you, and I swear to Chaos if you don't come…I think I might really kill myself."_

 _"Just calm down."_ The person on the other line pleaded, _"Where the hell are you?"_

 _"Metropolis Bridge…"_ He whimpered, _"Hurry."_

* * *

Scourge tossed his phone to the side, shoving his keys in the ignition without a second thought. He looked out the rearview mirror to the occupants sitting in the back.

"Get the fuck outta my car." He commanded them both.

"Who was that on the phone?" His reptilian-eyed companion questioned curiously, "Must be someone awfully important for you to be panicking like this—"

" **I SAID GET OUT!** " He screamed, sending a shudder through both Mephiles and Rosy before they leapt out of the car immediately.

He then floored it, pulling out of the school parking lot with such a quickness he left tire marks on the ground from burning rubber.

He sped down the dirt road almost fifty miles over the speed limit. His car was practically flying, and once he go into the city he waited for no traffic lights. He swerved and slid across the wet roads through cars and occasionally over the sidewalk, doing everything in his power to get to that bridge.

Once he got there, his car spun to a stop, and he leapt out of the front seat and into the pouring rain without a care. He jogged over to the hooded figure standing on the ledge, until he saw another pair of blue eyes come into view.

"Manic…" He called out, making the younger hedgehog turn over to him. "What are you doing!?"

"Everything is fucked up." He cried out, looking back toward the water. "There's…There's no reason for me to be here—"

He shifted his weight on the ledge, making Scourge nearly jump out of his skin with fear.

" **STOP!** " He begged, stepping a bit closer to Manic.

"What I just did…I…I'm so fucked up." He sobbed.

"We can talk about it Manic…We can talk about anything…Just please, for the love of Chaos get the fuck down."

"I don't want to. There's nothing for me here—"

" **I'M HERE! I'M FUCKING HERE MANIC.** " Scourge yelled, tears escaping his ice-blue eyes as he begged for the younger hedgehog to step down from that ledge. "I'm begging you…Just come down."

Manic shook his head, closing his eyes as he let the tears just flow. He couldn't live with himself. Not after what he had done.

He held his breath, bracing himself for the final impact as he took a step off the ledge.

But just before he could go diving down headfirst into the dangerous waters, Scourge had just barely grabbed his jacket and flung him back just in the nick of time. They both went stumbling back, falling into a large puddle that had pooled in the middle of the road.

When Manic opened his eyes and sat up he was met with Scourge's horrified expression, and the first real tears he'd ever seen from the one dubbed _'devil'_.

Scourge instantly threw his arms around the younger green hedgehog, hugging him so tightly there was little room for breathing. Manic could feel the other boy's heart racing, and listened to the light sobs that escaped him.

Neither of them said anything, opting to just sit in the middle of the road and cry as they held each other in the pouring rain.

* * *

 **Manic's scene was probably one of the most emotionally draining scenes I've written thus far. This one specifically really had me cry re-reading it. Not only was the cruelty of Mina and Isabella just before the procedure devastating, but finding out the species and gender of the child he'll never have was pretty traumatizing. It didn't help that Shadow and Rouge were absolute cunts, but then again they didn't know what was going on.**

 **Scourge is always the one coming to his rescue, no matter how much animosity and coldness lurks in the air neither of them can help themselves when it comes to the other. Just what happened between them during their days as runaways? Perhaps a walk down memory lane next chapter will help us understand...or confuse us even more.**

 **This is like my second or third time teasing at Manic's potential death. He's been spared twice now, does that assure his safety in the story? Absolutely not. If anything it proves he's the number one character capable of suicide at this point. So don't mark him off the hit list just yet...**

 **At this point, everyone is in danger-zone some way or another. To many secrets, to many lies, and too much heartache to tell whose gettin' it.**

 **To address Mina's choice: This was not a necessary choice overall. Her health was not at risk, she was not assaulted, and she does have the financial stability to care adequately for a child. But remember she is a self-centered sixteen year old with high expectations for the future, ones that don't involve a child nor Manic. She's 'The Songoose' a cutie with a good-girl image. Having a child would have tarnished that image and subsequently ruined her career. Her choice was her choice whether it be right or wrong. Should we judge? No, but that doesn't mean we have to agree with her choice.**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Gold vs. Blaze**

 **Sonic finds himself growing confusingly torn between something he once had and something he wants to have**

 **Ray tries to comfort Cream the best he can, putting his heart on the line again**

 **Elias finds out the gender of his baby, and finds it increasingly harder to keep Megan and Sonia secret from each other**

 **Sally explains why she dresses in such terrible fashion**

 **We learn the origins of that strange stump within the forest, and it's inscription**

 **And so much more!**

 **Fun Question: At this point in time what is the number one couple you would want to see happen or return, and why?**

 **Special Note:**

 **Thank you for the support, and all the awesome reviews in my mini-absence. I really appreciate it, and I'm so happy to see that there are so many of you invested and taking interest. I'll try my hardest to not let anything get to me, and hopefully get back on the frequent schedule too :)**


	41. Chapter 41

**WARNING: Mentions of self-harm, sexual harassment, abortion, bulimia, suicide attempt, and child neglect**

* * *

 **Chapter 41: Old Flames Burn Brightly**

 _'After Tails' adoption, my family pretty much overlooked my entire existence. It felt like I blended into the walls whenever we were all together. I always felt like no one ever saw me, and when they did all they seemed to want to do was scold me about being a fuck up, or not being as good as Tails._

 _My dad has never called me son, there were a few occasions where my mom forgot to pick me up at school because she was preoccupied with Tails, and eventually my siblings didn't want to play with me anymore._

 _I felt like nothing. No one cared._

 _I even thought that if I died they probably wouldn't notice, and carry on like nothing._

 _I always felt so alone…and then Scourge found me in that alleyway, crying and screaming like a baby._

 _He was the first person to ever see me, and the first person to ever give a shit about me._

 _Most people thought my friendship with him was my decent to hell. We'd break all the rules, and not give a single fuck about what destruction we left behind._

 _Zonic's worst nightmare._

 _But the truth is…it was hell until I met him. Nothing but a dark fog of loneliness watching everyone do nothing but fawn over Tails while I was shoved to the side._

 _"There." Scourge howled, wiping sweat from his brow as he took a seat on the newly made hollowed-out stump. "Now we've got our own special hiding place so Zonic can't bitch or tear up our rooms anymore."_

 _"Where the hell did you get a chainsaw?" I exclaimed once he got up and allowed me to inspect the new hiding place._

 _"I had it in my trunk." He shrugged, taking the black backpack he had off his shoulders to pour its contents into the stump. "My parents left behind a lot of cool shit when they dipped."_

 _After setting up the new container for our contraband we decided to take a much needed rest and just lay beside it. He pulled his shades down before staring up to the sky with his hands behind his head while I twirled the drumsticks he gave me and looked out to the same scene._

 _"So, vacation's coming up. Any plans?" He asked, "I heard Blue telling Flat-Cat you guys were gonna on a vacation to see the daddy—"_

 _"You honestly think I'd be included if it was my stupid dad's idea?" I cut him off in a nasty tone, sitting up as I grabbed chunks of grass out of the ground._

 _That Thanksgiving vacation Dad was stationed in DigItaly, and wanted the family to come spend it with him over there. Coincidentally he only bought four tickets. One for Ma, Sonia, Sonic…and Tails. He said his bank card didn't have enough funds for all five, but it was just bullshit to feed Ma like always._

 _"So while they're off on their little family getaway I'll be house sitting and eating ramen noodles." I muttered after explaining the situation._

 _"That's such bullshit." He snarled, sitting up to face me once he lifted up his sunglasses. "There's no way in hell I'm letting you rot away at home by yourself all vacation."_

 _"I'm used to it at this point honestly." I replied._

 _"Well, don't get too comfortable with it…because I'm around now." He proclaimed, giving me that signature badass grin as I looked up to him bewildered by such a statement. "So you're never gonna be alone anymore Manic…I promise."_

 _"You…You swear?" I stammered, feeling an enormous weight lifting off my heavy heart._

 _"I'll do you one better." He replied, pulling out a pocket knife from his leather jacket. He leaned over the stump and carved._

 _"What are you doing?" I asked, leaning over to read what he had scribed on the tree trunk. "S/M?"_

 _"Scourge and Manic." He smirked, using the tip of the knife to jab his thumb. I instantly cringed, watching the blood ooze from his fingertip as he handed the knife over to me. "It's something people do back where I'm from. Kind of like a blood oath, only whatever you promise is for life."_

 _"For life?"_

 _"Yeah." He nodded, holding out his bloody thumb to me. "I promise you'll never be alone from this moment on. I'm gonna be here always."_

 _I wanted to cry, but I didn't want to come off like a little bitch. So I just smiled before turning back to the stump to carve something beside our initials._

 _"BFL?" He questioned after I pulled away to prick my own thumb._

 _"Bros for life." I told him._

 _It wasn't a smirk or grin. He genuinely smiled at me, something I don't think he's ever done before._

 _We both pressed our bloody thumb prints over the carving, bursting into a howl of blissful laughter and cheers in the middle of the forest._

 _"So, tomorrow I'll drive you home and you can pack two weeks' worth of shit."_

 _"Where are we goin'?"_

 _"Moebius…"_

 _"That's all the way on the other side of the country!" I exclaimed, "I don't think Ma would be okay with that, seeing as how she doesn't exactly think of you as a good influence and all."_

 _"She won't even be in the country." He shrugged, getting up from the ground to dust himself off. "Besides, she doesn't need to know. I'll have you back in your little cradle before they can throw a fit."_

 _I nodded, standing up to dust myself off before we started the walk back to school grounds. In the midst of our journey back he abruptly stopped, making me bump into him._

 _"One more thing." He said, looking back over his shoulder at me. "You can't tell anyone where we're going…especially Fiona." '_

"Wake up." Scourge mumbled, shoving his foot in Manic's face.

"Huh?" The younger green hedgehog mumbled, sitting up to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

When he sat up, so did the other green hedgehog. They were face-to-face in the backseat of the infamous Hummer, both of them soaked along with the seat they fell asleep on.

Upon sitting up to have his baby blues met by a familiar pair a more vibrant and piercing shade, he instantly recalled everything that had led to this point. He cringed, remembering how Scourge had dragged him off the bridge and into his car. They both fell asleep in the backseat, His head by Scourge's feet and vice-versa.

"Scourge I—"

"Hurry up and get out before Blue catches you around me." He cut Manic off harshly, turning his face away.

"You said we'd talk."

"You were gonna kill yourself." Scourge replied quickly and sharply, "I had to say something."

Manic bowed his head in shame, looking down at the clothes soaked with rain. He was hopeful, that maybe Scourge meant it, and that things would possibly go back…but he should have known better.

"Is it always gonna be like this?" The shaggy-quilled hedgehog asked in a sorrowful whisper. "After everything that happened in Moebius?"

"It has to be…" Scourge replied coldly, leaning over to open the door behind Manic. "Now get out…"

* * *

It was early morning. Both Sally and Sonic found themselves with a bit of free time, and thought a quick rendezvous to their secret place was long overdue. With her growing popularity it was a lot more difficult to be a fly on the wall, or hang around him without anyone noticing.

After her little chat with the young tenrec yesterday, the chipmunk had done some deep thinking pertaining to her own dilemma with the blue hedgehog, and begun to question why they felt the need to hide things.

She sat up with her knees pulled to her chest while her chin rested upon them as she stared out at the lake. Her shoulder-length auburn hair blew with the wind, and her lavender scent carried over to the blue hedgehog beside her. She was dressed in a big blue coat with a white fur collar around the hood, and standard black pants with matching blue boots. Of course all of it being two-sizes too big on her.

Sonic sat behind her, staring with a curious expression as her attention was drawn to the lake. He sat upright with his hands propping him up as he leaned back slightly. He wore his typical attire of jeans, a red hoodie, and his favorite raggedy sneakers.

They stood in silence for quite a while after a bit of teasing on how the tables between them had turned. Now she was the popular one, and he was the loser.

It was only when she caught his curious gaze did some conversation pick up.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" She whined, turning away to look down at the grass with a blush, "You know I hate that."

"Sorry." He apologized, looking over to the trees. "I was just wondering something…"

"What is it?"

"Why do you dress like that?" He asked, "And why the hell is someone as snarky and confident as you so damn shy?"

"Dress like what?"

"Like you're homeless! Your clothes look like trash bags they're so damn huge." He blurted out, extending both arms out in emphasis before he set them down and allowed an immense blush to form on his face. "That night it was raining…and your clothes got wet…I kinda got a glimpse at your, uhh…body."

"Pervert." She mumbled in embarrassment, hugging her knees tighter as she looked away from him to hide her burning red face.

"I'm not saying it like that!" He defended himself, "I just don't understand. From what I saw…there's absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about."

"You say that like you expected me to have tentacles or a monster hidden under my clothes—"

"Well I didn't expect you to have huge tits, long legs, and a tiny waist!" He exclaimed, his blush worsening. "With the way you carry yourself I figured you were flat-chested and frail! I mean…Uhh, not like! Fuck, maybe I am a perv."

His ramblings were cut off when the chipmunk flew into a fit of giggles, amused by his sudden shyness and self-doubt. It was cute to her, the way he blushed and fumbled over his own tongue.

"Well…back in Moebius I didn't use to dress like this. I dressed like a normal girl, cut-off jean shorts and cute crop tops. It gained me a lot of unwanted attention. I didn't like to be looked at like a piece of meat, or followed home by sickos." She cringed, remembering several horrid scenarios her appearance had gotten her in when she was younger. "So much to my sister's reluctance, I started wearing unflattering clothes so people would leave me alone."

Sonic frowned, understanding that her shyness was developed after one too many traumatizing encounters. It made him feel bad about teasing her for the way she dressed before they got to know each other like this.

"You don't have to worry about that kind of thing here ya'know. Not with me around." He told her, resting a hand on her shoulder to catch her gaze. "I bet you'd look nice in a skirt or something."

"Stop, you big pervert." She laughed, shoving him playfully. He laughed with her, pushing her back in the same playful manner as they basked in each other's presence.

"What? You think cause your Ms. Popular you can pick on me now?" He teased, scooping up a bit of water from the lake in his hand to toss at her.

" **SONIC!** " She yelped, scrambling up to her feet. "The water's freezing cold you jerk!" She then rushed over to him as he stood up, pounding both of her fists lightly on his chest as he took hold of her wrists.

The laughter never stopped, not even when he pulled her closer to give her a playful apology kiss.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE!**

Just before he could, his phone went off and he took a step back. The blue hedgehog retrieved his phone, scrolling through messages with a big smile that made Sally a bit curious.

"Who is it?"

"It's Ames." He told her, quickly shooting the pink girl a text back before putting his phone away. "I've gotta get going. She wants to hang."

"You've been hanging out quite a bit these past few days." The chipmunk rose an eyebrow, "Would those rumors of you two getting back together hold some merit?"

Sonic smirked, waltzing back over to her and resting his hands at her sides and his forehead on hers as he hummed in amusement.

"Why ask?" He taunted, brushing a stray strand of auburn hair from her face. "Would that make you jealous?"

"Nah, Ken's a nice guy too after all." She replied nonchalantly, instantly wiping the smirk off his face.

"Ken? You'd actually go for someone like him?"

"Why ask?" She taunted back, mimicking his teasing tone. "Would that make you jealous?"

"I don't like when you do that." He pouted, "Try to match me like that. You do it a little too good."

* * *

Back in the main building, Blaze was standing on her tiptoes as she did her best to straighten out the books on the highest shelf of her locker. She hummed a lovely tune, in such a cheery mood at the peacefulness that had encompassed her and her beloved group of friends these last few days.

Knuckles was working hard in both school and sports, no longer serving as an instigator or jokester among them. Rouge seemed to be taking the breakup surprisingly well, sticking to Shadow mostly but not enough to make everyone else feel alienated. The ebony hedgehog seemed to be in much better spirits lately. Cosmo and Tails had come out as an official couple, and Cream stayed her usual cheery self. Sonic and Amy had reconciled, and hung out just as they used to. He seemed much more down-to-earth these days as well, a pleasant change from his attitude. Sonia didn't hang around much, spending most of her time with school heartthrob Elias, and Manic was off doing seemingly well for himself too.

Everything was near perfect, and everyone seemed so happy.

 **SLAM!**

The cat jumped in fright, looking to her left to see a familiar tenrec with long platinum quills that fell at her waist had slammed her hand on the next locker over.

Blaze's face immediately scrunched up into a look of disgust, not too happy to see the blue-eyed girl she had suspected of trying to hone in on Silver.

"We need to talk." Gold stated as confidently as she could muster, not used to being so confrontational or straightforward at all.

"What do you want?" The feline growled, slamming her own locker shut.

"What you're doing to Silver is wrong, and I want you to stop." The tenrec explained coldly, "He's not a puppet for you to manipulate to your liking. He's a person with actual feelings."

"I know he's no puppet, and I'm not manipulating him." Blaze retorted, tightening her fists as she threatened to lose her cool at such accusations.

"So forcing him to change to better suit your stupid circle of friends isn't manipulating?" Gold shot back, stepping up into the cat's face. "Silver loves you too much to tell you how shitty all of your friends are, and how he hates the way you've changed with him. You just don't know the power you hold over him…"

"Stop talking about him like you know him! You've only met him three or four times in your entire life! I'm his childhood friend!"

"Yet on those few occasions he's had more fun with me than when he's ever been with you." The tenrec remarked, making Blaze's hazel eyes shoot open with such hate.

"Just who the hell do you think you are?!" Blaze practically foamed out the mouth, seething with such anger.

"Someone who **ACTUALLY** cares about him…and if you did even in the slightest you'd let him be himself, or get the hell out of his life before you destroy it."

"What Silver and I choose to do or talk about is none of your business. You've been nothing but a nuisance since we first met you at one of those stupid cons." The purple girl huffed, "He's **MY** boyfriend for a reason you know—"

"Not yet." The tenrec shook her head, pointing an accusing finger at the cat. "And he won't be once he realizes you're phony—" Her sentence was cut off with a shocking blatant slap across the face.

Gold cupped her face, the cat's extra-long fingernails drawing blood from a scratch left just below her eye. Occupants of the hallway instantly stopped after hearing the commotion, a few catching the slap on video.

"Do us both a favor and screw off you jealous troll." The cat hissed, turning her back to the tenrec before sprinting down the hall.

She rounded the corner, coming to a stop as she leaned against the wall to wipe the tears that slipped down her face. A lot of what the tenrec had spoken was true…but manipulation and the questioning of her feelings certainly weren't. At least not to her.

"Quite the show of fierceness you put on back there…" A voice cooed. She lifted her head to see that she had turned down the hall with several broken lights, creating shadows in every corner. Her hazel eyes came to a stop on the darkness before her, catching green reptilian eyes shoot open. "Yet you're over here crying like a baby?"

"I'm not in the mood for you Mephiles." Blaze growled at him, doing her best to compose herself.

"But you will be…" He grinned maliciously, stepping out of the darkness to loom over her like a tower. "She's right you know. It won't take long for that precious _'boyfriend'_ of yours to realize he'll never be on par with your selfish desires."

"I'm not selfish!" She shouted, glaring up at him. "I love him! We've both wanted friends for so long…I'm trying to make both of our dreams come true!"

"Are all the girls in your little group this delusional?" The dark hedgehog chuckled, "This isn't some coming of age Lifetime movie."

"Just fuck off!" Blaze commanded, shoving him back so she could run away. He watched her go, an unsettling malice to his amused smile.

"It's only a matter of time." He called after her, making her shudder. "When your little dream starts tearing at the seams…You'll be the one to seek me out."

* * *

Rosy stood behind the main building, crouching down against the brick wall with a cigarette in her hand as she blew smoke out toward the seemingly endless forest that surrounded the school. Behind this building is a place where not many go, and security tends to overlook during their rounds. A place she came to get away from it all.

Her short quills were all pulled back into a ponytail, leaving the two longest ones in the front to frame her face and occasionally fly about with gusts of wind. Her style never changed no matter what time of year it was. Whether it be hot or cold, she always wore a black T-shirt, black leather pants, and her combat boots. The bicycle chain wrapped arm-warmers remained on her arms all year round, being the only shield for her severely scarred and self-harmed arms.

"Haven't seen you in a while, eh?" A voice called out to her when she thought herself to be alone. She stood up immediately, catching sight of the familiar skunk leaned up against the wall a few steps away from her. He turned to her, smirking with a cigarette in his mouth.

"I forgot you even went here." The pink girl growled, tightening her fists a bit as she shot him a nasty glare.

"Been keepin' under the radar for a while." He shrugged, lighting the cigarette before looking out to the sky. "And watch who you give that nasty glare, Love."

"Why should I? Not like your pussy ass will do shit."

"No need for hostilities." The skunk said flatly, only smoking the cigarette halfway gone before chucking it. He then turned to look at her, a devilish grin plastered on his face. "Then again, I'd be just as sour if every decision I made led to shit like the way it did for you."

"Shut up."

"Your obsessive jealousy, your short temper and short-sightedness. The odds have always been against you."

"I said shut up…"

"You heard a little rumor from a notorious liar without even thinkin' to follow up on it. Next thing ya'know you're lettin' Scourge cum inside ya', then you're standing outside a clinic with murder on the mind—"

" **SHUT UP!** " Rosy screamed at the top of her lungs, anger flooding every vein in her body.

"Not that I care or anything, since your loss was my gain. I just want to know, what the hell were you thinking Love? That your hero would come swinging in to your rescue like always after such a betrayal?"

"I…I wanted..." The pink hedgehog trailed off after some time of trying to form a coherent sentence through a panic attack. She heaved desperately for air, until she collapsed on her knees and began to sob uncontrollably. Geoffrey just shook his head at the sight, the amused smirk never leaving his face as he waltzed off casually back to where he came from.

Rosy sobbed frantically, using her shaky hand to pull out an extra-sharp razor blade from a dirty red-stained cloth in her back pocket…

* * *

"Why'd my mother request a meeting with you?" Elias asked his best friend as the two walked close beside each other on the way to the principal's office.

"I have no clue." Sonia shrugged, "My grades are fine. One of my brothers probably did something stupid." She sighed, rubbing her temple to ease the irritating thought.

The prince chuckled at her obvious distaste for the behavior of her brothers. After some teasing and jokes they finally arrived at the main office. Elias took a seat on one of the chairs outside his mother's office after assuring Sonia he'd wait for her.

Then the magenta hedgehog pushed the door open to the principal's office, being greeted by a lovely smile and kind eyes.

"Sonia, hello." Principal Acorn greeted, gesturing to the chair before her desk. "Please, take a seat."

"Principal Acorn I'm **SO** sorry if Sonic or Manic have caused any trouble. Whatever they broke I can pay in small increments or if they—"

"Relax Dear." The chestnut-haired woman giggled, watching as Sonia finally stopped for a breath and took a seat. "Neither you nor your brothers are in any trouble. I just wanted to speak with you about a concern I have."

"A concern?" The magenta girl repeated with confusion.

That's when the principal slid her student file across the desk. Sonia picked it up, opening it up to be met with her physical chart. Alicia had outlined in bright red marker the dramatic declining line comparing her weight two months ago, to this months.

The magenta girl felt her heart break and shame instantly washed over her at the sinking feeling of being found out. She instantly dropped her head in shame, tears of embarrassment pooling in the corners of her eyes.

"Sonia please." Alicia begged, standing up from her chair to go kneel beside the thin hedgehog. She rested a comforting hand on the teen's shoulder. "I'm not here to reprimand you, or make you feel ashamed. I just want to help…"

"I…I'm okay." Sonia shook her head, facing away from the concerned woman. "I don't do it anymore. I'm fine!"

"Sweetheart, just because you don't do it anymore doesn't mean you're better. Something drove you to such a thing…and something like that doesn't just disappear with time." She wrapped her arms around Sonia as the hedgehog caved into her repressed crying.

"Knuckles broke up with me for someone prettier." She sobbed, clutching tightly to the chipmunk's white dress. "I was so insecure, and sad. I heard some girls call me fat and ugly…I thought I could fix it…That if I was good enough he'd come back. He was my first boyfriend ever…My first love."

"First love…" Alicia whispered silently to herself, an image of her own first love flashing in her mind.

She pulled away from the hug to look into Sonia's saddened jade eyes, wiping away her tears and offering her a sincere smile.

"You and I are a lot alike Sonia." The chipmunk said, getting back up to her feet. She then walked over to the bay window behind her desk, clasping her hands behind her back.

"How?" Sonia mumbled, wiping her face on the sleeve of her green sweater.

"I was young, insecure, and in love once." Principal Acorn chuckled lightly, "In love with an idiot who never really could make the right decisions."

"If he was such an idiot, what made you fall for him?" Sonia questioned, interested in the chipmunk's tale.

"He was a self-proclaimed king, but turned out to be nothing but royal fool. Arrogance, stubbornness, and attitude were everything he was made of. Even so, he had a kindness to him that I couldn't get over or just look past. Underneath his tough persona was a genuine person that I came to adore. After some time, I made the grave mistake of falling for him."

"Mistake?"

"My biggest." The chipmunk sighed, "One of his worst qualities was his lustful nature and pride. Our relationship was briefly blissful….until a transfer student much more beautiful than myself or any girl at our school had come along…not to mention his obsessive best friend tried everything to push me out. Suddenly I found myself pitted against two other women for his affections, and it came to a point where insecurity spiked within me."

"But everything worked out for you in the end right? You got married and had Elias…"

"No…Not at all." Alicia shook her head, eyes fixed out into the blue sky. "At one point I found out he was not only seeing us at the same time, but many others. I grew fed up with playing the side for him. All along I had a best friend…someone who cared about me waiting at home, but I chose to chase after a loser. By the time I called things off, and set out to settle down with my best friend…he was engaged and his girlfriend was pregnant with Knuckles. To spite the one who broke my heart, I made yet another grave mistake by accepting a persistent Max's proposal—"

"Wait, wait." Sonia cut her off, "If Knuckles' father was the best friend who loved you all along, and Elias' father was the one you forced yourself to settle down with, then who was your first love?"

Alicia chuckled to herself, turning around to give Sonia a warm smile accompanied by a single tear that fell down her cheek.

"Your father." The principal replied, making Sonia's jaw drop. "And that beautiful transfer student he went on to have three beautiful children with…was your mother, Aleena."

"M-M-My father was your Knuckles…"

"I suppose that would make my Locke your Elias then?" The chipmunk giggled, walking back over to the hedgehog to pat her head gently. "It's not easy being insecure, or falling for boys we know are bad for us. Someday it'll be behind you, and you might even end up marrying your own best friend." She smirked, holding out the hand with her engagement ring. "Now let's talk about counselling Sonia…"

* * *

 **INCOMING CALL**

While sitting out in the main office patiently waiting for Sonia, the young prince's phone began to vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out and bit his lip at the sight of Megan's face lighting up on his screen. He turned toward the door beside his chair, making sure the knob wasn't turning before answering the call.

 _"Meg…Hi."_ He greeted reluctantly.

 _"Where the hell have you been?"_ She bellowed through the phone in a fit of anger, _"I've called thirty seven times today."_

 _"Megan…it's only eight in the morning."_ He cringed, holding the phone arms-length away as she scolded him.

 _"So? You've barely talked to me since I left. What the hell is going on Elias?"_

 _"Nothing's going on."_ He assured her, glancing toward the door to his mother's office every once in a while. _"I've just been busy with my studies."_

 _"I guess that makes sense."_ She pouted, lightening the tone a bit. _"At least you'll be all mine this Christmas."_

 _"Yeah…"_ He nodded.

 _"I went to the doctor's earlier…Guess who's having a baby girl!"_

 _"What?!"_ Elias gasped, a big smile crossing his face as he shot out of his chair with glee. _"I have a daughter?"_

 _"That's right."_ His girlfriend cheered over the phone, _"I'm looking for baby names right now. You okay? You sound a little shocked."_

 _"No I'm just…I'm excited."_ He told her, stammering with overwhelming emotion.

"Elias?" Sonia called out after exiting his mother's office. He nearly jumped out of his skin, paling a bit as he saw her at the door.

 _"Who was that?"_ Megan questioned suspiciously on the phone.

 _"No one."_ Elias replied quickly, hastily ending the call. _"I'll call you back."_

 _"Was that Sonia?!"_

 _"Bye."_ He ended the call before the pregnant teen could get another word out. Then he turned over to Sonia with a sheepish smile.

"Who were you talking to on the phone?" The magenta girl asked as she walked over to him.

The voice in the back of his head was reprimanding him too much, so much that he wasn't sure if he could keep putting off telling Sonia about Megan, and vice-versa.

"I've actually got something to tell you…" He mumbled, looking down at his feet.

He was surprised when she threw her arms around his neck, and looked up to him with such an adoring smile. He blushed madly upon first glance at her pretty face.

"Can it wait until after we have breakfast?" She cooed, making his heart flutter with every word.

"I-I guess it could." He stammered nervously.

* * *

Cream and Ray sat at one of the picnic tables by the fountain. The wind blew coldly, whipping at both of their noses. He watched the rabbit with a frown as she stared intently at the newly formed couple of Cosmo and Tails descending down the steps of the main building.

Happy for them? Sure. Happy for herself? Not really.

Try all she may, the bitterness of losing the love war remained. The idea of them together didn't bother her so much as seeing it. You'd think being childhood friends would have given her some kind of leverage, but it proved worthless with the innocent seedrian as competition.

Ray looked down at the table in sorrow, feeling like nothing more than a nuisance to her.

"I'm sorry about Tails…" He muttered, making her finally snap her head back toward him.

"I'm sorry if it seems like I'm ignoring you. I'm just…a little distraught, that's all. Tails was kinda my first crush ever…"

"Believe me…I know wh-what it's like to ha-have your first crush b-break your heart." The squirrel nodded in understanding, offering her a kind smile that made her feel a bit hurt.

"I didn't mean to cause you such pain…especially not something like this." The rabbit pouted, resting a hand to her chest. "I wouldn't wish this kind of hurt on anyone, not even on my worst enemy."

"You're to-too nice to have a worst en-enemy."

"Oh, you know what I mean." She giggled.

"I…I know I'm not sm-smart like Tails, and j-just talking to me can g-get pretty ex-exhausting, but I would like to b-be there for you."

"I don't understand you Ray…" The rabbit mumbled, staring back at him across the table with a curious yet sorrowful gaze. "I've caused you so much heartache these last two months, and you're still willing to put your heart on the line for me like this."

"You…You're also my first crush ever…" He replied, a red glow on his cheeks as he offered her a sheepish smile. "B-Besides, just being around you ma-makes me happy."

"You're not like other boys Ray." Cream smiled back, sliding her hand across the table to rest over his shaky one. "You're so genuine…and I appreciate it so much."

"I-I guess I get it from Mighty." The yellow squirrel chuckled.

* * *

Back in the girl's dorm, Sonic and Amy were both seated on the pink girl's frilly bed. He laid on his back with his hands behind his head while she sat with her knees up by his side, looking down at him with a big smile.

"Been a long time since we hung out like this, huh?" He smirked at her, coaxing a blush out of her.

"Y-Yeah." She stammered shyly before letting her smile fall into a bit of a frown, "Hard to believe things between us went wrong in the first place."

"Hey, don't trip. We were both in a bad place, and had some growing up to do. It wasn't us, just our timing." He assured her, resting his hand on her back in a comforting manner. "I'm just glad we can hang like this again."

"Me too Sonic." She nodded, "And thanks for understanding…even after the Scourge thing—"

"There's no need for this Ames." The blue hedgehog sat up so they were face-to-face, "You and I go way back, further than anyone in our little circle. No matter what happens or what we put each other through, we always end up together and laughing in the end."

"Are you trying to hint something at me?" She teased, poking his nose. He laughed, removing her index finger from his face before saying something that completely killed the upbeat vibe.

"Stop, you sound like…" He instantly trailed off, noticing the disheartened look on her face. "Never mind. Uhh, where's Blaze again? I thought she was gonna be here too."

"Oh, I have no clue." Amy shrugged, shaking off the confusion after he changed the subject so abruptly. "She must have got caught up talking to a friend or something."

"What about your other two roomies?" The blue hedgehog asked, gesturing to the other empty beds. A messy orange-sheeted one, and a neat white-sheeted one.

"Wave's probably out somewhere with her friends, and Marine is almost never here." Amy explained before throwing her head back onto her lacy white pillow. Sonic followed suit, throwing his head onto the pillow beside hers before they both turned to face each other.

"Guess it'll just be us for a while then." He chuckled awkwardly, biting his lip to suppress the blush threatening him while he stared back at her adorable face.

"Mhm." She nodded, not bothering to mask her red face.

They stared at each other in silence for a while before trailing off into random conversation until finally coming to something a bit unexpected.

The pink hedgehog batted her long eyelashes, debating with herself internally on whether or not she should ask such a thing, but her mouth just spewed out thoughts without her consent.

"Sonic…"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think there's hope for us?" She asked in a yearning tone, "Getting back together I mean."

He was so taken off guard, and so unprepared for that kind of question. They'd only started hanging out again a couple of days, and things had been going insanely well for them, but he wasn't quite sure how to respond. Especially with the auburn-haired girl in the back of his mind.

Should the answer be obvious? Well, it would be much easier to let her down gently…if he wanted to that is.

Truth is he missed this feeling. A feeling he only ever got from her. That on top of the world feeling.

Being king of everything

"Who knows" He shrugged, resting a hand to her cheek and offering her a kind smile. Not his usual playful grin or knowing smirk. "It feels like at this school…just about anything can happen, ya'know?"

* * *

Silver sighed heavily, sitting on his bed with a box of his favorite things in his lap. His handheld video games, signature eyeliner pen, several comic books, favorite hair gel, and the list goes on. Ironically all of the things he wasn't allowed to have if he wanted Blaze to stay.

His roommates were off on campus doing their own thing, leaving him to wallow in sadness with things he missed. They worried for him too, just not nearly as much as Gold did.

He ran a hand over his quills, cringing at how they simply rested back on his head. Then trailed that same hand down to his eyes, no longer afraid to smudge anything. He kept telling himself it was for Blaze, but that didn't stop the depression from taking his soul over.

A world where he could be himself, and a world where Blaze didn't care about what anyone else thought. That's all he wanted. A place they could live happily together with no hardships.

His thoughts were quickly disrupted by the sound of his door swinging open. He jumped in fright once it collided with the wall to make a harsh sound. When he looked over he saw Gold storming in…with her bruised cheek.

"Gold?" He questioned in confusion, putting the box to the side to stand up and face her with concern.

Dry tears stained her cheeks, one of which bruised with a nasty cut just underneath her eye. She offered him no words, only whimpers and light sobs as she walked over to his dresser. He watched her sift through his new attire until she found the old gamer shirts hidden underneath. She pulled one out and walked over to him.

"Gold? What are you doing?!" He yelped once she grasped the bottom of the shirt he was wearing and pulled it up off him. He was only exposed for a quick second, because afterward she immediately threw his old shirt on him.

"I'm helping you!" She replied in an upset tone, pushing him back so he was seated on the bed before her. She then took out the eyeliner pen from the box beside him. "Stay still—"

"No!" Silver screeched, grabbing her wrist to prevent the eyeliner pen from making contact with his eye. He lightly shoved her away, sending the thin tenrec stumbling back. "What's going on Gold?!"

"I need you back." She blurted out, fresh tears escaping her. "The old you. I know you're only doing this for Blaze and her friends! You're miserable—"

"I don't want to be the old me." He cut her off, "Yeah, I'm miserable okay? But Blaze is happy…and people actually like me this way! Nobody even liked the old me—"

" **I DID**." The tenrec cried out in such agony, stepping over to him to cup his face in that adoring manner. "And you should too, because that's who you are. Not this." She rested her forehead on his, both of them frowning as they closed their eyes.

Her words almost sunk in, but his feelings for the purple feline were just too strong a force against her.

"I want Blaze to be happy with me, to love me the way I love her." He whispered, shaking his head in refusal. "Even if I've gotta give up everything I am. I just wanna be with her. It's all I've ever wanted…"

"But she's not loving you. She's loving this fabricated version of you." His friend replied, looking up to him with such angst. "You're not Silver, you're just copper."

He frowned, heart in ruins after such a bold statement. One he couldn't really counteract. She pulled her hands away from his face, releasing her hold on him before giving his cheek a light kiss.

"Gold…"

"You won't realize any of it until heartbreak finds its way back to you…." She sighed, reluctantly walking away from him. "When you're back to you, and left in ruins…Don't look for me."

He opened his mouth to say something else, but she was already out the door before he could do anything.

He rested a hand to his flushed cheek, the one her lips gently pecked, and a million thoughts ran through his mind.

* * *

"Thanks for always standing by me, and not judging me." Mina spoke as her feline friend helped her off the teal-sheeted bed, "It means a lot to me that I have you Honey."

"Well, we are besties for life, remember?" The cat giggled, taking the mongoose's hands in hers.

"Since daycare." Mina giggled, remembering that little friendship oath they took as toddlers.

"So how do you feel?" Honey asked after being a bit hesitant.

"I feel fine." Mina shrugged, "The doctor said I wasn't too far along, so the recovery would be short, a week a most."

"I mean…mentally."

"Nothing's changed. I'm relieved actually. Nothing seems out of my reach anymore."

"What about Manic?"

"I wish I could say the same for him, but the last time I saw him he didn't look so good."

"Aren't you worried that he might tell people?" Honey asked, saddened by the mongoose's sorrowful expression.

"Not really. My mom made him sign a contract, and threatened him a little." Mina explained, cringing at the memory. She rubbed her arm as she looked over to the cat. "I'm sorry about Shadow by the way."

"Oh please." The cat rolled her eyes, waving in dismissal. "You know how quick I bounce back from 'em girl. He was my favorite, but at the end of the day _'just another one'_."

"Slut it up girl." The mongoose giggled, both of them turning to the side to bump their hips together.

Their laughter was soon interrupted by a menacingly loud knock on the door that made them jump. Honey quickly raced toward the door, creaking it open a bit to peer out at who was knocking. Then she turned back to her friend with a smile.

"Look who's here!" She cheered, opening the door completely to reveal Shard. The cat then scurried out behind him. "I'll just give you two a little privacy. See you later."

Then she slammed the door shut, leaving Shard and Mina awkwardly standing across from each other. She bit her lip nervously, not prepared to see him so soon after her procedure. He seemed to be quite anxious too, trembling a bit as he took a few steps closer.

"I'm sorry I didn't call you last night Babe." She apologized, meeting him halfway with her arms stretched out and ready for a hug. "My appointment went on a lot longer than expected, and by the time I got back I—"

"Got tired and fell asleep." He finished for her, already knowing her usual excuse. He tilted his head, searching her jade eyes for any trace of guilt or nervousness. "You've been dodgy a lot lately."

"Not on purpose." She whined, finally linking her arms around him. "I just have a lot on my plate with band stuff, school work, and a few health issues…but it won't be like that anymore. I'm feeling better already!"

"Health issues?"

"It was just a stomach virus…I'm over it now though." She assured him with a smile before leaning up to kiss his cheek.

"He looked away from her, nothing but sheer doubt in his heart, but he chose to ignore the feeling and suppress the urge to ask her about Nicole's claims entirely. The hedgehog wanted so desperately to believe that he had found something good, someone who wanted to take him as he was.

"Hey…you'd never lie to me about anything right?" He muttered, turning back to her.

"Of course not." She replied, resting her head on his shoulder once he finally returned the embrace. "I love you…"

* * *

 **Elias and Megan are having a baby girl! Knuckles and Julie-Su have a four year old daughter. Scourge and Rosy would have had a baby girl too, and so would have Mina and Manic if either of them had gone through with pregnancy. A lot of girls so far...**

 **So, the stump Manic introduced to Shadow as early as chapter three-the same stump Sally and Sonic stumbled upon during their run-was created by Scourge and Manic two years ago. And the blood oath was made by Scourge and Manic as well, to always be together...but just what could have changed? Or conspired during that time in Moebius?**

 **Sally's choice of dressing in an 'ugly' fashion is due to one too many sexual harassment issues she faced back in Moebius. It's revealed that she is actually very attractive underneath the attire. Could this have something to do with the scars on her face? Or Scourge?**

 **Blaze''s forced-change on Silver is really taking its toll emotionally, and Gold doesn't like it a bit...but quickly realizes there's nothing she can do and says her farewells to the person he's become. Will Silver wake up or drown in misery? Will Blaze realize what she's doing is wrong? Or will Mephiles have the last laugh?**

 **Sonic has definitely grown to adore the auburn-haired girl, and the feeling is definitely mutual, but it seems as though the flame for Amy wasn't completely put out...**

 **Principal Acorn is on a cleanup spree, picking up the fragile and broken, finally getting some teens the help they desperately need. Sonia is quite moved by Alicia's personal tale of heartache. How much influence will their encounter hold?**

 **Rosy has a damming affliction, using self-harm as a constant coping mechanism to escape the guilt and sorrow toward the mysterious past we know little-to-nothing about exactly...At this rate...her coping mechanism might prove to be fatal if not helped.**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Sonic's ready to give dating another shot...but that's not as clear-cut as it seems**

 **Principal Acorn puts all her animosity aside to give Jules a call**

 **Cream gets hit with a painfully harsh reality, breaking her already mess of a heart**

 **It seems like the universe purposely throws obstacles in the way of Knuckles**

 **Rouge finally gets something horrible off her chest...**

 **Honey's on a mission**

 **Shadow puts someone in a dangerous position**

 **And so much more!**

 **Review Replies**

 **WordVomitComet: The nature of Sally and Sonic's relationship is a midway point between a good friendship and a major crush. They are not dating, but there is an obvious attraction between them. **

**TheHunterPersian: Yes! Scourge and Manic will go into further detail once I touch on what they did in their time on the little vacation to Moebius. Also, I have no real plans to include Gamma or Big, but Metal Sonic was mentioned as Shard's father, Captain Metal-who died in the war. **

**NicClassic: All good suggestions and feedback that I will take into account, especially the closure aspect. **

**MeBeKiki: If you look closely, there IS a slight pattern in girls Shadow has gone for. **

**Fox: It was never my intention for Li Moon to be in the story at all, but seeing as how you want to see her so desperately I've decided to give her a brief ONE-TIME cameo the same way I did for Zooey the Fox during the Halloween chapter. Just know that this will never happen again, and nor will she have anything to do with Tails at all. He's juggling too many plotlines and love interests to introduce another. I'm sorry, but a single cameo is the most I can do for you. I already have my hands full with enough characters and I just can't afford to take on another. I'm sorry, and I hope this tides you over, but I'd really appreciate it if you'd stop asking for her and focus on other aspects of the story. This is about more than just shipping and OTPs**


	42. Chapter 42

**WARNING: Sexual scene, and brief mentions of abusive relationships**

* * *

 **Chapter 42: The Love Games**

 _'Midnight last night, that usual time my phone went off. At this point I was too used to pulling it off my dresser, and looking around to make sure everyone was asleep before I answered. I rolled over onto my back, staring at the ceiling with a smirk as her voice sounded through the phone._

 _"Hey." I greeted casually, low enough to not disturb my roomies._

 _"Hello Sonic." She replied in that soft spoken tone, "Sorry if I woke you."_

 _"You call me at midnight every night we don't meet up at the lake." I chuckled, "Its routine by now. So what's up?"_

 _"The last time we hung out I wanted to talk about something, but you went off to see your ex…"_

 _"Ooh? Is that jealousy I hear?"_

 _"Stop it." She whined, "This is serious…"_

 _"Serious like what? Just spit it out Slow-Poke."_

 _"After a talk with this girl, I've been thinking…" She mumbled, obviously uncomfortable with whatever she was trying to say. Finally when she said it, I instantly sat upright in my bed. "Remember when we agreed not to make any more of what we are because our friends wouldn't like it?"_

 _"Wh-What are you trying say Sal?"_

 _"You're a lot different than the first day I met you, much more open and honest with yourself."_

 _"Well, that's really all thanks to you." I admitted, face red although she wasn't even there. "All my life everyone's only ever fed my ego. It was a lifelong power trip until you pulled me back down to earth. It sucked, but it was exactly what I needed."_

 _"I don't think we should hide anything anymore. I like you Sonic…and I want to maybe take you up on that offer. If it's still on the table I mean."_

 _"Are you serious?"_

 _"Is that bad?"_

 _"No, no. It's just…what about Antoine and the others? Don't they still hate my guts? Not to mention your little monkey buddy would flip and probably try to karate chop me."_

 _"I actually…almost forgot about all that." She mumbled in disappointment, "Your friends aren't exactly big fans of me either, and I can only imagine how your ex would take it…considering she still likes you."_

 _"I wouldn't want to rain on your little parade either. People are finally starting to like you after standing up to Jet. I don't want to be the reason they start hating on you again."_

 _"You make it sound like I care about this popularity thing. I don't care what people think, but the Freedom Fighters are my friends and I have to consider their feelings of course."_

 _"Then how 'bout we talk to our friends? Warm them up to the idea." I suggested, looking over at Tails curled up with his blanket fast asleep. "Because I'm kinda sick of watching Kael try to flirt with you in class. When is that loser gonna get his own seat anyway?"_

 _"His name is Ken." She corrected me in that signature annoyed tone, "And that's actually a good idea."_

 _"Then let's do it to it."_

 _"Only if you promise to never say that again."_

 _"Fine. Goodnight, Buzz-Kill."_

 _"Goodnight, Brat."_

 _Our late night chats always end with some form of banter, so childish. Like little kids teasing each other on a playground because we've got a crush. It used to annoy the hell out of me, but now it's the most fun I've ever had. Just talking to her._

 _She really has changed me for the better. I haven't hurt anyone, or even thought about my social status since that night she kissed me. She's the only person who's ever made me feel okay just being me, like I don't have to put on the stupid 'hero' persona._

 _I really am just an attention-seeking brat with a superiority complex and a desperate need to be adored._

 _Even knowing all that she still put effort into me, even when I treated her like dirt._

 _I like her a lot, and I know the two of us would be even better for me…but talking to my friends about it won't be easy._

 _Everyone still has high hopes for me and Amy…_

 _I…I still have some hope for me…and Amy...'_

"Uh, Sonic?" Knuckles called out, waving his hand in front of the blue hedgehog's face.

Sonic was seated on a wooden bench, nothing but a towel draped around his waist as he shook the thoughts out of his head. He instantly swatted the echidna's large hand out of his face, still doing his best to adjust back into reality.

"What?" He questioned.

"Tails was just trying to tell you about his little girlfriend before you zoned out, rude ass." Knuckles retorted, half-dressed as he walked back over to his locker behind the blue hedgehog.

"Everything okay Sonic?" Tails asked with concern, standing in front of Sonic as he did up the buttons of his shirt.

"Fine, just zoned out like Knucklehead said." The blue hedgehog nodded, standing up to rub the back of his head as he tried to figure out a way to ease into a certain topic. "Seems like love is in the air for everyone these days, huh? I just might be the only single guy in our group."

"Aw, that's not true Sonic!" The kitsune replied in a sympathetic tone, "Shadow, Knuckles, and Manic don't have girlfriends."

"Yeah, but Knuckles has a baby-mama now. That shit is for life regardless if it's not technically dating." Sonic snickered, earning him an irritated glare from the echidna standing behind him. "Plus, Manic and Shadow hangout so much they're practically lovers at this point."

"Fuck you." Shadow grumbled, suddenly emerging from the nearby showers with one towel around his body, and the other in his hand drying off his lengthy striped quills. "Speaking of Manic, have any of you idiots seen him around?"

"Aren't you two roommates?" Knuckles asked, walking back over to the boys completely dressed.

"I can only assume he comes when I'm a sleep and leaves before I get up." The black hedgehog shrugged.

"Guess your marriage is on the rocks." Sonic teased with a playful grin, "Maybe I won't be the only single guy around."

"You're an idiot."

"You're a loser."

"Says the guy whining about being single?"

"He's got you there." Knuckles chimed in with a shrug, "Not so easy picking up girls when the popularity well's dry, huh?"

"Maybe a quick run with you is all I need to snag a new chick, Mr. Legendary Womanizer." The blue hedgehog shot back at the echidna.

"Chill, I'm not like that anymore, and neither should you be." Knuckles rose his hand in dismissal, "I'm all about my daughter. I can't be fuckin' around like that."

"Look who finally gained some morality." Shadow smirked, "About damn time that tiny brain of yours kicked into gear."

" **HELLO!** " Sonic bellowed, waving his hands between them all to gain their attention. "We aren't talking about Knuckles or Manic! I just needed an opinion on something."

"Well, what is it Sonic?" Tails questioned, looking up to the hedgehog.

"I think…I might…want to start seeing someone."

"Who is the lucky guy?" The ebony hedgehog mocked, earning snickers out of both Tails and Knuckles.

"Quit it! I'm trying to be serious..." Sonic whined, turning red in the face. "This is just a hypothetical. If I was to uhh, start seeing someone…who would you suggest?"

"Amy." Knuckles spoke quickly, as if the answer was totally obvious. "Sure she's had her share of fuck ups, but so have you. You really can't find her kind of devotion in anyone else. Plus, she makes bomb food."

"I agree." Tails nodded, "Amy likes you a lot Sonic, and I know a part of you still likes her. Not everything is perfect, but sometimes it's worth taking a step back…"

"Rouge would probably rip my tongue out if I said anyone other than the pink brat. You're both immature and equally pathetic in several aspects. Maybe you are the perfect two." Shadow crossed his arms, "But personally I'd like you to die alone and spend the rest of eternity in fiery solitude. No one deserves to put up with your bullshit."

The blue hedgehog rubbed the back of his head nervously, looking down at his bare feet on the cold tiled floor as he thought about the pink hedgehog.

"What about someone new?" He mumbled with a hint of doubt, "Like…Glasses-Girl. You know, the one everyone's been talking about—"

The three of his friends instantly bursted out in a fit of laughter, holding their sides as tears peeked from their tightly shut eyes. The hedgehog's face burned even redder, regretting even bringing up this whole thing.

"That's hilarious!" Knuckles bellowed, "No offense to Principal Acorn or anything, but I think I'd rather die than deal with another Acorn."

"At least the prince actually carries himself with some sort of grace." Shadow added, "She can barely dress herself, and those glasses are repulsive, along with that prude attitude. Feel free to try if you're **SO** desperate. I'd love to see you get your face kicked in again."

"Why would that even be a suggestion as a hypothetical?" Tails whined, "She might be cool with everyone now, but I'm certainly still not a fan. She's still the girl that made you miserable earlier this year."

"I get it, I get it." Sonic sighed, motioning with his hands for them to cease their laughter. "It was just joke. I wouldn't stoop **THAT** low."

" **ALL YOU PRINCESSES IN HERE BETTER GET YOUR ASSES OUT ON THE COURT IN THIRTY SECONDS!** " The ruthless gym teacher bellowed after slamming the door to the locker room open.

A shudder found its way down everyone's spine, some of them gulping while others hastily filed out the door with fright.

* * *

Strutting down the halls in her usual cowgirl getup was Bunnie Rabbot, to her left the elegantly dressed Antoine D'Coolette, and to the right the typical raggedy dressed Sally Acorn. The three walked side-by-side, Bunnie's arms draped around both of their shoulders as they made their way to the new table they claimed in the café.

These days getting so cold made it difficult to eat out by the fountain the way they used to.

"Hey Sugah-Twan, will Rotor be joinin' us today?" The rabbit asked in her usual cheery tone.

"I believe he will be spending ze time with Cobar today."

"Again?" Bunnie squealed, "I'm so happy for him. He's been through so much with this whole comin' out story. He deserves some happiness."

"I agree." Her coyote boyfriend nodded, leaning forward to flash Sally a genuine smile. "And we have ze princess to thank for that."

"We sure do!"

"Antoine, you know I hate when you call me that." The chipmunk pouted, "Just because Elias is referred to as _'prince'_ doesn't mean anything in my case."

"Zat isn't why I gave you ze nickname." Antoine smirked, standing back upright as they continued their walk down the hall together. "You've always had the traits of a princess. Not ze traditional glamourous damsel. More of ze, how you say…intelligent leader type."

"Look at you bein' all sweet!" Bunnie giggled, leaning over to kiss the sheepish coyote on the cheek.

"Thank you Antoine. That's very kind of you." Sally smiled warmly at the sight of her two friends publically displaying their obvious affections.

From the corner of her eye, Bunnie caught sight of Sally's somewhat envious gaze, and quickly pulled away from Antoine to turn over to the chipmunk with her signature big smile.

"Aw Sally-Girl, I can't wait til you find a man who can be sweet to you all the time."

"Once, I probably would have brushed off such a comment, but lately I've been thinking the same thing—"

" **REALLY!?** " The rabbit yelped, removing her arms from their shoulders to clasp both of her hands around Sally's. She had stars in her eyes, excited to finally hear the chipmunk delve into the topic of romance—one she used to avidly avoid like the plague around the sweet southern belle.

"Sort of…" Sally mumbled, instantly casting her gaze down to her feet in an attempt to avoid the rabbit's intense stare. "I'd like to…potentially give dating a try."

"I knew he'd warm up to ya' like this." Bunnie nodded, making Sally pick up her head to shoot her a bewildered expression.

"How did you know about him?!"

"Girl, I can read 'em all like a book, including you."

"And you aren't…upset?" The chipmunk hesitated, glancing in between the two friends now standing in front of her in the middle of the hall.

"Of course not." Antoine chuckled.

"Really?!"

"Naw Sugah." Bunnie giggled, "We think Ken is wonderful! A bit on the mysterious side, but absolutely charming.

The chipmunk's hopeful smile instantly fell into a disappointed frown, and her heart ceased it's excited beat the second she heard the monkey's name.

"What?" She questioned, "What do you mean Ken?"

"Well, it iz pretty obvious he iz very fond of you." Antoine shrugged, "We figured you felt ze same."

"Plus, he's the only cutie we've eva seen you hang out with by yourself." Bunnie added.

"And what makes you think that? I could have been referring to anyone."

"Like who?" The couple questioned in unison with their respective accents. Sally shifted her gaze from them, a blush creeping on her face as she mustered up a bit of courage.

"Anyone…It could even be Sonic from my English class—" The chipmunk cut off her own sentence the instant she felt their upset gazes casted upon her. She turned to be met with a cold scowl from both of the usually lively and sweet pair.

"That isn't a funny joke Sally-Girl." Bunnie reprimanded her in a harsh yet calm tone.

"It could be anyone, but for your sake let it not be him. Sonic iz nothing but a bastard with an agenda. He cares for no one but himself. If zis isn't a joke zen I feel sorry for you, and would advize you to stay away from us. We've tried with him once before, and in ze end we all got burned…and some of us even left for dead…"

"Antoine…" Sally whimpered, feeling the negative energy clouding around them at the sound of the blue hedgehog's mere mention. "It was only joke, a cruel one. I apologize."

* * *

Across campus strutting through the third floor hall of the boy's dormitory was the licentious Honey styled up in her signature red corset dress and matching heels. Her raven-hair swayed side-to-side behind her in pigtails as usual. Her cheery and flirty nature was still there, evident in the way she winked and blew kisses at whatever attractive boy she happened to cross paths with, but this wasn't her usual outing mission in search of potential new lovers and sexual conquests.

Today she had an agenda that didn't center around her promiscuity, although her skills would be required.

After a long journey through the boy's dorm the cat found herself at the dorm room of one notorious purple weasel. She didn't bother to knock or call out to see if he'd be in. The mischievous senior's door was always unlocked, and he was always in.

She pushed the door open, greeted by the sight of the purple weasel at the fancy wooden desk he had brought from home, starring at the four computer monitors with interest as he typed away on the keyboard linked to them all. He didn't bother to look back to see who she was, the click of her heels being all too familiar.

"What'cha doin'?" Honey purred, walking up behind him to drape her arms around his neck while he leaned back in his computer chair.

"The usual, Love." He mused, his fingers never once stopping as he pounded on the keys quickly. "As the school's mud slinger I've got to keep up with reports and rumors on the blog posts. You know how it is."

"Oh my Chaos!" The yellow cat yelped, reading one of his new posts on his incredibly popular blog page. "Wave and Storm kissed?! I thought she was gay!"

"So it seemed." The weasel shrugged, "A friend of mine sent me a snap of the two locking lips in the hall."

"Jeez, nothing gets by you does it?"

"Absolutely nothing. I know just about everything on anyone in this school."

"You sure about that?"

"More than sure." Nack grinned, showing off his trademark over-sized front tooth. He ceased his typing to lean back into the cat's chest, looking up to her with an amused expression. "You seem rather curious, and I know you're not here for some fun. Are you worried about your little popstar girl?"

"Of course not. I know you're a man of your word…and I have given you plenty of _'special visits'_ to assure nothing about her gets leaked."

"Then just what are you diggin' for?" He questioned as he spun in his chair to meet her face-to-face.

"I want to know something about Shadow the Hedgehog." Honey replied innocently.

"One of your little toys doesn't want to play so you think you can blackmail him back to you?" The weasel spoke in a mock-shock tone, resting a hand to his chest. "How wicked, but it's really unnecessary considering you've got a loyal lad like me." He added, pulling her toward him by the hem of her short dress.

"That's not it." She pouted, "He did quit me though. Apparently he'd been seeing someone under wraps for the last month. I wanna know who…"

"Why?"

"Genuine curiosity." She shrugged, hiking up her dress to take a seat on his lap. He bit his lip in satisfaction, taking hold of her waist before trailing his hands along the sides of her body and upward toward her chest.

"Curious eh?" He chuckled, pulling down the top of her dress a bit to expose more of her cleavage. "Aren't we all."

"So…" She whined cutely, grinding herself along his lap in a seducing manner. "Are you gonna tell me?"

"Depends if you can show me…how bad you want it." He replied slowly before pulling her dress down completely, exposing her entire upper body. He then hooked his arms around her thighs, picking her up as he stood up to go slam her down on his messy bed.

She went along with his insinuated invitation, allowing him to grope her chest and kiss at her neck. In return she sang him a melody of blissful moans, so used to faking excitement.

Shortly thereafter, both of their clothes were all discarded to the floor, and he had her turned over on her stomach. She gripped the sheets tightly in both fists, gritting her teeth with each painful thrust. He was her least favorite lover for his roughness and preference of the backdoor exclusively, but he was the most profitable.

Thankfully he finished quickly every time, another reason for being her least favorite.

After a short rest period, the cat found her clothes on the floor and begun dressing as a satisfied Nack watched her from his now laying down position on the bed. He grinned in amusement, the soreness evident on her face.

"Sonia."

"What?" Honey rose an eyebrow, turning back to him just before she reached for the knob.

"His secret lover, Sonia the Hedgehog."

* * *

"So, Red seems to be getting it together." Rouge finally spoke up in the awkwardly silent room. "When are you gonna give him a chance."

"He has been getting it together, and I'm proud of him and all, but I'm not ready to put my all in him." Julie-Su shrugged, staring blankly at Rouge who sat in the bed across from hers. "I just got out of a traumatic relationship, and I need to get myself together too."

"I'm surprised you're putting it off. You've been in love with him just as long as I have, maybe even a bit longer…"

"You know how the love game goes with Knuckles. In the end everyone loses, because just when you think he's come around, some fucked up shit goes down." The echidna girl replied in a bitter tone, "I won't allow myself to play a role in these petty high school love wars. I have a child, and her wellbeing comes before anything in my life."

The two girls sat cross-legged on their respective beds, facing each other as they spoke casually across the room. Neither of them had a class going on at the moment, and during this time of day often found themselves falling into conversation like this.

The bickering and bitterness had long subsided between the two to be replaced with support and sympathies.

"It's admirable, how you're willing to sacrifice anything for that girl. I don't think I could ever be as devoted."

"I never thought I could be either, but having a baby changes you." Julie-Su smiled warmly, recalling the day she gave birth to little Lara-Su. "Thanks for doing my makeup for the play. I've never been good at that kind of thing."

"Well I don't think Lara would appreciate her mom showing up in clown getup." The bat huffed playfully.

"Shut up!" The echidna pouted, tossing one of her pillows over at the bat. A direct blow to the face. They fell into a bit of laughter, before the mood got a bit more serious again.

Rouge sat back up, casting a sorrowful gaze over the seemingly happy echidna girl she had forced herself to dislike for so long. Fragments of the past came rushing back to her, remembering how she was the one to instruct Julie-Su into tricking Thrash to believe that the baby belonged to him. Another secret she couldn't bear to tell Knuckles.

"Julie-Su…"

"Yeah?"

"I didn't know." The bat muttered, her eyes becoming misty at the imagery of the purple devil repeatedly abusing the echidna. "If I had known he was such a bastard I would have never pushed you into that relationship…"

"Rouge…" Julie-Su mumbled, standing up from her bed to walk over to the teary-eyed bat before taking a seat beside her. She took Rouge's hand in hers, coaxing her head to lift and their gazes to meet. "It's behind me."

"But I'm the one who told you to trick him." Rouge sobbed, caving into the tears as she leaned into the echidna's arms. "I didn't know who he was or what he was like. I didn't care about you, or what your life would turn out to be, I just didn't want you to have Knuckles. You paid for my selfishness, and I'm so damn sorry…"

Julie-Su openly let Rouge fall into her arms, wrapping the bat up in a hug as she stroked her back in a comforting manner.

"I knew that when you told me to trick him, and I went along with it because I thought it was for the best." The echidna explained in a soft whisper, "I don't blame you for anything, and I won't forgive you because there isn't anything to forgive."

"I told Knuckles I'd respect whatever he chose to do at this point." Rouge sobbed, pulling away from Julie-Su to meet her sincere gaze. She wiped the tears on her cheeks away, sure to not smudge her makeup. "You should think about giving him that chance. He's trying so hard."

"I know he is, but for now…I like where you and I are, and I don't want to risk losing that just yet." She smiled, taking the bat's hands in hers. "So, clean yourself up. You're walking me to counseling."

* * *

Vector the Crocodile, once known as _'Party God'_ among his peers was now just another boring senior trying to ride out the rest of his high school career quietly. He was back in his single dorm room, laying back on his bed jamming out to the new mixtape he bought on his last trip to Metropolis. He laid on his back, with his arms propping up his head. He let his eyes fall shut, drowning in the music while he lounged in nothing but his gray sweats and white T-shirt.

His relaxing was soon disrupted when the door to his room swung open. He sat up, pulling his headphones down to his neck in dismay as he was greeted by three distraught faces.

"Ray? Saffron? Charmy? What's poppin'?" He asked curiously.

The three youngest members of their little gang walked to his bedside before the shaky squirrel finally spoke up for them.

"W-W-We want you to th-throw a party Vec!" He pleaded, gesturing toward the extremely messy and disorganized room around them. "You've been co-cooped up in th-this room forever! We know y-you miss throwing pa-parties, and we m-miss going to them!"

"What?" The crocodile rose an eyebrow, glancing at each of their pleading gazes.

"Oh please Vector." The blonde bee girl begged, clasping her hands together and batting her eyelashes. "Christmas is at the end of this month, and it would mean everything to everyone if you threw one of your infamous bashes."

"Nah." He waved his hand in dismissal, turning away from them. "I quit hosting parties. You guys know that."

"But Vector…" Charmy whined, puckering his bottom lip.

The crocodile sighed deeply, never really able to brush off the younglings so easily. Especially Ray.

"Please Vector." The yellow squirrel begged once more, "I-I-I've finally got a-another shot with Cream. I want to do something a-amazing for her, s-something that Tails kid couldn't touch. I want to ask her out at one o-of your pa-parties, and ma-make her the be-belle of the ball."

"Oh, Ray!" Saffron cheered, "That sounds so romantic. Vector you just have to help!"

"You guys!" Vector scolded the three, "How could you even ask something like this? Did the fact that you all nearly died at my last party just erase from ya'll brains?—"

"That wasn't your fault!" Charmy shouted back, tears brimming his eyes. "It was Mellow's…You can't punish yourself by giving up your favorite hobby for something you had nothing to do with! It was an accident."

"I…I just don't know if I could risk something like that." The crocodile shook his head, pointing toward the door. "Now get on to class before you all get nabbed by Zonic."

The three younglings frowned, bowing their heads in shame before filing out his door. Once it was shut behind them, Vector sighed in relief, throwing himself back on the bed to stare at the ceiling in contemplation.

* * *

After Couch Sleuth advised Knuckles to seek out the basketball team captain for an introduction and the typical rundown of how the season should play out, the echidna trudged along to the gym that was currently in use for practice. Once he got there, the rest of the members were just filing out, their jerseys drenched in sweat. They were mostly freshmen and juniors he didn't care for, but the very last person to exit was a familiar fellow senior.

Storm was the last to emerge, a towel draped over his shoulder and a distasteful look on his face at the sight of the red echidna.

"Well look who's already fuckin' up." The albatross snarled, "You just missed first practice moron."

"If I had an IQ the same number as my GPA I wouldn't be calling anyone else moron." Knuckles shot back in a fit of hot-headed anger, glaring hard at the tall bird who dominated him in size. "I came to talk with the captain to work out some one-on-one practice instead. Unlike you, I actually have a life."

"Fuck you." Storm huffed, sure to bump the echidna's shoulder as he walked by. "With you on our team we're sure to fail."

"Whatever." Knuckles grumbled, shaking off the anger before stepping through the doors into the gym.

He tilted his head in confusion as he stepped closer and closer to the figure shooting hoops on the opposite end of the large gymnasium. He was only halfway across the gym when he realized the person dribbling the basketball around like a professional player was female.

He couldn't help but stare. Her incredibly short black basketball shorts riding up as she leapt up with the ball. Her chest bouncing with her underneath the incredibly tight white tanktop drenched in sweat. With a simple flick of the wrist and a slight yelp the ball found its way in the hoop with what appeared to be little to no effort at all.

After a few minutes of a taking a breather, she felt a pair of eyes on her back, and quickly whipped her head around to the flushed Knuckles staring at her with his mouth slightly agape. She let a wide smile cross her face at the sight of him before she stood upright and walked over to him.

"So we meet again, Knuckles." She purred in such an alluring voice.

"Shade right?" He questioned nervously, rubbing the back of his head as he shifted his gaze immediately to his feet. "I'm just looking for the basketball captain. Uhh, do you know where I could find him by any chance?"

"Hmph. You're lookin' at her, Bucko." The light-orange echidna girl smirked, placing both hands on her hips.

"Wait, what? **YOU'RE** the basketball captain?"

"Does that surprise you?"

"Well, yeah." Knuckles shrugged innocently as the echidna girl walked over to pick up the ball from the floor.

"I thought guys and girls were supposed to be on separate teams when I first got here. Apparently Principal Acorn isn't an uptight witch or a sexist prick who thinks girls can't play with the boys." Shade explained, spinning the ball on her index finger before throwing it under her arm.

"What made Sleuth choose you? He's known Storm for years."

"Storm doesn't have three gold medals and seven championships under his belt." She smirked, tossing Knuckles the ball. He caught it with ease, looking back up to her as she circled him like a shark. "I guess you're the new pickup Sleuth told me needed some one-on-one?"

"It was just talk. I think I shouldn't—"

"C'mon, what you scared now? Afraid to get beat by a girl?" The echidna girl jeered in a mock-baby voice as she swiped the ball out of his grasp with ease and begun dribbling in front of him. "Let's see what you got tough guy."

Knuckles gritted his teeth. That hot-headed anger rising in him as it always did when challenged. He threw his bag across the gym without a second thought, then quickly pulled the white T-shirt off over his shoulders and discarded it on the floor. A coy smile crossed the echidna girl's amused face as she admired his impeccable exposed upper-body.

"Let's go then." He taunted, stepping up to be nose-to-nose with the beautiful challenger.

* * *

As soon as the bell rang, Tails wasted no time scurrying out of Dr. Robotnik's science class as fast as possible, not daring to look back at the red vixen who had broken his heart time and time again. Instead he looked forward, a smile crossing his face at the thought of the adorable seedrian who always put him at ease in times of stress or sorrow.

The back table in the library was the destination his feet speedily led him to. The place they claimed as their meeting spot shortly after their friendship developed.

His head clouded in a fog of dreamy thought and his quick stepping proved too dangerous without caution as he collided face first with another student, their foreheads bouncing off each other as they were both knocked down by the incredibly painful force.

Tails winced in agony, instantly reaching to rub the growing knot on his forehead before peering his innocent blue eyes open to be greeted with just as innocent brown ones.

"Oh Cream." He perked up, an embarrassed half-smile on his face. "Sorry about that." He apologized, quickly getting up to extend his hand out to the rabbit.

"Tails…" She mumbled sorrowfully, taking his hand so he could hoist her off the ground. "It's…it's okay." She stammered, staring down at her feet to shield her distraught expression from view.

"I was just on my way to see Cosmo. Lost track of my surroundings." He admitted, rubbing the back of his head.

"Oh…I see…" Cream nodded, never letting her eyes leave the clean white floor. "I almost forgot you two had begun dating…"

"Yeah, and it's been a blast! It's just such a relief not having afflicting feelings battle it out inside me anymore. It was a never ending war with my heart on Fiona, and my mind on Cosmo—but now it's just Cosmo."

The comment was like a large kitchen knife sending a clean puncture wound right through her little heart, to hear that she had no place at all within him like the other two girls. She knew she shouldn't, but she allowed her eyes to lift off the floor and meet his typical sweet expression.

After a long awkward pause the fox rambled on.

"I saw you with that Ray kid the other day. I'm glad to see you realized it too."

"Realized what?"

"You know, that you and I wouldn't happen. I mean, we're practically like brother and sister at this point! This school really has a way of messing with your head, mixing up all sorts of feelings." The kitsune shrugged, "Your feelings for me were probably just misguided, like my feelings for Fiona. The chances of us were probably even less likely than her and I."

"Oh…" Was all she could muster with how swollen her throat had gotten, and how painful the feeling in her chest had become. She fought back with all her might at the tears threatening the surface, but his expression and demeanor never once steered from nonchalant, oblivious to how pained the poor girl was.

"Anyways, Cosmo's waiting for me." Tails replied, stepping around the rabbit paralyzed with anguish. "See ya' later Cream!"

She offered no reply. She just stood standing as still as a pillar in the middle of the hallway. Full of nothing but sorrow, pain, and heartache.

* * *

Aleena was in much better spirits than before. Not completely herself, but for the most part she was back to her usual tasks, and much more lively these days. She no longer hounded the school staff for info on her lost child, and even got back into the habit of cleaning and cooking.

The lavender woman stood by the marble-topped island table in the center of the kitchen. A wooden cutting-board beneath a large carrot that she had already half-chopped, the large blade moving swift as wind.

Across the table watching her with a smile was husband Jules, thankful that she was slowly recovering from the darker days.

"You've been out a lot these last few days…" Aleena spoke up, making her husband sit upright in his chair.

"Just been at the bar catching up with the guys before I get diploid again." He shrugged nonchalantly, sipping the porcelain mug of coffee that rested in front of him.

"I hate when you lie."

"I'm not lying."

"We've been married almost seventeen years. You think I don't know when you're lying?" She huffed, glaring at him from across the table.

"Aleena…"

"I know you've been going out because I haven't been the best person to be around these days." The purple hedgehog frowned, sliding the carrot pieces into a bowl before pulling out celery to rest on the cutting-board. "I'm sorry Jules. I know we don't see each other very often with you being out on call as the new commander, and I should be at my best when I do see you, but Tails was my baby and I—"

"Honey." He cut her off, walking around the table to stand behind her and rest his head on her shoulder while he wrapped his arms around her waist. "I understand. He was my baby too. Whenever I'm out on a mission all I think about is coming home to you no matter what state you're in."

She blushed at the sound of his sensual voice, resting the knife down as she leaned into his hold. Then she turned her head to meet his lips in a brief kiss before the house phone began to ring off the hook. He quickly pulled away from her, making her put on that adorable pout face he adored so much.

"I'll get it." He told her, walking back over toward the phone across the room. "You better keep making that special dinner you promised."

"Alright Dear" She giggled, going right back to work on cutting vegetables. "A promise is a promise."

He chuckled, running a hand through his messy brown hair before reaching out to the phone. Once he picked up he greeted with the typical formalities…but the voice on the other line took him completely off guard.

 _"Hello Jules…"_ The voice called out.

 _"A-A-Alicia…"_ He stammered, breathless at the sound of her voice. Aleena quickly ceased her chopping, instantly shooting her head up at the sound of that name escaping his mouth in such a longing tone.

 _"Forgive me for calling so late."_ She apologized, his heart just drowning in beautiful nostalgia at the voice in his ear.

 _"It's never bothered me before."_ He teased, that playful grin on his face making Aleena's blood curdle. _"Is this about our last conversation?"_

 _"No."_ The principal replied sternly, shaking her head frantically as if trying to shake the thought out of her own head. She sat at her wooden desk, looking down at the file laid out before her.

Before Jules could even get another word in, Aleena had stomped over in her pretty pink apron and snatched the phone right out of his hand. She held it tightly to her ear.

 _"What are you calling for Alicia?"_ She growled a little too aggressively.

 _"It's about your daughter….Sonia."_

* * *

Shadow looked high and low all over campus for Manic, but to no avail. He hadn't seen the hedgehog in days, and was starting to worry a bit. He thought to try searching again after another intense therapy session with the school counselor. Only this time he decided to scope out the off-campus hangout the green hedgehog had a habit of going to.

After sometime of running through a dense forest of trees in the freezing cold wearing nothing but jeans and a black T-shirt, the ebony hedgehog found himself at that hollowed-out stump the green hedgehog had shown him earlier on in the year.

He smirked, walking up behind the tree-trunk with the very person he was looking for slumped over on it, and a half-empty bottle in his hand. Upon stepping closer, he pinched his nose at the intense smell of vomit and liquor.

"You smell like shit." Shadow commented in an attempt to gain the green hedgehog's attention. But he merely shrugged, not bothering to look back to see who had just crept up behind him.

"I am shit." Manic replied flatly, taking another sip out of the liquor bottle.

"What the fuck are you doing out here? I haven't seen you in days." His friend scolded him, walking around to stand in front of him. Shadow was cautious to not step in any of the small pools of bile, and took note of the many, many, many empty bottles.

"Exactly what it looks like." The green hedgehog replied, gesturing to the filth around him. "Drinking my life away."

"Is this really about the mongoose girl?" Shadow whined in his menacing tone, picking up one of the empty bottles that was meant to cater an entire party. He held it up to Manic's face in emphasis. "Really?!"

"I woulda loved her forever…" Manic murmured, a painful ache in his heart as he recalled the doctor telling him that his baby would have been a little mongoose girl.

"You're pathetic." The black hedgehog grimaced, tossing the bottle to a nearby tree so it shattered into pieces. He then pointed an accusing finger. "Rouge and I warned you from day one, but you wouldn't listen to either of us. This is your own damn fault."

"You just…don't get it."

"If you're really gonna be this upset over a dumb slut who obviously had no interest in you…maybe you are better off just killing yourself." Shadow remarked coldly before walking back towards campus grounds without another word.

Manic bit his lip, each word like blow after blow to the little self-worth he had left. He hung his head low, listening to the crunching of leaves under Shadow's shoes slowly fade from earshot. That's when he noticed the large shards of glass on the floor that the ebony hedgehog had created.

He cringed at the idea, letting his hand fall to the side of the stump where he trailed his fingers along the inscription on the side.

S/M:BFL

* * *

After another frustrating English class, Sonic and Amy both decided to rest easy and kick back on the giant couch in the boy's lounge the way they used to earlier on in the year. The blue hedgehog took up most of the couch, laying on his back as his head rested on the armrest. Amy sat at the opposite end, underneath his legs with both their bags at his feet.

"Ugh, Ms. Breezie is such a pain!" Amy whined, letting out an exhausted sigh. "She's the only teacher who feels the need to drown me in homework."

"True, but she makes up for it in sexiness." The blue hedgehog remarked, biting his lip at the suggestive imagery brewing in his mind.

"You're such a perv." The pink girl pouted, crossing her arms. Her face a bright red color.

He let a smile cross his face at the sight of that adorable pout he just couldn't resist. Teasing her was always the best, her cute antics being such a reward to him.

He nudged her with his knee, beckoning her gaze back over to him.

"Is Little Amy from down the street jealous?" He teased in a mock-baby voice, making the blush on her face worsen.

"No." She mumbled, "And I'm not little…or down the street."

"Wow, hearing you say that kind of gave me déjà vu."

"Well, we did have a conversation similar to this once before…and in this exact place actually." The pink hedgehog sighed, dropping her jade eyes. "It's when you asked me out for the first time."

"Oh yeah…" Sonic nodded, letting his smile drop slightly at the sight of her sorrowful expression. "It is isn't it? Wow, it seems so long ago."

"Yeah…" She nodded weakly, nothing but images of every bad move she made to ruin things between them plaguing her mind. He could tell she was hurt, and he absolutely loathed that look on her face.

"Well, in the spirit of déjà vu…" He began, her ears perking up at the sound of his cheery voice. "Let's hang this weekend."

"Really?!" She yelped excitedly, turning to him with stars in her eyes.

"Sure." He chuckled, "It'll be cool."

"Oh, **YAY!** " She screeched, throwing herself over his laying down figure for a hug.

Her head fell at his chest as she wrapped her arms around him the best he could while he was on his back. He blushed, catching that lovely scent of cotton candy before she picked her head up to lean over him with a blush of her own.

"I'm sorry." She apologized, her face mere inches above his.

"Y-Yeah." He stammered as she pulled away from him awkwardly.

* * *

 _'This school has been a real rollercoaster ride, but despite my father being the world-star MMA fighter I've done a great job of keeping a low profile thus far. In a school housing popstars and children of famous war veteran legends, I guess I don't quite catch as much attention._

 _My main focus has been my studies. Father wanted nothing more for me than to exceed in education, and I gave up a lot to come here all the way from my hometown._

 _But I'd be lying if I said my attention wasn't divided at this point._

 _When I first arrived to campus I was instantly warned about the wicked chipmunk with a vendetta on 'beautiful people'. Ironically, she's been the only person to capture my interest here, and even after hearing how 'bad' a person she was I still made that effort to get to know her._

 _And I'm glad I did._

 _She's nothing like how she was described to me. She's kind, caring, and intelligent with a good head on her shoulders. Maybe not the most eye-catching, but definitely the only one of the bunch who can keep a conversation._

 _I'm glad people on campus have begun warming up to her, and that she seems so much more lively than ever before, but I can't help but feel like the dynamic between us has changed a bit…like there's this wedge separating us._

 _Kind of like how I feel in English class. Sure, we share a desk, but that annoying blue hedgehog beside us always puts a damper on things._

 _When we first met I swear the spark was mutual, but now it seems so…one-sided._

 _Maybe I'm just overthinking. I've given plenty of hints, but she seems like the kind of girl who'd prefer a straightforward kind of guy…'_

 **INCOMING CALL**

Ken was snapped out his thoughts at the sound of his cellphone. He sat up from his bed, leaning over to snag the buzzing cellphone off his dresser. He held it up to his face, being greeted by an old picture of him and an adorable red fox with a hime-haircut hugging and smiling toward the camera. He smiled before pressing the answer button and holding it up to his ear as he laid back down.

 _"Li Moon."_ He greeted.

 _"Ken!"_ She cooed sweetly, _"I miss you so much. How are things out there at the new school?"_

 _"It's been…interesting."_ He chuckled, _"How are things back in Dragon City? Have you heard anything about my father?"_

 _"He and my grandfather are still out touring around."_ The young vixen giggled, _"He actually wanted me to ask if your studiers were going well."_

 _"Of course they are. Tell him that's assured."_

 _"So are you home sick at all?"_

 _"Not really. You adjust pretty quickly in a place like this. I wish you would have come with me."_

 _"You know my grandfather. Too old fashioned to send me off like that."_ Her voice trailed off a bit before she finally spoke up again in a more strained tone _. "He also wanted me to ask if you've been…keeping up with your medication."_

The monkey's warm expression quickly tensed into one of agitation.

 _"I feel fine."_

 _"Ken…."_

 _"Yes, I've been taking them okay?"_ He snapped.

 _"Sorry. I had to ask for his sake."_

 _"No."_ Ken sighed, staring up at the ceiling _. "I'm sorry for the outburst. You know how I feel talking about it…"_

 _"I understand."_ Li Moon told him, _"So have you made any new friends?"_

 _"Just one in particular."_ He smiled, " _And I think I like her…"_

 _"Oh?"_ The fox on the other line cooed before her tone turned to one of sadness, _"I guess that means…you won't be returning home anytime soon."_

* * *

It had been a long day of stress and disappointment for Sally. She sighed heavily to herself as she dragged her feet reluctantly across the grassy plains of campus toward the girl's dorm. It was quite late, the main building had already closed down for the day.

Since Sonic hadn't texted her to meet up at the usual spot, she figured it would be best to just go back to her dorm.

Not many people were out, and the few that were happened to be very far off in the distance. The wind blew harshly, obstructing her vision slightly with the hair it whipped over her face. She brushed it back the best she could, picking up the pace in a rush to get out of the cold. Then a voice called out to her, making her stop abruptly to turn around.

"Hey Love." The figure called out before stepping closer in view to reveal himself as Geoffrey St. John, one of the more recent transfer students.

"Oh, Geoffrey!" She sighed in relief, "You scared me."

"Sorry about that. I've made it a bad habit to appear out of nowhere." He chuckled, stepping closer to her. He flashed her a Cheshire grin that made her a bit uneasy, but she smiled back anyway. "I heard you were on the hunt for a boyfriend…"

"Who'd you hear that from?!" The chipmunk yelped in embarrassment, mentally sending a scolding over to her rabbit friend.

"It's been the talk of the town." He chuckled, brushing back her hair.

The move made her uncomfortable, and she quickly stepped back out of his reach upon contact. She casted her gaze downward as it stung with such a redness.

"I'm not looking for anything…" She mumbled, "I have to go back to my dorm."

She turned to leave, but he quickly grabbed her by the forearm and spun her back around into his arms for an unexpected hug. He smirked over her shoulder, wrapping both arms lazily around her waist before nuzzling into the crook of her neck.

"Without a goodbye hug? There's no way." He hummed before finally releasing her from his grasp. She stumbled back a bit, awkwardly nodding in understanding before scurrying off. He watched her go with such intensity, trying to see through her clothes.

Then he turned slightly, grinning evilly toward the direction he felt a pair of piercing blue eyes glaring back at him from before turning toward the boy's dorm.

After such an eerie and somewhat uncomfortable encounter with the skunk, Sally wasted no time running up to the floor her room was on. She clutched the blue bag strapped to her shoulders tighter, trying to calm her anxiety the best she could.

She didn't view the skunk as a pervert or one not to be trusted given the history between them, but his touchy-feely nature spiked her anxiety like wildfire.

She let out a relieved sigh once she got closer to her room, but relief soon left at the sight of a figure standing by her door. Upon closer inspection she realized who it was, and safely relaxed again.

"Ken? What are you doing here?" She questioned curiously, stepping over to the monkey who quickly straightened out his posture and extended a hand with a single red rose.

"I needed to talk to you." He explained as she took the beautiful flower.

"About what? Couldn't you have just called?"

"I wanted to ask you this in person actually…"

"Ask me what?""

"If you'd…like to go on a date this weekend."

"Oh, Ken…I—" He quickly cut her off, fear of rejection clear as day in his voice.

"It doesn't have to mean anything serious like commitment." He added nervously, physically sweating. "I'd just…like to take you out somewhere that isn't the school café."

"Well…I suppose when you put it that way." She replied, looking up at his blushing handsome face.

"Then it's a date…but not like dating…I mean it is a date though—"

"Enough." She giggled, swatting his shoulder playfully. "You've got your date you goof."

"Right." He chuckled, rubbing the back of his head shyly. "I guess I'll be seeing you." He added, before heading off.

Once he was out of sight the chipmunk looked down at the rose, letting out yet another sigh, only this one being one of frustration more so than anxiety. Top of her list today was getting her friends to accept the idea of her dating the blue hedgehog, but somehow she ended up with a date this weekend. With the handsome monkey, something her actual crush will surely be upset about.

She finally pushed open the door to her room, relived to finally be in her safe place. She looked over at the bed across from hers, catching the two-toned eyes of the red vixen, only these days they didn't make her cower in fear.

Fiona had been much more tolerable, borderline nice to her in fact. It made dorm life a lot simpler and much easier on both of them.

Sally set her bag down before walking over to her own bed to begin the removal of her favorite knee-high boots, glancing over to see Fiona doing the same with her yellow wedges.

"Are you going to the showers?" Sally questioned, noticing the white towel and shower catty laid out on the fox's bed.

"Don't want me to listen in on your phone call with Blue?" Fiona smirked, making Sally's eyes widen in horror. "He's gonna be awful mad to hear that sexy transfer student snagged a date with you—"

"You know about me and Sonic?! How?!" The auburn-haired girl yelped.

"I occasionally spied on you here and there in the past. Besides, you call each other in the dead of night…and you aren't exactly the quietest bunch. Sometimes I've been woken up by his obnoxious laughter through the phone."

"Please don't—"

"Relax Princess. I'm not the one you have to worry about, at least anymore." The vixen shrugged, offering her a sincere smile. "My counselor says I should make it a point to apologize to people I've wronged, but I've got too much pride for all that. Consider my silence on the subject of you and Blue my apology." She added, picking up the shower catty and towel before walking out of the room.

Sally smiled after her, thankful for the insinuated apology, and how much the vixen had changed these last few weeks.

After getting into her pajamas, she picked up the phone atop her dresser and dialed her favorite blue hedgehog's number.

 _"Hi…"_ She mumbled, taking a seat on her bed as she stared down at her feet.

 _"Hey…"_ He greeted in the same awkward tone.

 _"I tried to talk to them, but it didn't exactly work out_ …" They both said in unison, both of them raising an eyebrow as they waited for the other to say something, only to speak at the same time once more.

 _"Don't be mad…but somehow I ended up agreeing to a date this weekend with…"_

 _"Amy."_

 _"Ken."_

* * *

 **As you can see, Shadow and Tails are both unknowingly pushing their close friends deeper into the danger zone. Sometimes people just don't know what effect their words might have, or the situations lying underneath.**

 **Ken is on medication, Geoffrey is a bit sketchy, and Shade seems to be a bit of a temptress. Just what is the background on these guys exactly?**

 **Sonic and Knuckles are both caught in a dangerous game, the love game. A game that can make or break one's entire life.**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Espio's animosity toward Shard has only seemed to worsen**

 **The origins of Cream's favorite stuffed chao are revealed**

 **Wave struggles with her sexuality all over again**

 **Elias finally comes clean about Megan and his expected child**

 **Honey corners Sonia, and the result is shocking...**

 **Silver faces a heartbreaking realization**

 **And so much more!**

 **Special Note**

 **For this story, I'd like to keep my personal opinions pretty ambiguous because I am writing from a non-bias standpoint unlike most authors who force one specific single ship/idea down readers throats. But I feel okay addressing this specific topic.**

 **Don't worry WordVomitComet, I actually absolutely to no end detest the stupid Amy Rose vs. Sally Acorn trope. It's pathetic, ignorant, and if I was writing from a bias standpoint I would have made them a couple just to avoid the trope all together. **

**It's one of the high school AU stereotypes I despise: Sally Acorn is a mean slut, Amy is a perfect new girl.**

 **Instead of avoiding it, I decided to put a more realistic perspective to it, low-key poking fun at idiots who force this stereotype.**

 **In this story, neither girl is perfect or a slut. Amy-much like everyone else aside from a few other characters-only dislikes Sally based on rumors and misconceptions. This is actually a nod to the fics that enforce idiotic ideas like "Sally is stealing Sonic from Amy!" and "Sally is a mean girl and should be hated by everyone."**

 **Just as I have presented the trope in an original and more realistic way, it shall end in the same way. Just expect the unexpected, as with everything in this story.**


	43. Chapter 43

**WARNING: Bulimia, homophobia, physical violence, and brief mentions of mental disorders, child abuse, and depression.**

* * *

 **Chapter 43: Everything Is Not As It Seems**

 _'I thought when she said 'yes' that it would be just that. Us happily together…and him out of the picture entirely._

 _When I first found her bleeding on the bathroom floor it felt like I found a butterfly with broken wings. A butterfly I helped learn to fly again._

 _I guess in contrast you could call me a caterpillar. A quiet, observant caterpillar too hesitant to come out of my cocoon. Until the butterfly who learned to fly again gave me reason to leave the sanctity._

 _I knew from the moment I met her that I loved her, and I knew from the moment I met him that he loved her too._

 _Her oblivious, trusting, and innocent nature made the rivalry invisible to her, but I can assure you it's there._

 _I hate him, and he must certainly hate me. Opposing forces by nature, he's completely different than her and I._

 _He's a wandering spider. Poisonous, vile, and preying on the innocent butterfly I swore to protect._

 _And she's oblivious to it all. Too kind, too trusting, too innocent to see he'd only ever hurt her. That he's bad by nature, the kind of guy that can't be trusted._

 _It's that kind nature. That's what made me fall for her, but at the same time I can't stand it because I know that's why she won't leave him behind and move forward with me._

 _She thinks she can save him, and she's so very wrong. People like him don't change._

 _Even when he's not around, he's still a wedge between us. She worries for him, and it angers me, but my outward demeanor would never show it._

 _She's my girlfriend. I've got to remind myself of that…'_

"Uh, Espio?" Mighty called out, waving a hand in front of the chameleon. Espio gave no indication of being mentally absence, he just nodded to the armadillo so he'd speak again. Mighty slung an arm across his shoulder, letting out a hopeless sigh. "You don't need to worry about Nicole. She's a good girl."

"I'm not worried about her." The chameleon remarked in an agitated tone, shifting his gaze toward the yellow-striped hedgehog that caught his eye as they walked passed each other on the walkway. "It's him."

Mighty looked back over his shoulder, eyeing the hedgehog himself before turning back to Espio with a knowing smile.

"You think you'll lose her to him, but you won't. If anything, those insecurities and that jealousy will drive her away." The armadillo spoke wisely, "You gotta remember she chose you. So there's nothing to be insecure about."

"You've always been wise, but never on the subject of romanticism." Espio chuckled lightly, "But I suppose you have a point there."

"Hey! I might not look it, but I sure know a thing or two about girls."

"Let's hope that thing or two will help you get a girlfriend soon." Espio remarked playfully, earning a shove from his friend. "How's that coming along by the way?"

"It's coming…" Mighty mumbled, face flushed with embarrassment. "She's just caught up in her own drama right now…I'm waiting for the right time to present itself."

"So, you're too chicken?"

"Absolutely." He admitted, bowing his head in shame. "But I'll work up the nerve eventually.

They finally arrived at one of the picnic tables by the fountain where the rest of the Chaotix were seated as well as newcomer Fiona. Espio quickly moved over toward Charmy, Saffron, and Vector who were seated on one side of the table, leaving Mighty to greet Knuckles, Fiona, Ray, and Julie-Su before taking his seat beside her.

Without much thought, Mighty instantly threw his arms across the echdna girl's shoulders, pulling her in closer, making both Fiona and Knuckles internally fume with jealousy.

"So, we hittin' the town again this weekend again?" The armadillo joked, his big toothy smile practically glowing with kindness. "I know this cool arcade we could bring Lara to and—"

"Actually…I've made plans with Knuckles this weekend." The echidna girl cut him off, making him raise an eyebrow over to the red echidna.

"Knuckles?" He repeated, nodding a bit in acceptance. "Sure, sure. It's good to see you guys getting along."

"Isn't it?" Saffron giggled from the opposite end of the table.

"So then…I guess it's just you, me, and the movies this weekend Fi." Mighty shrugged, removing his arm from Julie-Su to swing the other over the vixen's shoulders. " **PLEASE** don't tell me you've got plans too? It's my one weekend off in a long time, and I'd like to chill with somebody!"

"I'm all yours." Fiona giggled, a blush creeping up on her face at the sight of his adorable smile.

* * *

Across from the noisy Chaotix and their table was another table being occupied by the school prince Elias, and the girl he dubbed the school princess, Sonia. The two sat across from each other, bundled up in warmer attire fitting the cold weather. Sitting on the table in front of them were two mugs full to the brim with hot chocolate, a fitting beverage for the cold weather as well.

Principal Acorn's little chat with Sonia had done more than just convince her into seeking professional help for her bulimia. That talk had also helped her reflect on a lot in her romantic life.

Knuckles the Echidna was her first boyfriend, and forever her first love whether she liked it or not. Shadow was her knight in shining armor, the one who had picked her up from a low point in her life, and forever the one who betrayed her trust the worst.

So what does that make Elias? That's the question that had been brewing in her mind ever since.

"So, you said there was something you wanted to talk to me about?" Sonia questioned, stirring the hot chocolate with a black stick as she looked over at the auburn-haired boy.

"Yeah…there is." He mumbled, glancing over to her before looking away entirely. Somewhere out toward the forest. "Do you…umm…remember that party Vector threw?"

"Of course." Sonia mumbled bitterly, remembering all of the suffering that night brought. "How could I forget…"

"Well, after I left you in the hotel room I went downstairs and got completely wasted." The prince sighed, hanging his head as an embarrassed blush formed on his face.

"I know." The magenta girl giggled, "I saw the snaps of your sexy table dance. Nice by the way." She winked.

"Well, I did something even stupider than that stupid dance…and it's gonna change my life forever."

"Elias? What are you talking about?"

"This is kinda hard for me." He admitted, rubbing the back of his head nervously as he kept his gaze on the mug before him.

"Hey…" She called out to him, making him lift his head so their eyes could meet. Such beautiful emerald eyes. She rested a hand on his, offering him the sweetest of smiles. "I'm your best friend remember? You can tell me anything no matter what."

He took a breath, trying to muster the courage to finally speak the words, and when he finally did…the whole atmosphere changed.

"I got someone pregnant…" He spoke in a single breath, making her eyes widen with shock. Her smile instantly fell, and she pulled her hand away from his.

"W-What?" She stammered, "But you're a virgin like me…"

"Not anymore." He replied sorrowfully.

"Who…"

"Two girls I think." He admitted, still a bit hazy on the memories. "But Megan is the one who got pregnant…Honey just—"

"Did you just say…Honey?"

* * *

"Wave…"

"I'm busy. Gotta get this research paper to Robotnik before he kills me." The swallow replied, not looking back to the person calling after her as she speedily walked down the hall. Her white sneakers squeaking on the floor.

"Wave, c'mon." The voice whined, "We need to talk."

"Not now."

"Wave!" The voice called out again, this time she felt a hand grab her forearm and manually turn her around. She was then faced with her beloved best friend, Storm the Albatross. He wore somewhat hurt expression mixed with confusion, as did she. "You can't just keep avoiding it…or me."

"Let me go to class." She begged, shaking her head in refusal.

"You felt it too." He continued on, not loosening his grip on her arm. "I know you did."

"It was an accident."

"You didn't pull away."

"You caught me off guard."

"You didn't pull away."

"I've gotta go…" She mumbled, trying to wiggle out of his strong hold.

"It was like a spark went off or something. Like literal fireworks. Just tell me you felt it too. Tell me I'm not completely crazy."

"I…I did." The purple girl admitted, casting her gaze downward. "I've never felt anything like that before with anyone else…"

"Are you sure Wave? Are you sure that you're really gay?"

"I…I don't know…" She stammered before the bell rang and other students began pouring into the hall. She quickly yanked her arm back, taking a few steps back before rushing off. "I've gotta go."

"Wave, wait—" Storm shouted, reaching out to her, but it was too late and she had vanished into the swarm of students roaming the halls. He cursed under his breath before turning back toward the gym.

* * *

 _'When I was little, Tails' house was the one right next door. Our mothers were good friends, and let us play together all the time. His family went off to DigItaly once for vacation a couple years back. I remember being so lonely. I'd ask Mom every day when he'd return, until he finally came back._

 _I watched Mrs. Aleena's van pull up in their driveway, my eyes lighting up like stars as I watched a well-tanned Tails hop out of the backseat._

 _I wasted no time rushing out the door to greet him with arms wide open, happy tears escaping the over-emotional wreck that I was. I remember how sweet his giggle was, and how amazing it felt to have him wrap his arms around me._

 _"Sorry I haven't been around." He apologized, pulling away from our hug to fish something out of his green backpack._

 _"It's okay. You're here now, and I've missed you so much Tails."_

 _"I missed you too, and I even brought you something back!" He exclaimed before pulling out what is now my most cherished possession._

 _A baby blue stuffed chao wearing a cute red bowtie. I took it in my hands, smiling so big it probably took up half my face._

 _"His name is Cheese the Chao." Tails explained to me, "I got him so you wouldn't be lonely if I ever go away like that again. This'll be like I'm always around…" '_

Cream sat on her bed, knees up as she wrapped her arms around them. In between her knees and chest was the little stuffed chao, wet spots where tears had sunken into the cotton.

Her roommates had been long gone, leaving her to wallow in her secret sorrows. Out in the world she did her best to put on a smile, pretended nothing bothered her, but in her room all alone…it was all out in the open.

The pain of having Tails unknowingly hurt her with his words, the misery of watching the one she loved walk around campus with another. All of it spilled over in buckets of tears in the silence of her room.

A sudden knock on the door made her jolt up, quickly wiping her face and tossing the chao to the side so she could smooth out the wrinkles on her little orange dress caused by the tears.

"Y-Yes, come in!" She hollered once she was presentable.

She did her best to put on that cheery smile, but it was difficult to keep once she watched Cosmo the Seedrian walk through her door.

"I thought we were going to have lunch today…" The green-haired girl stated as she walked over to the rabbit's bed.

"Oh, I forgot." Cream lied, casting her gaze down at the cute yellow sheets.

"Are you sure you're alright Cream?" Cosmo questioned, taking a seat beside her on the bed.

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

"About me and Tails I mean…"

"I told you Cosmo, that I'd be happy with whatever Tails decided. I just want him to be happy, and now I can be glad for the both of you…"

"It's a relief to hear you say that." The seedrian smiled, "I don't want things to be awkward between us."

"They certainly aren't." Cream giggled, practically dying on the inside. "I bet you feel so wonderful…being with him."

"Wonderful is too weak a word to describe how happy I am." Cosmo blushed, smiling as she continued to go on and on about how amazing the kitsune is, things Cream had known long before the seedrian ever came into the picture.

As Cosmo went on and on about her new relationship she seemed to float higher and higher to cloud nine, while the rabbit felt herself sink lower and lower to the darkness bellow.

* * *

Silver walked down the hall alone, hands in his pockets as he trudged near-lifelessly along. Free time sucked, because it reminded him how miserable he was, not doing the things he enjoyed. Ass others walked by, his amber eyes quickly caught sight of long golden quills in the crowd, making him look over at the tenrec putting books in her locker.

He stared with a pained expression, remembering how desperate Gold had been for him to revert back to his original state. She wore those stylish navy blue combat boots, the other set to the matching pair they both picked up at a convention together years ago. She wore a knee-length gray skirt, and a loose button up white shirt with their favorite game company logo above the chest pocket. Her quills were styled off in two incredibly long pigtails that fell all the way down her back.

His mind scolded him to walk across the hall, to apologize for being so dumb, but his weak heart said nothing but Blaze.

The tenrec felt a stare on her, and quickly turned around to have her baby blues met by a gorgeous amber. She frowned in his direction before grabbing her galaxy-themed backpack off the floor and storming off, careful not to glance back at the near-unrecognizable Silver.

His heart ached, watching her go after seeing such a depressing look on her face. He only took his gaze off her disappearing figure once he felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked back to see a horrible mess of a hedgehog. Dirty white shirt hanging off his shoulder, quills messily knotted together, and the stench of alcohol and cigarettes just radiating off him.

"Manic?" Silver winced, cringing at the sight of the green hedgehog.

"Oh, Silver it's you." Manic mumbled much more monotone than usual, "I need to get to my locker."

The white hedgehog nodded, happily taking a few steps out of the way to breathe air that wasn't polluted by the green boy's awful smell. He watched Manic kneel down beside the locker after opening it to gather his gym bag. Something was off, he was so unlike that last time they had an encounter.

Manic was doing better, going to class, and really taking care of himself. So what the hell happened?

"Manic…Are you okay?" Silver questioned as the other boy stood up to close the locker.

"Not really." He answered honestly, turning around to look at the white hedgehog behind him, intent on changing the subject entirely. "The new look is cool and all, but I personally prefer your old style. Much more original. At least you and my bro are getting along good enough to let you borrow his clothes."

"What are talking about?" Silver rose a skeptical eyebrow.

"You know." Manic shrugged, pointing toward the white hedgehog's outfit. "Those are Sonic's clothes."

"No they aren't." The white hedgehog shook his head, "Blaze got these for me. She wanted your group to like me better, so she bought me clothes that would make you guys think I'm cool enough…"

"Then those must be hand-me-downs Sonic left at her crib, cause they're definitely his." Manic replied, picking up his dirty bag from the ground to hoist back over his shoulder. "And for whatever it's worth, you were always cool to me dude."

With that, the green hedgehog walked off, leaving a distraught Silver to look down in disgust at the clothes he wore.

* * *

Rosy sat up in her bed, the black comforter falling down to expose her naked upper-body to the sunlight beaming through the window. On the floor next to the bed lay several discarded clothing items, including her bicycle-chain arm-warmers. She shuddered, feeling someone's fingertips grazing lightly up her spine. She looked back to see the dark hedgehog smirking back at her.

"Those look fresh Rose…" He mused, eyeing the new slices on her exposed arms with interest. "Something troubling you?"

"Everything." She growled, hopping out of bed to grab the arm-warmers from the floor. She stood up again as she fiddled with them, wincing in pain as she tried to slide them back on her sore arms. In the midst of doing so, her door swung open, and in stepped Scourge.

She quickly grabbed her clothes from the floor, using them to shield her private areas. Not that he was looking with any interest whatsoever.

"Relax, no one's here to sneak a peek." He stated in a mocking tone, "Nothing any of us haven't seen before anyway. You have fucked the entire crew after all."

"Fuck you." The pink girl retorted angrily, continuing to fiddle with the last arm-warmer. Scourge instantly caught sight of the new cuts, unmoved by them.

"Across the river for attention, down the stream for results." He shot back with absolutely no regard for her wellbeing. Mimicking the motion of the blade at its proper angle for a fatal cut. "Remember it next time you do that shit."

"Go to hell." She snapped back, picking up the rest of her things to get redressed in the hall. Anything to get away from the cold blue eyes of a devil.

Mephiles just laid back in bed, arms propping his head up as he basked in all the negativity the two had to offer. Soon Scourge exchanged his evil glare, kicking the dark hedgehog's clothes up onto the bed.

"Get dressed too." He told the gray-striped hedgehog.

"Whatever for?" Mephiles questioned.

"We're going on a rescue mission."

And just who would we be rescuing?"

"Fi's dumbass, who else?" Scourge replied in an irritated tone. "Now get dressed."

* * *

In the auditorium of the electives building, Mina and Shard were hard at work setting up the stage for a mini-concert on request of the LGBT committee. She was happy to preform, not for their cause, but for the brownie points it earned her with the student body.

The mongoose squatted down beside the outlets, fiddling with a mess of wires. The rest of her bandmates were in class, leaving her boyfriend as the only source of help at the moment. Although quite cold, she just couldn't resist wearing her special outfit.

The outfit she always wore for shows. A midriff top, short ruffle skirt, and knee high boots. All of which black with a strip of purple down the middle. Her makeup was more dramatic than usual, exaggerated winged eyeliner, and extra glossy lips. In both ears she wore two steel earrings, another trademark piece for her popstar persona.

Shard walked up the stage steps, carrying a large speaker toward the setup. He kneeled down to put it with the others, stealing a glance at his girlfriend for a moment. A wave of sorrows and bitter memories of Nicole pleading with him drowned his mind.

The mongoose had been so normal, a lot less dodgy and more cheery lately. It made Nicole's claims of her being pregnant even more inconceivable.

He stared hard at her stomach as if he had X-ray vision, trying to imagine what he had seen in the sonogram. She felt his gaze from behind her, standing up to turn around and flash him a sexy smile.

"See something you like?" She smirked, stepping over to him. The mongoose then picked up his left hand, trailing it down her chest.

"You'd think that, huh?" He replied, trying to mask his skepticism with his usual sarcastic retorts. It earned a giggle out of her. As she proceeded to drag his hand further down, she leaned over to whisper seductively into his ear.

"Maybe I've been hanging out with Honey a little too much, because all I can think about is you…and me…on this stage…right now…" As her voice trailed on, slowly did his hand.

The mood abruptly changed once his hand fully rested on her exposed stomach. He cringed, the sonogram flashing in his mind as he snatched his hand back out of her grasp. She was shocked by the action, shooting him a curious look.

"No…Let's just get this shit set up." He spoke up, dropping his gaze to the floor before walking off toward the sets of speakers.

* * *

Amy sang happily to herself as she made her way down the hall to the bathroom. At first, she was furious that Rob had forced her into seeing the school counselor, but in turn it proved to be the best decision she could have ever made. Therapy had taught her a lot about herself, and how to deal with some of the more deeper issues brought on by her childhood.

She wasn't completely healed, but her mind was at ease, and the lines between right and wrong seemed so much less blurred. The counselor served as a great asset when it came to both talking, and advice. The proof being that ever since they began their sessions, absolutely nothing had gone wrong. Her life was perfect at the moment.

Just as she rounded the corner, she had the misfortune of bumping into an all too familiar figure. Once his piercing blue eyes fell upon her she felt a shudder through her body.

Scourge and his sidekicks had been on a journey of their own.

"Haven't texted me in a while." He smirked.

"Obviously for a reason." Amy retorted in a sassy tone, making him raise an eyebrow in amusement.

"Cause I didn't want your flat ass?" The green hedgehog shot back, "News flash Uptown Slut, just because you let me pop your little cherry doesn't mean I owe you anything—"

"That was the worst mistake of my life! And I have to live with it, knowing that I let a bastard like you do such a thing." The pink hedgehog snapped, stepping into his face. "I was so stupid to believe in someone like you. Pathetic trash."

"What's the matter? Don't love me anymore cause Blue's giving you a little attention?" Scourge chuckled evilly, making even Mephiles raise an eyebrow at the malice he had been tossing around today. "Like that shit'll go anywhere. Just wait for another ass to swing by and you'll be long forgotten…and right back on my coattail, isn't that right Rosy?" He smirked, looking back at the girl glaring at him from behind.

"Just go to hell." Amy replied coldly through gritted teeth before stepping away. She stormed off, but not long after did he call something out that made her eyes widen.

"Whatever. Mommy shoulda taught you not to play with the devil…" He remarked before he disappeared down the hall with the two other rebels chasing after him.

Scourge shoved his hand in his pockets, rounding corners rather quickly. Mephiles tried and tried, but no emotions could be read from such a blank expression. The green hedgehog was surely different today, much colder than usual, and angrier.

"Don't you think that was a bit harsh?" The reptilian-eyed hedgehog questioned, "I mean, she's obviously a fragile one. A comment about how ugly her shoes are might drive a girl like her to suicide."

"Don't give a fuck." The green hedgehog shrugged.

* * *

"Are you sure you're comfortable with all of this Rotor?" Cobar questioned as he and the walrus walked hand-in-hand to the auditorium. "I don't want to overwhelm you, or make you uncomfortable. I just figured you'd make a great poster-star for the committee. I understand if you don't want to, the hardships you've suffered being so recent and all—"

"For the hundredth time yes! I'm happy to be the poster star for the committee. If you asked me something like this a week or two ago I would have said no, but these days I'm feeling much more optimistic on coming out." Rotor explained, ceasing their walking to stand in front of the echidna. "I know Jet and the handful of followers he's got left still roam around and taunt me, but watching Sally and the gang stand up for me really enlightened me."

"You really do have a wonderful friend. I'd actually like to apologize for thinking so negatively of her before I met her, thanks to the rumors and all." Cobar smiled, his blue eyes sparkling like diamonds. "She's made such an impact on you…"

"The same could be said of you." Rotor smiled, wrapping his arms around Cobar's waist to pull him close. "For years I'd been lurking in the shadows, watching you with such hopeful eyes. I've always liked you Cobar, and I've been trying to build up the courage for years just talk to you."

"And now you have my heart." His crush whispered back as he draped his arms around the walrus' neck. "I was always watching you too, thinking the same thing." He added before pulling Rotor down into a passionate kiss.

They only broke apart once they both reached their oxygen limit. Then they rested their foreheads together for a moment, closing their eyes to bask in the blissful dream come true.

"Come on, we should go help Mina with setting up." Cobar finally spoke up, taking the walrus' hand again. "The benefit will be amazing tonight."

"I hope Wave comes." Rotor perked up as they took off down the hall again, "I haven't gotten a chance to thank her for helping me out when I needed someone the most."

"She might be busy…sorting a few things out in her…personal life." The echidna cringed, recalling the blog post he had seen yesterday.

* * *

Principal Acorn was hard at work signing paperwork at her desk when a knock sounded on the door. She leaned back in her chair before calling out for the person on the other side to enter. A kind smile crossed her face at the sight of her newest employee.

A light-orange echidna woman with sky blue eyes. She wore a white blouse, and knee-length green skirt with matching heels and a headband of the same green color. In her hands a clipboard overloaded with paperwork. She had a pretty face, with a lovely smile to boot.

"Tikal, please have a seat." The chipmunk spoke up, gesturing toward the seat in front of her desk. The echidna woman complied, taking a seat with the clipboard firmly in her hands. "I hope your first week has been well."

"It has been. I can't thank you enough for the opportunity Alicia." She replied thankfully.

"How do you like it so far?"

"I adore it. Some of these kids have such walls built up and some with incredibly dark histories. It has been mind-blowing listening to all their stories, and I'd like nothing more than to help them on the right track."

"It's good to hear you say that." Alicia giggled, "You don't see that kind of devotion to the job very often. I feel as though all these children have a tale to tell, and are in need of guidance. Some more than others."

"If I could I'd take on all five-hundred of them." Tikal laughed.

"Let's not jump guns. How about we start small. How are the five cases I've prevented you with so far? Let's start with Shadow the Hedgehog."

"Ahh yes." The echidna nodded, flipping papers on the clipboard before coming to his file. "Shadow the Hedgehog. The seventeen year old senior who transferred here two years ago from Space Ark Academy."

"The very one." Alicia nodded, intertwining her fingers. "What can you tell me about him?"

"Well as you know, he suffers from PTSD after watching a close friend commit suicide before his transferring here. He doesn't like to talk about her much, but from what I've gathered he was very much in love with her. This ordeal has taken its toll on his love life."

"In what ways?"

"He seems to be very picky when it comes to females, but his favorites are broken girls. Girls with insecurities or self-hatred, ones who reflect this Maria Robotnik he hasn't fully let go of. This is also compromised by his fear of distance, and the strange attachment he's formed between sex and security."

"What shall be your method of treatment for him?"

"For right now I see him three times a week. He is one of my least progressing patients, but he is coming around. He's the kind that needs reflecting time after intensive sessions. I don't want to push too hard with him."

"I see." Alicia nodded in understanding, "And what of Julie-Su the Echidna?"

"Julie-Su the Echidna." Tikal repeated, looking for the papers. "Senior, age eighteen. It's her first year here after moving from Echidnopolis to Mobotropolis with her grandfather, Dimitri."

"Give me her summary."

"She got pregnant at thirteen, and surprisingly kept the child at such a young age. Her daughter his now four years old, residing with her grandfather until the school year is up. Her last relationship was incredibly toxic and traumatically abusive. The rape, physical, and emotional abuse she sustained caused her to develop Battered Wife Syndrome, and PTSD."

"And your plan for her?"

"She's actually progressing the best of all my current patients. She's more open, less fearful, and a lot more self-aware. I see her twice a week, sometimes more if she has an episode of flashbacks or distress."

"I'd like to hear about Amy Rose now." The principal replied, "I promised her cousin I'd keep up with her progress and give him updates."

"Amy Rose, fifteen year old sophomore girl who transferred in just this year from Mercia High."

"I don't expect her to be progressing much but—"

"She's actually doing incredibly well."

"Really? Have you come up with a diagnosis for her of any kind?"

"I believe Ms. Rose suffers from something called Affluenza."

"What?" The chipmunk rose an eyebrow, "I've never heard of such a thing."

"It's a disorder that affects teens such as Amy. When a child grows up so wealthy, and gets away with so much, they mentally can't comprehend consequences and really don't know any better."

"So she didn't inherit the mental disorder from her mother?"

"No. This was developed by not stern-enough parenting and _'spoiling'_. It's taken a great effect on her personal life. The self-entitlement and fairytale like expectations misguiding her tremendously."

"Can it be treated?"

"Yes. With time and a guide to steer her on the right path the disorder may eventually cease. I'll explain that to Mr. O'Hedge when I speak with him—"

"No." Alicia rose her hand in dismissal, "I'll take care of that personally. Anything else?"

"Well, after witnessing her father's brutality she's also developed severe anger issues I've decided to prescribe her medication for. Other than that she's a perfectly normal girl."

"How about Fiona Fox?"

"Fiona, sixteen year old junior with a history more heartbreaking than anything I've ever come across. Repeatedly raped as a child by her biological father and his friends, brutalized by her mother out of jealousy. She had a runaway problem, and for a while found herself in the prostitution ring as a young teen."

"I'm well aware of her case." Alicia cringed, "I'm more concerned of her recovery—if any."

"It's been a long road for her, but she has progressed tremendously in comparison to our first encounter. She suffers from intense flashbacks, and depression. I've prescribed her medication, and see her four times a week."

"And what of the newest intake, Sonia?"

"I have our first appointment scheduled for tomorrow."

"Alright then, I think you're free to go Tikal. Thank you."

"Actually, I'd like to discuss one more thing with you." The echidna replied, pulling papers off her clipboard to pass over to the chipmunk. Alicia studied them, raising an eyebrow.

"Request forms for Jet the Hawk, Scourge the Hedgehog, Eclipse the Darkling, Rouge the Bat, and Monkey Khan?"

"Yes. A few of these names have come up quite often with my other patients, and Monkey Khan's father had made a personal call. After looking into each of their backgrounds, I'd like to personally request a meet with them."

"I understand most of these names, but Rouge? The Bride of Rich Nights literally fought me on Shadow's paperwork, her serving as his legal guardian at the moment. I can't imagine the fit she'll throw over her child seeking help."

"Rouge has actually personally requested therapy."

"Okay then." Alicia shrugged, stamping the paperwork with an approved seal before handing them back up to Tikal. "Your request is approved on all five new intakes."

* * *

After scoping out a few of the campus buildings, the gang of rebels finally discovered their missing vixen sitting on the ledge of the fountain in the center of campus grounds. She was smiling so brightly, her style dramatically changed from punk-to-pretty. Off to her left was a pair of giddy bees, and her right a shaky little squirrel.

She hadn't noticed them walking toward her, too consumed in a funny conversation with the three underclassmen.

"Babe." Scourge called out, making the vixen gasp before she turned her head to meet his icy-blue eyes.

She cringed, standing up from the ledge to glare back at the three old friends of hers. Mephiles crossed his arms, awaiting an interesting scene while Rosy glared angrily at the vixen from where she stood behind Scourge.

"Get out of here." Fiona growled at her ex-boyfriend through clenched teeth, "I told you idiots I was done."

"C'mon Fi. You've had your fun, and this is stupid." The green hedgehog replied, "You're no goodie-goodie."

"You don't know me."

"I wish I didn't to be honest, but we've been fucking for the past four years running so I've kinda got a clue." He shrugged, his tone turning a bit more agitated. "I got rid of the side-piece, so you can stop being a bitch and come chill with us."

"I don't want to chill with you toxic losers."

"So what, you're too good for us now?" Rosy spoke up in an upset tone, walking up to the vixen's face. They locked angry eyes, the pink girl balling her fists. Finding it a bit hard to contain herself.

"I'm not coming back. I want nothing to do with any of you." The fox growled before a nervous Ray stepped in front of her, arms outstretched in defense as he stared up to the three menacing hedgehogs.

"L-Leave Fiona alone!" He shouted at them.

"Is this the new boyfriend?" Mephiles chuckled, "I heard you like 'em young. Maybe you're just too old for her Scourge."

"Go to hell…" Fiona scolded the three, pulling Ray closer to her for protection. "All of you."

"Whatever you say Fi." The green hedgehog chuckled evilly, pure malice in his voice. "You'll be back. Just like always."

He then wound his foot back before swinging it like a wrecking ball right into Ray's already damaged chest. All the air in his lungs flew out with a sharp yelp before he keeled over onto the ground. Saffron and Charmy quickly rushed over as Fiona kneeled down to turn him over. The squirrel clutched at his chest, gasping for breath.

"Saffron call Mighty!" Charmy shouted, holding up Ray head while the other bee fumbled to get her phone from her purse.

Fiona threw her head up to shoot Scourge a nasty glare, to which he returned his signature malicious grin before turning around with the rest of the gang to walk off like nothing. Mephiles eyed him curiously, both amused and intrigued by the green hedgehog's behavior today. Once they were close to the parking lot he decided to speak out.

"You've been off the wall today, haven't you? I wonder what's got you so worked up." The dark hedgehog mused, eyeing the other boy for a reaction.

"Nothing but a little boredom." Scourge replied flatly.

"That was a stupid move." Rosy chimed in, "Like, do you know who his freaking brother is!?"

"Don't care."

"It was rather unnecessary wasn't it?" Mephiles addressed them both, to which Rosy nodded in agreement.

"Nope." Scourge replied, pulling out his keys to the Hummer sitting in the parking lot. "It's all a part of the backup plan."

* * *

Back in the boy's dorm, Jet and his two closest allies littered his room. Tekno sat on his bed, constantly making a chiming sound as she brushed her hair out of her face, the many gold bracelets on her wrist clinging together. She was hard at work on her tablet, scrolling through Nack's blog posts, otherwise known as the school dirt reporter.

Eclipse was laid back on the foot of the bed horizontally, his arms propping up his head as he looked up to the ceiling. Jet stood by the window, looking out over campus grounds as he thought to himself.

"I heard the homos are throwing a little pride parade in the auditorium tonight." Eclipse snarled.

"Disgusting that Principal Acorn would allow that shit." Jet grumbled, crossing his arms as he watched people roam the school grounds. "They think I'm out of commission because I haven't stirred the pot yet? Just wait, I'm about to tip that shit over and make every faggot regret existing."

"Ooh, I hear a plan coming on…" The darkling chuckled evilly, "Just so you know, I'm not afraid to hit a girl…especially a raggedy bitch like that Glasses-Slut."

Their conversation was cut off by a slight gulp from the canary on the other end of the bed. Both boys looked over to her with curious looks, getting a nervous one in return.

"The hell is up?" Jet questioned her in a cruel tone.

"It's just…these rumors."

"Rumors? Like what?"

"You don't need to…see this kind of thing."

"I'm not a fuckin' baby. Just tell me."

The girl bowed her head, refusing to meet his gaze. Eclipse grew tired of waiting for her to answer the hawk, so he swiped the tablet from her hands himself. He read over the blog post with such an amused grin before explaining it aloud.

"News surfaced on the now seemingly disbanded skateboard group known as Babylon Rogues. As you all know, one of the members is in fact homosexual, but what you probably didn't know was that it sure as hell isn't either of these guys…"

Eclipse then turned the tablet over to Jet, whose eyes went wide with shock at the picture of his two supposed best friends locking lips in the hallway. The mood in the room took a dramatic turn into one of betrayal and anger. Tekno frowned, seeing the hurt on her boyfriend's face clear as day. She reached out to touch him, but he just snatched his arm out of her reach, nodding toward the darkling to continue.

"With these new developments, it's without question that everyone's ex-favorite popular boy Jet the Homophobic is indeed gay himself! Further evidence is this thirty second video of him getting all tongue-tied when the new rising school star Sally Acorn made a very snarky comment on it—"

"Enough." Jet hissed, making Eclipse hand the tablet back over to Tekno. "When was that shit posted?"

"Last night. Three-hundred and seventy likes." The canary mumbled in a sympathetic tone, "It goes on to talk about your crusade against gays being your denial, and that you just want that walrus for yourself. It even says things about your dad—"

"I get it." The hawk snapped, turning to give her a cold glare. "Now shut the fuck up."

He then turned back to the window, his eye catching sight of the walrus and chipmunk happily smiling among a crowd of friends. His face burned a searing red, his teeth gritting in anger at the sight of the two.

* * *

 _'Principal Acorn and I really do have a lot in common, specifically with our poor choices in men. I can't imagine my father being such a…Knuckles. My mother described their high school romance like a fairytale, leaving out the part where he was a total sleeze._

 _She said Elias' father was a persistent suitor, always catching her in moments of weakness. At the time he was seemingly kind and wanted better for her. The same way Shadow was there for me in my worst moments. Apparently he showed his true colors over time, a bastard so unlike how he portrayed himself in the first place…much like Shadow._

 _All along she had a best friend worried sick about her, willing to love her in the way she always wanted. Knuckles' dad. No matter what direction her heart pulled her in or what she did, he was always there to pick up the pieces. Just like Elias…_

 _They're getting married soon, and she said she couldn't possibly be happier. For the first time in her life she feels like she's making the right decision for her love life, one she should have made to begin with._

 _Her story got me thinking, our situations being so similar and all. That maybe Elias could be my true love, the one I'm supposed to be with…but that's impossible after this._

 _I couldn't believe it when he told me that…that he got Megan from our history class pregnant._

 _He doesn't even know her, and he got her pregnant, and lost his virginity to her. Not only that, but another girl too, the same girl who ruined my last relationship. Honey._

 _"Are you disappointed in me?" Elias asked, making me look up from the mug I had been staring at. I didn't want to make him feel bad, so I put on my most sincere smile._

 _"Of course not. I just wish you would have told me earlier."_

 _"I'm sorry Sonia, I was just…conflicted."_

 _"So she's the reason you didn't talk to me for so long? Because she hates me?"_

 _"She doesn't hate you. She just thinks…there might be more to us than close friends." He chuckled awkwardly, "Crazy idea…right?"_

 _"Yeah…for sure." I nodded, kicking myself for trying to make it something more in the first place. I got up from my seat, picking up my bag before turning heel toward the main building. "I've gotta go to the bathroom. After that I'll probably head off to class. See you later."_

 _He nodded in understanding just before I took off. Once I was far enough away and saw no one in the halls, I finally let myself cry. Tears dripped down my cheeks and off my chin, sniffles escaping me as I made a mad dash for the nearest bathroom._

 _How could I be so stupid? So desperate. So pathetic._

 _That's when it hit me, the pang in my sides. The one that made the bile in my stomach turn, coaxing me to release it along with all my sorrows and heartache. I tried hard to repress it, hugging my stomach tightly to get the feeling to stop, but it wouldn't._

 _Not until I got to purge. Then I'd feel better._

 _Just before I could make it across the hall toward the wooden door to the bathroom, I ran a little too fast and bumped into someone's chest. I stumbled back, wincing before looking up into familiar crimson eyes._

 _"Sonia…" He whispered, frowning at the sight of my misty-eyes._

 _He tried to cup my face in his hands, the way he often did when I felt sad or worried, but I stepped out of his reach and shook my head vigorously._

 _"I wanna talk…"_

 _"No." I replied, stepping around him before making a dash to the girl's bathroom. A place I knew he couldn't reach me. "Leave me alone!"_

 _I clutched my stomach tighter, the feeling growing even more difficult to repress._

 _Shadow, he used to have such a calming effect on me. He made this feeling go away with just one look, but now when I look at him the feeling doesn't go away._

 _It worsens._

 _This feeling will never go away. It's hopeless._

 _Sonic jogs whenever he feels down or anxious, and Manic smokes or plays with those stupid drumsticks._

 _And I purge…'_

Sonia bursted through the bathroom door, a hand cupped over her mouth and the other clutching her stomach so harshly that her fingernails dug through her shirt and into her skin. She quickly entered the first stall she saw, some of the bile already spilling over in her mouth.

Right when she went to close the door, someone's hand pried it back open.

"Sonia?"

The magenta girl instantly swallowed the bile flooding her mouth once she locked eyes with the yellow cat standing at the door. She coughed a bit, wiping anything that managed to escape off her face quickly.

"What do you want?" Sonia asked in a flat tone, "Can't you see I'm about to use the bathroom?"

"I know you were dating Shadow in secret…." The cat replied in a sorrowful tone, walking into the stall to shut the door behind her, thus trapping them together. She looked over at Sonia, her hazel eyes shimmering with remorse. "But I didn't know when I did that…"

"Did he tell you that?" The magenta girl asked.

"No." Honey shook her head, "Sonia I'm so sorry. I had no idea. I'm a lot of things. Slut, party-girl, but I am **NOT** a boyfriend stealer. I wouldn't do something like that to you on purpose—"

"It doesn't matter. It's done now." She replied, casting her gaze to the floor. "He let me down…just like everyone else. Now leave me alone."

"Sonia, I want to help. Maybe we could talk to him together and—"

"You've done enough. It wasn't enough to just sleep with my best friend, but Shadow too? The world isn't your hunting grounds for guys to pounce on. You might not have meant to, but you ruined everything for me…just when I was feeling better. Can you even imagine how many other girls probably feel like shit because of you?"

"Whoa, whoa. Hold on a second. Your best friend? As in Elias Acorn?"

"Don't try to act stupid." Sonia growled, "Everyone saw you and Megan both go up to the hotel room with him."

"Is…Is that why you're in here crying? You think I slept with Elias too?"

"I know you did. You and Megan."

"Oh Sweetie." The cat sighed, stepping over to cup Sonia's cheek. "That's not how it went down at all."

"But he said—"

"After all the spiked drinks he downed there's no way he could recall everything perfectly." Honey cut her off, making Sonia furrow her brows in confusion.

"But there are pictures of him taking you both up to a room."

"Well, when we got to the room things did get pretty hot…but not that far. Just before he could get to it, he bursted out into tears. Wailing like a baby about…about you."

"Wh-what?"

"His words were incredibly slurred, and his babbling was too hard to decipher, but I remember hearing your name clear as day. Eventually he keeled over and passed out before we could do it." Honey explained, "Megan was pissed, so she and I decided to go back downstairs and snag another guy to fool around with."

"That…That doesn't make sense."

"How does that not make sense? I swear on my grandmother's grave neither of us had sex with him that night."

"Megan is pregnant, and she says the baby is Elias'."

"What? Now that doesn't make sense." The cat rose an eyebrow, the news taking her by surprise. "Well, if Meg is pregnant…I guarantee you it isn't his."

"Oh my Chaos…"

* * *

 **Wave isn't sure she's gay? The baby isn't Elias'? The clothes Blaze gave Silver belonging to Sonic? Just what won't I tarnish or twist?**

 **Shadow, Amy, Fiona, and Julie-Su are some of the many characters with traumatic pasts and mental disorders that have been hindering their quality of life in respectively different new school guidance counselor, seems to be helping them on their road to recoveries. Let's just hope newcomer Tikal the Ecidna can change things for all of the troubled teens before it's too late...**

 **Scourge had absolutely no chill this chapter. Taking shots at everyone, and making some cruel comments. He's got a plan, and wants Fiona back on the dark side. Will he be her ultimate downfall? Or will the ray of light that is Mighty protect her?**

 **Hang on to your seats, because these next few chapters are gonna be a rollercoaster ride through a ton of drama.**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Cosmo and Tails are alone together for the first time**

 **We get to look in on a few of Tikal's sessions, learning more about some of our favorite troubled students**

 **Silver's had enough...**

 **Rouge gives Shadow a harsh reality check**

 **Jet confronts Storm on the ultimate betrayal**

 **Breezie has a project in store for her class that's sure shake things up**

 **And so much more!**

 **Review Replies!**

 **TheHunterPersian: 1\. It's up in the air as of right now. Sexuality is not so easy to figure out for some people. For now, she's just all types of confused. 2. Well there's actually a few, some merely hinted at: Cobar and Rotor are both openly gay. Wave identifies as a lesbian, but is not entirely sure at the moment. Honey is pansexual, and that was briefly hinted at way back in the story. **

**But to answer your question, yes. There will be more LGBT characters introduced. Some however are characters we've already been introduced to. (Let the speculation flow)**

 **Funny that you say that. I did in fact have a scrapped plot line (I have tons actually) One of them was Tekno the Canary being an M-to-F transgender student. Jet would have fallen for her, and through her learned to accept the LGBT community-but then I thought up something much more complex.**

 **Mimi Good: I've actually thought about having a plot line center around an STD break out around campus. Not sure if I'll ever use it, but it is still in the 'maybe' pile. **

**And if it helps make choices less bias, instead of seeing Sonic, Amy, or any of the characters. Pick a specific character, and put yourself in their shoes. Then ask yourself, "Would I put up with this shit?"**

 **Twotailedfox: Shadow cares a lot for Manic, but that by no means makes him a bleeding-heart. He's not going to dab Manic's tears away with a tissue and tell him everything will be okay. He warned Manic about Mina, and sees him as stupid for not taking the advice. Manic is his best friend, but he'll never be on the same level as Maria. **

**Shadow has no idea about Manic's situation with Mina. From his point of view, Manic is crying over a stupid girl, when in actuality he's mourning the child he lost. Maria took her life because of a terrible tragedy. To see Manic seemingly suicidal over what to his knowledge is a high school breakup frankly disgusts him. It'll be touched on eventually.**

 **WordVomitComet: Remember that it's been stated quite often Manic's family has made it a habit of neglecting him. On top of that, you know how it is in high school. Everyone is so self-absorbed in their own drama it's hard to see anything else sometimes.**

 **Fox: Don't apologize. I actually think it's good that you want smaller characters like her to have a chance to shine. I made this fic to give the less popular characters a spotlight in the first place, but sadly I can't take on all of them. **


	44. Chapter 44

**WARNING: Physical violence, brief mentions of suicide, child abuse (physical and sexual), and homophobia**

* * *

 **Chapter 44: Tikal The Healer**

Shadow knocked three times on the wooden door labeled _'School Counselor's Office'_ before a light-orange echidna woman opened up the door to greet him with a gentle smile.

"Shadow, please take a seat." Tikal ushered, gesturing him to the comfortable looking chair before her L-shaped wooden desk.

She closed the door behind him once he entered, making the pale baby-blue room feel much smaller. There was a window on the adjacent wall offering a lot of natural light. He took a seat just as she walked around her desk to do the same.

"Our appointment wasn't until tomorrow." She reminded the hedgehog, who's gaze remained on the white floor. "Is something wrong?"

"I ran into Sonia yesterday."

"The secret ex-girlfriend." Tikal nodded, familiar with his situation already. "How did that make you feel? It was your first time running into her after the breakup I take it?"

"Yeah…and I feel like utter shit." He grumbled, grabbing tightly at his black jeans. "She…She looked horrible. Like she really needed someone."

"Someone like you?"

"No. Exactly me." He retorted quickly, "She needs me…and I let her down."

"Do you like that Shadow? Being needed I mean."

"Everyone wants to be wanted, Doctor. It's in our nature."

"I didn't say _'wanted'_." She corrected him in a knowing tone. "I said _'needed'_."

"I suppose you could say so…"

"Your old friend, Maria, what was she like?"

It was such an out-of-leftfield question, and for the first time, the black hedgehog didn't try to snake his way around it.

"She was…perfect." He breathed in a sorrowful tone, "Kind-hearted, cheery, and fun."

"And what about after her rape?"

He tensed up at the word, a horrified look flashing in his eye before he got his mind back on track.

"She was broken… She needed me, but at the same time she wanted to keep her distance from me. So ashamed of herself, full of self-hatred."

"Do you know who you've just described to me?"

"Honey…and…Sonia."

"They might not have the same personality, but I believe you found these girls attractive based on certain aspects you associate with Maria Robotnik. Honey's cheerful demeanor was the Maria you fell for, and Sonia's self-loathing is the Maria you want to save."

"When I'm with Honey I feel secure. She has no problem being intimate with me, and her cheery nature is all too familiar. It reminds me of the days Maria used to hold my hand or peck me on the cheek." Shadow spoke his thoughts, "When I'm with Sonia, I'm scared. She's too insecure to let me close. Reminding me of how Maria had forced such a distance between us before she…"

"Say it Shadow."

"She…"

"It's okay."

"She killed herself…"

"You want to be there for Sonia, because you think you can save her the way you couldn't save Maria. You want to believe that she had a chance. That you could have saved her too." Tikal concluded, "You've gotta understand you can't control everything, and you can't keep living in the past."

"I just…I don't…I just don't know how to let her go…. Maria."

* * *

In the boy's locker room, Storm had just got done lacing up his sneakers. He stood up from the bench, grabbing the gym clothes he had just stripped himself of to replace for his usual attire, and then threw them in the duffle bag off to the side of him.

He sighed heavily, depressed at how his little trio had dramatically broken up. Wave was avoiding him after the kiss, and they had both been avoiding Jet for his cruelty.

The albatross missed the old days, when things weren't so complicated between them. They were all so close-knit, skating together every single day and causing a ruckus.

"You fucking traitor!" A voice screeched. Just before he could turn around to investigate he felt a force ram him right into the lockers. He had enough room to turn over before an elbow had his neck pinned to the metal lockers.

"Jet…" He mumbled, too shocked to really worm his way out of the position, although he could swat the scrawny hawk away like a fly if he so chose to.

"First you take Glasses-Bitch's side over mine…and then you kiss Wave?!" The hawk hissed, his spittle falling on his old friend's face.

"I can explain. It was an accident I—"

"No, fuck you!" Jet shouted, slamming the albatross' head back before releasing his hold. He then walked back toward the darkling he had arrived with.

"Jet…"

"You were the one person I thought I could fucking trust…" The angry bird turned around to shout some more. Then he lifted his finger, pointing it toward Storm as it shook slightly with all his pent up anger. "You and all those faggots can go to hell. I'm gonna make you all regret everything."

The hawk then proceeded to turn around and walk off, Storm watching him with a worried expression.

* * *

Silver was up all night thinking of what to do, reflecting on everything he had sacrificed, especially his friendship with Gold. And for what? To wear hand-me-downs of the girl he loves' ex-lover? Forced into a style, a persona, and a circle of friends that clearly made him miserable.

He was at his wits-end, no longer emotionally able to handle the stress and depression induced by all the unwanted change. He scavenged through his corner of the room, searching for every new item or clothing piece Blaze had given to help him fit the part. He threw them all into a cardboard box, then stormed out toward the girl's dorm.

"I see you and Sonic have been getting along quite well again." Blaze giggled, glancing over at the pink hedgehog in the bed across from hers. "I'm happy for you Amy."

"Yeah, but it's nothing serious as of right now. I'm trying to take things slow this time."

"That's great. This counselling thing has been really good for you."

"It sure has." Amy smiled, rolling onto her side to stare back at the cat. "Speaking of slow, when are you and Silver gonna start dating again?"

"Oh, I've just been waiting for the right time to ask. He's still adjusting to the group."

"Well as far as I'm concerned, he's practically one of us…now that he's not acting and dressing like a total loser."

"I was thinking of asking him tonight when I go over for our movie date."

"Let me guess, stupid robot movies?"

"Actually it's a sports movie." The cat corrected her friend with a smile, "He picked it."

"Wow… I'm impressed." Amy cheered, "Have fun, but not too much."

Blaze blushed at the thought, but just before she could reply, the door to their room slammed open. It's a wonder it didn't break off the hinges, and that the knob didn't make a hole in the wall it collided with. Both girls sat up in their beds to see Silver back in his original fashion, only with an unusually cold demeanor, and a box of clothes in his hands.

"What the fuck!" Amy bellowed, angered by the sudden entrance.

"Silver, what the hell is this?" Blaze questioned as he threw down the box on her bed. "And where are the clothes I bought you?"

"Bought me?!" He huffed, shooting her a disgusted look. "You mean the clothes Sonic left on your bedroom floor last summer?"

Amy's eyes went wide. Although she had already known about Blaze and Sonic's summer fling and forgiven her, it still hurt to think about. She turned over to a just as wide-eyed Blaze, her mouth instantly fell open as her face flushed with embarrassment.

"Who told you?" She whimpered, confirming his thoughts.

"So it is true." He mumbled to himself before turning away from her. She reached out to him, but he stepped out of her way.

"Silver please." She begged, voice cracking as tears threatened her eyes. "I just thought if you wore his clothes, and did things like him, my friends would like you more—"

"That's bullshit." He retorted, cutting her off. "You told me to do it because it would make **YOU** like me more. Gold was right about you. You don't give a shit about me."

" **THAT'S NOT TRUE!** " The cat cried out, scrambling to her feet to meet him face-to-face. She tried to wrap her arms around him, but he lightly shoved her back. She was stunned, and panicky.

"What the hell is your problem!?" Amy shouted, leaping out of bed to shove the hedgehog even further away from the cat. "Don't touch her like that!"

"If you want him so bad, and these shitty friends…" The white hedgehog spoke up, gesturing toward the pink girl at Blaze's side. "They can have you…because I'm so far done it's not even funny. I don't care that I love you so damn much. I won't be your fucking cat toy anymore. You all can go fuck yourselves."

Tears instantly poured from the purple girl's eyes like a faucet. She caved to her knees, Amy quickly kneeling down beside her. The pink hedgehog glared up angrily at Silver as she tried to calm her best friend down.

All he did was shake his head at the sight before he finally walked out, listening to her dramatic wailing as he strolled down the hall. He only allowed one single last tear to escape him. Shortly after, he crossed paths with another hedgehog just for a brief moment as they walked in opposite directions.

Those reptilian-eyes glossed over him with all sorts of interest, relishing in the look of despair on the younger hedgehog's face. He grinned maliciously, licking his lips at the prospect.

* * *

"Fiona, are you feeling alright? You look a bit pale." Tikal questioned with concern, eyeing the vixen sitting on the chair in front of her desk.

Fiona's gaze was casted down to her lap, clutching her pants as she bit down on her lip.

"I'm worried."

"Worried about what, Sweetheart?"

"That all this might be for nothing! That my past will catch back up to me." She cried out, finally lifting her head to meet the echidna woman's kind blue eyes.

"We can't erase our pasts, but we can strive for better futures. Within atonement there are obstacles. Don't let your past define who you are today."

"My…My ex-boyfriend tried to talk me back into hanging around them." The fox admitted, making Tikal raise her eyebrows.

"And what did you do?"

"I stood my ground." Fiona replied confidently, "I told them to go away."

"You should be proud of yourself then, shouldn't you?" The echidna shrugged.

"Yeah but, Ray… He got hurt real bad."

"How?"

"That son of a bitch kicked him in the chest. Ray got into a car accident a few months back, and his chest hasn't fully healed up. The nurse says the kick put too much trauma on his lungs, but that he'd be fine as long as he wears an oxygen mask for a few days…but still—"

"You feel guilty?"

"Mighty…he was furious when he finally came back this morning from his night job."

"You're afraid Mighty might go looking for Scourge?"

"I know he will." The fox nodded, "That's just the kind of guy he is, but that's not what I'm worried about."

"Well then, what are you worried about?"

"I'm afraid…Scourge might drive Mighty out of my life. I can't lose him again…"

Tikal nodded in understanding, clasping her hands together as she eyed the fragile teenager.

"Fiona, you have severe abandonment issues. It's common in foster children. You've also got severe trust issues. From what I've heard, Mighty wants nothing but the best for you. He seems to understand that a girl like you needs a special kind of attention."

"I love him." Fiona mumbled, tears shimmering in her eyes as she looked back up to the echidna with the utmost assurance, "I love him with everything I am."

* * *

After an exhausting gym class, Sally decided to head back to her room to change. Locker rooms made her uncomfortable, the thought of someone looking at her undressing made her uneasy.

She came back to find Fiona not in, so she took her time sifting through the drawers of her dresser. It was her lunch break, so there was plenty of time.

The auburn-haired girl groaned, cursing herself for not doing laundry last Sunday like she promised herself. On her quest for simple sweatpants in the messy mountain of clothes, she discovered a black knee-length pencil skirt. Elegant, and actually a fitting size.

She blushed at the memory of Sonic making a comment about her looking cute in a skirt, then remembered how he assured her it was okay to let her guard down around here because he'd be there to protect her.

"Maybe… Just for today." She told herself aloud before diving her hands back into the mess of clothes in search of a fitting top.

* * *

All of Tails' roommates were off somewhere on campus, leaving the room to himself. After a quick run to the café for two hot chocolates, he called his adoring girlfriend and asked her to come visit. She arrived ten or so minutes later, a basket of fresh cookies from the café in her hands.

He happily gestured her inside. She pulled her coat off and rested it on the foot of his bed before taking a seat on it.

This had been their first time alone together, and not in public.

Both of their faces were slightly red with nervousness, but they both wore big matching smiles. He sat across from her, both of them facing each other with their legs crossed and the styrofoam cups in their laps.

"So umm…did you invite Cream too?" The green-haired girl asked shyly, batting her eyelashes.

"No. I figured she'd be busy with that Ray kid. I heard he got beat up or something."

"Oh, I see." She nodded, biting her lip in nervousness. "So it's just…us?"

"Y-Yeah." He blushed, shifting his gaze to the cup in his hands. "Sorry. I just figured that…Well, we really haven't had much time to just ourselves."

"Don't be sorry." She pleaded, "This is actually…nice. I'm sorry if I'm coming off a little nervous. I've never been alone with a boy before…a boyfriend nonetheless."

"I understand. I'm kinda nervous too."

After some time of talking, sipping on their hot chocolate, and chowing down on fresh cookies, the two found themselves feeling quite full and now rested in a laying down position on the bed. They were both turned on their sides, facing each other with a large amount of space between them.

"Tails…"

"Yeah, Cosmo?"

"I like being alone with you."

"I like being alone with you too." He replied, scooting a little closer to her.

The blush on her face worsened tremendously as her gaze fell to his lips. She adored him to no end, and couldn't help herself. She pushed her nervousness and shyness aside for the moment, opting to be bold and lean in to kiss him for the very first time.

Her very first kiss.

* * *

"Are you sure you're ready for something like this Julie-Su?" Tikal asked the pink echidna seated across from her, "This is a huge step."

"I know, and I feel like now's as good a time as any." The senior nodded, "Knuckles has given me no reason to be weary. He's working hard, and doing everything right. He wants to be a father."

"That's not what I mean." The counselor shook her head, "He's also shown interest in forming a romantic relationship with you as well. How do you feel about that?"

"He's never been good with relationships, then again neither have I. I want to take this in slow steps, one at a time."

"So, tomorrow will be your first outing with Lara-Su together?"

"Yes."

"Do you think that little angel is ready for such news?"

"She'll be confused for a while, but she'll come to understand."

"Does she still ask about Thrash?"

"Every day…"

"How does that make you feel?"

"It breaks my heart…"

* * *

Principal Acorn sighed heavily to herself before picking up the phone on her desk. She looked through a file laid out before her until she found the number she was looking for, then she dialed it and waited for the other person to pick up.

 _"Hello?"_

 _"Hello Rob."_

 _"Ms. Alicia."_ He greeted happily, looking back over to his four month old son fast asleep in the play-pen. _"How is Amy doing? With the counseling I mean."_

 _"She's coming along marvelously."_ The chipmunk smiled, picturing the relieved look on the teal hedgehog's face. _"Her grades are climbing back up, and she seems a lot more cheerful these days."_

 _"Oh thank Chaos."_ Rob cheered, pure bliss in his voice. _"Has a diagnosis come up yet? Is she psychotic like my aunt?"_

 _"A diagnosis has been concluded, but it isn't anything inherited. It's a learned behavioral issue."_

 _"Well, what is it? I know about the anger issues, but it's surely more than that…"_

 _"You're right, there is more than that. Amy suffers from a rare mental disorder known as Afluenza."_

 _"What…What is that?"_ The teal hedgehog questioned, combing through his quills nervously with his hand.

 _"It's a disorder wealthy kids who don't receive proper discipline develop. She has no sense of consequence, and naturally feels entitled—"_

 _"Oh my Chaos…"_ Rob breathed, voice cracking _. "I did that to her…"_

 _"Robbin—"_

 _"I did. Oh my fucking Chaos…"_ The hedgehog whimpered, running his hand down his face as tears brimmed his emerald eyes. _"I shoulda been harder on her, more strict, but I didn't…I didn't have the heart to."_

 _"This isn't your fault."_ Alicia assured him in a comforting tone.

 _"I babied her too much. She's like this because of me."_ He spoke through sniffles, trying his best to keep his composure. _"I thought I was helping her."_

 _"She's seeking help Rob, and that's all that matters."_

 _"Is there a cure? Some sort of medication?"_

 _"My colleague says therapy sessions and medication for the anger issues will be all the help she needs, but it's not a short road."_

 _"I see."_ Rob nodded, wiping away his frustrated tears. _"Thank you Ms. Alicia."_

 _"You're a wonderful person Rob. Don't beat yourself up over this."_ The chipmunk told him, _"Take it easy, and tell Mari-An I said hello."_

The teal hedgehog hung up the phone before walking over to the tall chair by the kitchen table. He rested his elbows on it, covering his face in his hands as he did his best to regain his composure.

"Robbin?" His wife called out to him from the living room before crossing over into the kitchen where he sat. She leaned over him, resting her hands on his shoulders. "Is everything alright with Amy?"

"What if it's me…"

"What?"

"What if the devil Auntie speaks of, is me." He spoke mostly to himself, "What if I'm the one tainting Amy's soul?"

"Robbin, your aunt is a madwoman." Mari-An reminded him.

He didn't reply, he simply got up from his chair to retrieve his coat from the rack in the living room area. He threw it on quickly, searching the coffee table beside his sleeping son for his car keys.

"Robbin?" His wife called out, "Where are you going?"

"I've got to go see my aunt again…"

* * *

This morning's therapy session was really hard on the ebony hedgehog. Talking about Maria exerted incredible amounts of emotional energy, leaving him quite exhausted and agitated. Instead of heading off to class he decided to go back to his dorm for a smoke sesh.

He sighed in annoyance, noticing the bed beside his was empty, just as it had always been these last few days. The black hedgehog walked over to his dresser, kneeling down to open the bottom drawer and pull out a few necessities.

Two joints, and a lighter.

He then walked over to his bed and took a seat, resting his back against the wall as he fished out his phone. After shooting Rouge a text, she appeared right at his door like magic. She entered without knocking, too comfortable with the hedgehogs for formalities.

"That was fast." He smirked, watching the bat take a seat beside him on the bed.

"I was already in the area." She replied with a shrug, swiping the spare joint from his fingers. The bat then plopped it in between her full lips, leaning over toward the lighter he held out to her.

After taking a much needed puff she looked around the messy room with interest.

"Where's my Drummer-Boy?" She cooed, "It's not like him to miss a smoke sesh."

"Don't know, nor do I give a shit." Shadow shrugged, lighting up his own joint. "Last time I saw him he was drinking and moping about the mongoose still."

" **REALLY?** " She asked sarcastically, "Poor baby. I wish he'd get over it."

"Poor baby nothing." The ebony hedgehog grumbled, "We warned him, and he chose to be stupid. If he wants to drink his life away over a bitch, that's his fucking prerogative."

"Don't know why you're acting like such a bitch." Rouge snapped at him, "Last time I found you, you were doing the same shit."

He didn't have retort, because she was right. The last time she came across him he was drinking his own sorrows over a girl away. The bat nodded in satisfaction, blowing out a cloud of smoke before going at him again.

"The three of us aren't exactly the most socially-skilled bunch, and we've all got things to work on." She explained, dropping what little remained of her joint onto the floor before crushing it with her white high-heel. "You should start with your fucking empathy."

"I can't empathize with stupidity." Shadow shot back, "At least I got some fucking help. He's just wasting his life away—"

"Only because you had a friend to help you." The bat reminded him in an upset tone, getting up to walk out of the room. "He's not like us. He's fragile."

"Where the hell are you going?"

"If you wanna be an asshole, do you, but I'm gonna go find Manic."

* * *

Scourge and Mephiles sat on the hood of the infamous black Hummer. Cigarettes in each of their mouths, and gazes far out to the sky. The air was cold, but snow still hadn't come for the winter.

"Where's Psycho?" Scourge asked nonchalantly.

"Why would you assume I know?" Mephiles replied.

"Well, you're fucking, aren't you?"

"I have no idea." The gray-striped hedgehog shrugged, "Frankly, I've grown rather bored of her."

"That's why I hate fucking with hedgehog chicks." The green hedgehog replied with a low chuckle. "Too boring, and too damn clingy."

Suddenly, both of their eyes caught sight of a figure in the distance rolling up on them. As it got closer, the red-shelled armadillo became more visible. The features of Scourge's face tensed a bit, but his calm demeanor never changed.

Mighty's incredible strength was like a legend on these school grounds. His power was true to his namesake, evident in the several football games kids were sent home in ambulances for. Some people even believe he's so powerful that he could crush a skull in his hand, or shatter stone with a flick of a finger. Exaggerated of course, but definitely worthy of such exaggerations.

"You should get in the car." The green hedgehog told Mephiles, flicking his cigarette to the side.

"What?—" Just before Mephiles could even finish is sentence, the armadillo had emerged before him, taking him by the face to repeatedly smash the back of his head against the windshield until it cracked and blood dripped spilled beneath him.

"Dude, not my car!" Scourge whined, gaining the armadillo's attention.

Mighty turned over to the green hedgehog, heaving with a blinding rage.

"You're the one who put my brother in the fucking nurse's office." The armadillo growled, tightening his fists.

"I was talking to Fi, and he wanted to act like a little tough guy." Scourge snarled, pouring gasoline on the fire.

That's when Mighty lunged, sending a powerful upper-cut to the hedgehog's jaw. He accidentally bit down on his tongue a bit, his monstrous sharp teeth getting chipped a bit by the silver barbell through his tongue. He staggered back on the pavement, but regained his composure to look Mighty back dead in the eyes with a sadistic grin.

It only made the armadillo angrier, lunging once more with a right-hook, then a left, then another. Scourge spat blood up, his face turning in whichever direction Mighty's fists forced it. But every single time, Scourge turned his face right back to the center to shoot him a smirk, as if he felt no pain whatsoever.

It confused Mighty, so used to those he sparred with getting knocked out in an instant, or falling over.

"What's the matter?" The green hedgehog questioned, noticing the confusion. "Never met anyone who can take a punch before? I've had worse. These little punches are like butterfly kisses."

" **BREAK IT UP, BREAK IT UP!** " Zonic shouted, making both boys quickly disband. Behind him were the two other campus officers.

The chameleon quickly rushed over to the dark hedgehog lying unconscious on the hood of the large car, blood pooling from a nasty gash on the back of his head.

"Zonic, this one needs an ambulance. This looks bad." He called out to his commander, who nodded for him to make the call.

"Zespio, carry him to the nurse until that ambulance arrives." The older blue hedgehog ordered, walking over to Scourge. "Zector, take Mighty and escort him to Principal Acorn at once."

"I'm on it!" The crocodile bellowed, slapping a pair of cuffs on the armadillo before hauling him back across the field.

This left a bruised up Scourge all alone with the remaining officer. He shot him a deviant grin, showing off the teeth covered in blood.

"Guess you'll be taking me to see lady in charge too?" The green hedgehog laughed.

"Not quite." Zonic replied, turning him around to cuff him. Then he near-dragged him off the parking lot. "You'll be getting some much needed therapy."

"What? Says who?"

"Says the paperwork."

* * *

In the girl's bathroom on the first floor of the main building, the cheerleaders had filed in for their gossip and touch ups. Team captain, Tiara Boobinski was front and center of the mirror, leaning over the sink to get a better look at the job she was doing with her eyeliner pen.

"Ms. Breezie and Mr. Ash?" One of the girl's squealed behind her, "No way."

"For real!" Another yelped, "I saw them making out on her desk after class yesterday! I swear!"

"Who cares about those guys?" Tiara spoke up, rolling her eyes as she looked back to her group of friends with a smile. "I heard Sonic and Amy are back at it!"

"Oh my Chaos! No way!" The girls gasped, jumping with excitement.

"I can't believe it!"

"I've always shipped those two! They were so cute together."

"I know right?" The mink giggled, "I'm so glad he's gotten over himself, and the bullshit."

A midst their conversation, the door creaked open, coaxing all of them to look in that direction. Their eyes all lit up like stars at the sight of the Instagram famous, Amy Rose.

"Oh, uh…Hi guys.' She greeted, confused at the looks she was getting from the group of cheerleaders.

"There she is!" One of the girls squealed.

"Hi Amy." Tiara greeted, skipping over to the hedgehog for a hug. "So, is it true you and Sonic are back together?"

"Who'd you hear that from?" The pink hedgehog blushed, walking over to the sink to wash her hands.

"Like, everyone's been talking about it. Some saw you in the café together a few times and stuff. So is it true?!"

"No…we aren't back together." Amy mumbled, making all of the cheerleaders drop their excited smiles. Then she grabbed a paper towel and dried off her hands before turning back to them with her own excited smile. "But we are going on a date tomorrow!"

" **OH YAY!** " The girls cheered, all of them coming in to pull the pink girl into an excited group hug.

After a bit more chatter amongst the girls and hugs goodbye, Amy strolled back out to the hall and walked toward the school counselor's office with a big smile.

The world seemed so bright these days, and for the first time since the school year started, she found herself enjoying Green Hill Academy.

After a brisk short walk she found herself being greeted at the door by the woman to thank for the positive turning point in her life.

"Hello Amy." Tikal greeted, gesturing the pink girl inside before shutting the door. When she looked back over, the hedgehog was twirling happily toward her chair. "Well, well. Someone seems to be having a good day."

"I'm just excited." Amy giggled, finally taking her seat.

"Oh really?" The echidna woman replied with a warm smile, taking her seat as well. "And just why would that be?"

"Aside from the occasional hiccup—which you told me was normal—nothing has gone wrong for me!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands up in emphasis. "My grades are back on track, the cheerleaders want me as co-captain, and I've…I've got a date with Sonic this weekend."

"Sonic?" Tikal repeated with interest, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "Are you sure you're ready for that quite yet?"

"He's the one who asked me." The pink hedgehog blushed, looking down at her feet as she twirled her fingers. "I stood up to Scourge, and I put all that behind me for good. I really like Sonic, I always have. Maybe based on a few misconceptions, but the feelings I've come to know are real, and always find their way back to my heart no matter how lost I get. I understand that I made mistakes, but this time around I'm gonna ease into it, and I know I'll make the right choices."

"Wow." The echidna smiled, leaning back in her chair. "I'm moved, impressed by such a speech coming from you. You certainly have come a long way in such a short time. Principal Acorn was right about you. All you really needed was a push in the right direction."

"Just having you to talk to about anything makes me feel so much better" Amy smiled back, standing up from her seat. "You remind me a lot of my cousin's wife."

"Well, I've got a new patient coming in. So I'd like to cut this short. Just wanted to touch base."

"I understand. I've gotta head over to English anyway. Ms. Breezie said she has a special project in store for us."

* * *

Nicole's gaze was casted downward as she walked through the hall hand-in-hand with her chameleon boyfriend. She had been in a horribly gloomy mood ever since her last encounter with Shard. The lynx was quite sensitive, and had an all too obvious soft spot for the hedgehog. He was the first new friend she made at Green Hill Academy, and the only other full-DigItalian student.

Espio frowned at the sight of seeing her so blue.

"Nicole…" He called out, making her pick up her head.

But just before she could turn and face him, her jade eyes caught sight of a familiar pair. The same color, only much colder than her own. It was Shard, coming down the hall with a giddy mongoose hanging off his arm. He noticed her eyes too, locking them for just a brief moment before walking a bit faster.

It was heartbreaking for her, to watch him completely ignore her, and walk right passed her. Her lip quivered, tears brimming her pretty eyes.

"Nicole, you can't worry about someone who doesn't want you to." The chameleon said to her in his usual calm tone.

"I can't help it." The raven-haired girl mumbled, "He's my friend, and she's lying to him."

"You've presented him the evidence, and he chose to ignore it. He clearly wants to be with her regardless." Espio reminded her, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Let's go get something to eat okay? Get your mind off him."

"I suppose." She nodded in agreement before looking up to him with a weak smile. "You and I haven't been on a lunch date in a while."

"Yeah." He chuckled lightly, so grateful to see that smile he so desperately adored. "It's good to see your smile Nicole…I missed it."

* * *

After her session with Tikal, the red vixen wasted no time rushing back to the nurse's office to sit beside the sleeping Ray strapped to an oxygen tank. His shirt was off, revealing his still healing chest, and the fresh bruise forming a purplish color around it. She frowned at the sight, guilt pooling in her heart as she took his hand in hers.

The action was enough to stir him awake. His lids fluttered until his baby blue eyes were shown. He took rapid breaths under the mask, finding it quite difficult to breathe normally.

"Fiona….Are you o-okay?" He mumbled the best he could.

His voice caught her off guard, making her perk up in fright before she realized it was him.

"Oh Ray." She cooed sorrowfully, squeezing his hand a bit. "I'm so sorry."

"D-Did he hu-hurt you?"

"No." She replied with a shake of the head, "I didn't mean to get you hurt. I'm so, so, so sorry."

"I tri-tried to be b-bold." The squirrel said between rapid breaths, "I di-didn't want you to go a-away again. Yo-You're my b-big sister…"

"I'm not going anywhere." She whimpered, tears brimming her eyes as she offered him a weak smile. "I am your big sister."

Suddenly, the vixen jumped up in her seat at the sound of the curtain sectioning off Ray's resting area was pulled to the side abruptly. The hooks holding it up scraping loudly across the metal bar.

Fiona turned around to see a furious Mighty, knuckles looking raw and red. The armadillo rushed over to the squirrel's bedside, stroking his hair back as he frowned at the sight of his little brother attached to a machine again.

"Mighty….Your hands—"

"Get out." The armadillo growled, not looking in the fox's direction.

"Wh-What?" Fiona stammered, overcome with a sudden panic. "Mighty, I-I didn't do this! I didn't mean for him to get hurt!"

"You said you were done with those losers." He scolded her, marching over to her.

"I am." She replied, vigorously nodding her head in assurance. "They're the ones who won't leave me alone."

"And because of that my brother's back on a machine. I'm suspended from classes for a week." Mighty growled, "You need to go Fiona."

"You can't be serious…" She whimpered.

"I'm not putting Ray's safety in jeopardy for anyone." He replied, pointing toward the exit. "So just go."

All Fiona could do was let tears stream down her face like waterfalls, breaking Ray's heart as she made a dash for the door. Mighty sighed heavily, taking the seat she once sat in beside Ray.

On her way out of the nurse's office, the vixen passed by several beds, one of which being occupied by the barely conscious Mephiles with an open head wound.

 _'I see…'_ The hedgehog thought to himself, his dark green eyes following the crying vixen all the way out the door. _'You managed to manipulate the armadillo into shoving Fiona out by using his younger brother as a setup. Very brilliant and cunning of you Scourge, but did I really have to get my fucking head bashed in?'_

* * *

Hauling Scourge to the counselor's office was probably the worst displeasure Officer Zonic has ever had the misfortune of participating in. The green hedgehog made many attempts to wriggle away, and didn't let up at all with insults and vulgar statements.

"Zonic." A voice cooed sweetly from behind them, making both hedgehogs turn around to be greeted by the nurse. Her train of sight caught Scourge, and she instantly snarled in disgust. "What are you doing with this one?"

"Escorting him to the counselor as instructed by Principal Acorn, Ma'am." The blue hedgehog explained in his professional tone.

"He looks a bit scuffed up."

"Scuffed up?" Scourge growled, "My fuckin' face feels like it got hit by trucks! And you idiots wanna send me to the fucking counselor?"

"Hmph, a mouthy one isn't he?" Bernadette grimaced.

"You don't know the half of it."

"Do me a favor and **DON'T** send him to my office afterwards. My current patients won't be too pleased to see him." The lavender woman sighed before turning back toward her office. "Carry on then, Officer."

"Will do." Zonic nodded, dragging Scourge back in the opposite direction.

After some time of relentless thrashing and struggling, Zonic had managed to finally get the delinquent to the counselor's office. They entered together, greeted by the pretty echidna woman standing by her desk. Scourge quickly ceased his struggling, opting to eye the woman up and down as he licked his lips.

"Damn." He whistled, eyes grazing over her long legs all the way up to her pretty face. "This might actually be a little….interesting."

"Why is he in cuffs?" Tikal asked.

"Just caught him in a physical altercation outside." Zonic informed her, "I advise you to keep them on for your session."

"That won't necessary. Please, remove them." She instructed.

The officer did as told, fiddling with the key to release the green hedgehog's wrists. He instantly pulled them back to his front, rubbing the soreness away from each. The woman then nodded for Zonic to take his leave, which he did quite reluctantly. Uneasy at leaving the new staff member alone with the rebellious teen.

"Scourge is it?" Tikal asked, turning back toward the remaining hedgehog.

"You'd know, considering I was requested." He replied in an annoyed tone, walking over to the empty chair in front of her desk to rest on it. "So who the hell put me in this bullshit?"

"Well, I did." The echidna shrugged, taking a seat behind her desk. "Your name has come up a lot among a few of my other patients. So I peeked in your file and thought you could benefit from a session."

"Sorry Babe, but this ain't the kinda benefits I want." He winked.

She was not deterred, her composure remaining professional all the way through.

"A strange way to talk to a woman who could very well be your mother." Tikal mused, intertwining her fingers as she looked on at him with interest.

"Well if you are by any chance her, I'd advise you to drop dead."

"Bold words."

"No, just wishful thinking."

"I'd expect no less from someone who was abandoned at the age of three. Left to fend for himself in a dirty apartment complex." The echidna replied, flipping through the file she had on her desk. "A fire at the City Hall in Moebius happened to burn your birth certificate and any record of your parentage when you were abandoned. The only guardian we have listed for you before Social Services took you in is a Penelope Platypus."

"Cute that you've done your homework, but I'm much more interested in seeing what your mouth can do besides yapping." He changed the subject, "So how much dick did you have to suck for this gig?"

"Your parents, do you miss them?"

"How can I miss something that was never there in the first place?"

"Well, was Ms. Platypus at least kind to you?"

"Penelope? The prostitute my dad paid to look after me? Yeah, she was great."

"Motherly, would you say?"

"If you consider it motherly to give a nine year old his first blowjob on his birthday, then sure."

"I sense a lot of anger in you Mr. Hedgehog." Tikal frowned, "As a counselor I want to help rid you of these troubles…"

"The only way you're gettin' anything out of me is if you bend over." He remarked in his sarcastic tone.

"You hold a lot of animosity toward women, seeing them as no more than sexual objects."

"Did you get your degree in _'Stating the Obvious'_?"

"Judging by the way you came in with Officer Zonic, I can conclude that you hold a resentment for authority figures as well. Due to the lack of proper parenting."

"Really?" He mocked, "What was your first clue?"

"Our session is nearly up at this point." She said, glancing over at the clock. "But before we leave off, I have to ask you something due to protocol."

"Just spit it out." Scourge groaned, "I've spent enough time in this tiny ass chair."

"An anonymous tipper has alerted me to an alarming amount of scars on your body. Forgive me, but I have to ask. Are you a self-harmer, Scourge?"

His eyes went wide at such a question before his mouth broke out in a toothy grin that revealed his bloody-stained teeth from his earlier scuffle. He stood up from the chair in front of her desk, stepping over to her slowly.

"Self-harmer?" He repeated in an upset tone, the features of his face falling into a cold scowl as he ripped open his leather jacket and the button up plaid black shirt underneath to reveal his chest and the scars lining his entire upper-body coming from every which way. "You think I could do this shit to myself?"

Her eyes went wide with horror, bile threatening to rise in her esophagus at such a heart-wrenching sight. She pulled a hand to her mouth to muffle a horrific gasp.

"Oh my Chaos." She whimpered, "Who…Who could possibly do this to a child?"

"The same people who left him to die." The green hedgehog replied coldly, shutting his shirt and jacket before storming out the door. "I'm done here."

* * *

Sonic rushed into his English class a bit earlier than usual, not wanting to risk yet another detention for being late. He jogged over to his seat, greeting Amy with a wave after tossing his bag to the floor to sit down. He turned around to talk to her.

"Sup Ames?"

"Hi." She blushed, offering him a dainty wave.

They talked a bit before he noticed the desk connected to hers was empty.

"Hey, where's Blaze?" He questioned, raising a skeptical brow. "It's not like her to cut class—unless I'm the one forcing her of course."

"I doubt she'll be going to any classes today." The pink girl mumbled bitterly, "That stupid loser, Silver was such a jerk to her."

"That guy? I thought he was cool now…"

"Hell no!" Amy bellowed, face twisted up in a disgusted look. "He was just being a try-hard. He said all these hurtful things to her, and talked some major shit on us too. She was still crying in bed when I left for counseling."

"Jeez, that kid's fucking hopeless." The blue hedgehog replied coldly, never really fond of Blaze's on-off boyfriend. "I should probably pay her a visit and make sure she's okay later."

"Yeah, we should all get together. Remind her that she'll always have all of us, and that she doesn't need to associate with idiots like him."

"Your right Ames. That sounds…"

Sonic's voice trailed off, as did his gaze. His eyes quickly locked on to auburn hair.

It was Sally, and his jaw threatened to come of the hinges and drop at the sight of her choice of wear today. Amy followed his gaze, watching the chipmunk stroll down the aisle.

Her auburn hair was rarely down, but today it bounced off her shoulders in large waves. She carried her signature blue binder, holding it tightly against her chest. The white collar shirt and black pencil skirt were tight, accenting the curvirture of her usually hidden figure perfectly. A drastic difference from her usual baggy clothes.

The only thing throwing off her chances of actually looking good were the gigantic glasses she never seemed to take off no matter what.

"Holy shit…" The blue hedgehog muttered, turning away from Amy to watch the chipmunk take the seat beside him.

Amy pouted, upset at the way he just dropped her mid-conversation to gawk at the auburn-haired girl.

"I haven't dressed like this in years." Sally blushed, looking down at the black flats she sported on her feet. "Do I look stupid? Everyone's….staring."

"No…" Sonic assured her, "You look—"

"Beautiful." A voice called out, making both of them look up to see the extra occupant of their double-desk. The monkey smiled, taking his usual seat extra-close to the chipmunk. "I mean, everyday you're beautiful, but today it really shows."

"Thank you Ken." Sally giggled, her blush worsening as she tugged her skirt down in embarrassment.

Sonic grimaced, not too fond of the way he looked at her so adoringly, or how shy and giddy she seemed to be when he started talking that suave. He quickly whipped out his phone under the desk.

Sure to the public eye they weren't anything, but there was definitely something there nonetheless.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 ** _Sonic:_** _Chaos I hate that guy._

 ** _Sally:_** _He's just being nice._

 ** _Sonic:_** _A little too nice for my liking._

 ** _Sally:_** _Stop acting like a jealous boyfriend._

 ** _Sonic:_** _I'm not jealous…_

"Can't wait for our date this weekend." Ken told the girl beside him with a shy smile, "I think we should see a movie together."

 ** _Sonic:_** _A movie? To what? Cop a feel? Tell that fucker hell no!_

"A movie sounds lovely." Sally replied, ignoring the hedgehog's last text.

"Maybe before that I can treat you to a fancy dinner? You know, a suits and dresses kinda place. I bet it's been a while since you've had lobster."

 ** _Sonic:_** _Of course he'd low-key suggest you to wear a fucking dress before the movies. This doesn't sound like the 'friendly hangout' you made it sound like before._

"I'm actually vegan, but I'm sure there are other options for me at a fancy restaurant." Sally nodded.

 ** _Sonic:_** _You're doing this on purpose aren't you?_

 ** _Sonic:_** _Hello!_

 ** _Sonic:_** _Stop ignoring me._

"Sonic?" Amy whispered, leaning over her desk behind him. The move caught Sally's attention immediately. "We're still hanging out this weekend right?"

"Of course, Ames." He smiled back at the pink girl. "I wouldn't miss it for anything."

"I heard Twinkle Park is open in Soleanna. Maybe we can go there?"

Out of the corner of his eye, the blue hedgehog caught the chipmunk's envious side-eye. He smirked before looking back over to Amy with a smile.

"Sure. It'll be fun to ride some bumper cars."

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 ** _Sally:_** _Amusement park with the ex this weekend, eh? But you're the one over here getting jealous over me having dinner with a friend._

 ** _Sonic:_** _Looks who's jealous now though._

"They have this new underground water cave ride decked out with artificial fireflies and all sorts of cute things!" The pink girl went on, "I want to ride it so bad! But it's a more _'couples'_ kind of ride. I just want to see how beautiful it actually is."

 ** _Sally:_** _A tunnel of love ride? Seriously though?_

"We can go on whatever ride you want, Ames." Sonic cheered, making the pink hedgehog behind them blush.

Just before anyone could speak further, or either of the two could shoot each other another passive-aggressive text, Ms. Breezie finally stood up from her chair. She eyed everyone, taking attendance on the black binder in her hands as she walked around.

"Sally, you look lovely." She complimented the chipmunk with a wink.

"Thank you Ms." Sally blushed.

"Well now…" The teal woman said, continuing to walk in between desks. A few of the boys gawking at her backside as she did so. "It seems nearly everyone's here. I hope Manic and Blaze have an adequate excuse for skipping out today."

Silver cringed at the mention of the cat, and across the room Shadow did the same when his green companion's name was said.

After attendance was out of the way, Breezie strolled back over to her desk to take a seat on it. She crossed one leg over the other, her signature tight red dress cut dangerously short, but not enough to expose her too much.

"I said we'd be doing a fun assignment today." She addressed the class in her naturally seductive tone. "With Christmas coming up soon, I figured we could do a project based on a fun festive game."

"Like what?" Mina questioned without bothering to raise her hand.

That's when Breezie pulled out a black top hat from behind her desk and held it out to them.

"I'm sure you've all heard of the game, Secret Santa. You pick a name out of that hat, and whoever's name you choose is the person you buy a present." She explained, eyeing them all one by one. "Only we're gonna mix it up a bit. Instead of buying a present for the person you pick out of the hat, you'll be doing your next writing prompt on that person."

"That actually sounds…fun." Honey nodded, "But what if we pick someone we don't know?" She asked curiously, gaze falling to a few faces in the room she didn't recognize.

"Then you'll have to get to know them, **BUT** you cannot share the name you got with anyone. Including the person you chose." The teacher told her, "Anonymity is the name of the game here people. No names should ever be revealed. You'll be expected to read your prompt to the class, but you won't be saying who the prompt is about."

"What if we get someone we don't like?" Mina asked, glaring at the gothic-styled pink hedgehog beside her that she found repulsive.

"Then write about that. I want this prompt to be honest. It's completely anonymous, so you won't be reprimanded unless you make it too obvious for someone. Telling someone what name you got will result in an automatic fail. So I advise all of you to keep it honest, interesting, and very vague."

After a bit more explanation, the teal woman walked to each student in the class and presented them with the hat. They each stuck their hand inside, grabbing a single folded slip of paper before she went on to the next person.

Ken was the first to open his slip of paper. Reading the name coaxed a half-smile out of him before he closed it back up and stuffed it in his pocket. He only recalled one encounter with this girl, and it wasn't so pleasant.

 _'Honey the Cat'_ He thought in his mind, eyeing the cat across the room.

Sally opened hers to cringe in awkwardness at the name.

"Who'd you get?" Sonic asked, leaning over to try and get a glimpse at the paper in her hand. She quickly folded it back up before he could see.

"Did you not just hear her? We aren't supposed to tell." She scolded him.

"What an idiot." Ken mumbled under his breath, making the hedgehog glare at him.

Behind them Amy quickly unfolded the paper excitedly, praying she got her blue hero just so she could anonymously convey her feelings without fear of judgement or rejection, but she had to settle for something less. However she was at least thankful that she knew him.

 _'Manic the Hedgehog.'_ She thought, sighing in disappointment. _'I wonder who Sonic got…'_

Honey's cheerful demeanor was quickly thrown out the window upon sight of the name she picked from the hat. She sighed heavily, feeling a bit disheartened at the idea of writing about the person.

 _'Shadow the Hedgehog'_ She groaned in her mind, _'I should just start dating the freakin' universe because it knows how to fuck me the hardest.'_

Once everyone had chosen a name, and finished up their individual reactions—some worse than others—Breezie walked back up to the front of class with a near empty hat. She pulled out two remaining slips of papers before turning back to the students.

"These last two names will be for Manic and Blaze when they come in tomorrow." She told them, putting the two slips on her desk. "Remember, its **SECRET** Santa. Don't ask, don't tell. Believe me, I'll know if you do. With that, you're all free to go."

* * *

 **A Better Explanation On Breezie's Game:**

 **1\. Each student picks out the name of another student from the black top hat.**

 **2\. Whatever name they chose will be the topic of their next paper.**

 **3\. They aren't allowed to tell each other who they got to keep everything anonymous.**

 **There are only a couple main characters in this class, those being:**

 **Amy Rose - Manic the Hedgehog**

 **Sally Acorn - (?)**

 **Sonic the Hedgehog - (?)**

 **Blaze the Cat - (?)**

 **Honey the Cat - Shadow the Hedgehog**

 **Silver the Hedgehog - (?)**

 **Monkey 'Ken' Khan - Honey the Cat**

 **Shadow the Hedgehog - (?)**

 **Storm the Albatross - (?)**

 **Mina Mongoose - (?)**

 **Rosy Rascal - (?)**

 **Manic the Hedgehog - (?)**

 **As you can see, some names were revealed for some characters, but not all. Some will be revealed later, but there will be some you'll actually have to figure out after reading their papers. To narrow it down, the characters listed only chose other characters listed.**

 **It's Breezie's way of entertaining herself, and the project will make for interesting character interaction...depending on who picked who.**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Knuckles is finally given the chance he's been working so hard for, but will it turn out as he hopes?**

 **Love is in the air for everyone-except Cream, who makes an alarming decision that might effect her future...or possibly end it.**

 **Sonic and Sally are secretly in love, but somehow they both ended up with different dates this weekend. Things get more complicated when sparks fly...but between whom? Will Ken sweep Sally off her feet? Or will Amy convince Sonic to take a chance on her again?**

 **With a helping hand from Rouge, Manic is pulled out of the pits of despair, but will it last?**

 **Romances isn't just for teenagers, as staff members begin to catch feelings as well...**

 **And so much more!**

 **Next chapter will honestly be 99% fluff to make up for all the bullshit I put you guys through**


	45. Chapter 45

**WARNING: Mentions of self-harm**

 **Song: Ed Sheeran- Thinking Out Loud**

* * *

 **Chapter 45: Maybe We Found Love**

It was early morning on Saturday. Both Green Hill Academy and the Master Emerald jewelry store were not set to start classes or open up for another hour. This gave the owners of their respective places time to elope on a long overdue breakfast together.

Locke the Echidna and Alicia Acorn, the husband and wife to be had finally gotten their schedules in sync to go on a date.

The two traveled into the city of Metropolis, the closest city to both of their workplaces, and the only city with a diner open at such an early hour.

Pressed for time, neither of them thought to dress casually, opting to just wear their work uniforms instead to save whatever time they could. The chipmunk and echidna sat across from one another in the vibrant red seats of the booth secluded in the back area. A unique orb light hung from a string above the wooden table they sat at.

"I hear you've hired Tikal." Locke smirked at the woman across from him, picking up the porcelain coffee mug to bring to his lips. "Knuckles will sure get a kick out of that."

"She's doing very well with the students." Alicia replied, "I'm almost tempted to hire her full time. I always thought _'all echidnas work hard'_ was just a stereotype."

"Very cheeky." He nodded.

Their banter persisted, until a koala woman walked over to hand them each a porcelain plate of food off a black tray. They thanked her before she scurried off to the kitchen again.

"Jules has been back in town for a while..." Locke spoke up after a long awkward silence, "Has he…tried to contact you?"

"Of course he has." Alicia replied truthfully, a sorrowful frown plastered on her face.

"About what?"

"You know exactly what." She retorted in annoyance, never one to be fond of faux ignorance.

"Are we…still engaged?" He rose an eyebrow, eyeing her with a bit of nervousness.

She set her fork down, exhaling before looking back over to him with a smile. She leaned over across the table to catch his lips on her own.

"Of course we are." The chestnut-haired woman told him after they pulled apart. "Unfortunately for Jules, I don't make the same mistake twice."

* * *

Back at Green Hill Academy, resting on a cot in the nurse's office was a depressed Ray. Once again strapped to a machine, feeling lousy and damaged. The kick to his chest put a little too much stress on his lungs which were severely injured in the crash a few months back. To elevate the stress of breathing he needed support from an oxygen mask.

Nurse Bernadette told him it was only temporary. He was at least grateful for that.

Still, he felt that he shouldn't be here. He should be out with the girl of his dreams. Not strapped to a metal contraption again.

Mighty had been called back to work for a few hours due to a shortage in staff, but he promised to return soon. Sitting on the chair beside the squirrel was Vector, standing in to watch over him. The crocodile smiled, but Ray could tell from the look in his eyes that he didn't like the sight he was seeing.

"I-I-I shouldn't b-be here." Ray stammered behind the mask, bottom lip quivering as he clutched at the sheets. "I was su-supposed to take C-Cream out to-today."

"I'm sorry Little Guy." The croc frowned, extra empathy toward the squirrel who had literally been to hell and back this year. "I had Saffron call her and tell her about what happened."

"Wh-Where's Fiona?"

"No one knows." Vector shrugged, feeling oh so sorry for the young boy. "She won't be around for a while…"

"B-But it wasn't her fa-fault." Ray pleaded, tears brimming his eyes in memory of how cruelly his brother had thrown out the vixen.

"You've gotta understand something, Kiddo." The senior sighed, leaning over in his seat as he clasped his hands together. "You and Tilly are the most important thing in his life, ya'll always have been. He almost lost you once…and you better believe he won't take any chances on that ever again. With psychos like Scourge after her like that, she's a danger."

The squirrel dropped his gaze to the white sheet draped over his body, a sorrowful expression emerging on the surface. That's something Vector just couldn't stand.

"Hey…Mighty will figure things out with her on his own. In the meantime, you focus on getting better."

"Wh-What for?" Ray pouted, "I-I-I probably ruined my ch-chances with Cream…again."

"Bruh please," Vector waved in dismissal, that typical cheery tone rising back up. "She'll forget all about you missing your date once you take her to one of my parties."

"P-Party?!" The squirrel repeated, eyes widening and a huge smile crossing his face as he turned back to the crocodile. "You're g-gonna throw it?!"

"No." He replied in seriousness before breaking out into a smile of his own, "We're throwing it. So you better hurry up and get better. We've got a lot of planning to do if we wanna bang this out before Christmas."

"Y-Yes sir!"

* * *

"He said I'd find you out here." Rouge called out, a bit out of breath from circling through the woods to find the stump hidden in the mass of tall trees.

Sitting on the stump, just as he had been for the past few days was Manic. Her voice caught him by surprise, and he quickly turned to glance at her with such a dead look in his eyes before turning back toward nothing.

She frowned at such a pained expression, far too use to his toothy grin and goofy smile. As she inched closer to him from behind, the rancid smell of marijuana, vomit, and alcohol got stronger and stronger. She held her breath the best she could, breathing through her slightly parted lips in an attempt to avoid the full brunt of the horrific odor.

Finally she came close enough to rest a hand on his shoulder, and kneel beside him in the only place untouched by vomit or shards of glass. She leaned forward, studying the depressed features of his face that broke her heart.

"No one's seen you in days. You haven't gone to any classes, and those job seminars took you off the list yesterday—"

"I don't care." He cut her off in weak mumbles, "There's no point in anything good I try to do."

"Baby…" The bat cooed sympathetically, putting a hand to his cheek. "What happened to you?"

"For the first time in my life…I saw a future for myself. I had a reason to strive for success, something to believe in and look forward to…but I killed it." Manic explained as vaguely as possible, "You know, Shadow thinks I'm stupid, and that I'm better off just killing myself….I've been thinking that maybe he's right—"

"No. Shadow's fucking stupid." Rouge cut him off in an upset tone, smacking the bottle he had been holding to the ground. "You'll have to forgive him for not being the brightest star in the sky. Believe me, I know he's not the best person to be around when you're upset, but he does mean well in his own socially inept way."

"I tried once…" The green hedgehog admitted, tears brimming his eyes as he remembered dancing on the ledge of the bridge so vividly, "Right after it happened."

"Oh Manic…" She whimpered, pulling the vile-smelling hedgehog in for a hug. "Losing someone you love is hard. I know what it's like to love a selfish idiot, but we can't let it destroy us."

"I just…I don't know what else to do." He wailed, cupping his face in his hands as he sobbed at the painful memory of signing his child away.

"You've gotta carry on. Tikal says we all make bad decisions every now and then, it's a part of growing up. We can't change the past, but we can carry on and learn from our mistakes."

For the first time in what felt like forever, things didn't seem so dark. Rouge—or more so Tikal's—words were powerful and enlightening enough to illuminate the dark fog his mind had been lost in. He nodded, taking in every ounce of positive advice she offered.

"Thanks." He smiled weakly, turning to lock their eyes. "You don't know how much I needed to hear something like that, from anyone."

"After my split with Red, I knew everyone would have just called me stupid or told me I should have known better, but you were there for me anyway…and you didn't make me feel like an idiot."

"Of course I was. You are my baby after all." He winked, his mouth curving upward into that signature toothy grin.

"I never thought I'd miss that stupid grin." She giggled, caressing his cheek. "Or those stupid pet names."

"Like… **ROUGEIKKU SENPAI!** " He yelled, wrangling her in his arms to pull her up onto his lap. They both laughed at the running gag reference of their pink friend.

"Ew, stop with the weaboo shit!" The bat giggled, pushing his face away with the hand that once caressed his cheek.

"You know…" He began once she put her hand down, allowing him to face her directly as she sat in his lap. "If you kissed me again right now…I promise not to pull away this time."

"Are you crazy? I might pass out any minute now from that horrible smell!" She scolded him playfully, leaping up out of his lap to shake off the grossness she felt at making contact with him. "C'mon, we need to get you to a shower, pronto."

"You got me there." He laughed, attempting to rub the back of his head as his hand got caught in knotted quills.

She pinched her nose to mock him, turning out of the messy area to head toward campus grounds. He stumbled behind her.

* * *

Toward the end of his lunch break, Officer Zonic walked out of the staff break room and strolled down the hall. The hedgehog wore his typical all black security guard outfit. Complete with a hat, walkie-talkie, and cuffs that jingled with every step he took.

He was on his way back to the usual area of the main building he patrolled when he caught sight of a familiar echidna. He rose an eyebrow as he peered at the woman from the narrow crack of the slightly creaked open door. She sat at her desk, looking down at something as she ran both hands through her hair. A visible look of distress on her face.

The officer decided to make a quick detour, knocking on the already slightly opened door to alert her of his presence.

The echidna woman shot her head up immediately as the hedgehog entered.

"Officer Zonic, forgive me." She apologized, "I wasn't expecting you."

"The door was kind of open, and I couldn't help but notice the troubled look on your face. I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Oh I'm fine." She waved in dismissal.

"Is something bothering you?"

"Not really. It's just this patient..." Tikal sighed, scattering papers on her desk.

Zonic leaned over, eyeing all of the papers on her desk before his eyes caught sight of a photo. He grimaced immediately, all too familiar with the boy in the picture.

"Scourge the Hedgehog?"

"Yes." She groaned in a stressful tone, "I'm so used to understanding patients, but he's just so…so unreadable. I can't pin him down for anything! Not even with everything in his personal file, criminal records, or the information two of my other patients who knew him intimately provided me with."

"You shouldn't stress yourself on that one." The officer remarked bitterly, eyeing the picture on her desk. "He's damaged beyond repair."

"That's what everyone thought about Fiona, but I've made so much progress with her, it's remarkable. There's hope for anyone to change."

"Not this one." He shook his head, "I've known him for three and a half years now. Always defiant, always causing a ruckus, and never seems to fear consequence of any kind. Always acting like king of everything. That one's a lost cause for sure."

"Well, someone has to try." The echidna replied, "I won't give up on him—or any of them."

It was refreshing, to see how determined she was, and the way she seemed to care so much. Most of the staff was there for pay, so finding ones who actually believed the students mattered was quite rare.

"I can see why Alicia hired you now." He smirked, crossing his arms. "And here I thought you were just hired because you're her sister-in-law."

"Well you were sorely mistaken." Tikal giggled, making the officer blush a bit with such an angelic laughter.

He laughed a long for a bit, until it died down into an awkward silence.

"I should get going." He chuckled, rubbing his neck nervously. "Don't know if Alicia gave you the rundown, but tomorrow is a day off for all faculty members—excluding the dorm advisors of course."

"Oh? I had no idea. I guess I'll take a few files home with me to look over then."

"I think it's best if you leave work at work." Zonic smiled, "We all usually go to the bar on Sunday. You should come."

"I'll keep it in mind, Officer." She smiled back.

"Call me Zonic."

"Well…" She mused, flipping her shoulder-length orange hair over her back. "I'll keep it mind…Zonic."

Then he said his goodbyes before heading off to his post, shutting the door to her office behind him. The room was silent again, no noise to be heard but the shuffling of her papers. Tikal squinted, sifting through papers until she found statements both Amy and Fiona had made on Scourge.

 _'King…'_ She thought to herself, reflecting on Zonic's earlier comment as she read over an eerily similar statement both girls made.

* * *

 _'This is just so hard for me. It feels like everything I believed in just flipped upside-down…again._

 _My name is Wave the Swallow. I'm seventeen years old, and a senior at Green Hill Academy._

 _I thought I was gay, but then my best friend kissed me, and it changed everything._

 _Now I'm more confused than ever before. I don't know anything…except one thing._

 _I want to kiss him again…'_

"Storm…" Wave called out, walking over to the albatross sitting at a picnic table all by himself out in the freezing cold.

He wore a thin coat, along with his typical black jeans and timbs. His gaze was casted downward at the table, and his hands were deep in his pockets. Upon hearing his name called, he rose his head to meet her gaze.

"Wave…" He replied in a somber tone.

A gust of wind came through, whipping her long pigtails to the side as she strolled over to where he sat. He was surprised, considering she had been ignoring him. He stood up from the table to face her, not quite sure how to read the blank expression on her face.

It all became clear when she draped her arms around his neck, and pulled him in for another mind-blowing kiss. Only this time, it was much shorter due to him pulling away rather quickly.

"Jet… He's really mad." Storm told her, making her tilt her head a bit. "I'm supposed to be his best frie—"

"I'm not Jet's fucking property." She cut him off in an irritated tone, loathing just speaking of the hawk.

"You're not even sure what you want." He shot back in an attempt to put her off, but semi-hoping that she'd stand her ground on the idea. He wanted to preserve his chances at maintaining his longtime friendship with Jet, but at the same time he didn't want to give up a chance at being with his other longtime friend and secret crush.

"Yes I am." She assured him before pulling him down by the collar of his jacket into another blissful kiss.

* * *

"Thanks for helping me pick out clothes Bunnie." Sally hollered from beyond the pink bathroom stall, "I've never been good at picking out dresses."

"Believe me, it's my pleasure! I'm just happy ya' gettin' in touch with your feminine side." The rabbit squealed, pacing the tiled floor of the bathroom in excitement. "C'mon out and let me see already!"

"It's a bit more…revealing than I'm used to."

"Let me see!"

"I'm not sure if I like this…"

"Let me see!"

"I don't think this is right for me…"

"Dammit, Girl!" Bunnie shouted, prying the stall door open. "I said let me…Oh my stars!"

The chipmunk blushed, stepping out of the stall to give the rabbit a better view under the harsh florescent light of the bathroom.

She wore a long red maxi dress that fell over the black high-heels she sported. The dress had a quite exaggerated V-neck cut, exposing a good majority of her chest, but concealing just enough to not come off as obscene. A large slit running downward from her left hip, exposing one of her gorgeous long legs.

Gold bracelets raddled on both of her wrists. Her hair was straightened out, falling a little further down than her shoulders. Bunnie clasped both hands over her mouth, red in the face as she jumped up and down with glee.

"Is it…bad?" Sally questioned nervously.

"Bad? **YOU LOOK BEAUTOFUL SUGAH!** " The rabbit cheered before pointing at the chipmunk's chest with a lewd smile. "And just where were ya' hidin' those?"

The chipmunk's face flushed as red as her dress, and she hugged her chest tightly in response.

"I'm just teasin'" Bunnie chuckled, throwing both arms over the chipmunk to pull her in for a hug. "If only you'd let me do your makeup."

"I'm not a makeup kind of girl."

"Well at least take off them glasses! They ruin the whole outfit—" She tried to make a grab for Sally's glasses, but got her hand quickly swatted away.

"No." The chipmunk yelped in fright before relaxing a bit, "I need my glasses to see, remember?" She added, trying to play off her nervousness.

"Fine." Bunnie groaned, rolling her eyes. "It doesn't matter anyway I suppose. With a body like that, no one's gonna be lookin' at your face tonight."

The auburn-haired girl peered over at herself from the large mirror hung over the sinks. The dress was tight, exposing, and so unlike the baggy clothes she had become so accustom to.

Pushing all insecurities aside, she pulled out her phone from the black purse sitting on the counter and angled it toward herself before hitting the button to snap a picture.

"Oh that's cruel Sally-Girl, teasin' the boy like that." Bunnie smirked, watching as Sally pressed away at the buttons on her phone. "Poor Ken might have a heart attack."

"Yeah…" She replied, shoving the phone back in the bag before scurrying out of the bathroom with it. "I should probably head over to his car now. Thanks again Bunnie."

"Just go get 'em, Girl!" The rabbit waved her off, "Bring Mama Rabbot home another son-in-law!" She hollered, referencing both Rotor and Nicole's significant others.

Sally flew down the hall, her dress picking up a bit as it flowed with her movement. As she rushed down the hall, anxiety spiked within her as whispers, wolf-whistles, and cat-calling persisted behind her. She didn't like this. It reminded her of Moebius…

"Damn!"

"She look better from behind though. Aye girl!"

"Hold up! Lemme talk to you!"

It was all nerve wrecking. She wished that Bunnie would have just met her at the girl's dorm to save herself from the objectifying creeps lurking the electives building, but the rabbit was grounded to the auditorium all do in preparation for another school play.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she managed to escape the howls and stares once she broke through the double-doors and spotted Ken in the far distance, standing in the parking lot by a yellow Camaro.

* * *

 _"I'm sorry! Ray really wishes he could've taken you out, but Nurse Bernadette says he needs to stay on oxygen for a little while."_ Saffron rambled through the speaker of Cream's phone, _"I'm really so very sorry."_

 _"It's alright."_ The rabbit assured her in the cheeriest tone she could muster before mumbling something inaudible under her breath. _"I'm starting to get used to being let down…"_

 _"I'm sure he'll feel better by next weekend."_

 _"I hope so."_ Cream sighed heavily, _"Thanks for the call Saffron."_

 _"Are you sure you're okay Cream? You sound a little…different than usual."_

 _"I've just got a headache. I'm gonna go visit my mom in her suite for a bit. I'll see you and Charmy in gym class on Monday. Bye."_

The young rabbit hastily ended the call before the talkative bee could even get her goodbyes in. She just didn't have the emotional energy to hear anymore. Lately, it seemed like letdown after letdown, and frankly, her heart needed a break.

Sonia had a friend over in the dorm, and the rabbit didn't feel like socializing at the moment. So she gathered a few necessities in a little yellow bag before heading out.

Both dorm advisors were expected to stay on campus for the entire school year, even during vacations and weekends. To compensate for residing on campus for so long, the top floor of each dorm building was converted into an apartment complete with a kitchen and personal bathroom.

It was a tiring walk, the stairs being extra strain on the rabbit's naturally short legs, but she made it in one piece. She knocked on the door in a rhythm unique to alert her mother that it was her. The older rabbit wasted no time opening the door to greet her daughter with a kind smile.

"Darling." She cooed, kneeling down to hug her daughter. "What are you doing way up here? I thought you were going on a little date today?"

"He was injured, so he couldn't make it." Cream sighed, doing her absolute all to keep up her cheery façade. "I was hoping I could sleep over with you tonight."

"Now Cream, you know that goes against the rules." Vanilla told her, making the rabbit pucker her bottom lip and show off those gigantic puppy-eyes. A tactic she had down to perfection, something her mother could never refuse. "Well…maybe just this one time."

"Thank you Mommy!" The little rabbit cheered before her mother stepped aside and allowed her to enter.

"Make yourself comfortable, Darling." Her mother told her as she strolled over to the kitchen area. "I'll make us a nice meal."

Cream nodded, feeling much better in the presence of her mother. She set her little bag down on the coffee table before snaking her way over to the bathroom.

It was a lot nicer than the communal one downstairs, and even had a jacuzzi tub. It was all white, and the florescent lighting only emphasized that fact. Cream walked over to the sink, turning on the faucet before opening the mirror that dueled as a medicine cabinet.

She had a headache, and wanted some painkillers to get her through the rest of the day, but when she reached out to grab the white-topped orange bottle she knocked a few others out and onto the floor.

She kneeled down to retrieve them, picking up one after the other before coming across one that was labeled as sleep medication.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE!**

 ** _Cosmo: IMAGE SENT._**

 ** _Cosmo:_** _We're own our way to Twinkle Park._

The rabbit set the bottles back down to pull out her phone from the pocket of her jeans to be met with a photo Cosmo had sent. The seedrian was dressed in a green dress that resembled a sweater. It fell at her knees, while the rest of her legs were confide to white stockings, and her feet tucked away in green slippers. She smiled to the camera with one hand holding the phone, and the other draped around the shoulders of her boyfriend…Tails.

Just the sight of him sent the rabbit's heart plummeting into the pit of her stomach.

He smiled sheepishly to the camera, standing quite close to Cosmo with arms draped around her tiny waist. He wore his yellow sweatshirt, the one she bought him on his birthday last year, and standard blue jeans with those warn-out sneakers he refused to give up.

They looked so in love… So happy…

She put the phone away before picking up the bottles again, this time grabbing the sleep medication first. She rolled it over in her hands as that painful cloud of depression fogged up her mind.

"Cream?" Her mother called out to her beyond the door, "Are you alright? I heard something fall."

"I'm fine! Just dropped the toothbrush holder!" The rabbit lied, slipping the pill bottle into her pocket before putting the rest back neatly into the cabinet.

* * *

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 ** _Sally: IMAGE SENT._**

Sonic had to clamp his hand over his jaw as it threatened to fall off, and his cheeks flared into a vibrant red color. With his free hand, he set the phone down on his knee as he pinched the screen to zoom in on certain areas of the image. It was Sally, clad in that beautiful velvet dress, the slit on the side exposing her well-toned leg all the way up to her gorgeous thigh, and her chest just barely contained by the tight dress with such an incredibly low cut up front.

The only flaw were those appalling glasses, obscuring her beauty, but he didn't really mind much as his attention was drawn to more interesting assets…

"Sonic! I'm ready!" Amy called out from the steps.

Sonic had been seated on the couch in the girl's lounge downstairs while he waited for the pink hedgehog to get dressed in her room. Her voice surprised him, and he jumped up as he fiddled with his phone to lock the screen. Then he turned to her, the blush on his face worsening.

Amy stepped across the floor toward him with a sheepish smile. She wore a halter mini-dress that ended just barely above mid-thigh. It started off pink at the top, but ended white in an ombre effect. She kept her signature gold bracelet cuffs, and wore elegant white slippers to match the bottom half of her dress. Her quills started out straight, but ended in curls that bounced off her shoulders, and her headband was pink with a little white rose attached to the left side.

"Well?" She asked, doing a little twirl for him. "What do you think?"

"You look…beautiful." He stammered with a smile, getting up to stand with her. "Don't you think it's a little cold for something like that though?" He asked, gesturing to her exposed legs.

"No way." She waved in dismissal with a chuckle, "I'm sure I'll be fine. We should get going. The cab I called must be here by now."

"Whatever you say." He shrugged. Extending his arm out to her. "Shall we take our leave then, M'lady?" He asked in a mock-fancy tone. She giggled, encircling her arms around the one he held out to her.

"I'd like nothing more, Sir Sonic." She played along.

* * *

Ken had taken Sally to one of the most elegant and expensive restaurants she had ever seen before. The interior was fancy. Chandeliers above every white-clothed round table, a live orchestra standing on a stage way up front playing classical jazz, and luxurious framed pieces of art lining the walls.

Even the cutlery was astounding, and the dim lighting made for such a romantic vibe.

The two were seated across from each other. Ken was dressed up in a black suit and tie, his hair combed back, looking quite handsome. He gazed at her adoringly, complimenting her every chance the opportunity rose.

The auburn-haired girl found herself so taken, blushing and giggling at all of his clever jokes. She thought this would be so awkward and uncomfortable, but she found herself enjoying every moment.

They only thing that seemed to be uncomfortable was the purse in her lap vibrating vigorously thanks to the phone Sonic had been exploding with constant text messages.

"Are you alright?" Ken asked with an eyebrow raised, noticing the uncomfortable expression on her face.

"Y-Yes." Sally stammered, a glow to her cheeks as she perked up in her chair.

"You can go answer your phone if you need to." He told her, "It must be really important."

"Oh, it's nothing. Let me just turn this off." The chipmunk waved in dismissal, digging out her phone from the purse to shut off. "There. Now there won't be any distractions." She added, turning back to him with a smile.

"Well, I just want you to know I'm really glad you agreed to have dinner with me tonight." The monkey smiled back.

"I'm glad too, Ken." She replied sweetly, "This place is so beautiful."

"Yeah, but it's got nothing on you."

* * *

Knuckles and Julie-Su woke up extra early for the three hour drive to Mobotropolis to pick Lara-Su up for their first outing together.

The drive there was hilarious fun. They cracked jokes on one another and sang along to whatever old rap song came through the radio speakers. They had almost forgotten how much fun it was when it was just the two of them, like the good old days.

From the corner of his eye he glanced at the pink echidna in the passenger seat. She had her eyes shut, with her arms up and swaying in the air as she sang to the music.

It took hours, but Rouge had managed to help the echidna girl remove her precious dreadlocks, and now her vibrant pink hair fell straight at her waistline with her single silver extension being the only piece front-center and braided. She wore a long-sleeved gray T-shirt, simple blue jeans, and white sneakers, sticking to the typical tomboy fashion she was known for.

"Take a picture why don't you." She teased him with a smirk, snapping him out of his thoughts.

He chuckled, a blush forming on his face at being caught.

Sometime later, they pulled up into the driveway of her grandfather's house. Just as the pink echidna opened the car door to step out and get her daughter, the front door flew open and the little echidna girl skipped excitedly across the lawn toward them.

Knuckles smiled warmly, watching Lara-Su wave frantically as her little feet carried her toward the car. She was smiling so big, showing off her pearly white teeth, one of the front ones missing. It reminded him of his own smile as a kid. Her pink hair was tied off in pigtails, and the white slippers matched the little sweater she wore of the same color.

" **MOMMY!** " She squealed, arms outstretched as she ran around the car to hop into her mother's arms.

"Lara." She whined cutely, returning her daughter's hug. "You know you're not supposed to run away from Grandfather Dimitri like that."

"But I missed you!" The little girl pouted.

"I missed you too, Sweetie." Julie-Su sighed, picking up Lara-Su to strap her into the backseat. She waved goodbye to the elder white echidna standing by the doorway before she did so.

Knuckles watched from the rearview mirror as Julie-Su fastened the seatbelt around the toddler, warning her with a finger raised about keeping it on until the car stopped. Then she came back around and sat back in the passenger seat.

"Ready to go?" Knuckles asked them, adjusting the mirror to get a better look at his daughter.

" **ME!** I'm ready Mr. Knuckles!" She cheered from the backseat.

"Alright then!" He nodded, pulling the black Lexus out of the driveway and back onto the road. "Then here we go."

* * *

After looking around to make sure no one noticed her, Rosy sprinted toward her secret place behind the main building. She let out a sigh of relief, kneeling down to take a seat on the dewy grass. The sun was starting to set, and the winds were blowing a little harder now.

Her thoughts constantly wandered to bitter memories beyond her control, and cruel whispers plagued her mind, driving her to borderline insanity. It had been like this for years, and she never could understand why.

She only knew of one way to ease the headache, and cease the traitorous whispers.

Cutting.

A habit she had formed long ago, and the best and only coping mechanism she had. Alcohol, smoking, and sex were only short-term problem fixers, but cutting always left her feeling at peace.

Today she didn't wear her arm-warmers. With fresh wounds from earlier in the week, they had begun to rub against the open cuts and make her skin raw. As an alternative, she sported a black long-sleeved shirt instead.

She rolled up the sleeve of her left arm, exposing all of the slashes and raw irritation to view. She eyed the wounds with soulless light-brown eyes, thinking of Scourge's suggestion to slash vertically this time.

"Hey." A voice called out, making her instantly jump and.

Just walking up to her, was an ebony hedgehog, but not the one she was used to seeing. Instead of being greeted by dark green reptilian-eyes, she saw a vibrant-crimson color.

"What the hell are you doing spying on me?!" She snapped, pulling down her sleeve as quickly as he could, but not quick enough. For a brief moment, he caught a glimpse of her sliced up arm.

"What is that?" He asked her as she stood up from the ground.

"None of your fucking business." She snapped, giving him a nasty glare. "What do you want?"

He replied by holding out an unfolded paper with her name on it, one of the papers Ms. Breezie had passed out during class. The pink girl gave him a puzzled look, putting both hands on her hips.

"Did you not hear her when she specifically told us not to show anyone our names?"

"I did, but I don't have the time or motivation to stalk you around." He replied in his usual tone, crossing his arms.

She smirked, amused by his no-nonsense attitude. Just before she could make a snarky remark, another voice called out to her, making both of them turn their heads.

"Psycho." The green hedgehog strolling up to them called out, making her suck her teeth in annoyance.

Shadow eyed the familiar hedgehog, taking note of his bruised up face. Rosy glared at him with gritted teeth.

"What do you want, Snot?" She growled at him.

"We've gotta go pick up your stupid boyfriend from the hospital." He replied with a shrug, "C'mon, he gets bitchy when we're late."

She sighed in defeat before turning heel in his direction, but before she walked off she turned to the ebony hedgehog in front of her. "See ya' round, Shadow…"

The pink girl then reluctantly walked to the green hedgehog's side, and they both walked toward the parking lot.

"Wait." Shadow called out, stopping both of them in their tracks. They both turned around curiously as the black hedgehog rose a finger toward the other boy. "You got beat up by Mighty, yet you're able to walk today…"

"Yeah, what of it?" Scourge spat in annoyance.

"That doesn't make any sense." The black hedgehog stated, remembering how long he was out of commission after the armadillo had attacked him earlier this school year.

"Just because you can't take a punch doesn't mean it doesn't make sense. It just means you're a pussy." The green hedgehog retorted.

"Sonic said after you and Manic got arrested that he beat you up so bad you never dared to look in their direction again…but if you can take a punch from Mighty…then there's no way Sonic could even remotely hurt you."

"That's what he thinks?" Scourge laughed, "What a narcissistic little bitch."

"If that's not the case, then why do you stay away?"

"Now that…" Scourge replied, spinning back around mid-sentence to walk off. "Is none of your fuckin' business. Let's go, Psycho."

Shadow furrowed his brows, a disgruntled look on his face as he watched the two hedgehogs walk off.

* * *

It was Twinkle Park's last week before it closed for the winter. The place was jam-packed, people of all ages from all over the little country of Mobius swarming around to partake in carnival games, rides, and all sorts of fun the park had to offer.

Among the bustling crowd were the young fox and seedrian. The two held hands, careful not to lose each other as they stood close and walked around to marvel at the sight of the tall rides and game booths.

The day had been a blast for the two, and neither of them could have been happier.

"Are you having fun, Cosmo?" Tails asked her with a hopeful smile.

"Of course I am. I always have fun with you." The green-haired girl giggled before she caught sight of an adorable stuffed chao hanging off one of the game booths.

Tails followed her gaze toward it before looking back at her to capture that hopeful look on her face.

"You want it?" He asked, pointing toward the doll. "C'mon, I'll get it for you!" He added quickly before she could reply, pulling her toward what appeared to be some sort of balloon game.

"Hey there, wanna prize?" The booth runner asked them in a melancholy tone.

He was in the standard white shirt and khaki pants uniform, a yellow lanyard around his neck, and a nametag that read _'Dave'_ across his chest. He was an aqua-colored nutria, shoulders rolled over, and a tired look on his face. His teeth protruded from his mouth, giving the two younglings a view of his braces. He looked and sounded like the kind of guy who absolutely hated his job.

"Yes." Tails nodded awkwardly, both of them put off by the nutria's obvious depression.

"All you have to do is…use this needle." He explained in that Chaos awful soulless tone as he pointed toward the wall of balloons. "And pop one of those balloons."

"I want that chao over there!" The kitsune exclaimed, pointing to the highest shelf on the prize wall. "What do I have to do for that one specifically?"

"That one…" Dave sighed, "You've gotta pop this balloon." He motioned toward the single red balloon in the mass of green ones. It was much smaller and well hidden behind the rest, but it peeked out just enough to be seen a bit. "Good luck. No one's ever gotten that balloon before."

Tails gulped nervously, turning to see Cosmo's quick look of disappointment before she followed it up with a weak smile.

"It's okay Tails. I didn't like it much anyways…" She lied, trying to spare him from wasting money on something that seemed so impossible.

He could tell she was lying too. She looked at that little brown chao with the blue bowtie like it was the only thing in the world she could possibly want, and that was all the motivation he needed to slap a five dollar bill on the counter.

The booth employee handed him three needles, and reran the rules to make sure the young fox knew what to do. He nodded after taking the information in, then took a stance with one of the needles as he tried to aim it toward the red balloon deep within the crowd of green ones. Beads of sweat ran down his forehead as he took a deep breath and flung the needle toward the balloon horde.

"Missed." Dave called out in a gloomy tone.

Then Tails tried again.

"Missed."

And again.

"Missed."

Cosmo frowned at the frustrated look on his face as he wiped the nervous sweat from his brow. She rested a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay Tails…" She told him, but he ignored her and slapped another bill on the table. "Tails?"

"I'm not leaving here without that damn chao!" He bellowed in a determined tone, pointing to the chao rested on the top shelf.

Dave then handed him three more needles, and the exact same process repeated itself.

He tried.

"Missed."

And tried.

"Missed."

And tried again.

"Missed."

Slammed down another five dollar bill, was handed three more needles, and tried again.

"Missed."

And again.

"Missed."

And again.

"Missed.

He was blowing through all the money he'd been saving up since his last birthday. As bill after bill was slammed on the table, Cosmo got more and more worried, and a crowd of people had formed behind him to watch the spectacle, all of them wondering if he'd make it at some point.

"Tails, that's enough." Cosmo pleaded, having seen enough after his seventieth attempt.

"I'm not leaving until I get that chao!"

"It doesn't matter." She assured him, "It's just a toy…"

"It's not just a toy anymore!" He snapped at her, "It's a toy you want…and I want you to have everything you want…because I—" His sentence was cut off by a _'pop'_ , and the gasps of the crowd coaxed him into turning back to the balloon horde.

Dave's mouth dropped, as did Tails' and the rest of the crowd to see that the red balloon had vanished. He wasn't even aiming that time…but it happened like magic.

"Love you…" He finished, making the seedrian's eyes water with joyful tears.

"I can't believe it." The nutria gasped, smiling as he got on his tiptoes to remove the chocolate-colored chao from the shelf. He then presented it to the young couple. "I guess you really can do anything you set your mind to."

Cosmo hugged the chao tightly, jumping up and down before leaning over to plant a loving kiss on the fox's lips, making the crowd roar with wolf-whistles and cheers.

"Thank you, Tails." She whispered once they pulled apart, "I love you too."

* * *

After a fine meal at a beautiful restaurant, Ken had driven his date to the movie theater close by. Since he had the intention of making tonight all about her, he decided to let Sally choose the movie they'd watch.

"Let's see this one!" She cheered, pointing to the promotional poster of a science-fiction movie set in an apocalyptic future.

"Uh, are you sure?" He asked curiously, "We could see any of them, like even this one." He pointed toward a promotional poster for an epic romance drama set back in a time of slavery where a Mobian falls for a DigItalian during the war time.

She cringed at the idea, a blush forming on her face at the thought of sitting through a something like that. She wasn't quite comfortable with the topic of romance or anything associated with it. She's always been that way too, steering more toward the science and psychological thriller type genres.

"I…I think I've seen that one before." She lied, hoping to redirect his attention. "This one starts in ten minutes. We'd better hurry and get our seats."

"Whatever you wish." He smiled, linking his arm around hers.

He didn't care about the movie, all he really wanted was to see her smile, and to see her enjoy being happy with him. Hoping that she might see the potential in being more than just good friends.

They sat far in the back, in the darkest corner with no one around them to distract their attention. The movie was incredible, capturing both of their interests. It was sad, hopeful, and at times there was the occasional jump scare.

She unconsciously found herself leaning closer to him during the frightening moments on screen, making the monkey's heart kick into overdrive. He took a chance and decided to throw and arm around her.

Too invested in the suspense playing out on screen, she didn't seem to notice. Not even when he pulled her in so close that their sides pressed together.

After the movie, they headed off back to GHA, talking nonstop about the amazing film's intriguing plot and cinematography. Once they pulled up into the parking lot, he took the keys out of the ignition, and they both sat there.

It was quite late, the sky being the darkest blue with no lights but the ones scattered around the campus walkways.

"Thank you for the wonderful time, Ken." Sally smiled over at him, "I had so much fun."

"I'm glad you did." He replied kindly, "I hope we can do this again sometime."

There was a long pause of silence in the car, both of them blushing as they stared at each other from their seats. Very slowly, Ken leaned closer and closer, inching his way toward her slightly parted full lips.

It was such a wonderful date. Talking with someone intelligent as herself, having dinner at such a lavish establishment, and seeing one of-if not the greatest movie of all time. It was perfect. So very perfect.

Except for one tiny detail.

The charming monkey was not the obnoxious blue hedgehog.

"I can't." She blurted out, turning her face away from him. He retracted, a confused and hurt look on his face. "I'm…I'm sorry."

"Oh Chaos, did I come on too strong? I'm so sorry I—"

"No." She told him, waving her hand in dismissal. "It's not you. Tonight was perfect to be honest, and I did have a wonderful time with you but—"

"There's…someone else, isn't there?"

"I'm sorry, Ken." She apologized again, "I thought this would be a friendly kind of date. I didn't mean to mislead you." She added, bowing her head in shame as she waited for an upset scolding.

"I understand." He told her, making her lift her head to face him with confusion.

"Really?"

"Feelings get complicated in a place like this. It's high school after all." He chuckled, giving her a warm smile. "Just know this, that guy is a lucky guy, because there aren't many good ones like you. I've been all over the world, and no one has ever captured my interest the way you have. So I want you to know, that if he lets you down…I'm still gonna be waiting right where you left me, because tonight proved to me that you really are the girl I'm willing to wait all my life for if that's what it takes. Those are some bold words from someone so young I know, and I've only met you a few months ago, but it feels real…"

"Oh, Ken…" She cooed, teary-eyed at such a heartwarming monologue so beautiful that not even Shakespeare could touch it.

Instead of going in for the kiss he so desperately wanted, he opted to throw his arms around her in a friendly hug, taking in her lavender scent before pulling away to exchange blissful smiles.

* * *

It was everything he dreamed of, everything he wanted. Chasing down his daughter through the park, Julie-Su close behind. Helping the little echidna girl down the big slide, holding her up underneath the monkey bars, and teaching her how to summersault.

All the hard work he'd been putting in to prove himself, the late night hours of studying, the good behavior, in this moment right now it felt so worth it.

"Mr. Knuckles! Push me!" Lara-Su whined, flailing about as she clutched the chains holding up the little swing.

"Alright, alright." He caved, walking over to stand behind her. "Do you wanna go up really high?"

"Yes! Really, really high!" She cheered excitedly.

"Okay…here…we…go!" He replied, pausing between every word as he pushed her, making the finally push the big one that would send her way up high. She screamed out to the sky, overjoyed at being so high in the air.

From a nearby bench, Julie-Su smiled as she watched both of them, taking note of how much they looked alike, and how happy they seemed to make each other. It pained her a bit, as her thoughts turned toward thinking about how many years of happy smiles like this she had made her daughter miss out on because of one impulsive mistake.

"You alright?" A voice called out to her. She looked up to be greeted by Knuckles standing in front of her as he waved his hand in her face. Her instincts coaxed her into looking at Lara-Su first, to make sure she hadn't scurried off somewhere, but the little girl was still planted on the swing.

"I'm fine." The pink echidna told him as he took a seat beside her on the bench. "Just thinking."

"About what?"

"I've never seen Lara so happy before." She admitted, her amethyst eyes fixed on the red echidna toddler kicking her feet back to send her flying into the air, the sunset backdrop creating such a beautiful image.

"To be honest, I don't think I've ever been this happy before." Knuckles replied with a smile, his eyes fixed on the same little girl as hers. "I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to form that paternal bond with her, because I wasn't there…but I swear to Chaos all it took was one smile. That's all it took to make me fall in love. I can't even picture my life without her anymore."

"I'm glad that you love her, and she seems to adore you too." The pink echidna smiled, hugging her sides as she turned to marvel at the smile on her best friend's face. "And I'm sorry…for depriving you of those years."

"I think about it every day, and I think…maybe you were right to run away from me when you did." He replied in a somber tone, "I probably would have hurt her…like the way I did you…and every other girl in my life. I was stupid, and I should be the one apologizing to you, both of you."

"Knuckles…"

"I shoulda seen you there Julie-Su, but stupid me never really could tell the difference between gold and glitter." He frowned, thinking back to all those missed signs that seemed so obvious now. "If I had…I wouldn't have missed out on her life, and you wouldn't have had to go through any of the things you did."

He then stood up from the bench to kneel down in front of her, pulling out something from his pocket. She rose an eyebrow in confusion.

"What are you doing?" She asked him as he held his closed fist out to her. He then opened it, revealing the gigantic green emerald to her.

"For once in my life…I'm making the right choice."

"No you're not." She shook her head, pushing the emerald away. "You're making the choice you think you have to make. I know you still love Rouge."

"That's true, I won't deny that." He explained, eyes shimmering with hope. "But when I kissed you… For that fraction of a second…you completely took that away…because you've always been the one for me Julie."

It pulled at her heartstrings, coaxing water to brim her violet eyes. Hearing him, the love of her life and the father of her child say something so beautiful was incredibly overwhelming.

For the first time ever, it felt like he was seeing her as more than just the best friend, or one of the boys. He was finally seeing her the way she always wished he would have.

He held out the emerald to her again, ushering her to take it with pleading eyes.

"I bought it for Sonia, and Rouge wore it for a time, but when all's said and done…this was always meant for you, and we both know it." He spoke softly, referencing the day they sat at the shop and discussed their future wedding as children. The day she picked up this exact emerald.

"That thing is bad luck."

"Not this time." He assured her.

She bit down on her lip as she contemplated what to do. Before she knew it, she was taking the jewel in her hand, an immense blush on her face.

"I'll take it…but I won't wear it." She told him, making him frown a bit. Then she leaned over and planted a surprise kiss on his lips. "Not until I'm absolutely sure…" She whispered as they pulled apart.

"Oooh…" A childish voice teased. They both turned to see Lara-Su standing behind them, hands clasped behind her back as she dug one foot into the ground.

"Lara…" Julie-Su whined, the blush on her face worsening as her daughter giggled.

"No one is supposed to kiss Mommy except Daddy…" The little girl stated, making both teens look toward each other before turning back to her.

"Come here, Sweetie." The pink echidna called out to her with arms outstretched, "We need to talk about Daddy…"

Knuckles swallowed the nervousness down, taking a seat beside Lara-Su as her mother began explaining everything the best she could for the toddler.

* * *

"Sonic…" Amy pouted, crossing her arms as she walked beside the blue hedgehog who had his eyes fixed on the phone in his hands. "You've been texting nonstop since we got here!"

"She must have turned off her fuckin' phone." He grumbled to himself in annoyance.

"Who?"

"What?" He asked, finally putting the phone away to turn to look at Amy for the first time since they left.

"Who turned off their phone? And who have you been texting the whole way here?" She asked skeptically.

"Uhh, Blaze…" He lied, shrugging his shoulders innocently. "Wanted to see if she was okay with the whole breakup thing that happened or whatever. I didn't get the chance to talk to her."

"Oh." The pink girl nodded, "She's been keeping to herself since, but I'm sure she'll talk to us when she's ready. We'll be there for her when she is."

"Wow, look at you." The blue hedgehog cheered, slinging an arm across her shoulders. "All supportive and positive. Quite the change from the little girl who used to chase me down with a giant hammer as a kid."

"I guess so." She blushed, smiling down at her shoes.

"I like it." He smiled, pulling her in closer. He used his free hand to turn off his own phone, the only thing he could think of to get back at the chipmunk for doing the same. "There. Now you've got all my attention Ms. Rose!" He cheered, putting the phone back in his pocket again.

"Good." She smiled back before grabbing him by the black jacket with both hands to pull him toward the rides. "Now let's go have some fun!"

For the next few hours the two hedgehogs sprinted all across Twinkle Park, doing all sorts of things. She dragged him toward the carousal. They both got on the same white stallion. He sat behind her, holding onto her waist as she looked back at him with dreamy eyes. She had always envisioned this…

Her fairytale moment come true.

Then he dragged her over to the bumper cars, where he flew about like a speed demon, slamming into every other car on the floor including hers, and possibly inducing several concussions. After that, they rode every rollercoaster in the park, and tried their luck at a few game booths.

He found it adorable, watching her take the gigantic hammer from the employee standing by the bell tower. He crossed his arms, amused at the sight.

"Now you really look like Little Amy from down the street." He chuckled, making her pout. Then she swung the hammer down on the button, making the ball fly all the way to the top. It rang loudly, making her jump for joy while a shiver ran down his spine. "Jeez, lucky I was always too fast for you to catch me with that stupid toy hammer you used to carry."

"Look what I got!" She squealed, ignoring her snarky remark as she presented him with an aqua-blue bracelet, similar to the gold ones she wore on each of her wrists. "I got it for you…"

"For me?" He repeated, taking the bracelet in his hands. He smiled, glancing at her eager face before sliding it on to his left wrist.

"Do you like it?"

"It's perfect." He told her, offering her that signature smile he was wildly known for. "C'mon, there's still one ride you wanted to go on right? What was it again?"

"The underground…love tunnel." She mumbled shyly.

"Oh…right." He nodded, not entirely sure if it was appropriate. She could tell he was apprehensive, and it quickly wiped the smile off her face. He didn't like that sad look, he never has. "Well, it's getting late… We should get to it before the park closes."

He took her hand in his, and they both walked over toward the entrance of the tunnel ride. She looked over to him with the biggest smile, so thankful that she hadn't completely ruined things between them with her immature and rash actions.

They waited in line behind several couples before they were called up. The employee told them to step over the water river and into the swan-shaped boat. Sonic cringed a bit as he stepped over the mucky water and into the boat, then he held his hand out to Amy and helped her cross over.

After they were seated, the employee gave them a push, and sent them off into the underground cave.

The boat was very small, forcing them to sit extra close with no space between them whatsoever. He blushed awkwardly, feeling her breasts push against his arm as she leaned over to glance at the colorful artificial fireflies dancing around them in the cave, being the only things illuminating the darkness, besides the waters edges that seemed to glow a vibrant pink.

"It's so beautiful." She mused, completely fascinated by the romantic setting.

"Yeah… It is." He mumbled in response, staring exclusively at her as she looked around at everything.

As they got deeper into the cave, music could be heard from speakers built into the ceiling.

 _'And, darling, I will be loving you 'til we're seventy_

 _And, baby, my heart could still fall as hard at twenty-three_

 _And I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways_

 _Maybe just the touch of a hand_

 _Well, me—I fall in love with you every single day_

 _And I just wanna tell you I am'_

"Oh, I love this song…" Amy cooed, turning to meet the blue hedgehog's gaze. The blush on her face worsened, and she started shaking a bit.

"Are you okay?" Sonic asked.

"Just…kinda cold." She chuckled, hugging herself to keep warm.

"Don't worry, I got you." He assured her, wrapping his arms around her to pull her in for a warm hug. "I, uhh..I'm too lazy to take off my jacket." He stammered, the awkwardness exclusively on his side of things. The music certainly didn't' help either.

 _'So, honey, now_

 _Take me into your loving arms_

 _Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars_

 _Place your head on my beating heart_

 _I'm thinking out loud_

 _Maybe we found love right where we are'_

"Sonic…" The pink girl spoke up, resting a hand to his chest as she lifted her head to meet his emerald eyes with her own.

"Yeah Ames?"

Without warning, she crashed her lips onto his. His eyes widened in surprise, but quickly fell shut.

He didn't pull away, or try to stop her at all. Instead, he pulled her closer, deepening the kiss as she moaned softly into his mouth. In the boat behind them, a fox and a seedrian were caught up in a just as passionate kiss.

* * *

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Cream has yet another emotionally devastating run in with Cosmo**

 **An envious Jet finally decides to strike**

 **Both Sonic and Fiona come across a fork in the road, one path in the right direction, the other leading back to where they came from. Which one of them will fall back into old habits?**

 **Together, Honey and Sonia try to Elias the truth...**

 **Against her better judgement, Alicia agrees to meet up with Jules one last time before he leaves back to the military**

 **Something unexpected happens...**

 **And so much more!**


	46. Chapter 46

**WARNING: Themes of suicide, depression, sexual confusion, promiscuity, and brief mentions of bulimia, war death, and suicidal thoughts/attempts.**

* * *

 **Chapter 46: Blues & Clues **

_' "Mr. Knuckles is actually your real daddy, Lara-Su." Julie explained to the little echidna girl sitting in her lap. I sat beside them on the bench, a nervous wreck with my leg jittering anxiously._

 _"Huh?" She turned toward me, peering up and down at me from behind her little wire-frame glasses. "Mommy, you're silly. Mr. Knuckles is Mr. Knuckles, and Daddy is my daddy." She giggled, turning back to her mom._

 _We exchanged glances, and there's no doubt she saw the hurt in my eyes. That's probably why she persisted._

 _"Sweetie, he is your daddy. See?" She tried again, pointing toward my eyes, then my hair. "He's got your eye color, and your hair color, and when he was little he had a missing tooth just like you."_

 _Lara-Su reached out to me for a moment curiously, but quickly retracted her hand and shot me an upset glare._

 _"_ _ **HE'S NOT MY DADDY!**_ _" She screamed at the top of her lungs, making everyone in the park turn to stare. "_ _ **I WANT MY DADDY! WHERE'S MY DADDY?**_ _"_

 _My heart shattered to pieces right then and there. I didn't know what to say or do, and neither did Julie. Lara started screaming and sobbing, demanding that Thrash—her really daddy—come home. Julie-Su scooped her up, standing up to her feet before giving me an apologetic look._

 _"I'm sorry, Knux." She murmured before scurrying off, "I'll call Grandfather Dimitri for a ride back."_

 _Then they vanished, leaving me to sit on the bench by myself. I looked out at the sunset, feeling the worst pain I've ever endured…_

 _Hearing my child call someone else, 'Daddy'…'_

"Hey, you alright?" Shade called out, walking up toward the bleachers in the gym where Knuckles was seated with his head hung low.

He picked it up quickly, watching as the light-orange echidna girl with the pretty lavender eyes walked up to him, her hips swaying side-to-side along with her long braided hair. She wore a black headband, slicking the mass of braids away from her pretty face. With the black short-shorts, and tight white crop top, there wasn't much left to the imagination except for the fun parts.

He'd been spending quite a lot of time with her recently, trying to get in as much practice as possible before the first game. The one-on-one time gave him a lot of time to get to know her.

So far he had learned she transferred in from Echidnapolis, looking for better sports opportunities at the only school in the country that didn't separate teams by gender. She just turned eighteen a few months ago, and wants to play on a professional basketball team one day.

"I'm fine." He told her after a long pause, "Just didn't sleep much last night."

"Girl troubles?" She asked, taking a seat next to him, so close that they were shoulder-to-shoulder. She eyed him curiously as he dropped his gaze to the floor again.

"Something like that…" He mumbled, the image of an upset Lara-Su crying out for Thrash plaguing his mind.

"Maybe some…physical activity can help ease your mind." The orange girl beside him cooed in that taunting yet tempting tone. She rested a hand on his thigh, rubbing it affectionately.

"Wh-What?" He stammered, turning to her with a bright red glow to his cheeks at the placement of her hand so close to his… _'special area'_.

She giggled at how flustered he had become before retracting her hand to point out toward the basketball hoops. He instantly relaxed, feeling like a complete idiot for misreading what she had implied.

Or had he?

* * *

Fiona sighed heavily, dragging herself down the steps of the building and out toward the parking lot where she knew trouble awaited. She hadn't seen or heard from Mighty since his outburst at the nurse two days ago.

Feeling hopeless, abandoned, and ashamed, she found herself falling back in that pit of darkness she never could evade. She hung her head, and dragged her black sneakers across the cemented walkway toward the infamous Hummer.

She picked up her head to lock eyes with one of the figures sitting on the hood of the vehicle, eyes so blue they almost seemed to glow. He grinned triumphantly, beckoning her closer with a curl of his finger.

The poor vixen didn't have the energy to fight it, she was defeated, and went willingly toward the devil who'd drag her back to hell.

"This was your plan all along, wasn't it?" Mephiles eyed the green hedgehog sitting beside him.

"Like I said… They always come back. One way or another." He shrugged, watching Fiona slowly come forth.

"Even my fucking concussion?" The reptilian-eyed hedgehog growled, gesturing toward the gauze bandage wrapped around his still throbbing head.

"Collateral damage." Scourge replied, "Just don't go lookin' to get back at him. He's not one to fuck with." He added, rubbing his discolored purple cheek.

"I'll get him back, you can trust that."

"And just how does your scrawny ass figure that?"

"In my stay at Metropolis Hospital, I had an…interesting roommate." The dark hedgehog chuckled.

"Whatever." The green hedgehog rolled his eyes, growing impatient with Fiona's slow movement.

The vixen finally started to get close enough to see the amused look on both hedgehogs, making her heart sink and her face pale. All the progress she had made over last month, just seconds from flying out the window when…

" **FIONA!** " A voice called out, making the fox turn to see an armadillo chasing after her just before she could cross the parking lot toward the green hedgehog's car.

"Mighty?" She mumbled, a small glimmer of hope rising in her eyes.

"Shit." Scourge cursed, gritting his teeth in annoyance as he watched his plan fail right before his eyes.

The armadillo threw his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug before he pulled away to give her the most apologetic look she had ever seen in her life. Just the sight of that disheartened look on his adorable face was enough to stem tears from the corners of her eyes.

"I'm sorry." He told her, not bothering to unlink the arms he had draped around her waist. "When I get angry, I can't see anything but red sometimes. When I heard Ray got hurt, I just freaked, but I shouldn't have taken it out on you like that."

"It's okay, Mighty. I understand." She replied sweetly, dispelling all the negative intentions she had moments prior. "You should talk to Dr. Tikal about that anger. She might be able to help you."

"You think so?" He asked, removing his arms from around her to grab her hand.

"She's helped me a lot. I'm sure she'd be happy to do the same for you. She's not in today since the staff are off, but you should stop by and see her tomorrow."

"I'll give it a thought." He smiled, pulling her toward the main building. "Thanks to me we missed our little movie date yesterday. Let's go grab some food in the café."

Scourge and Mephiles both watched as the vixen became all flustered like a school girl with a crush. Mephiles chuckled with amusement, while the green hedgehog's gaze was pulled elsewhere.

"Guess you didn't count on the armadillo being such a bleeding heart." He grinned, eyeing the green hedgehog beside him. "Did you see that display of affection she gave him? Tell me, does that make you upset?"

"Like you wouldn't believe." He mumbled, not referring to Fiona and Mighty at all. His gaze and reply were both toward the chipmunk and monkey walking across campus together, leaving such a bitter taste in his mouth.

"I wonder where my Rose went." The dark hedgehog sighed disappointedly, "She would have loved to see such a failure."

"She's probably with that other dude I saw her with yesterday." Scourge shrugged, "Wouldn't be surprised if she's fucking him either, little slut."

"Who?" Mephiles asked, furrowing his brows in annoyance at the thought of his playmate seeing someone behind his back.

"The bitch with the red stripes who thinks he's tough shit."

"Shadow…" He concluded, gritting his teeth as he stood up from the car.

* * *

 _'My name is Honey the Cat, I'm a seventeen year old senior at Green Hill Academy, and by definition what most would call a 'slut'. I hate that word, it implies something a lot worse than what I really am._

 _No, I'm not messed up, and I don't have some tragic backstory. I grew up on the wealthy side of Mobotropolis with my two loving, married, parents who share a fashion company. I have tons of friends, get average grades, and donate to school fundraisers all the time._

 _I also happen to be a girl that likes to party. Some girls like to knit in their downtime, I just happen to like sex. It's really no big deal, and no probable cause to label me as a 'slut'._

 _That word is so negative, it makes me sound like a bad person with no morals or self-respect._

 _I've got rules. Play it safe every time, don't ever get with someone who's in a relationship, and don't laugh if they're completely terrible._

 _As for self-respect? I absolutely love myself, and don't feel the need to change for anything. I'm happy with who I am._

 _But I did make a mistake, and it costed sweet little Sonia her self-esteem._

 _If I had known Shadow was seeing someone I would have backed off. I'm not like that, but he said nothing like a fucking scumbag. I definitely know my paper won't be so fucking pretty about him._

 _As shitty as the situation is, at least one good thing came of it._

 _Sonia and I have been hanging out for the last couple of days. Poor baby, she's struggling so much. I've never met a girl who hated herself so badly. She used to be so confident._

 _Bulimia, depression, and heartbreak. That's what this school year has been for her, and it's so devastating just hearing something like that.'_

Sonia and Honey were seated together on the magenta girl's bed. All of her roommates were off around campus, leaving just the two of them in the large white room. Sonia hugged her knees tightly as the cat rested an arm on her shoulders, looking down at her with such sympathy.

"He's liked you forever, ya'know?" Honey told her, "He'd take a chance with you in a heartbeat if he knew he could…but you've gotta tell him this baby isn't his."

"I can't." Sonia mumbled, "How could I? He really thinks it's his, and he probably wouldn't believe me anyway."

"Not unless you have someone who was actually there confirm it for you." The cat told her, resting one of her hands on top of Sonia's. "And you do. I want to help, Sonia."

"Why? Because you slept with my ex-boyfriend?"

"First of all, what Meg is doing to him is seriously wrong." She replied, "In these last two days I've learned a lot about you, and I don't want to be another name on the list of people who've hurt you this year."

The magenta girl sat upright to look at the cat who bore an assuring smile, tilting her head so that the raven-pigtails bounced lightly behind her. School rumors would have anyone believe differently, but the cat girl was honest and kind-hearted.

"Thank you, Honey." Sonia smiled, pulling the cat in for a hug.

* * *

Principal Acorn once again sat at her desk tending to the usual load of paperwork stacked up beside her. Today was the rest of the staff's day off, so she had to manage playing receptionist, security, and nurse all day. She had the office phone set up at her desk, occasionally got up to make rounds outside to make sure there was no trouble, and put a sign on the nurse's door to direct anyone who needed help to her office.

As complicated and tiresome as it was, the least she could do was give her staff a day off. They are all fairly hard working and wonderful people.

She flipped through the files Tikal had left behind, examining the progress of the new five she had approved for counseling:

 _Rouge the Bat, depression and alarming selfish-tendencies. Method of treatment being therapy and anti-depressants_

 _Eclipse the Darkling… Skipped appointment. I'll be giving Mr. Doom a call._

 _Jet the Hawk… Skipped appointment. I'll give Ms. Hawk one as well._

 _Monkey 'Ken' Khan… Refused to speak on subject matter relating to his condition._

 _Scourge the Hedgehog… An incredible amount of underlying problems. No diagnosis as of now, but definitely not a self-harmer as speculated previously._

"She's got her hands full with this bunch, doesn't she?" The chipmunk sighed to herself before dropping her gaze to the last name on the list. "Scourge… If she can get through to you, that woman will go down in history as a living legend and a true miracle worker."

 **INCOMING CALL**

The sound of a phone rung in her ear, making her spring upright in her chair. She naturally reached out for the office phone, but quickly retracted her hand when she realized the ringing was coming from her skirt pocket. The caller ID read restricted, confusing her a bit.

 _"Hello?"_ She answered.

 _"Alicia…"_ The features of her face instantly tensed up at that voice.

 _"Why are you calling me?"_

 _"I'm… I'm going back to base tonight."_ He spoke in a somber tone.

 _"That's good. I wish you well, Commander Jules."_

 _"Meet up with me at the train station tonight."_

 _"I don't think that's—"_

 _"Please… I just want to have one last face-to-face."_

She never really could refuse him anything, not when he pleaded like that. Against her better judgement, she reluctantly nodded in agreement.

 _"Alright…. I'll come see you."_

* * *

"Hey Sonic!" A girl sprinting down the hall called out sweetly to the blue hedgehog. He rose an eyebrow, offering her an awkward wave. It had been quite some time since he's been greeted by anyone other than close friends.

"You look awesome today Sonic!" Another student passing by hollered to him, making him crack a smile.

"Thanks, Bud!"

"Look at him." He heard whispers behind him, his ears twitching as he tried to listen carefully. "It was so cool of him to take Amy to Twinkle Park."

"Did you see the pictures she posted of them together? Like, **HOW CUTE!** "

"I wish he'd take me to Twinkle Park!"

Sonic blushed, not having been fawned over for so long had him feeling a bit bashful, but there was no denying he missed this kind of attention. The girls giggling, the guys glaring with jealousy and aspiration.

His ego begun swelling back up to its original gigantic size, until the vibration in his pocket snapped him out of his trance. He pulled it out, excited smile instantly falling at the name.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 ** _Sally:_** _I told Ken I wasn't interested._

 ** _Sonic:_** _Before or after he groped you for wearing that 'dress invitation'?_

 ** _Sally:_** _He didn't try to grope me, you pervert._

 ** _Sonic:_** _Really? Then he must be gay._

 ** _Sally:_** _Or a respectable gentlemen, unlike you and your dirty mind. Do any groping yourself yesterday?_

The blue hedgehog tensed up, his face becoming flustered at the memory of the tunnel ride with Amy. He bit his lip, trying to figure out a way around the question without alerting her.

He felt like shit about lying, but the weird part was that it didn't feel like a mistake either.

 ** _Sonic:_** _Very funny._

 ** _Sally:_** _How was your 'Tunnel of Love' ride? Did you make kissy-faces?_

 ** _Sonic:_** _Quit it already! It was boring, stupid, awkward, annoying, and dumb._

" **SONIC!** " A voice screeched, making him look up from his phone to be nearly trampled by a pink hedgehog with her arms stretched out.

"A-Amy." He stammered nervously, instantly locking the screen to his phone as he returned her abrasive hug. "Um…Hi."

"Hey you…" She cooed sweetly, batting her eyelashes as she pulled away from the hug. Her face became visibly red, and she swayed shyly. "I hope yesterday wasn't…too much."

"No." He replied, sliding his phone back in his pocket. "It was…perfect."

* * *

In Metropolis City, there was a bar and lounge called Casino Night Zone that Green Hill Academy's staff usually went to on their downtime. The walls were painted gold, the carpets red, and the furnishings such as tables and chairs were a beautiful cherrywood. There was an open bar with stools by the entrance, while the rest of the room was sectioned by tables. There was even a stage for karaoke.

Tikal was instructed to dress casual, so she arrived in a simple white dress and matching heels. She wore gold bracelets, and a matching headband to hold back her long light-orange hair. She stood by the entrance awkwardly, looking around the dimly light lounge until she spotted the blue hedgehog who had invited her walking over.

"Hey." He smiled, "Good to see you could make it."

"I thought I could use a break." She giggled, taking his hand as he led her over to where he sat with the rest of the officers at one of the tables.

Sitting at the bar were the nurse and office receptionist, Bernadette and Rosemary. The blonde hedgehog sat with one leg crossed over the other, a martini glass in her hand as she eyed the orange echidna and blue hedgehog walking by.

"Take your eyes off him for a moment why don't you?" The sand-colored fox beside her giggled, "He's much too young for you, Bernie."

"He looks a lot like, Jules." The hedgehog woman replied, her gaze still fixated on the officer.

"C'mon, not every blue hedgehog looks like Jules."

"He's going back to base tonight…"

"Good." Rosemary huffed, sipping her wine glass. "He causes nothing but trouble for half the woman in these parts."

 _'Why didn't he ask me to see him off?'_ Bernadette thought to herself before angrily downing the rest of her drink.

Across the room, Zector and Zespio were seated across from Zonic and Tikal, all of them laughing and having a good time. There was nothing but good vibes, a perfect escape from the drama-filled campus grounds they served on.

"Zes, I think they opened up the stage for karaoke!" The crocodile squealed excitedly, grabbing the chameleon's hand to drag him up out of his seat. "I bet they have our song!"

"You know I don't like karaoke…" Zespio whined, reluctantly following the crocodile to the stage.

Zonic and Tikal watched as the crocodile fumbled while tugging the chameleon up the stage steps, both of them chuckling at the funny scene.

"Those two are quite friendly aren't they?" The echidna woman giggled, smiling at the two officers who were usually so serious.

"Friendly is a bit of an understatement." Zonic smirked, "They're actually dating."

"Really?"

"Mhm." He nodded, "Got together in our days at the academy and it's been love ever since for those two. I'm always their third wheel, so I figured since you were new and needed a break that you could tag along and even out the numbers."

"Well Officer, I hope you didn't intend for this to be a date." She joked, raising her hand to flash a diamond ring. "I am married after all."

"Oh…" He stammered, an incredible blush on his usually calm face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disrespect or anything like that. I just figured—"

"It's alright." She giggled, pinching his cheek. "You're a cutie."

"So uh…your husband—"

"Wife." The echidna corrected him politely, making him feel even more embarrassed than before. "Her name is Perci."

The mood got drastically awkward for the blue hedgehog, who nodded as she went on and on about her wife.

He's been the only single one in his group of friends for years, and the two officers prancing around on stage were the ones who told him to give the counselor a shot.

Ironically, their gay radar was incredibly off.

Although surrounded by a group, Zonic felt so lonely, and the purple hedgehog sitting with her friend at the bar watching him could tell.

* * *

Cream trudged the hallway toward her room, dragging her feet on the wooden floor as she did so. Her yellow bag was dragged across the floor, not enough energy to hoist it over her shoulder. She thought that a night with her mother would help her feel better, but after that text from Cosmo, she found it impossible to sleep, and stood up the entire night silently crying on her mother's couch.

"Cream!" A voice called out, making her turn around. That's when she spotted Cosmo descending down the stairs toward her, waving something in her hand.

"Oh, hi Cosmo." The rabbit smiled, flushing out her depression to be replaced with her fake cheer. "I hope you had a wonderful time yesterday."

"I did!" The seedrian squealed once finally reaching her, then she held up the item she had been carrying. It was a stuffed-chao doll, much like her own, but a different color scheme.

That horrible ache in her heart found its way back, this time striking her harder than ever before. In an attempt to stifle any sign of sorrow, the rabbit stealthily gripped her thighs to dig her fingernails into her skin as she did her best to keep the smile up.

"Tails got it for me at Twinkle Park." The green-haired girl continued after a bit of silence, "We named him Chocola the Chao, and you'll never believe what Tails said after he got it for me!"

"Wh-What?" Cream stammered, finding it more and more difficult to control herself.

"He said… He loves me."

It was like all of the color in the world completely vanished, being replaced by nothing but darkness. Behind that cheery fake smile was one of the most agonizing expressions to ever exist. All she wanted to do was cry and run, but she couldn't.

"That's great. I'm happy for the both of you, I really am." She lied, "I have to use the bathroom. I'll see you later." She added, running off before Cosmo had the chance to say anything more.

She bolted down the hallway and into the bathroom, quickly dashing toward the sink where she let upset tears escape her as she gazed at her face in the mirror. She whimpered, fishing in her pocket to pull out the orange medicine bottle she had stolen from her mother. She mulled it over in her hands, thinking to herself.

"Creamy?" A voice called out from behind her, making her jump. She then turned to see Rouge walking out of a stall and toward the sink beside her. "Are you okay? Why are you crying?"

"I'm not." The rabbit lied, holding up the medicine bottle in a way where the bat couldn't read the label. "I just took a really big pill, and my throat kinda hurts."

"Oh, that sucks." She shrugged, washing her hands. "You can cut those things in half if you really need to."

"I didn't know I could…"

"I'm sure it's fine." Rouge giggled, "Anyways, dry those tears. You look better smiling. I've gotta go bother my boys. I'll see you when I get back."

"Bye, Rouge." Cream waved weakly before the door shut, and she was left all alone in the bathroom with a bottle full of sleeping pills and a broken heart…

* * *

Shadow arrived back at his dorm, surprised to see that the bed next to his wasn't empty for once. Manic was actually there, and seemingly alright. The black hedgehog frowned a bit, thinking back to how poorly he treated the green hedgehog during a time of need.

"Manic…" He spoke, coaxing the green hedgehog to cease his insistent drumming on the wooden frame of his bed to look up to the ebony hedgehog who had just taken a seat beside him.

"Sup, Shads?"

"I'm sorry." Shadow apologized, turning his head to lock his crimson eyes with Manic's light-blue ones. "I didn't mean it…when I said you were better off killing yourself—"

"No apology needed. I already know." Manic cut him off in a flat tone, casting a cold mood in the room.

"My first best friend—my first love, she killed herself because of a rape, and a disease eating her alive from the inside. To see you so careless with your life over some stupid slut just…just infuriated me. In her death, Maria taught me how precious life is. I've thought about suicide a thousand times over, but I could never bring myself to do it, because I'm not just living for me anymore. I'm living for the both of us."

"Maybe I should apologize for putting you in such an awkward position." Manic frowned, turning his gaze down to his feet. "I know from the looks of it, I probably seemed so ignorant to you. You don't know what really went down, which is why I can't blame you for what you said. Just know that none of this was about Mina, it was about me…and a horrible choice I made that I'll spend the rest of my life regretting."

"Then enlighten me."

"Maybe someday, when I'm ready I'll tell you and Rouge." The green hedgehog sighed, heart still in pieces over the ordeal of his lost child.

"You carry a lot of secrets, but I won't press you on this one." Shadow replied, resting a hand on his younger friend's shoulder, causing him to raise his gaze back up. "Rouge and I are your best friends. It's been the three of us for a long time now. Regardless of who we surround ourselves with, that's all it ever comes down to. No matter what the situation is, we're in it all together."

"I know." Manic smiled, excited to see the genuine half-smile emerging on Shadow's face. An expression he rarely seemed to use.

" **AWE! MY BABIES!** " A voice shouted, completely shattering the heartfelt moment between the two hedgehogs. They both turned toward the door to see the third member of their little trio burst in. She had her arms up to the sky, over-sized chest bouncing as she hop-skipped over to them with the biggest of smiles.

They both cringed once she reached them, her baby-talk babbling and cooing making both of them uncomfortable. She threw her arms around both of them before the force she leaned on them with caused all three of them to fall back onto the green-sheeted bed.

"How long were you standing outside?" Shadow grumbled, an immense blush of embarrassment heating his face.

"Just the entire time." She giggled as she turned over on her back to face the ceiling with them. "I'm proud of you both! Oh, it feels so good to be a team again."

"Seriously." Manic smiled, "I'm glad I've got you guys…"

"My yin." The bat smiled over at Manic before turning over to Shadow, "And my yang."

"So what does that make you?" The dark hedgehog questioned.

"The best of both worlds, duh." She smirked, turning her head back to Manic. "I just swung by Principal Acorn's office. Dr. Tikal isn't in today, but the lady in charge said she'd add you to the list."

"Welcome to the dysfunctional therapy club." Shadow mumbled, raising his hand with a sarcastic thumbs up.

"Sweet." The green hedgehog chuckled, "Maybe she'll see us as a trio from now on. Save some time."

"Actually…" The other hedgehog spoke up again, "Tikal has made it pretty clear that we rely a little too much on each other, especially since none of us are exactly the greatest source of comfort and guidance. She thinks some time apart would be better for each of us."

"Well, that's just once piece of advice I refuse to take." Rouge huffed, grabbing the hands of both boys on either side of her. "So…I was thinking a blue color scheme for our polygamous wedding…"

"Blue?" Manic snarled in disgust, "C'mon, I was hoping for something more traditional. A nice pure white? Or a champagne color maybe?"

"You morons." Shadow sighed playfully, "We joke about this so much it's starting to sound like a real thing."

* * *

"So that's how it is, Cobar." Wave sighed, walking alongside the echidna boy toward the fountain where Rotor and Storm would be waiting for them. "I love girls…but I think I love Storm too."

"Then you're bisexual, Wave. And there's nothing wrong with that."

"I'm not though!" The swallow whined, "I am gay! I know I am! I've never looked at guys the way I do girls, but Storm is just…different."

"Well, you have been friends for a long time. Feelings run a lot deeper between two people who have been friends on an emotional level."

"I've known Jet just as long, but I can't stand the little fuck." She replied with a huff, crossing her arms as she turned her nose up in the air. "It's just…so confusing."

"Remember Wave, you're only just a teenager. Things will sort themselves out eventually." The echidna chuckled, resting a comforting hand on her shoulder, using his other hand to point out toward the two boys sitting at the fountain. "For right now, just go with whatever makes you happy."

They both turned to each other and smiled before jetting across the grassy plains to leap onto the boys from behind. Cobar used the fountain ledge as leverage to propel his short frame upward to wrap his arms around the unknowing walrus from behind.

"Cobar!" Rotor whined cutely, "You scared me half to death!"

"Forgive me, Love." The echidna chuckled before planting a sweet kiss to the walrus' lips.

Wave did the same to Storm, whose intense reflexes nearly forced him to hoist her over his shoulder and body slam her. Thankfully, he had caught sight of her purple pigtails waving in the wind before making a rash decision.

"Hey you." She smirked over his shoulder, leaning over to peer at the scrap of paper in his hand. "What's that?"

"Oh this?" He replied, holding up the paper to her. "It's something for English class. I picked this name out of a hat, and now I've gotta write a paper on her."

"Blaze the Cat." Wave mumbled to herself with an amused smile and slight blush, thinking back to that brief kiss they once shared earlier in the year.

"Yeah." He chuckled, putting the paper back in his pocket. "Thankfully I know a little bit about her from all the sports she did last year with me." He then reached behind himself to pull the swallow over and onto his lap, making both boys beside them giggle.

"They're adorable." Cobar smiled, resting his head on Rotor's shoulder.

"Never would have thought the proud lesbian who practically forced me out of the closet would end up with s boyfriend." The walrus giggled, making both the albatross and swallow blush.

"Boyfriend?" Storm repeated with an eyebrow raised toward Wave.

The three boys began to laugh at how flustered she had become, quickly removing herself from his lap to sit on the fountain ledge beside him. She coughed into her hand in an attempt to compose herself before turning back to her LGBT friends.

"So…" She began, intent on changing the subject. "How did the LGBT benefit go?"

"Oh it was marvelous!" Cobar squealed, hugging Rotor a bit tighter. "He did such an excellent job as a speaker, Mina's performance was astounding as always, and it was just a fun old time!"

"I really wish you could have been there, Wave." The walrus smiled over at her, "I wouldn't have ever been able to stand on that stage and tell my story if it wasn't for you. Heck, I wouldn't be sitting here a happy, openly gay person, with the love of my life at my side if it wasn't for you."

"I wish I could have been there too." She smiled back, pleased by his sweet words. "I've just been going through some stuff lately, but I'll be sure to make it to the next one."

In all truthfulness, with her conflicting sexuality and confusion, she didn't feel up for an LGBT party at the time. Not when she was so unsure of herself. However, she was immensely proud of the walrus, being the one person to see his struggle the entire way through.

"You guys, it's getting pretty dark out…not to mention freezing." Storm shivered, "I suggest we take this back to Cobar's dorm since he's the only one of us to have a single room to himself. Campus security is off tonight, so we can have a sleepover without getting in trouble."

"That sounds awesome!" Rotor exclaimed joyfully.

"I'd have to go back to my room and grab a few things first though." Wave added.

"It's a wonderful idea." Cobar smiled, "My room does feel pretty empty sometimes."

* * *

Staring out the window of his dorm room once again was an upset Jet, his furious gaze downcast at the group sitting on the ledge of the fountain in the center of campus grounds. The sky had fallen into a dark, melancholy blue color, but the light posts of the walkways gave off a spotlight on the four students.

He gritted his teeth, fists shaking with such rage at the sight he was witnessing. Storm and Wave, his supposed best friend and longtime crush. Acting so flirty, sitting on laps, and cooing with such delight. It had the hawk's stomach twisting in all sorts of knots. Then beside them an even unholier sight. Cobar and Rotor, two males openly displaying their disgusting affections for one another in the same manner.

 _'Disgusting, disgusting, disgusting.'_ Jet thought to himself, more so in his mother's angry tone than his own.

The canary and darkling standing behind him could visibly see the anger and hatred radiating from him, sending a chill down both their spines, Eclipse quite excited and Tekno more fearful than anything.

"J-Jet." The green canary stammered nervously.

"I'm gonna take a wild guess and say the wait is over." Eclipse chuckled evilly, "When do we strike? I've been itching for some sweet revenge."

"Tomorrow night."

"What? Tomorrow? Why not tonight when the freaking security guards are off?" The darkling whined.

"Because I want them to have this one night of fun…a false sense of security before I demolish them each one by one." Jet explained through clenched teeth. Then he turned around to face them, nothing but pure hatred in his cold blue eyes.

A horrid grin stretched across Eclipse' face, his citrus eyes twinkling with such a malice delight. The canary girl held her tablet to her chest, panicky as she stood between the two frightening boys.

"Who do we get first?" The darkling asked curiously, "The girl with glasses?"

"No." The hawk replied, "We go after her cause first. Let everybody know what rebellion will get them when it comes to me and my iron fist. Tomorrow night, we go after the faggot. Then we worry about knocking the crown off that stupid bitch's head."

"Fair enough." Eclipse nodded, crossing his arms. "So what's the plan?"

As they discussed more gruesome and violent intentions, Tekno found herself more and more uncomfortable. She inched back toward the door, and nearly made it until she stumbled over a stray cord. They both turned toward her, having already devised a role for her to play in all this.

"Where are you going?" Jet scolded her, stomping over to forcefully pull her back by the arm. She winced in pain, his hold incredibly strong for someone so lanky.

"I don't want to have any part in this." The canary girl pleaded, "It's getting out of hand."

"Just let her go. She's useless anyway." Eclipse called out from behind the hawk, but he didn't let up on her for a second.

"You said you were worth dating, that you're as loyal and good as they come. You can't quit on me now!" He scolded her.

"Please, just let me go. I won't tell anyone—"

" **DO YOU WANT TO BE A LOSER AGAIN?!** " He screamed in her face, making her eyes shoot open. A thousand horrible memories of her being tortured at Mercia High flashing in her head. "If you don't stick with me, I'll make sure you're a loser for the rest of your school life."

He broke out into a satisfied smirk once she nodded in agreement reluctantly, and ceased her struggling against him.

When the canary came to Green Hill Academy, she swore to make this experience better than her last. At any cost, she would not end up a loser again. Even if it meant sticking it out with a jerk like Jet.

"Good." He nodded, "Now go charge your camera…"

* * *

Elias stood out in the parking lot, leaning against his car as he looked out to the starless, dark sky above with a gloomy expression. He had called Megan yesterday to confess his reunion with Sonia, and of course she was far from pleased, furious in fact. She hadn't called him since. It was a strange change of pace, considering she called endlessly every day since she'd been gone.

He was just on his way to go visit her with apology pickles and flowers when he got a text from Sonia telling him to wait for her, and that she had something urgent to speak with him about. A few red flags were raised in his head, so he decided to wait for her to see if she was alright.

The gusts of wind blew his auburn hair to the side, whipping across his gray sweatshirt and jeans like cold lashes. He'd been waiting for over a half hour before his ears picked up on the crackle of twigs behind him.

"Elias." A voice called out, forcing him to stand upright and turn around. He saw Sonia making her way through the grass and onto the pavement, her hand clasped around another belonging to Honey the Cat. He blushed in embarrassment, surprised by the cat girl's presence.

"Sonia...and Honey?" He mumbled awkwardly, recalling vague yet very intimate memories of the cat.

"Hiya." She winked, making him feel even more embarrassed.

The magenta girl pulled her hand away from Honey's to wrap both her arms around the auburn-haired boy. He did the same, a blissful expression on his face in the brief moments they rested in each other's hold, warming Honey's heart at the sight.

"What's going on?" He asked once he pulled away from her, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine…" She assured him before her mouth curved down into a frown.

"Then what was so urgent? And why'd you bring Honey? Since when do you guys even talk?"

"It's…I…Well…" Sonia fumbled over her tongue, nervous and really unsure of how to go about things. Thankfully, Honey had noticed and quickly stepped up to them.

"It's about what happened between you, me and Megan at Vec's party." The cat explained nonchalantly, coaxing yet another uncomfortable blush from the prince. "You know we didn't have sex that night, right?"

"Wh-What?" He stammered, "Of course we did."

"Believe me, Sweetie. I think I'd remember sleeping with the hottest guy in school if I had." She giggled, "Do you even remember anything from that night aside from what you've seen in pictures?"

"Well, no…but Megan's pregnant, and I took you both upstairs…"

"You did, but then you started crying about the princess over here. So both Megan and I took off on you."

"Just what are you getting at?" Elias asked before Sonia pulled his gaze back over to her.

"Elias, you never had sex with Honey…or Megan that night." The magenta hedgehog explained, "Meaning that you aren't…the father of her baby."

The squirrel's usual tender expression twisted into one of both confusion and hurt, looking between both girls as he shook his head in disbelief. Images of bumping into Megan when she first told him the news, the horrid slap she sent across his face when he suggested abortion once, and the more blissful days he spent with her and her father on Thanksgiving vacation just flashed through his mind like a movie reel. The thought of it all being a complete waste, a total lie…

"You're wrong." He finally spoke up, glancing over at Honey. "You have to be wrong."

"It's the truth, Elias." The cat assured him with a nod, "She's lying to you."

"You're both just so wrong…" He shook his head.

"Elias, please I—" Sonia began, but was cut off by the chime of a cellphone.

 **INCOMING CALL**

Elias pulled out his phone, a picture of Megan and her now enormous baby bump lighting up on screen. He exchanged curious looks with the girls standing in front of him before he picked up the call.

 _"Hello?"_

 _"_ _ **ELIAS!**_ _"_ The female squirrel on the other line shouted at the top of her lungs in agony, making him spring into alertness.

 _"Meg? Is something wrong? Are you okay?"_ Her reply was nothing but cries and whimpers, sending a chill down his spine. Honey and Sonia exchanged worried glances as the squirrel began to pace the parking lot while he ran a nervous hand through his hair. _"Megan? Talk to me! What's going on?!"_

 _"The baby…"_ She whimpered, _"The baby's coming!"_

 _"_ _ **WHAT?!**_ _"_ He screeched, _"That's impossible! You're not due for another six weeks!"_

 _"She…She might be premature!"_

 _"Oh my Chaos. Where the hell are you?!"_

 _"Metropolis Hospital. Please hurry."_

 _"I'm on my way."_ He assured her before ending the call. He then hazardously sifted through his pockets for his keys, fumbling with shaky hands as he went to unlock his car door. Sonia stepped over to him, resting a hand on his shoulder.

"Eli? What's going on?" She asked before he brushed her hand away and looked back at both of them.

"Megan's having the baby now." He explained, jumping into his car to turn on the engine. "I've gotta go."

"Elias, wait—" He didn't hear any of it. He shut the car door right in her face, and quickly pulled out of the parking space and zoomed off at dangerous speeds without another second to spare. He glanced back at the disheartened Sonia through his rearview mirror until she faded from view.

"I'm sorry, Sonia." The yellow cat apologized, wrapping both arms around the teary-eyed hedgehog. "But once he gets a look at that baby…he'll know the truth."

* * *

 _' "Honestly Jules, defacing school property again?!" Principal Julayla scolded me on our walk to the detention room. "I've got half a mind to just expel you and save me some trouble. Fortunately for you, your brother Charles is an absolute gem, and vouches for you every time such a thought crosses my mind."_

 _"C'mon, you know you love me way too much to get rid of me." I replied with a playful wink._

 _She inhaled some air in an attempt to cool down her flustered red face as she pointed toward the door._

 _"I don't have the patience to reprimand you any further young man. Go take your seat with the rest of the degenerates."_

 _I rolled my eyes, and sighed heavily as I walked toward the door. I expected the room to be full of those scumbag losers I couldn't stand, but to my surprise…aside from the sleeping teacher, there was only one other student._

 _She sat up front, her head resting in her hand as she stared out the window._

 _The girl I fell madly in love with._

 _Alicia the Chipmunk._

 _Her long chestnut-brown hair fell in feathered waves to her waist, the heavy black eye makeup playing up the gorgeous color of her blue eyes._

 _Trying to captivate her extraordinary beauty through mere words is impossible, and could never do it justice._

 _Opposite ends of the spectrum, she and I._

 _She was cold as ice, so full of hatred, and one of the most hated people in school. I on the other hand was a carefree jokester with an eye for sports, and beloved by nearly everyone._

 _But that didn't stop us._

 _She couldn't stand me at first, but I persisted. I wanted to show her that she could be more than what she was, that life wasn't all bad. In turn she showed me something I never could have fathomed in a lifetime._

 _She showed me what it truly felt like to be in love…_

 _And I took that love…and destroyed it.'_

Jules stood up on the platform by the train tracks, geared up in his military attire with a briefcase in one hand, and an over-stuffed, black duffle bag in the other. He stared at his feet, lost in thought of blissful memories.

The thoughts were soon dispelled by the clicking of heels coming closer and closer. He lifted his head and turned to see the very woman he had been thinking about strolling over his way. The sight of her just melting his heart the same as that very first day he saw her.

"You came…" He breathed happily, setting down his bags to greet her with a hug, one she cut very short.

"You knew I would." She replied, taking a step away from him to keep a distance. "What did you call me here for, Jules?"

"I heard you were marrying him. Locke the Echidna."

"That I am." She nodded, holding out the hand with her ringed finger. "Rightfully so, I should say."

"You sure about that? Lara-Le's got some horror stories of her own about that one."

"I'm sure she does, but even so….he and I are meant to be—" The comment sent a horrid pang of jealousy and hurt to the hedgehog's heart, coaxing him to cut her off immediately.

"That's bullshit and you know it." He snapped, shaking his head in disapproval. "You know just as well as I do who you're really meant to be with."

"Cute." She retorted, "Does your wife know you called me here?"

"Don't act like that." He shook his head, annoyed at how she'd always bring up Aleena to counter his claims.

"So, did you just call me out here to bash my engagement?" She grumbled, crossing her arms. "Whatever you have to say won't change a thing. It's far too late, Jules. Whether you want to face it or not, the reality of things is that I am going to marry Locke—"

" **DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT ALREADY?!** " He blurted out, heart racing as tears began to brim his eyes. The intensely sorrowful expression sent a wave of sadness over the chipmunk, tugging at her heartstrings. "I love you Alicia, no matter who I'm with, where I am, or what I do…that simple fact never changes. I almost died in the Great War. I watched as they executed Captain Metal right beside me, and when that terrorist put the gun to my head…it wasn't my children or my wife I thought about in what I believed were my final moments… It was you."

"Jules…"

"Every day I haven't been with you, is a day I've never really lived. When I left you crying at that lake, when I told you I wanted Aleena too…. It was all a mistake."

"I'll admit, agreeing to be with Max to get a rise out of you was a mistake on my end as well." The chipmunk sighed, cupping the hedgehog's face in her hands. He marveled at the familiar touch, drowning in beautiful nostalgia. "But we can't go back. I loved you, Jules. You were the first person to ever tear down my walls. You showed me what it felt like to be happy, but you ended up hurting me the worst."

"You've gotta believe me when I say I **NEVER** meant to hurt you, Alicia." He begged, clutching both of her wrists to keep her hands at his face in fear that she might pull away. "And I'd do **ANYTHING** to take it all back."

"So why did you?" She mumbled, tears threatening her own eyes. "Why did you cheat on me with so many girls? Why couldn't I be the **ONLY** one if you loved me so damn bad, huh?!"

"Because I…I was stupid. I didn't know what I wanted, and thought I could have my cake and eat it to. In the end, I lost the only girl I ever really loved…" He replied, finally allowing the tears to cascade down his cheeks and fall upon her hands.

They stood there, starring at one another for such a long time, the lamps by the train tracks being their only source of light, and the cold air nipping at both their faces. They both connected mentally, drowning themselves in the same blissful memories of their youth.

The day she showed him the lake she loved so much, the day he gave her the golden ring, the moment they first professed their love for one another, and the first time they ever kissed.

All of it came rushing back in both their hearts, drowning out any recollection of the bad deeds that lead to the demise of their high school romance.

In that moment it was just them again, Queen Alicia and King Jules. Two entirely different characters harboring the same exact unconditional love for one another.

As much as she ignored it, she could never escape or deny it. No matter who she married, no matter how many years rolled by, and no matter how badly he hurt her…there was no escaping the inevitable truth.

She'd always be in love with him, her very first love, one in his own league.

He took the moment to lean closer, cupping her face in his hands the way she had hers on his to pull her forth. She was too caught up in the past to gain any common sense of pulling away, but just before their lips could finally touch her phone went off.

 **INCOMING CALL**

It was exactly what she needed to pull her back into reality, and to push the hedgehog away. She stumbled back with a blush, shaking her head in refusal of her prior thoughts. Then she fished her phone from her purse, not bothering to check the caller ID.

 _"He-Hello?"_ She stammered breathlessly into the speaker.

 _"_ _ **MOTHER!**_ _"_ Elias screamed on the other line, making her jump into mother-mode.

 _"Elias? What's going on? Are you okay?!"_

 _"Megan! She's having the baby now! Get to Metropolis Hospital!"_

 _"Oh my Chaos!"_ Alicia yelped, _"I'll be there as soon as possible."_ She then hung up, scatterbrained as she searched for the keys in her purse.

"What's going on?" Jules asked curiously.

"My granddaughter is being born. I have to go." She explained quickly after finding her keys. Just before she could turn and make a run for it, he grabbed her hand.

"Wait."

"What?!"

"I have to give you something."

She turned around to watch him pull out the black duffle bag from behind him, then he handed it to her. She took it, her arm instantly falling at how heavy it was. Then headlights lit up as the train pulled through the tunnel and came to a screeching halt beside them.

"What is this?" She asked as the doors to the train slid open beside them. He picked up his remaining suitcase, readjusting his hat as he stepped toward the train doors.

"Something that might change your mind before you say _'I do'_." He explained vaguely before stepping into the train, "I'll see you at the wedding…" He added before the doors shut in between them.

* * *

 **The title of this chapter is a reference to it's depressing theme (Blues( and the many clues to several plot points scattered about (Clues)**

 **The decision to make Tikal a lesbian (Married to Perci Bandicoot of Sonic Boom) is based on the stupid outrage over the possible lesbian couple in the new 'Finding Dory' movie people have been quite furious about lately. Making Zespio and Zector a gay couple was just to add to the LGBT cast, and pay some homage to my 'Espio x Vector' fans.**

 **Special Note (PLEASE READ, SUPER IMPORTANT)**

 **Next chapter will contain a variety of warnings ranging from psychical violence to sexual assault, and of course the death of a main character. It will be very triggering, and graphic. One of my most twisted, heartbreaking, and cruel chapters to date. I just want you to emotionally prepare yourself, and if you don't think you're able to handle it you can skip it. I'll be sure to summarize the events the chapter after in a less triggering manner.**

 **Will Cream finally succumb to the darkness plaguing her fragile heart?**

 **Will Jules' train ride back to base be safe?**

 **Will Elias ever make it to the hospital with his reckless driving?**

 **Will Megan's child make it to the world?**

 **Will Jet's revenge plot go a little too far?**

 **Will Rosy's cutting become her undoing?**

 **Will Ray's injuries prove fatal after already escaping deaths reach?**

 **Will Sonia's emotions get the better of her?**

 **Will Blaze crack under the weight of bad decision after bad decision?**

 **Will Manic learn to cope, or finally end it for real?**

 **You'll just have to wait and see...**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **We say so long to one of our beloved Green Hill Academy students...**

 **Leave a review with your guesses on who we'll be saying farewell to, and let me know how you feel about certain characters and their situations or who you don't want to say goodbye to and why.**


	47. Chapter 47

**And now...the wait is over.**

 **WARNINGS: Sexual scene, graphic violence, homophobia, physical assault, rape, suicide, very triggering. **

**PLEASE feel free to stop at any time, or skip over the chapter if it is too much.**

* * *

 **Chapter 47: Too Broken**

Silver got up extra early, surprised to find Elias was the only one of his roommates not sound asleep in bed. His bed didn't look like it had been slept in at all, but the hedgehog just shrugged it off, figuring the young prince had slept elsewhere.

He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, outstretching his arms as he let out one final sleepy yawn before rubbing the tiredness out of his eyes with the back of both hands. The sun peeked over the horizon, casting a pink and orange hue to the sky.

After a short time of marveling at the beautiful sunrise, Silver finally got up and walked over to his dresser. For the first time in a long time he woke up not dreading the day to come, and he picked out his clothes with pride.

A white long-sleeved shirt with his favorite turquoise gamer logo plastered in the center, simple black pants, and his all-time favorite boots. After dressing, he pulled his signature black comb and styling gel out from the top drawer. When he slept, his quills became frazzled and flattened. He took a while to spike them back up to their maple-leaf style.

Then he set those tools down in replacement of new ones, his small mirror and black eyeliner pencil. Thanks to years of practice, he could line his eyes in less than thirty seconds. An incredible feet most girls can hardly pull off.

Once he was done getting ready, the other two dorm occupants decided to get up. The sun now fully risen. Larry, the young lynx woke up first, sitting up to look around the room.

"Wh-Where's Elias?" He asked the white hedgehog getting ready to take his leave.

"Dunno." Silver shrugged, picking up his messenger bag before walking toward the door. "He wasn't here when I got up. Guess you'll be the one to make sure Shard isn't late for class. See ya, Larry!"

He then vanished out the door, quickly escaping the building to walk across the campus grounds toward the main building. A smile stilled on his face the entire time, and a great weight lifted off his shoulders after his departure of Blaze and her arrogant bunch of friends.

The world seemed so much brighter, more than it had been these last few weeks, especially when he stumbled upon a golden tenrec standing at her locker. His heart thumped loudly at the sight of her, his smile growing twice as big as he jetted toward her.

" **GOLD!** " He bellowed with glee, scooping her up in a surprise hug before she had a chance to even look his way. Once she caught sight of those gorgeous amber eyes no longer plagued with incredible sorrows, she knew he had finally come to his senses, and she returned his adoring hug with delight.

"Oh Silver…" She cooed, joyful tears coupled with the emotion of her tone. "It's you…"

"Yeah." He smiled at her, his hands still planted on her thin waist. "I'm sorry for the way I wrote you off like that. Blaze has been a huge part of my life forever, and I do care about her, but I realized I can't keep self-sacrificing when she would never do the same."

"We don't have to talk about it." The tenrec smiled, cupping his face in her hands. "I'm just happy you're you again. I missed you so much, Silver."

"I missed you too. A lot more than I can put into words." He nodded.

His time faking it to please Blaze and her friends had taught him a new appreciation for the tenrec, the only one who seemed to understand him. "But these last few lonely days will be long behind us in two weeks when we see **CRUSH FREAKING 40!** "

"Actually… That's something I wanted to talk to you about, before you went all _'jock'_ on me." She mumbled, her smile quickly dropping as she reached inside her purse to retrieve the two concert tickets. She held them out to a confused Silver. "Something has come up for me that day, and I won't be able to make it to the concert."

"No way." He cried out.

"I'm sorry." She apologized, ushering him to take both tickets. "Here, you can ask one of your other friends or sell the ticket. Either way, you better go! And get me autographs!" She scolded him playfully.

"Fine." He chuckled, taking the tickets. "I'll see if I can find anyone else who likes Crush 40. Our tastes are kind of unique around here if you haven't noticed. **BUT** I'll probably only have about half as much fun with anyone other than you, Gold."

* * *

Back in the girl's dorm, Mina had invited Shard over during their free period, intent on finally getting some long overdue intimacy. In between her short time of pregnancy, and the last few days of his strangely distant behavior, they haven't had any sex at all during their time as a couple.

Nicole was out with Espio, and Honey hadn't come back to the room at all last night.

The hedgehog laid on his back, eyes fixed on the ceiling as he used his arms to prop up his head. Mina laid beside him, scantily clad in pink shorts so short that the strings of her black thong peeked out, and a midriff white top so sheer it was no secret that she wasn't wearing a bra.

She had her arms around him, her legs intertwined with his, and her chin resting at his shoulder. Her warm breath on his neck sent chills throughout his body, as did the finger trailing his chest in circular motions.

"You know… We haven't really done anything since we got together." She pouted cutely, scooting herself closer to him. "How funny is it that the only time we've had sex was when we weren't dating?"

"Hilarious." He replied, only half paying attention to her. His thoughts were leaning more toward the sonogram of a baby possibly growing in the stomach she had pressed at his side, making him feel so ill.

"We should change that." The mongoose winked, getting up from her laying down position to straddle the hedgehog lying beside her.

He felt her weight casted upon him, and before he knew it her exposed stomach was at eye-level with him, making him cringe.

It seemed as though no matter how badly he tried, he could not dispel the sonogram Nicole had firmly planted in his mind. He wanted to believe in the mongoose, that she wouldn't succumb to that bad-nature they both shared.

She leaned over, her stomach pressing against his as she kissed lovingly at his neck. Although hard at work drowning him in seduction, she could not erase the thoughts clouding his mind. Without warning, he tossed her aside and sat up, shaking his head in refusal.

"What the hell?!" She scolded him, growing quite restless with waiting around.

"I…I've got class." He lied, anything to get away.

"No you don't." She reminded him, "It's free period! Just what is your problem? You were bitching the other day about me being so distant, but look who the fuck is acting all dodgy! You won't touch me, and you barely even look at me anymore!—"

"I'm not getting into this right now." He cut her off, getting up to take his leave.

He opened the door and left, leaving an upset Mina to furiously throw a pillow at the door before face planting into her bed with a muffled scream. She could feel the distance he had been keeping lately, and it was taking its emotional toll on her.

Moments later, the door swung open again. She rose from her bed, turning around to glare at the hedgehog, instantly assuming he had returned. To her dismay it was not him. It was Honey, scanning the room nervously.

"Took you long enough to get back." The mongoose growled, "What loser were you shacked up with all night this time?"

"None." The cat replied quickly, "Has Sonia stopped by in here at all?"

"Sonia? Um, no."

"I haven't seen her since last night." The cat whimpered, rushing over to her dresser to change quickly. "I've been looking all over for her."

"Since when are you two buddies?"

"I'm really worried about her." Honey sighed, dipping her feet into red heels before scattering back out the door, not bothering to clue in Mina on anything.

* * *

Cosmo and Tails were back in their usual meetup spot. The secluded back table of the library. They sat close, his arm over her shoulders as she leaned into him, clutching the adorable chao he had wasted so much money winning for her.

When he looked over at her, he didn't see her typical shy smile. Today, the seedrian was frowning, and her gaze wasn't on the little chao she had come to love so much.

"Cosmo?" Her boyfriend questioned, making her turn her head to him. "Are you okay?"

"Not really." The green-haired girl sighed, tightening her grip on the doll. "It's just… Cream has been acting so different with me lately."

"Cream?"

"Mhm." She nodded, "She doesn't text me anymore, and whenever I do see her she's always so quick to run off."

"Come to think of it…" Tails added, pulling out his phone to scroll through text messages. "She hasn't texted me in a while either, and the last time I saw her she didn't look too good."

"I know she says she's okay with us dating, but I feel as though that might not be true. She's probably…very upset with us, maybe doesn't want to be our friend anymore—"

"Cosmo, calm down." The kitsune commanded, trying to calm her anxiety. "This is Cream we're talking about! She'd totally let us know if something bothered her, but nothing ever does! Cream's always smiling no matter what."

"Smiles can be fake you know…" Cosmo mumbled before they both exchanged concerned glances.

Tails hadn't even mulled over that possibility. He tried to imagine the last time he saw the rabbit, but couldn't exactly remember a genuine smile at all.

"Have you seen her at all today?" He asked.

"No. Have you?"

"No." He replied, "Maybe we should go find her, and make sure she's okay with…us."

* * *

 _'I was a drunken mess, the only thing keeping me from falling flat on my face in the stairwell was the arms of the two girls I had ascended up the steps with. I remember their giggles as I swayed with them toward the hotel room, leaning against one or the other for support depending on which way we turned._

 _When we got inside, Honey shut the door behind us, and I fell back into the king-sized mattress as I watched the world around me spin. Then the two girls came into view, both of them leaning over me with lewd smiles._

 _Honey kissed my neck, her tongue rolling across my skin as she undid the few buttons that weren't already undone on my white shirt. Megan was further down, rubbing her hand along the middle of my pants as she fiddled with my belt. All the while, both of them slowly dropping their dresses._

 _Eventually we were all stripped down to our underwear. I sat up as they both shared my lap, pressing their breasts to my face for me to lick, while they made out above me._

 _Kissing, licking, touching. As things got heavier in our room, all I could think of was what might have been going on in Sonia's room with Knuckles. How he must have been relishing in the feel of each curve of her body, and kissing her in places I could only ever imagine._

 _"Um, are you crying?" Honey asked, noticing tears fall down my cheeks shortly before my sobs emerged._

 _Of course, the mood had been ruined, and they both got off of me to sit beside me. Megan crossed her arms, obviously upset at the sudden change in mood, while Honey held me to her bare chest, and allowed me to cry on her as she stroked my back like a baby._

 _"There, there." She cooed sweetly, "Why are you crying, Sweeite?"_

 _"B-Because sh-she's not wi-with me!" I whimpered through drunken sobs, barely able to form coherent sentences. "I-I-I_ _ **LOVE**_ _he-her, but she…she's pro-probably sleeping with h-him right n-now. Sonia, I love her. I-I love her. Wh-Why can't sh-she see that? I love Sonia. I love her."_

 _"Relax." The yellow cat told me, helping me back down to the bed before pulling a blanket over me. "You've had like,_ _ **WAY**_ _too much tonight. Just take a nap. All will be better tomorrow, I promise."_

 _"O-Oh, okay." I nodded, letting the heaviness of my lids finally weigh them down as I dozed. I could still hear them bickering just before I fell into dream-state._

 _"What the hell." Megan growled in frustration, the sounds of silk sliding up and buttons being done audible. "I was so ready."_

 _"Well, if you're still 'ready', Nack is downstairs ready and willing…as long as you're okay with anal."_

 _"Ew, would never let that freak put his thing anywhere near me!"_

 _"Then how about you and I just go hangout in the room next door?" Honey giggled, the sound of their footsteps became fainter. "I always carry a toy or two in my purse…"_

 _Then the door clicked shut, and everything went black._

 _Nothing happened that night…'_

Memories had finally pieced themselves together in Elias' mind, and it finally dawned on him.

Megan's child couldn't possibly be his.

Ironically in the same moment he was holding her hand as she gave the final push.

"Push, Megan. She's almost here!" Alicia coached, standing on the opposite side of the bed her son stood at, and the squirrel girl laid in with her lower-half draped from view. She winced in agony, squeezing both of their hands as she cried out in pain.

"I can't!" She whimpered, "It hurts so much."

"C'mon! You're doing great. Just one more push!" Dr. Quack exclaimed.

" **I CAN'T!** " Megan screamed again, tears rolling down her cheeks as she turned over to a distracted Elias. "Eli…"

He lifted his head up to meet her desperate gaze. He didn't what to say or think after such a harsh reality had hit him. All he knew was that he had been waiting all night with his mother, he had come to every appointment up until now, and he was promised a daughter.

He squeezed her hand back, ousting his painful thoughts as he clung to the small glimmer of hope that somehow he might have missed something. That maybe Megan came back into his hotel room later that night.

"It's okay, Megan." He assured her, "Just one more time. Push one more time. I want to see my daughter."

She nodded in agreement before bracing herself for one more agonizingly painful push. Her hand nearly crushing his as she let out a horrid scream before collapsing from exhaustion. Then an eerie silence fell over the room, the doctor exchanging glances with the nurse and Alicia before a light cry was heard from behind the green drape.

"It's a girl." The doctor cheered, holding the baby up to view for all of them quickly before handing her off to the nurses for cleanup. Tears of joy and cheers fell upon everyone in the room. Alicia ran over to throw her arms around her son, crying into his shoulder as a nurse walked up to them with the baby swaddled in a pink blanket. She handed the child over to Elias, who hesitated before taking her.

"Bring her to me." Megan begged weakly as she did her best to sit up. The prince did as told, walking over to her with the child in his hands. He then unfolded the blanket a bit, giving them a better look at her face.

His heart shattered to pieces once again.

She looked absolutely nothing like him, not even a trace of a trait from his parents in her. The baby was tan with sand-colored hair, and her eyes were a light green. The only thing they had in common was being squirrels—which Megan also happened to be.

"She's beautiful." He mumbled, trying his best to mask the disappointment and heartache thrashing about inside his weak heart.

"What will you two name her?" Alicia asked, peering at the baby from over her son's shoulder.

"I want to name her Alexis, like my mother…" Megan replied, tears slipping down her cheeks as she wished her mother was alive to see this day.

"Well then…" Elias smiled weakly, giving his finger over to the tiny hand of the baby. "Welcome to the world, Alexis Acorn. I'm your daddy…"

He lied…

* * *

The sun was setting on the horizon, once again leaving the sky that beautiful pink hue. The wind was cold, signifying snow should come any day now.

Outside, sitting on the bleachers all alone was Knuckles. He looked out toward the sunset, something he often found himself doing these last few days. Thinking about Lara-Su. He couldn't get that mortified image out of his head, the little echidna shouting and crying over a bastard he couldn't stand.

It had him feeling weak. Thrash had been there for her since birth, the only father she's ever known. It left a horrid pang of angst in his heart, the possibility that she'd never accept him as a father.

He let his head fall into his hands, shutting his violet eyes as he tried to repress the tears threatening to escape him, only allowing his breathing to deepen.

"What the hell is the point in anything?!" He shouted angrily, frustration building up inside of him.

"I've been asking myself that same question for months…" A voice called out, making him pick up his head.

That's when he saw a thin magenta hedgehog walking toward him with the saddest eyes he'd ever seen. Her long pink quills flew with the wind. She wasn't dressed for outdoors, it being way too cold for her purple tanktop, and black skirt. Her being so thin didn't help either, bones probably shuttering from the cold air.

"Sonia…" He breathed, startled by her sudden appearance.

"Hi…Knuckles." She waved weakly, taking a seat beside him on the bleachers. She casted her gaze down at the black ankle boots she wore as an eerie silence fell upon them.

He kept his eyes on her, trying to reconstruct the beautiful, healthy, confident girl he had asked out last summer in his mind, along with every wonderful moment they ever shared as a couple. He rarely spoke to her after the breakup, and whenever he did it was mostly _'hi'_ and _'bye'_. She looked so different now, so defeated, and fragile.

It hurt worse, to realize he was probably the reason for her downward spiral.

She felt his gaze upon her, coaxing her to look up and face him, but what she saw surprised her.

"Knuckles?" She questioned sympathetically, noticing the pained expression and tears tipping over his violet eyes.

"I'm such a fucking loser." He wailed, no longer able to fight back his angst. "All I've ever done is hurt girls I cared about. Julie-Su, Rouge, and you. How can I even think of trying to be in my daughter's life…when I'd probably only end up hurting her too?"

She had almost forgotten hearing about his child through her roommates. It sent a pang to her heart, thoughts of Elias in the back of her mind. She reached over to cup the crying echidna's face in her hands, forcing his violet eyes to her pretty lime ones.

"We're teenagers." Sonia reminded him with a weak smile, "The lines between good choices and bad ones are incredibly blurred for us, but with time they become clearer. She's your daughter. I can't tell you to make the right choice, but I'll ask you to make the right one for her."

He nodded, thankful for the reassurance, and getting another chance to peer into the jade eyes of a girl he left behind, one who adored him incomparably to the rest.

Of all the girls, Sonia had the best influence over him, and while not nearly as much as Rouge or Julie-Su, he still carried a soft spot for her in his sectional of a heart.

Their relationship was far from glamorous, she being so possessive, and he being so bad-tempered, but it was the most honest and genuine relationship either of them had ever had.

"I'm so sorry, Sonia." He finally apologized, "For everything I put you through."

"I'm sorry too." She replied, as he removed her hands from his face to hold in his own.

"You're perfect, ya'know? I'm just the one who messed up. Sometimes I find myself wishing I could go back to the days where it was just you and me, the better days where things weren't so complicated." He admitted, making her blush with such heartfelt words. "But you don't deserve me… You deserve a better man. One who'll give their all to you, and make you the happiest girl in the world. So much more than I ever could."

"You'll always be my first love, Knuckles." She replied, emotion oozing from her tone. "But now there's a better love waiting for you. More than anything Rouge, Julie-Su, or even I could ever bring to you. The love of a daughter…"

They smiled at each other through blissful tears, finally getting the closure and comfort they had both been desperately craving, and searching for in all the wrong places when it was right here between them all along.

"You think she'll love me someday?" He asked in a hopeful tone.

"I know she will." Sonia replied sweetly, leaning over to give the echidna an innocent peck on the cheek. "Just don't lose focus this time…"

A gust of wind blew, finally altering the magenta hedgehog about her unfitting attire. She pulled back from him to hug herself as she shivered. He chuckled, knowing that the cold would eventually get to her.

In a kind gesture, he slipped off his varsity jacket and draped it over her, pulling her back toward him to lean on one another as they watched the sun fade beneath the horizon.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 ** _Shade:_** _Hey you. Let's hang out! If you're still feeling down I might be able to cheer you up._

* * *

Shard sighed heavily, trudging down the hallway with both hands crammed in his pockets as he stared at his feet, not bothering to watch where he was going. He had a lot brewing on his mind, conflicted on where to go from here.

Mina wasn't being truthful, and to his knowledge she was still pregnant with someone else's child, but his heart persisted with the false sense of security. That it might all be a huge misunderstanding, when evidence proved otherwise.

He had driven Nicole away with his cruelty and unwillingness to believe or care for anything she had to say anymore, although he was far from emotionally exhausted of her. He still cared for her just the same as the day he first met her, and found his mind drifting back to her quite often, but he knew he couldn't have her…

Amidst his thoughts, he was unknowingly pulled into a nearby janitor's closet, and it didn't fully register with him until he was pinned to a wall and the dim light went on to reveal a pair of hurt green eyes staring back at his own.

"Nicole?" He questioned, bewildered by the sudden kidnapping. "What the fuck is this?"

"Espio says I should leave you alone." She replied, hands gripping both his shoulders as her eyes became glossed with tears.

"Well, maybe you should listen to the prick." The hedgehog replied coldly, making the lynx's lip quiver. "He is your stupid boyfriend after all."

" **I CAN'T!** " She cried out, tears rolling down her cheeks as she clutched his shoulders even tighter. "Not when I know you're so unhappy…"

"Why do you even care?" He mumbled, doing his best to mask the hurt he felt at seeing her in such a state.

"Because you were the first friend I ever made here outside of my own circle, and the first person to ever make me feel like I belonged." She explained, resting her head on his chest before trying to plead with him once more. "She's hurting you, and I don't like it. I care about you a lot, Shard. I—"

"Just give it up, Nicole." He cut her off in a cold, flat tone. "You've got yours and I've got mind. It is what it is."

"I don't understand! She's lying to you and you know it! Why, **WHY ARE YOU WITH HER?!** "

" **WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU WITH HIM?!** "

"Because I…I love him." She replied, making that slight glimmer of hope in his heart completely fade into darkness. He shove her back forcefully, nearly knocking her over in the process before opening the door to make his escape.

"Of course you do." He mumbled bitterly, feeling stupid for even entertaining the thought that she might even remotely carry any romantic feelings for him whatsoever.

"Shard, wait." She begged, reaching out to him, but he fled into the crowd assembled in the hall.

 _'In the end, no matter how hard he tries…The bad guy never gets the girl, and that's all I'll ever be. The bad guy.'_ The yellow-striped hedgehog thought to himself as he disappeared into the crowd.

* * *

"That bad, huh?" Rouge rose an eyebrow while she used both hands to hold up her hair as she slid on the hair-tie around her left wrist.

"More than you could imagine." Julie-Su groaned, hopping up and down to fit herself into her blue jeans. "She kicked and cried for Thrash all the way home, up until she finally fell asleep."

"Poor Red. He must be upset." The bat sighed, having not heard from the red echidna she adored in such a long time.

"Really bad." The echidna girl across from her mumbled, "I've tried calling him for the last two days, but he hasn't called back."

"Well, aside from the kid's outburst, how'd you and Knuckles do? Any sparks?" The bat questioned, making the easily embarrassed girl in front of her become so flustered.

"N-No. Nothing like that!" Julie-Su stammered shyly.

"That doesn't sound so convincing." Rouge giggled before the hair-tie she had snapped back on her hand like a rubberband. "Owe! Shit! Another cheap hair elastic ruined. You got any I can borrow?"

"Top drawer." The echidna nodded, pointing with her nose toward the dresser by her bed while she used both hands to braid her long pink hair in the full-length mirror the bat had brought from home.

Rouge sighed in annoyance, walking over to her roommate's dresser to pull open the top drawer to search for a new hair-tie. Instead, she was greeted by a gigantic, familiar, over-sized green emerald. The very one, Knuckles had once draped around her neck, and Sonia before her.

Her cheery mood flew out the window, along with the semi-smile on her face.

"Did you find it?" Julie-Su called out to her.

"Yeah… I found it." Rouge huffed angrily, slamming the drawer shut with an overuse of force. "Let's just go see Tikal already."

* * *

These last couple days had been nothing but a mope-fest for poor Blaze. All of her friends wanted to give her space, opting to leave her alone with her sorrowful thoughts. She had hoped Sonic would come by to cheer her up, but dispelled the thoughts, figuring that's what got her into this mess in the first place.

In her time with Sonic all throughout last year, and over the summer, she had developed a strange compulsive attraction to him just like Amy. Although the emotional attraction was only an illusion created by his heroic antis and Amy's up-talk of him as _'the perfect guy ever'_ , the physical attraction hadn't dispelled. Most likely due to losing her virginity to him last summer.

She just couldn't shake the feeling of wanting him in that way just one more time. His athletic build, his tough hands on her soft skin. Physically, everything about him was perfect to her. His style, his build, and the way he carried himself.

However, her emotional attraction was exclusively directed at Silver, her childhood friend and now possibly forever ex-boyfriend. She adored him to no end, right down to his little quirks. He was sweet, humble, and so respectful. Ironically, the only thing lacking with him was what she favored in Sonic. The white hedgehog was lanky, goofy-looking, and so unconfident.

That's exactly why she tried to merge the two, hoping that she and the group both might like Silver a little more if he carried himself in the right way like the blue hedgehog.

The more she thought about it, the guiltier she felt as it became more apparent to her that she was being selfish and hurtful, exactly as Gold had described.

She skulked through the hallway toward her locker, an aura of sadness casted around her. It only seemed to get worse when she watched a gleeful Silver walk down the intersecting hall with a peppy Gold skipping along beside him.

"I bet he never smiled like that with you, seeing as how you only seemed to want to suck the life out of him." A menacing voice chuckled behind her, coaxing her attention in another direction.

"How many times do I have to tell you to leave me alone before you take a hint?" She growled at the gray-striped hedgehog leaning on the locker beside hers, glaring at him with furious hazel eyes.

"You still think he'd come back to you? After you forced him to wear someone else' cum-stained underwear? I doubt it." Mephiles chuckled, amused at the negative emotions radiating off the cat. "I sure wouldn't, especially if I had a sweet little angel like that ready and willing on the rebound." He added, nodding over to Silver and the beautiful tenrec before they faded from view.

"Go to hell." She replied angrily, stomping away before sprinting down the hall to get away from him.

"She'll be paying me a visit soon." The dark hedgehog smirked, looking around the people in the hall in search of new blood. "Until then I could use another toy to pass the time."

His gaze then fell upon another fragile looking pair. A teary-eyed, raven-haired lynx girl chasing after an angry, intimidating black hedgehog with yellow stripes.

Blaze ran across campus, not daring to look back or around at anyone or anything. She was too upset, and all she wanted to do was go back to her dorm and hide for another day. She felt so ashamed of herself, and so enraged by Mephiles' constant taunting these last few days of her breakup.

In her mind, she had only linked all her troubles to one problem that had plagued her since last summer.

Boys.

They had been nothing but a hassle in their own right, and the feelings she had for them always led her down the wrong path.

"Blaze?" Wave questioned, standing up from her bed as she watched the crying cat run inside and slam the door shut. The cat's chest heaved up and down in response to her speedy running, and tears stained her cheeks, concerning the swallow who now stood before her. "Are you ok—"

Before she could finish her sentence, she was cut off by the cat pulling her by the face to lock lips, making her eyes shoot open in surprise. The swallow quickly pulled away, but the cat's grip on her shoulders didn't allow her to get very far. Both of their faces were burning red, and a string of saliva still connected their lips.

"Teach me."

"What?" Wave tilted her head, a bit breathless at the sudden action.

"Teach me how to be a lesbian!" The cat ordered, "I don't want to like stupid boys anymore!"

"Are you kidding me right now? You don't just become a lesbian!" The purple bird scolded her before her tone lowered and her voice trailed off thinking about the albatross she'd come to be so fond of. "I don't… I don't even know if I'm actually a lesbian."

* * *

At the Master Emerald, Locke sat at the front desk, constantly checking his phone during downtime to see if he had missed a call from his fiancé. The last time he heard from her was yesterday night, when she called to tell him her granddaughter was due. He only prayed things went well, and that she'd call soon.

During one of the moments he was staring at his phone, the bell by the door went off, signaling a customer had walked in. He quickly hid his phone away, and looked up to greet the customer.

"Welcome to…" His voice trailed off, as it registered with him who had just walked into his store.

A red echidna woman with long wavy hair and gorgeous violet eyes was strolling up to him. Wearing a tight yellow dress with a white coat and matching white heels. Holding her hand was a small echidna boy, who looked to be about four years old, and bore an incredible resemblance to the store-owner's own son—only this child's eyes were blue.

"Lara-Le." He spoke in surprise, standing up from his chair in astonishment.

"It's good to see you again, Locke." The echidna woman smiled kindly.

"I thought you'd be in Echidnapolois, nor did I ever dream in a million years you'd set foot in my store."

"I'm in town on business with Wynmacher." She explained, "We were in the neighborhood, so I thought I'd pay you a little visit."

The two had a very rocky marriage, which she often blamed on this very store. Before rekindling his love with Alicia, he was so bitter and angry over his ex-wife's infidelity, but now things didn't seem so bleak. The chipmunk he was now betrothed to had sparked such a change in the once bitter, self-loathing, workaholic.

He walked around the counter to greet her with a hug before kneeling down to eye-level with the little boy.

"You must be, Kneecapeon." He smiled. The boy blushed shyly, hiding behind his mother's leg nervously. "I hope you intend to take him to see Knuckles before you go as well. I'm sure he'd love to see both of you."

"Nana?" The little boy yelped with excitement, looking up to his mother for confirmation. That was his nickname for Knuckles, finding his name too difficult to fully say on its own.

"You'd allow that?"

"Of course." Locke smiled, standing back up to face her. "I'll give Alicia a call and let her know you'll be visiting soon."

The echidna woman smiled, adoring the man standing before her, so unlike the bitter jerk she left behind with her first son.

"So I hear you and Alicia are getting married."

"Yes, very soon." Locke nodded, a blush on his face at the thought.

"I'm happy for you, Locke." Lara-Le cooed, "I really am…"

"We should get some lunch together." He replied, running over to the window to turn the _'closed'_ sign over. "I'll just close up shop for a bit—"

"Close up shop?" She cut him off in disbelief.

"Alicia says I put too much pride in my work, and that I should use some of my energy toward more meaningful things, like family and friends."

"She's certainly changed you in ways that I could only ever dream of…" Lara-Le bit her lip, recalling the only thing to drive her away being his workaholic nature—which has since diminished drastically in replacement of the family values she always wished he had during their marriage.

She had heard through the grapevine that her ex-husband had changed for the better, but to see it in person was surely a sight to behold.

After closing up shop, he escorted her and her young son out the door, promising him any kind of food his little heart desired. Of course he chose a pizza place down the road.

It reminded her of those rare happy days, where he'd take her and Knuckles out to lunch at the very same place.

* * *

 _'The LGBT party was so grand. I never imagined in a million years I'd be able to get up on stage and share my story, or be proud of who I am._

 _My name is Rotor Walrus, I'm an eighteen year old senior at Green Hill Academy, and I'm officially an openly homosexual student._

 _For years I had been in a war with myself, forcing myself to believe otherwise because I was too afraid what the world would think of me, and the torment I watched the open LGBT kids face on a regular basis._

 _Some people are still like Jet around here, so intolerant and cruel. Their whispers and harsh comments used to hurt me so bad, but now they don't even affect me because for the first time in my life…_

 _I'm happy._

 _My father abandoned me, and I still get picked on here and there, but none of it phases me anymore._

 _Because I'm at peace with myself._

 _One of my biggest fears was losing Antoine, especially since we've become so close over the years, but he proved to truly be an amazing friend when he accepted me and tried to defend me against Jet._

 _Wave was that big push I needed out of my shell, causing a domino effect of ups and downs, but in the end it led me to where I am now, and I couldn't be more thankful to her._

 _And Sally. Ever since we were kids she's always went up to bat for us. When people picked on Antoine and Nicole for the way they spoke, when the neighbor kids would tease Bunnie about her missing limbs, and even when Tommy was getting taunted for his shyness. Sally would always stand at the ready to defend us with everything she had._

 _When she moved away, it was like saying goodbye to every hope we had. Then she magically appeared back to us this year, at a crucial time where I needed someone the most._

 _Because of them I'm free from my cage, and I'm finally seeing the world in color for the first time._

 _I can take the whispers, the comments, and the occasional shove of disgust with a smile from here on._

 _I have awesome friends, and the boy of my wildest dreams. That's all I need.'_

It was late at night, almost closing time for the electives building when Rotor made his way out of the gym and toward the boy's locker room. He had gotten into the habit of waiting for all of his classmates to finish up in the showers and leave before he entered.

It was a suggestion from Cobar, and so far it's been quite helpful to him in the past weeks. That nervous tension of walking into the crowded boy's locker room while he knew some students were still in sync with Jet's intolerance still had him uneasy, so showering much later after gym class had been a great solution.

He walked over to his locker and removed the sweat-stained gym clothes from his person. He sang a lovely tune as he fished out his shower gel and towel, then shut the tall metallic locker.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE!**

He jumped up in fright at his unexpected ringtone before he turned toward the phone he had placed down on the wooden bench behind him. He chuckled at himself, feeling foolish for getting so startled.

 ** _Cobar:_** _I had a lot of fun with you guys yesterday at the sleepover._

 ** _Rotor:_** _Me too, it was great! I can't get over how hilarious some of Storm's stories were._

 ** _Cobar:_** _He certainly is an entertaining one, they both are really._

 ** _Rotor:_** _What's the deal with them anyway? They were a little 'over-friendly'. I thought Wave was a lesbian?_

 ** _Cobar:_** _Well, to her knowledge she thought so too. Let's just say, she's back in the undecided category._

 ** _Rotor:_** _It'd be really ironic if she turned out to be straight all along, after forcing me out of my closet. Lol_

 ** _Cobar:_** _That would be a twist, wouldn't it?_

 ** _Rotor:_** _The biggest!_

 ** _Cobar:_** _So are you out of the showers yet?_

 ** _Rotor:_** _No why?_

 ** _Cobar:_** _I was thinking that maybe after you get done there…you could spend the night at my room again._

 ** _Rotor:_** _Are Storm and Wave gonna be there again?_

 ** _Cobar:_** _Actually, I just wanted it to be the two of us tonight…Is that okay?_

The walrus' face burned fifty shades of red as his heart near pounded right through his ribcage.

 ** _Rotor:_** _Absolutely! For sure! Let me just take a quick shower and I'll be on my way._

 ** _Cobar:_** _Sounds good!_

Rotor squealed, hopping up and down as he hugged the phone to his bare chest adoringly. The thought of spending the night all alone with the boy of his dreams was almost too much for his big little heart. He quickly tossed the phone into his bag before grabbing his shower gel to make a run for the showers.

He went to the furthest one on the right in the far corner, finding it to be the one with the warmest setting. He undid the towel from his waist and set it on the towel rack nearby. Then he walked over to the showerhead and turned one of the dials, releasing the warm liquid from its metallic confinement.

He put it on its highest setting before fully submerging himself beneath it, reveling in the relaxing touch of the warm droplets on his skin.

The shower room soon became clouded in a fog created by the hot water. The lights were already incredibly dim, making it even more difficult to see the surroundings, but it didn't bother the walrus. He paid no mind to it, opting to keep his eyes shut as he scrubbed the bubbling gel across his chest and hummed to himself.

 **CREAK!**

Another loud noise shot him out of his happy trance, sending a chill up his spine as he jumped and whipped his head toward the shower entrance. His heart raced as he tried to squint through the fog, unable to make out anything.

"Hello?" He called out nervously, "Is someone out there?!"

No response.

He shrugged, continuing to scrub himself although the eerie feeling that he was being watched wouldn't go away. He turned back to the shower entrance again nervously, once again seeing nothing before he turned back to the water, washing up a little faster now.

 **BEEP**

Another noise, this time a high pitched beeping sound. He whipped his head around again, this time his eye catching a tiny red light through the mist, something like that of a camera.

In a panic, he turned off the water and took a few steps back.

"Who are you!? Go away!" He coward, frightened by what could possibly be lurking in the mist.

That's when five figures emerged. The room wasn't lit well, only enough for him to make out the line art of their figures. Three of the five stepped forward, allowing the walrus a better view of them. It didn't help in identifying them very much since they each wore a different mask.

The one to the right was clearly a female holding a video camera, wearing a white bunny-mask. The one to the left was hunched over slightly, holding a hockey-stick with his face hidden beneath a black hockey-mask with red streaks at the sides. The one in the middle had his arms crossed, and his face concealed by a _'Guy Fawkes'_ mask. The two furthest away wearing simple black ski-masks.

"You're gonna send Glasses-Bitch a little message for us." The one in the middle growled maliciously, before snapping his fingers. All of them except for the one who spoke and the one holding the camera stepped closer and closer to the walrus who was paralyzed by fear.

He didn't know what to think, or what to do. He just froze, so terrified at the frightening figures beginning to close in on him.

Then the first blow came. A punch directly to his face. Then the hockey-stick swung down on his head, forcing him to cave to his knees on the tiled floor.

The camera captured every kick, every swing, and every horrid scream that escaped the poor walrus' lungs as the three assaulters savagely attacked him with such relentless force.

The girl holding the camera felt nauseous, clutching at her stomach with her free hand as the other held up the camera. She turned toward the only other masked-figure not partaking in the beating, disgusted by the amused smile she imagined behind his mask.

Much like his lynx friend, the walrus was a pacifist. Too against violence to defend himself—not that he would have known how to, or had enough strength to out-due three assailants and a heavy hockey-stick.

He was naked, and terrified. All he could do was uselessly scream for help and beg them to stop through bloodied lips. One of them stomped down forcefully on his chest, shattering his ribs with a heavy force. Another kicked his side, leaving a near endless trail of bruises along his body. All while the third attacker repeatedly swung the hockey-stick down on his face, the crunch of his noise breaking ringing in his ears.

" **PLEASE STOP!** " He begged, but they never let up.

The only one of them who seemed to feel sympathetic and wanted things to end was the girl behind the camera.

She watched in horror as the walrus' teeth flew across the floor, and the blood that violently poured from his face dripped down his frame and spilled over to the nearby drain.

"That's enough, Babe." She whispered to the masked figure beside her, tugging on his arm. "Tell them to stop!"

"Fuck off." He growled, shrugging her off as he stared at the scene playing out in front of him. "He deserves it, they all do."

At this point, Rotor was barely conscious, the only thing in his vision being the hockey-stick swinging down on him over and over again, and when it wasn't he couldn't see a thing through his now purple, swelled-shut eyes.

Kicks were still dealt from every which way, the stomping of his chest now at his genitals, and the hockey-stick still working his bloody and bruised face.

"Help…Help…" He mumbled weakly, the blood gurgling in his mouth making him barely audible.

 **SNAP!**

Finally the wooden hockey-stick gave away, and snapped in two. The loud noise surprised them all, stopping them from their attack.

"Dammit! That was my favorite stick!" The one in the black and red hockey-mask whined.

"It's fine." The leader of the bunch assured him, snapping his fingers once again. "We're done here anyway."

Two of the three boys standing over Rotor's barely conscious body nodded, retreating back to their leader's side. All except for the one in the hockey-mask.

"Are you serious?!" He shouted angrily, "I'm not even done yet!"

"I said let's go. Now."

Four of the figures turned their backs, ready to walk out, but their final member persisted without them. He picked up the long and now jagged-edged wooden stick from the floor before kicking the walrus over onto his stomach.

The sound of Rotor's cries called all of their heads to turn back…only to be met with a horrifying sight.

"What are you doing!?" The girl in the bunny-mask shrieked, watching as the masked-boy kicked the battered walrus' legs apart.

"You want to send that bitch a message right?" He smirked, positioning the jagged-edge of the stick to the walrus' rectum, emitting horrified gasps from all his friends.

"We didn't sign up for rape man!" One of the boys in the ski-masks yelped, grabbing the other before they both scrammed out of there. Leaving the girl with the recording camera and the leader to watch their friend commit an unspeakable act.

"This isn't part of the plan." The leader shook his head, panic clear in his voice. "You're fucking twisted man!"

"No, I'm generous." His friend chuckled, gripping the stick with both hands tightly. "I'm just giving Fairy-Princess what he wants." He added before plunging the sharp stick inside of walrus, jolting him out of his unconsciousness with a loud, painful, agonizing cry.

His friends watched in horror, mortified at the sight. The leader cringed, the sight being too brutal even for him. He clutched his stomach, staggering back as bile poured from his esophagus. The girl beside him sobbing, and the camera in her hands capturing the entire thing…

"Now that…" The psychotic boy said, pulling the wooden stick out forcefully. "Is how you send a fucking message."

* * *

Outside, patrolling the front grounds of campus were officers, Zespio and Zector. They'd made several perimeter checks in the last few hours, finding nothing amiss outside.

"Chaos, I love that shirt on you." The crocodile winked, making the chameleon blush and look away.

"Stop flirting with me on the clock. It's inappropriate." Zespio reprimanded him lightly, not hard enough to steer him away.

Instead, the taller officer walked behind him, and rested both hands on his shoulders, leaning over to whisper sensually in his ear.

"C'mon, everything's fine out here!" Zector whined cutely, "Let's just go take a break and… _'talk'_."

"Are you crazy?!" The chameleon blushed madly, "Zonic would have both our heads on a stake if we left our post."

"Hey, what he don't know…won't hurt him, right?"

"Well…I suppose not."

"Let's be real, kids sneak out of their rooms all the time here! What's it matter the one time we're not watching out for them?"

"Enough, you've got me sold."

" **YES!** "

The crocodile wasted no time grabbing the chameleon's hand to drag him away to a more secluded area, leaving their post by the fountain.

Just as their giggles and footsteps faded from the scene, a figure stepped out of the electives building and into the chilling night.

It was Rotor, bloody and battered, barely clothed, and dragging his feet as he struggled to keep balance. His vision was obstructed, nose broken, several teeth missing, and a pool of blood forming in the cargo-pants he had managed to put on.

Shame. It was the only thing he felt. The throbbing pain in his rear being a constant reminder of his violation.

Tears mixed with blood rolled off his bruised cheeks as he trudged across the grounds, only able to make it halfway before he collapsed on the cement and was forced to crawl with what little strength he had left.

 _'It'll never end. No matter how good life seems for a moment…There's always something around the corner waiting to ruin it all._

 _I was wrong. The world isn't colorful, it's nothing but blackness._

 _It'll never be better. It'll always be like this…'_

Amidst his horribly dark thoughts, he was called back to reality when his hand reached out to something in the dark before him.

It was the school flagpole.

He used it to hoist himself back up to his knees, giving him a glimpse of the automatic lever system used to pull up the school flag by the thick rope. With lifeless eyes he stared at the rope, the dark thoughts in his mind coaxing him to take it in his hand, and tie it into a noose.

 _'I don't want to hurt anymore… I don't want to… I can't.'_ He thought to himself, reaching out to the lever that would pull the rope around his neck upward and finally end the world for him.

Images of all his friends and most beautiful memories raged through his mind. Antoine, Bunnie, Nicole, Sally, Wave…and Cobar. The first time he ever kissed the echidna he loved so much, the amazing sleepover they had just yesterday, all of the beautiful memories.

Just when he found himself retracting his hand, that throbbing sensation triggered all the horrors and painful memories. His father throwing him out at Thanksgiving, the cruelty of students around campus since his coming out, and the vicious assault he had just endured.

The pain proved too much, and outweighed the good.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, before pulling the lever.

He closed his eyes, the world ending in a fraction of a second as he flew up with the rope, the weight of his body snapping his neck instantly.

Rotor Walrus, was no more…

* * *

 **And there you have it, our main character death was none other than the kind, Rotor Walrus. In the most horrifying, gruesome way possible. He was beaten severely, violated by a hockey-stick, and his emotional breakdown led him to hang himself on the school flagpole.**

 **But don't rest easy just yet, because this won't be the only major character death of the story...**

 **Knuckles and Sonia finally got to sit down and give each other that closure and comfort they both needed. Will anything come of it? Knowing Knux, there's always that possibility.**

 **The fog of naivety and ignorance surrounding Cosmo and Tails is starting to become clearer, but will they realize things aren't alright with the poor rabbit before it's too late?**

 **Megan has given birth to newborn baby girl she dubbed Alexis Acorn, only the child looks nothing like him. Oh, what will come of this pairing?**

 **As for the two extras that accompanied Jet, Tekno, and Eclipse on their crime, they're no one important. Just filler characters! So don't rack your brain on figuring out who they are. Just know that Jet honestly didn't mean to take it that far, Tekno didn't want any part in the first place, and Eclipse is a complete and utter psycho. Why you ask? That'll be explained. The real question is, will they ever be caught?**

 **Blaze is emotionally attracted to Silver, but still has sexual desires for Sonic, whom she feels physically attracted to still. Forcing Silver into his old clothes was her way of merging the two for her desire, even if it costed Silver his freedom of expression. After that blew up in her face, rather than admitting to herself that her problems center around her selfish action, she pins it all on boys, and approaches the already sexually-confused Wave to convert her into a lesbian. Just a prime example of sexuality-ignorance.**

 **Mephiles seems to have a great interest in her, and that self-loathing might work in his favor...**

 **Locke's ex-wife, Lara-Le is back in town, and quite smitten with the new man Alicia has turned him into.. Makes you wonder if the Alicia/Locke wedding will ever happen, or who ruined it if it doesn't? Also, Kneecapeon is Knuckles' young half-brother who is ironically the same age as his own daughter, Lara-Su.**

 **Mina is not liking that distance Shard is forcing, but could anyone blame him? He thinks she's pregnant after all... Will the DigItalian hedgehog ever find happiness? Only time will tell...**

 **Silver is finally happy and lively again, but at the expense of the only girl he's ever really loved. Now he's made amends with sweetheart, Gold. Will he ever find the strength to move on from Blaze, or will he be crawling back on his knees to her in no time at all?**

 **Special Note:**

 **This ending was especially upsetting for me to right, and now I feel as though it is the time to say Rotor's entire storyline is based on true events. He was a religious boy at one of the boarding schools I attended as a kid. He was secretly gay, and when he told his family he was disowned, and once everyone at school found out he got picked on relentlessly. He ended up committing suicide on school grounds in a similar fashion.**

 **I'm sure you've all heard about the LGBT shootings in Orlando by now, and the outrage over the possible lesbian couple in Finding Dory. The timing for this is pretty ironic, but cases like Rotor's are still a harsh reality as evident in the ignorant stunts mentioned.**

 **Whether you're religious, straight, or are just confused by various other sexualities...you shouldn't be cruel or intolerant based on sexual preference.**

 **There are thousands of cases like Rotor's, each preventable by one simple thing...acceptance. Be weary of your views, because you never know which one of your close friends or family members could be suffering in the closet.**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Rotor's body is discovered by the one person you'd wish hadn't...**

 **Hearts all over campus are shattered, and nearly everyone is devastated by the news**

 **We look back at Sonic's first encounter with the Freedom Fighters in grade school**

 **Eclipse swears all of the assaulters to secrecy, but Tekno makes a dangerous move to throw them all in hot water**

 **The blame is put on the one person it shouldn't be put on...**

 **Sally finally reveals her face scars**

 **Doors open up on a new love interest for Rouge?**

 **Alicia gives Rotor's dad the horrible news...**

 **And so much more!**


	48. Chapter 48

**WARNING: Topic of suicide, and suicide aftermath **

* * *

**Chapter 48: Prayers For Rotor**

Antoine was the first to wake, as usual. He's always been an early bird since he was young, and often went to bed quite early too.

He sat up in his bed, the red Egyptian silk sheets a tangled mess from his rigorous thrashing. A side-effect of the night terrors that had plagued him since his beloved friend Tommy's demise. He tried to steady his rapid breathing, using the back of his left hand to wipe the sweat from his brow.

He then looked out toward the two boys sound asleep in their respective corners. Sonic laid sprawled out on his messy blue sheets, while Tails was curled up like a cocoon with his yellow blanket. Then he peered over to the bed beside his, expecting to see his best friend Rotor sound asleep too, but to his surprise the walrus was not there.

The purple-sheeted bed looked completely untouched, as did the contacts container resting on the dresser beside it. The blonde coyote found it very odd, considering his friend could hardly see without his contacts. He only took them off before gym, opting to wear safety goggles instead.

 _'He must have gone to see his boyfriend.'_ Antoine thought to himself, shrugging off the confusion as he got out of bed to ready himself for the day.

He tiptoed around the room as he prepared his clothes and styled his hair, careful not to disturb the sleeping fox and hedgehog. Being one to take much pride in his prim appearance, it took him about half an hour to get ready, still not a single soul awake on campus other than him.

He then grabbed his briefcase-styled bag and headed out the door. He strolled down the silent halls until he got down to the lounge, where he made himself some coffee in the small kitchen area off to the side of the comfy seating area.

Then he walked out of the building into the cold outdoors, the styrofoam cup of hot coffee keeping his hands warm as he begun to cross over from the boy's dorm to the main building. The coyote sang to himself, a tune from his hometown of Mercia.

 **CREAK…CREAK…CREAK…**

Halfway across the campus he ceased his movement, ears picking up on a noise that repeated itself every so often. Nervously, he spun around to look in every which direction, but saw nothing.

 **CREAK…CREAK…CREAK…**

The sound persisted, confusing and terrifying him even more. His hands began to shake the cup of hot liquid, panicked by the eerie noise that continued. It sounded so close, but wherever he looked he saw nothing out of the ordinary.

Until he looked upward, eyes widening at a horrifying discovery. His mouth hung open, and the cup slipped from his grasp and bursted on the cemented walkway beneath him before he let out the loudest, horrific scream anyone could ever imagine.

It was a lifeless, bloody, bruised Rotor. Hanging from the thick rope meant for raising the Mobius flag. The creaking sound had been his cold body swaying with the harsh winds.

His horrid scream was enough to jolt several people around campus out of their slumbers, including the little fox he left sleeping in his room.

Tails immediately sprung to life at the horrid scream, eyes widening in terror at such a bloodcurdling cry. He looked around the room nervously, finding that only Sonic was there, still asleep on his bed. The young kitsune tore his blanket away before stepping onto the wooden floor, following the desperate screams and cries that led him toward looking out the window.

Upon seeing the walrus hanging from the flagpole, his breathing ceased, as he was paralyzed from the horrific reality. He gripped the windowsill tightly, his breathing returned weak, shallow, and raspy.

His inhalation was what stirred the blue hedgehog across the room awake. He fluttered his jade eyes open before sitting up to see the young fox staring blankly out the window.

"Tails?" He called out, receiving no response. "Tails? Hello?! What the hell are you staring at—"

After not receiving any reply from the kitsune, he decided to get up and walk over to see what Tails had been looking at, and Chaos he wish he hadn't. He instantly wrapped both arms around Tails, flinging him away from the window and onto the floor with him as he shut his eyes, trying to erase the horrible image from his mind.

"Don't look…" He begged Tails, who had already seen too much.

"That…That was Rotor… He's dead, Sonic." The fox stammered, eyes glistening with tears as he returned Sonic's tight embrace.

* * *

Elias and his mother had spent all night at the hospital with Megan, and newborn Alexis. They were both in their separate cars, his following hers as they pulled up into the school parking lot. They both got out, walking around the vehicles to meetup for one last chat before heading off to the campus.

"You'll make a wonderful father, Elias." His mother smiled, resting an adoring hand to his cheek.

He nodded, gaze cast downward as he thought about the little girl he bore no resemblance to whatsoever, and Honey's claims.

"What in the world is going on over there?" His mother questioned, making the prince lift his head to look out toward the campus grounds she had been staring at.

From the parking lot, they saw a horde of bodies surrounding the middle section of campus, the roars and cries sounding clear across the field.

"I'm not sure." Elias answered, following the chipmunk woman as she marched across the grassy field.

When they got close enough, they too had the misfortune of seeing the battered walrus' body. Elias nearly vomited on sight, while Alicia clasped both hands over her mouth in horror.

Sweet Rotor, once a neighbor boy she watched grow up with her own children. It only pained her more to spot his close friends in the crowd, grieving and crying out—including her other two children.

As much as she wanted to cry and cave into grief, she knew she had to keep professional and do her job. Her sapphire eyes scanned the crowd until they fell upon a tall blue hedgehog. She marched over to him, grabbing him by the black shirt collar to bring him face-to-face with her.

" **HOW DID THIS HAPPEN, OFFICER?!** " She screamed in his face.

"We're not sure." He admitted, his tone ridden with guilt. "Sometime late last night."

"You two." The principal called out, addressing the two remaining officers standing by. "Get this crowd under control. I want everyone in their rooms. As of right now, we're going under lockdown."

"Yes, Ma'am." The chameleon and crocodile nodded before they began directing the students on the lawn back to their dorms.

"And you…" She said, turning her attention back to the hedgehog she held by the shirt. Tears unconsciously cascading down her face. "Cut him down…Please." Her command sounded more like a plea, breaking his heart before she let him go.

"Alicia…" A voice called out to her before a hand was rested at her shoulder. She turned around to see the worried baby-blue eyes of, Tikal the Echidna.

"You said you'd take on everyone's case if you could. Did you mean that?" The chipmunk asked, turning around to fully face the orange-haired woman.

"Absolutely."

"Good." Principal Acorn nodded, "Because I want every student on campus assessed."

Zespio and Zector did everything they could to disperse the crowd, having to reprimand several of the more stubborn ones until a few remained. Zonic stood by the flagpole's lever system, trying to figure out how to lower the rope.

Antoine struggled in the grasp of his remaining friends, Nicole, Sally, and Bunnie, refusing to leave the walrus behind. He wiggled away from them before bolting toward the pole, sobbing and reaching out desperately to his deceased friend.

Zonic, Zespio, Zector, Alicia, and Tikal. They all looked at him with the utmost sympathy before turning back to their tasks with broken hearts—none more broken than the coyote's.

Wave and Storm carried a sobbing Cobar away once ordered by Zector to retreat. Stumbling back toward his room weakly, without taking his eyes off Rotor's body for a second was none other than, Jet the Hawk. Wide-eyed, mouth ajar, and heart heavy with guilt.

For he was not seeing Rotor's body hanging from a flagpole.

It was his brother again. Predator Hawk, hanging from the ceiling fan in his room…

"What did we do?" He asked himself in a pained whisper before Eclipse dragged him back toward the boy's dorm.

* * *

Soon, Rotor's suicide had spread around campus like wildfire. Photos and videos taken on several cellphones of his body going viral on every social media site imaginable. Not many knew him personally, or cared to, but his death struck a chord with almost everyone on campus some way or another.

Tikal immediately rushed to Principal Acorn's office, gathering every single file of every student from the cabinet with the assistance of Officer Zonic. He followed her down the hall as she sprinted toward her office.

"Take it easy, Tikal…" He ordered, setting the stack of files down on her desk before walking over to her.

"Take it easy?!" She wailed, turning around to face him with tears in her eyes, such sorrow in her voice. "A student just killed himself! And I probably could have prevented it—"

"You don't know that." The blue hedgehog shook his head, fighting back guilty tears of his own. "Maybe I could have if I had been patrolling that area instead, but we can't think like that. We've got jobs to do."

She sniffled, throwing herself into his arms for a tight and assuring embrace.

"You're right." She nodded over his shoulder, clutching the back of his shirt tightly in her hands. She then pulled away to search through the stack of files for a moment. "I know we're supposed to be on lockdown, but I doubt anyone will stay in their room willingly at a time like this. It'll make this a lot more difficult, but you need to bring me these students to speak with."

"I understand." He nodded, taking the piece of paper she had just scribbled several random names down on.

* * *

All hell had broken loose on campus. Confining the students to their respective dorms proved too much for the two officers alone, as many students scattered about campus in search of friends or loved ones with no fear of consequences.

Mighty sprinted frantically from the boy's dorm toward the main building, one hand tightly gripped around Fiona's wrist as he used his shoulder to charge through the crowd of students swarming the campus grounds. The vixen tumbled and staggered as he dragged her with such a quickness, a concerned expression on her face as his tears sprinkled back at her with the wind.

" **RAY!** " He shouted desperately, shoving everyone out of his way until he reached the double-doors to the main building.

"Mighty…" Fiona murmured, watching him zip down every hall as his shoes screeched to turn corners.

Finally they made it to the nurse's office. It was unclear whether the door had been locked at all or not, because the armadillo just slammed his shoulder into it and broke the hinges anyway.

Sitting in the white-sheeted cot with a clear oxygen mask strapped to his face was the shaky, little, yellow squirrel they had been searching for. He tilted his head in confusion as Mighty let go of Fiona's hand to rush over and hug him.

"M-Mighty?" Ray mumbled into his sobbing brother's shoulder.

He hadn't known Rotor personally, but the walrus' suicide had stirred up those awful _'what if'_ thoughts that occasionally crossed his mind.

 _'What if Ray hadn't made it through surgery?_

 _What if Julie-Su and Knuckles hadn't been there in time for Matilda's suicide attempt?_

 _What if they had died in that crash?_

 _What if I ever lost them?'_

Fiona stood behind them by the curtain, staring down at her shoes with an afflicted expression. She felt so out of place, like she was intruding on a personal moment. She thought about leaving, but before her feet could turn, Mighty had grabbed her wrist and pulled her their way.

She soon found herself engulfed in their familial hug. Her eyes watering instantly, never having known such a feeling before.

She had never known a place she could call home, or had anyone worthy of loving, or calling _'family'_.

But Mighty gave her it all. Everything she could ever want was with him.

* * *

 _"Hello?"_ Lara-Su answered the phone in her cute toddler voice.

 _"Hi, Sweetheart."_ Julie-Su replied, using the back of her hand to wipe the tears in her eyes. _"It's Mommy."_

 _"Mommy? Are you crying?"_

 _"A little bit."_ She nodded, wiping her soaked hand on the gray sheets of her bed.

She was another student who didn't particularly know the walrus, but as a mother, his suicide had a very emotional impact on her. She had the misfortune of arriving outside just in time to see his body, an image she only prayed would vanish from her memory someday.

Afterward, she felt the overwhelming need to call home, to hear her daughter's voice.

 _"I don't like when you cry."_ Lara-Su whimpered sadly on the other line.

 _"I just miss you so much."_ Her mother replied, _"I can't wait to see you again."_

 _"I miss you too!"_

 _"You know Mommy loves you very much, right?"_

 _"Mhm! A whole lot!"_

After some time on the phone with the four year old, Julie-Su said her goodbyes, at peace enough to get a grip on herself once again. She leaned her head back on the wall, violet eyes trailing the other three beds in the room. Sonia and Cream were among the crowd of worried girls downstairs, while Rouge was only just now waking up.

"Chaos, you talk so damn loud." The bat huffed, sitting up to glare at the echidna across the room. She was always grouchy when she got up, no matter how late she slept in.

"Sorry." Julie-Su mumbled.

"Are you okay?" Rouge asked, noticing the redness of her roommate's eyes.

"Some kid committed suicide on campus this morning…"

" **WHAT?!** "

"He…He hung himself from the flagpole. I walked outside just in time to see his body…"

"Oh no…" Rouge mumbled, leaping out of bed to search around the room for her clothes. "No, no, no, no."

"Rouge?" The echidna questioned, watching the anxious bat struggle with her boots. "Where are you going?"

"I've gotta find Shadow." She replied hastily.

"The school's on lockdown. We're supposed to be in our dorms."

" **I DON'T GIVE A FUCK.** " She bellowed, rushing out the door without a second to spare.

* * *

 _' "Hi, are you new here?" He asked me._

 _"Y-Yeah…" I mumbled, so bashful and unconfident back then. "My name is…Sonic."_

 _"Nice to meet ya'!" He cheered, extending his arm out to me. I hesitated shyly before shaking his hand. Then he gave me one of the kindest smiles I had ever seen in my life. "My name's Rotor."_

 _I was about nine, starting at a new school that had just been built in the neighborhood. Believe it or not, I wasn't always confident and cool. I was one of the biggest losers Mobius had ever seen. Bad posture, nasally voice, and still wore floaties when I went swimming. A complete reject._

 _Tails was still at the kiddy school, Sonia was on the scholar floor way upstairs, and Manic was always off somewhere…_

 _It was just me…until Rotor showed up and changed my world._

 _"Wanna come sit with me and my friends?" He asked, gesturing toward the group of misfits at the wooden table behind him._

 _I nodded before he led me over to the table, introducing me to each one._

 _"This is Bunnie! She's from Sand Blast City." She was_ _ **SO**_ _beautiful. Radiating with confidence and kindness. You'd hardly notice any of her limbs were prosthetics._

 _"Hiya Sugah!" She greeted, making me blush madly._

 _"This is Antoine. He's from Mercia. French is his first language, so it's kind of hard to understand him." He was a bit, rude. Didn't even offer me a greeting._

 _"This is Nicole. She's DigItalian, and super smart!" She was adorable. Her manner of speaking was weird, but she was cute nonetheless._

 _"Greetings." She smiled._

 _"And last but not least…This is Tommy. He's a little shy too. So don't feel alone."_

 _"H-Hi…" The turtle mumbled, barely audible with hiding half his face beneath his shell._

 _They called themselves the Freedom Fighters, because they strived for equal rights for everyone. Really fitting for a group made up of losers, foreign kids, a handicap, and a closeted-gay._

 _They were the first ones to ever take me in with arms wide open, and I'll never forget what they did for me. They saved me from one lonely year, and gave me a ton of amazing memories._

 _It took a while, but Antoine eventually warmed up to me, and at some point even saw me as one of his best friends ever. Tommy looked up to me more than even Tails did, Bunnie gave me girl advice all the time, and Nicole helped me with my homework._

 _And Rotor… He was the start of it all. That simple kind gesture made me everything I am today._

 _They helped me grow my confidence, and gave me the best support system I've ever known._

 _Then middle school rolled around, and my priorities got all fucked up with it. I didn't want to be a loser anymore. I wanted to take my new found confidence and be somebody. I knew to do that, I'd have to surround myself with a new circle made up of more favorable characters._

 _Knuckles was a star-athlete in every division, Amy's always been popular on social media, Rouge was the 'it girl', and Cream was like everyone's little sister. Then Shadow and Blaze came along a little later._

 _Before I knew it, I had cut all ties with ever being associated with the gang of misfits that once called me friend, but in turn I became one of the most popular kids to ever roam the halls of any school I went to after that._

 _Now if you ask me if I still think it was worth it…_

 _I'd tell you to go fuck yourself._

 _Antoine has had trust issues ever since my departure, Tommy got addicted to drugs to cope with the sudden change, which led to his car accident._

 _Now Rotor's gone…and I never got the chance to apologize…_

 _I ruined them… I destroyed the Freedom Fighters._

 _It should be me hanging from that noose.'_

Sonic sat on his bed, stroking a crying Tails' back as he watched Sally, Bunnie, and Nicole drag a heaving Antoine over to his bed. The sight was just agonizing, watching his old best friends grieve so badly, while knowing another was dead.

"Sugah, you need to relax." Bunnie pleaded, reaching out to put a comforting hand on the coyote's shoulder.

He shook her off, running over to the untouched purple-sheeted bed beside his to kneel down by it and sob into the silk fabric.

"I should have known zomthing waz wrong!" He wailed, "I should have called…"

"This isn't your fault, Antoine." Nicole assured him, walking over to help him up to his feet before he fell limp into her arms and sobbed madly into her shoulder.

Sally and Bunnie both fell in line, turning it into a mourning group hug as they held one another and cried together. Sonic and Tails could only look on in sorrow, too ashamed to say a thing after their desertion.

Against all of his guilt, the blue hedgehog set Tails aside to get up and make a run for the group hug, desperately wanting to join his old friends in their grieving because he felt so compelled, but before he could do a thing the door to his room swung open.

Everyone turned to see an angry, teary-eyed orange echidna rush in. A worried albatross and swallow at the door.

" **YOU!** " He screamed, pointing a finger toward the auburn-haired chipmunk as he stomped toward her. " **THIS IS YOUR FAULT!** "

"Cobar… I didn't—" She was silenced once the upset echidna sent her an incredibly painful slap to her face, glasses falling to the floor.

" **YOU MADE HIM A TARGET!** " He screamed angrily.

Everyone gasped in shock. Just before the echidna could have at her with another slap, the albatross and swallow he had arrived with grabbed both of his arms and held him back.

Then all eyes turned to Sally, who had turned her head back up right. She let the hand she had cupping her cheek fall lazily to her side, revealing to the entire room what her glasses had been concealing all along.

"Oh my Stars…" Bunnie breathed, shocked at the sight of her friend's face.

Tails clutched his stomach, sickened by her scarred face. Even Cobar and the birds he came with looked mortified.

"Sally…" Sonic whispered, staring with mouth ajar.

Tiny cuts, little glossy lashes across the skin in every which direction around her teary eyes. Normally she'd do everything to hide it, but she was so emotionally drained. Too guilt ridden by the echidna's accusation to care.

The blue hedgehog inched closer to her, but just before he could touch her, she grabbed her glasses from the ground and bolted out of the crowded room.

* * *

"Shadow?!" Rouge yelled, barging into the room of her two beloved hedgehog friends. Manic's bed was empty, and the room was dark, but she managed to spot the red stripes of her dear friend. Her heart broke at the devastating sight of him.

He was in the corner of his bed, curled up with his knees at his chest as he rocked himself back and forth, repeating the same thing over and over.

"Maria… Maria… Maria… I'm so sorry."

She rushed to his side, pulling him up to hold him at her chest.

He was one of the many who had awoken to the coyote's scream, and got a glimpse of the walrus' body before he was lowered down.

Rotor's death had triggered such horrible memories that the hedgehog thought he had overcome. He was seeing things in his head that he thought he'd never have to see again. Seeing the walrus' body had brought his mind back to the very day he watched his beloved Maria throw herself off the school roof, backtracking completely in his recovery process.

Her long blonde hair flowing upward as gravity dragged her downward, her beautiful sapphire eyes glossed over in tears, and the crunch sound when her body collided with the pavement bellow.

"Shadow, get a grip!" Rouge called out, shaking the black hedgehog by the shoulders as he looked lazily into the distance. "Please!" She begged.

He couldn't recognize her, the distorted images of Maria's crushed body clouding his mind like mist, but he could hear her.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" He apologized over and over again, watching the blonde girl throw herself off the roof on replay.

Rouge whimpered, tears cascading down her own cheeks as she remembered him like this once before. Just like when she found him on the same roof, ready to throw himself over the same edge. She cupped his face, forcing his crimson eyes to meet her teal ones.

Peering into those familiar teal-colored eyes gave him all the clarity he needed to dispel the morbid thoughts, bringing him back down to earth.

"I could have stopped her. I could have saved her."

"No you couldn't have." Rouge shook her head, "She wanted to go…"

Tears spilled over in his eyes, falling on the sheets beneath them as she held his face in her hands. He didn't want to believe such a thing, but it was the reality of it. Maria wanted to go out on her own terms, not with the disease eating her alive.

"But you can't…" He murmured, staring his longtime friend directly in the eye. " **DON'T EVER GO!** " He cried out in anguish, cupping her face the way she did him. "Promise me, you'll never leave me."

"I promise." She assured him, pressing her forehead against his. "I'll never leave you Shadow, ever. Not for anything."

They stood that way, with their foreheads pressed together as they cupped each other's faces and cried together. Moments later, to her surprise he leaned over and erased all the space between them, catching her lips in a deep kiss.

* * *

Scourge sat up in the backseat of his car, stretching his arms out wide before letting out a tired yawn. Mephiles and Rosy had been arguing, so that just left him to drink by himself last night. He fell asleep in his car, too drunk to even think about walking back to his room.

He moved his feet across the many cans and bottles that littered the floor before opening the car door to free himself. He stepped out into the chilly day, holding his arm up to shield his eyes from the brunt of the bright light.

"Fuck." He groaned, his sensitive eyes stringing from the sudden lighting.

The green hedgehog then took off toward campus grounds, raising an eyebrow when he caught sight of several police cars and an ambulance. He looked around, noticing the principal talking with a few officers, while paramedics threw a sheet over a stretcher.

"Hey kid!" He called out, grabbing the shirt of a stuck up lynx boy with thick eyebrows. "What the hell's going on here?"

"Didn't you hear? Some kid hung himself on the flagpole."

" **WHAT?!** " The hedgehog shrieked, mind instantly recalling the depressed Manic he pulled away from the ledge of a bridge not too long ago. " **WHO?!** "

"Dunno." The lynx shrugged, "Just some loser."

Scourge gritted his teeth, shoving the lynx to the ground before darting off toward the boy's dorm. He sifted through the crowd of bodies in the lounge, not one of them green. Then he rushed up the stairs toward Manic's room, only to find it empty.

Panic started to take over, his heart beating faster and faster as he searched the dorm. No sign of him anywhere.

He ran across the field into the main building, dashing down every hall as his eyes darted left-to-right in search of the younger green hedgehog.

"Manic?!" He called out, opening every classroom door. " **MANIC!** " He screamed, growing increasingly worried and frustrated.

As he skidded a corner, he spotted green spiky quills. He backtracked to see the very hedgehog he was looking for step out of a room with a confused look.

"Scourge?—" Before he could even get out another word, the older hedgehog dashed over and threw his arms around him.

"You idiot." Scourge mumbled over his shoulder, relieved tears rolling off his cheeks. "I thought that was you…"

Manic blushed in surprise, not having seen this side of Scourge in so long.

"I'm sorry." He apologized.

The room Manic had just walked out of was the counselor's office, and she was at her desk peering at the two from the slightly ajar door with interest.

* * *

After sometime, Eclipse had managed to capture the canary girl who had been hiding from him. He dragged her by her short green hair toward Jet's room as she kicked and cried out for help. Unfortunately for her, most of the students were downstairs in the lounge.

The darkling kicked the door open and flung her inside before slamming the door shut behind himself, leaning up against it to trap the four other occupants. He crossed his arms, darting his eyes to the two freshmen boys who had fled, the cowering canary on the floor, and the zoned-out Jet sitting on his bed. In the middle of the room, in a pile on the floor were all their masks, and the broken pieces of the hockey-stick.

"No one leaves until we fucking talk." Eclipse growled at them, shooting each of them a cold glare.

"That kid is dead!" One of the freshmen boys who aided them shrieked, "You're gonna go to jail!" He added, pointing an accusing finger at the darkling.

"Me?" He retorted, snatching the kid's finger to bend backwards before shoving him to the ground with Tekno. "I'm not going to fucking jail! I didn't kill anybody!"

" **WE TOLD YOU TO STOP!** " Tekno cried out angrily.

"Yeah, but I didn't kill him!"

"You pushed him!" The other freshmen boy bellowed, "You're the one who drove him to it."

"Fine." Eclipse retorted, "Maybe I did, but you know what that makes all of you?!" He asked, pointing his finger out at each of them. "Accessories, meaning if I go down, we're **ALL** going down."

"What?" The first boy whimpered, blue eyes brimming with tears. "I can't go to jail. I'll never survive in there!"

"Then you fuckers all better listen to what I say." The darkling huffed, "No one says a fucking a thing. You got that? No one saw us, and so far no one's asking questions. Let's keep it that way."

"We can't pretend like nothing happened." The green-eyed freshmen muttered, "It's wrong."

"Wrong or not, at least you won't be somebody's bitch in jail, Princess." Eclipse scolded him.

"He's right."

"Fine… I'll stay quiet. I promise."

"Good." The darkling smirked, allowing the two boys to leave before slamming the door shut.

Tekno glared at him from her place on the floor, elbows propping her up as she edged herself away as he came closer.

"You, delete that fucking video now." He ordered, grabbing her by the hair again to painfully hoist her back up.

She whimpered loudly, looking over at a zombified Jet for assistance of any kind, but he was paralyzed.

So the canary reluctantly reached into her purse for her tablet and begun scrolling through her videos.

"Jet." Eclipse growled, turning toward the defective leader of the bunch. "You better have heard all that. You're the fuck that got us into this mess. Are you listening?!"

While Eclipse was busy trudging over to scold the comatose Jet, the canary found the video. She opened up the options menu, tears falling on the screen as she held her finger over the delete button.

She wanted no part in the assault in the first place, but her insecurities had forced her into a position where she made a wrong choice, one that resulted in someone's death. The guilt had been eating away at her since the beating happened last night.

She had done such a horrible thing, for the sake of not being an outcast again, but at the expense of someone's life. Someone who probably had a family and friends.

More than anything, she wanted to right her wrongs somehow, and she could only think of one way to do that.

She moved her finger one column up, hitting the group message button. In less than a second, she had anonymously sent out the video to everyone on campus, hoping that someone would recognize Jet and Eclipse.

* * *

Tikal sighed in relief, getting up from her desk to take a break and stroll down the hall. She had just got done checking up on her three-hundredth student. She had already seen more than half of the entire student body, assessing them to make sure there wasn't any red flags. Aside from a few triggered and more fragile students, for the most part no one really seemed to care.

She took off down the hall, her bright-orange hair bouncing back and forth with each click of her heels on the ground. Coming down the hall, she noticed the purple nurse with a clipboard in hand and a sorrowful expression.

"Bernadette, how are things on your end?" The echidna asked, stopping in front of the purple hedgehog to talk.

"Rough." The blonde mumbled, flipping through papers on her wooden clipboard. "This suicide has pushed a lot of students with suicidal thoughts or tendencies into coming forth. I've been documenting self-harm injuries all day. I'll be sure to fax you over a few names."

"This is just awful." Tikal breathed, shaking her head in dismay. "Are you doing okay?"

"I'm fine. I just got done speaking with the police." Bernadette assured her, "It's not me you should be worried about. It's Alicia. She takes things like this really hard. These kids mean as much to her as her own kids do."

"I'm gonna go look for her." The echidna replied before saying her farewells.

She then journeyed down the hall, noticing Rosemary tending to her crying son in the main office, and a crowd of mourning LGBT students by the exit.

After seeing that the chipmunk's office was vacant, Tikal jogged out of the building toward the flagpole where she discovered the principal staring up to it with a painful gaze.

"Alicia… Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." The chipmunk replied in a far-from-alright tone. She turned away from the echidna and toward the parking lot.

"You don't sound fine—"

"I've got a job to do." Alicia retorted harshly, stomping away toward her car. "Continue seeing to students."

"Where are you going?"

"I've got to make the call…"

Alicia quickly darted across the field and hopped into the driver's seat of her car. She watched as Tikal turned to head back inside before she caved into the pain swelling in her heart. With no one in sight, she let out all her angst in painful cries, hitting her head on the steering wheel as she gripped it tightly in her hands.

In the midst of her outburst, her eye caught sight of something sitting in the passenger seat. It was the black duffle bag that Jules had given her before his departure. Untouched and sitting in plain sight. In a fit of rage she shoved it to the floor.

With deep breaths, she managed to calm herself down eventually before pulling out her cellphone.

* * *

 _"Church of Chaos, you've reached Pastor Sherman Walrus."_

 _"Sherman, it's me, Principal Acorn."_

 _"Alicia?"_ The walrus rose from his slouched position on the comfy red chair. His facial features instantly tensed into one of disgust. _"Are you calling as a confessional? Chaos knows you must need one."_

 _"This isn't the time to get pissy over the shitty kid I used to be, Chaos dammit!"_ She screeched through the speaker, making him cringe.

 _"Then to what do I owe this displeasure?"_ He growled, irritated by her tone.

 _"Dammit, it's your son, Sherman…"_ She wailed.

 _"My son?"_ He repeated, recalling how he abruptly threw his son out after the news of his homosexuality _. "What sins against Chaos has he committed now?"_

 _"Sherman… Rotor's dead."_

The heavy-set walrus' mouth dropped, reality hitting him like a ton of bricks. He blinked twice, silently trying to register what the now crying chipmunk had just said.

 _"Are you still there, Sherman?"_ Alicia called out uselessly into her phone.

He had ended the call, and walked out of his office and into the halls. Apparently, he wasn't the first to get the news, as another pastor approached him with the book of Chaos in his hands.

"Pastor Sherman." He greeted with a nod, "Where are you off to?"

"I'm going to pray." The walrus replied, completely monotone as he trudged off toward the chapel.

"To Chaos for your son's immortal soul?" The pastor questioned curiously, "I heard of his homo-erotic affliction, and suicide. Both the kind of sins that may damn him to the netherworld."

"I'm going to pray to my son." Sherman replied, turning toward the other pastor to reveal the tears rolling down his face. "For his forgiveness."

* * *

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 **Anonymous: VIDEO SENT.**

"Oh my Chaos…" Storm breathed in disbelief, opening up the video message that had been anonymously sent to him—as well as everyone else in school.

"What?" Wave questioned, leaving Cobar's side to look over his shoulder as the horrible video played.

Cobar sat on the bed before them, looking up at them through tears. He instantly recognized the voice screaming out in agony through the speaker of the albatross' phone.

"What is that?" The echidna questioned, standing up from the bed. "Is that Rotor?" He inched closer to them before Wave put a hand to his chest to stop him.

"You…You shouldn't." She stammered, bile churning in her stomach after thirty seconds of the video.

In response the upset echidna swatted her hand away and grabbed the phone from Storm's hands.

What he saw was brutal beyond words, and would haunt him for the rest of his life….

* * *

 **You don't have to be directly associated with someone to feel the impact of suicide. We all have depressed loved ones that we worry for on a constant basis. The topic itself can be triggering for anyone. A lot of these characters never had an on-screen encounter with Rotor, but that doesn't make their reactions any less emotional or relevant.**

 **When something this devastating happens, rational thinking goes out the window, and everyone immediately looks for someone to blame. Cobar pins Rotor's death on the very person who tried to defend the LGBT community, believing that Sally's revolt had made Rotor a bigger target.**

 **Rotor's suicide has stirred up triggering memories for both Jet and Shadow, who have witnessed a loved one commit suicide before.**

 **With Jet mentally out of commission, Eclipse has taken command and has proven how sadistic he can be. Makes you wonder who the real 'bad guy' in this scenario is. With the video of their attack going viral, will the assaulters ever see justice? Or will they actually get away with it all?**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **A funeral is held in memory of Rotor Walrus**

 **More suicide (attempts?) and unexpected kisses**

 **Alicia finally opens the bag Jules left her with...**

 **Sally's scrutinized relentlessly by the people she once tried to help**

 **Silver's come to a realization, one that Blaze might not take so well**

 **Mina's worst nightmare is finally realized**

 **Sally and Amy both want the same boy, but will their objectives shift toward more favorable love interests?**

 **And so much more**

 **Review Replies**

 **MeBeKiki: You almost got it right! But wow, awesome context clue searching! With that kind of detective work I have no doubt you'd unravel some of the bigger secrets if you tried. **

**TheHunterPersian: I'm sorry! I felt bad about it, but I had to! **

**Fairlyoddme: Everyone's gotta go through their shitty moments sometimes. Right now that person is Blaze. As for Elias' situation, don't get too worried. This story is very LOOSELY based on the comics/games/shows. Rotor never died in the comics. Take that as a sign that anything can happen, canon or not. **


	49. Chapter 49

**WARNING: Funeral, suicide attempts, topic of abortion and homophobia**

* * *

 **Chapter 49: You're Where I Belong**

The air was extra chilly today, the winds blowing much more fierce than usual. Not even the sun could find the strength to shine through the mass of dark clouds on this dreary day.

Hanging over the six foot deep hole in the ground was a sleek, wooden casket. Resting atop was a framed picture of a cheery, Rotor Walrus.

There was a crowd of black-dressed figures swarming around scene. Women dabbing tissues at their teary eyes as men tried their best to hold it together. It was silent, the somber mood causing a wave of tension before Antoine walked over to the casket and turned to address the crowd.

"M-My name iz, Antoine D'Coolette. Rotor was my best friend for as long as I can remember." Through shallow breaths and a thick accent, the coyote did his best to sound coherent. "H-He was always s-so, so…" His voice trailed off as he turned back to the picture resting on the casket, too distraught to speak any further.

"It's okay, Sugah…" A saddened Bunnie whispered to him from the front of the crowd, gesturing him back over to her, Sally, and Nicole.

He shook his head, opting to storm out of the cemetery and into the nearby woods to compose himself elsewhere. As he rushed off passed the crowd, a pair of jade eyes locked onto him.

The coyote was normally so frightened of wilderness, but every emotion other than sadness was casted aside, including fear. He loosened his black tie in an effort to breathe better, but it didn't help much. His throat felt so swollen, like oxygen just wouldn't come through. So many images of his walrus friend, and all the times they shared together flashed in his mind.

This was the second friend he lost in a fatality this year alone, and it proved too great a weight on his already fragile heart.

He looked up, noticing the trees surrounding him that bore no leaves, branches stretching out like arms. Then he looked down at the tie he held in his hand, a wicked thought crossing his mind.

'I could see you again, if I…' His dark thoughts continued as he climbed a nearby rock and stood up to eye-level with one of the thick branches, tying one end of the black fabric around it, and the other and into a loop.

Tears trickled down his face as he stared through the loop, hesitating a bit. All he could think about was Tommy and Rotor, and how weak he was in the moment. He closed his eyes, and finally put his head through the makeshift noose. All he had to do now was step off the rock…

" **ANTOINE!** " A voice called out, making his eyes shoot open as he clung to the fabric around his neck with both hands. He looked down to see a horrified Sonic, slowly taking steps forward with his hands up as he shook his head. "Wh-What are you doing?!"

"I cannot do zis anymore." He babbled through his excessive crying, "I've lost so much already…"

"Please, just get down." The blue hedgehog begged, panicking once the coyote shook his head in refusal. "What about Bunnie, Nicole…and Sally? They need you…"

"Rotor needed me." He replied in a shaky voice, his hands trembling as he stuck one foot over the rock. "They're stronger zen I am. They'll go on." The coyote added.

"I won't!" Sonic cried out as he continued to inch closer while he distracted the suicidal teen with his words.

"You already have." Antoine replied before finally stepping off the rock.

He cringed, bracing himself for the noose to snap his neck, but impact never came. He opened his eyes to see that Sonic had leapt up from the rock and yanked the tie off the branch before he could fully descend.

An overwhelming feeling of shame and sorrow washed over him as the hedgehog embraced him, sobbing frantically as they both caved to their knees on the large rock.

"I'm so sorry, Antoine." The blue hedgehog cried, tightening his hold on the coyote who cried along. "I never got to tell Rotor or Tommy… If I never got to tell you, I don't know if I could ever live with myself. So I'm telling you now, and you don't ever have to forgive me, but I'm sorry."

Back at the funeral, Rotor's father had just walked to his son's casket and turned to address the crowd. He received harsh glares from the LGBT students that attended, particularly Cobar and Wave standing off to the side.

"The last time I saw my son, I told him he was dead to me." The older walrus began, tears brimming his eyes as he glanced back at the casket every so often. "I can't take it back now. I can never tell him I'm sorry, or that I love him ever again. His older brother died in the war and his mother died of grief shortly thereafter. I was all he had, and I pushed him away."

Shortly after he began his speech, a lot of the angry glares softened, and hearts went out to him as he went on.

"I couldn't accept my son for who he was, and I know they say _'it's never too late'_ , but it sure as hell doesn't feel that way." He whimpered, a single tear escaping him as he glanced back at the picture of his son. "I failed him. We all failed him. Chaos forgive me… Rotor…forgive me."

The crowd of people wept over the heartfelt speech, and mourned the walrus a thousand times over as his coffin was lowered into the hole. Cobar was the first to step up and drop a single red rose, then Sally, Nicole, Bunnie, Wave, and so on.

Sonic and Antoine had both arrived just in time to toss the final red rose together.

Standing far in the back, cloaked in a black hoodie was a remorseful Jet, a single tear escaping him before he took off.

* * *

After the video was leaked, staff had alerted the authorities and a proper investigation was underway. The boy's locker room was condemned with yellow crime scene tape, and the middle area of campus by the flagpole was also sectioned off with the same tape.

With some kids coming from all across Mobius as well as other countries, there was no way for school to be canceled without transportation for everyone back home. So they all resided on campus and continued their studies, occasionally walking by that same flagpole.

Not that it mattered much anymore, considering almost everyone had moved on in less than a week. The only thing anyone still found relevant anymore was the harsh video that had been circling around ever since.

 _"It's been a week since the untimely death of a beloved student, and the leak of that horrifying video. Until we identify those five masked suspects there will be_ _ **NO**_ _off-campus privileges, and no extra-circulars. I've also hired more officers, and I'm enforcing curfew at eight on the dot from here on, and your dorm advisor will be taking attendance before bed. That is all."_ Principal Acorn bellowed into the intercom before lifting her finger off the red button to slide it away.

She had seen the awful video a hundred times over, enforcing a stricter policy to ensure the safety of the remaining students. On the windowsill behind her desk burned three large candles for every student she had lost this year. Tommy Turtle, Mellow Bee, and now Rotor Walrus.

The chestnut-haired woman sighed heavily, pulling over the stack of files at the edge of her desk to look over, hoping that throwing herself into work might ease her mind.

Just before she could open the first one, her sapphire eyes caught sight of something more interesting. It was the black duffle bag that Jules had given her, resting on one of the chairs by the door. No longer wishing to carry it around in her car, she threw it onto that chair in her office and forgot about it.

She tried to shrug it off and open the file to get to work, but her mind persisted to drift back to it, and his claims of its contents potentially changing her mind about her wedding to Locke. After a mental battle of confliction, she stood up from her chair and walked over to it.

"What the hell does that moron think could possibly ever change my mind?" She questioned aloud, tossing the heavy bag up onto her desk before unzipping it. "What in the world?!"

Inside the bag were envelopes, thousands of them! Some were yellow with age, dating back to over seventeen years ago, and some were freshly dated just last month. Amongst the mass of envelops was a bright red sticky-note.

She reached out and grabbed it, bringing it closer to her face as she inspected the shaky ink scribe on it.

 _Knowing you, you're probably thinking something like 'What the hell is this?'. Well, it's pretty much exactly what it looks like. A ton of unopened letters. Over seventy-five thousand if you want to be exact. A letter for every single day after we said our goodbyes at the lake. Proof that there hasn't ever been a day that goes by where I haven't thought about you… -Jules the Hedgehog_

"My Chaos…" She breathed, picking up several envelopes to inspect the dates on them.

* * *

Cream was one of the many people who came forward to Dr. Tikal with suicidal thoughts after Rotor's death. She confessed to the counselor that she had been having those types of urges for a while now. The echidna had scheduled her in as a regular from then on.

The rabbit trudged the halls silently with her head down before hearing giggles that coaxed her to look up. Her heart gave away to that heavy feeling again when she saw the kitsune and seedrian by their lockers, exchanging adorable pecks on the lips.

Her eyes began to swell up with upset tears as her stomach turned with that horrid sensation she'd become so accustom to. She reached down into the pocket of her orange hoodie to take hold of the familiar orange bottle of sleeping pills she'd been hiding. Her teeth grinded together as she whipped around quickly to run into the nearby bathroom.

The loud squeak of her rubber shoe sliding against the white tiled floor picked up in the young fox's ear. He turned in time to see the rabbit slam the door shut with a powerful force, making him a bit curious.

"Wait right here, Cosmo." He ordered the green-haired girl before rushing toward the door he saw the rabbit run off to.

"What? Tails?!" Cosmo shouted after him, "That's…That's the girl's bathroom." She mumbled with a blush.

Upon entering, he noticed no one in sight, but he could hear sobs echoing from the only closed stall.

"Cream?" He called out, his voice drowned out by her heavy pants and sobbing.

Inside the stall, the rabbit had popped the cap off of the orange bottle. With an angry shriek, she dumped the small white pills into the toilet, just as the door behind her opened.

"Cream? What are you—" She turned around to face the kitsune, and for the first time in his life, he saw something other than a cheery smile. "Wh-What's going on, Cream?"

"Just leave me alone, Tails." The rabbit mumbled, pointing him away as she slid down the pink stall to sit on the ground.

He refused to do as told, and kneeled down beside her. He caught sight of the orange bottle laying at her feet. He picked it up and inspected the label, mortified as he realized what her intentions might have been.

"Were you going to take these?" He asked her in a pained tone, shaking the bottle in his hand for emphasis. She nodded in response, breaking his heart to pieces. "Why would you even think of doing something like that?!"

That's when she turned, her usually bright and happy light-brown eyes completely dead and void. "You…"

"Wh-What?"

" **YOU!** " She screamed, upset tears streaming down her face as she clawed at the pink tiled floor she sat on. "Less than five months…Fiona and Cosmo have only been in your life for less than five months and you fell in love with both of them! I've known you since we were two years old and you **NEVER** once thought of me as more than just the girl next door! Like I'm…I'm worthless." She whimpered before putting her head to her knees.

A wave of sadness washed over him as he pieced everything together. The way she cherished that little chao he gave her years ago, the way she was so overjoyed to see him even when he left the room for a mere moment, and the radiant glow she seemed to have at the sight of him. Then he remembered the unconsciously cruel words he spoken to her in the hall…

Her love confession in drama class wasn't a false sense of affection brought on by the emotionally confusing high school scene.

She really had been in love with him all along, and he was just now realizing it.

"Cream…" He whimpered, tears rolling off his face as he leaned over and held her close. "I'm sorry… Sorry for ever making you feel so bad about yourself."

She lifted her face up to his, meeting his apologetic blues eyes with her sorrowful light-brown ones.

Maybe it was getting caught up in the moment, or the emotional stress they were both under. Maybe that's what coaxed both of them to lean forward and press their lips together for a blissful prolonged kiss.

Once they pulled away, they gasped at realizing what they had done before uttering the same thoughts aloud in unison.

"Please don't tell Cosmo!"

* * *

Mina sang to herself as she pranced around her dorm room, leaping from her bed to Honey's and occasionally Nicole's, doing twirls as she sang into her pink hairbrush. Her roommates were both out again, so she figured she could get some practice in for the gig she had lined up next week.

Manic's aide in her performance at Elise's Halloween Party had skyrocketed the lavender-haired girl's career tenfold. Agencies were blowing up her phone, and her presence had been requested by several important figures of Mobius.

Her brief time of pregnancy had put all of it on hiatus for a while, but now she was free and up to par with all the demand for her angelic voice.

Amidst her bedroom dancing, there was a knock on the door. She blushed, tossing the brush aside before plopping down into a seated position on her bed in fear that someone might catch her doing something so childish.

"Come in!" She called out, her cheery mood instantly falling flat at the sight of Shard entering. "What? Come to ditch me for the millionth time?" She growled, crossing her arms in a huff as she watched him stroll over to her bed.

Her hard glare soon softened as she caught sight of the disheartened look on his face, and wasn't countered with one of his typical snarky remarks.

He took a seat beside her, elbows resting on his knees as he clasped his hands together and stared down at the wooden floor. She reached over to wrap her arms around him, calling out to him a bit more sympathetically this time.

"Baby? What's going on?" She asked in a soothing tone.

"You know that kid that died last week?" He mumbled, "I watched some guys pick on him… but I never said anything…"

"I'm sure a lot of people didn't." Mina replied, "I only knew him from that one gig for the LGBT students. It's a sad thing, but getting all depressed over it won't bring him back. You didn't know him anyway-"

"I've been thinking about killing myself for weeks." He cut her off, turning to her with all seriousness in his light-green eyes.

"Oh my Chaos!" She yelped in disbelief, concern flooding her voice. "Shard? Why the hell would ever think something like that?"

"Because I've just been feeling like shit. Like nothing I do will ever make me a better person, like I'm stuck in limbo for shitty people." The hedgehog explained, running a stressed hand through his short quills. "No one ever wants to be honest with me, not even myself."

"I'm honest with you…"

"Then why haven't you told me you're pregnant yet?" He asked, making all the color drain from her face. Looking into her eyes, he could tell she was caught off guard, and the tension was indescribable.

"W-Wh-Who told you that?!" She stammered breathlessly, the wind being knocked right out of her by his words.

"So it's for real." He nodded, biting his lip as he turned his gaze back down to his feet, twiddling his thumbs anxiously.

"I-I-I can explain!" The mongoose yelped, tears erupting from her eyes.

"I know it's not mine." Shard replied, pulling out the sonogram he had kept to hand her. He then looked up, watching the mortified look come across her face as she held the photo in her shaky hands.

She looked up to him, heart pounding nearly out of her chest as a tornado of fear and nervousness destroyed her insides.

"Shard, please. Just let me explain—"

"I was gonna freak out as soon as I found out, but I didn't want to believe you'd pull some shady shit on me like that. I thought we were gonna better ourselves together, like a redemption couple. I just wanted one person to believe in." He began, voice on edge as he stood up from the bed. "Then this kid died, and it just changed everything for me. Like an epiphany."

He then kneeled down in front of her, took her hands in his as he coaxed her sad jade eyes to meet his own. She was so confused, not following at all with what he had insinuated.

"Whatever you did before me is in the past. I can forgive it all because in all honesty my heart has never once faithful to you anyway. We've both got our baggage, and now that shit is whatever to me. Life is hard, and sometimes not everyone can live to handle it." He squeezed her hands tightly, his next words quite the surprise. "I've been through hell in this life, and I don't think I ever could have made it this far if I hadn't had the greatest dad in the world. Mina, I know I'm a shitty person, but I know something about what it takes to be a good dad. I know it's not mine, but I want to raise it with you…"

Her mouth hung open, astonished by his shocking decree. She expected him to flee, to abandon her at the first sign of betrayal, but she wrong. So very wrong. Guilt pooled in her heart as she thought of Manic's plea, and the same hopeful expression Shard wore right now.

"There is no baby…"

"You don't have to lie to me anymore. I already know—"

" **THERE IS NO BABY!** " She screamed in his face, her crying worsening as she ripped her hands away from his to hold herself and look away in shame. "I had an abortion…"

It was like time stopped with how long the pause in between their conversation was. Shard's mouth hung open as he stood up from the floor. She heard him get up, and quickly stood up to throw herself into his chest, gripping his shirt as she sobbed.

"Abortion…" He repeated in disbelief, "How the fuck could you do that?!"

"I did it for us!" She cried out, looking up to him with pleading eyes. "I didn't want you to hate me or leave me—"

"Are you fucking serious?" He bellowed, shoving her off of him with a disgusted look. "You…You selfish bitch…"

"Shard, don't." She whimpered, reaching out to touch him again.

He instantly stepped back, more than appalled by the mongoose. He shook his head, inching toward the door before turning his back to her. She fell to her knees and cried into her hands once that door clicked shut.

The worst part of it all was realizing that he would have stayed all along…

* * *

"Sally…" Nicole whimpered, running up to the disheartened-looking chipmunk putting books away in her locker.

She had reverted back to wearing her usual over-sized clothes, now with a blue hooded sweatshirt that shielded her face from view. Once the lynx was close enough, she tilted her head to catch the depressed look on her older sister's face, gaze falling unconsciously toward the thick-rimmed black glasses that concealed those horrifying scars.

"Get to class, Nicole." Sally ordered in a lifeless tone as she shut her locker.

"Please talk to me." The lynx begged, grabbing hold of the chipmunk's wrist before she could dart off. "You always used to tell me everything…"

"There's nothing to tell."

"What happened to your face, Sally?!" Nicole questioned in a sympathetic tone.

"Nothing."

"Who did that to you? Was it—"

She was cut off by Sally snatching her wrist out of her hold. She watched with sad eyes as the auburn-haired girl stormed out of the building without another word.

The chipmunk trudged down the steps, adjusting the hoodie to conceal her upset frown. As soon as she emerged from the building, all the eyes of every student within ratios locked onto her. Shortly after, things were thrown, and names were called.

She had went from hero-to-zero in everyone's eyes in no time at all, finding herself right back at the bottom where she began. She did her walk of shame across campus toward the girl's dorm, people screaming and taunting her the entire way.

Coming from the opposite direction of the walkway was Sonic, Tails at his side, and Amy hugging his arm.

"What are they doing to her?" The blue hedgehog asked, upset to see the familiar chipmunk get pelted with pencil holders and swatted with magazines.

"Oh, it's that chipmunk girl." Amy noted, tightening her grip on Sonic's arm.

"A lot of people—especially the LGBT committee—blame her for putting a target on Rotor's back." Tails explained, crossing his arms. "Rightfully so in my opinion."

"Are you fucking serious?" Sonic shouted, glaring down at the fox. "She stood up for him!"

"She started a school war. Say what you will on the intention, but she should have known better in a school made up by two-thirds of homophobic people."

"She was trying to end bullying for that kind of shit! Was she supposed to just let Jet and those other homophobic assholes pick on him forever?!"

"C'mon, Sonic. You know Tails is right." Amy chimed in, "The bullying would have died down eventually."

"So he was just supposed to deal with it?" Sonic scolded them, tearing his arm out of Amy's hold to stand in front of them with an angry look. "She was trying to help the LGBT community! How the hell can you justify the way their treating her right now?!"

"She added fuel to the fire of their struggle!" Tails shouted back, "Now most of them are too afraid to even leave their dorm rooms! Stop trying to defend her!"

"She was trying to protect a friend!" He shouted back.

"Well, thanks to her, that friend is dead." Amy retorted, finishing off the argument. It was a harsh statement, but the pink girl didn't really have much empathy about the situation, not having known him the way Sonic and Tails did.

Sonic looked in between them both as they stared back at him with unmoved and stern looks. He just shook his head in disapproval.

"You both can go fuck yourselves." He stated bluntly before turning his back to them.

He jogged off back into the main building. Anger and sorrow gnawing at his heart for both Sally and Rotor.

During his speedy take off, he noticed a familiar group of misfits sitting in the café. Unconsciously, he turned heel and headed toward them. They all looked so depressed, staring blankly at the table as they muttered occasionally to one another.

"Hey…" The blue hedgehog called out, resting his hand on the lynx girl's shoulder. She lifted her head to see the blue hedgehog standing behind her with a sincere, weak smile. "Can I sit with you guys? Just for a minute…"

The lynx turned to exchange glances with the coyote and rabbit across from her before she nodded. He thanked her kindly before taking the seat next to her, greeting the couple across from them with a nod.

"Welcome home, Sugah-Hog." The rabbit smiled.

* * *

Scourge was off doing whatever it is he usually did when not around, leaving Rosy and Mephiles to lean against his car in the parking lot as they waited for him. Security was incredibly tight these days, leaving them little leg-room to walk their way around the rules to smoke or drink.

Rosy held her left arm, rubbing the wrist area of her long-sleeved black shirt to sooth the stinging pain from freshly made wounds. It seemed these days that her self-harming had gradually gotten worse, the time of year being one of bitter memories to her.

It was around this time years ago, that she had her abortion, and the love of her life said that bitter farewell.

Standing next to her with phone in hand was her current lover, Mephiles the Dark. He scrolled through the apps on his cellular device. The pink hedgehog groaned in frustration at their friend's constant tardiness. In doing so, her light-brown gaze caught sight of the striped hedgehog's screen.

"That's your fucking screensaver?" She cringed, appalled by the image of the boy who hung from the flagpole less than a week ago.

"What? It's just art." He chuckled, "Not to mention hilarious."

"You're fucking morbid." The pink girl growled in disgust.

"Says the girl who murdered a child." He countered, making her blood boil.

"I hate you so much." Rosy replied coldly.

Their conversation was cut short by both of their ears twitching in sync, hearing the crackle of a twig nearby. They both turned in the same direction to see another striped hedgehog walking up to them, this one with blood-colored eyes.

Mephiles broke out into a wide Cheshire grin at the sight of him, receiving a disgusted snarl in return before the other hedgehog walked up to Rosy.

"I need to talk to you." Shadow spoke, his attention directed at the pink girl leaning against the black vehicle.

"How rude of you." Mephiles purred, "Walking right by family without so much as a single word—"

"We're **NOT** family." The red-striped hedgehog corrected him coldly before turning back to Rosy. "You shouldn't hang around guys like them, especially this one."

She looked up at him with a conflicted expression before Mephiles draped his arm around her and expelled any disobedient thoughts from her mind.

"Worry about yourself, and leave me the hell alone." She replied.

He nodded, glancing at Mephiles one last time before turning back to where he came from. She watched him go with curious eyes before he vanished into the crowd across the field.

"Good girl." Mephiles smirked, patting her on the head before turning to see a depressed Blaze roaming the campus grounds. "Looks like the next toy for my collection is coming along nicely."

* * *

For the last week, Silver had been a very attentive, kind, sympathetic shoulder to his newly-crowned best friend, Gold.

In her arrival here, Rotor was one of the kind people to welcome her to campus, and offer her someone to go to whenever she needed something. It was devastating to find out the kind walrus boy that toured her around on her first day had killed himself after such a revolting and traumatizing experience.

She was at least grateful for Silver's comfort, the white hedgehog that had allowed her to call him in the dead of night to cry, and the one who held her hand the whole way through this depressing time. The tenrec was quite sensitive, and really appreciated the hedgehog's tender nature.

They walked down the walkway toward the electives building, on their way to the music room. The tenrec adored classical music, and it just so happens that Silver is incredibly skilled at the piano as well as several other orchestra instruments.

He thought that maybe playing her something nice would lift her spirits, even just for a moment. He hated seeing her so sad, and felt bad himself after hearing the news of the fellow student's passing.

He held her hand tightly as they walked along, his amber eyes casted on her as he thought of how she must've felt when he was so depressed.

"Silver." A voice called out from behind them. They both turned their heads back to see a distraught Blaze, hazel eyes fixed on the hands they had clasped together.

Gold turned over to Silver before letting his hand go.

"I'll just meet you there…" She mumbled, worried that he might not show up after whatever conversation he was about to have with the cat.

"I won't take long." He called after her before turning back to Blaze with a blank stare. "I promise." He mumbled, unmoved by the cat's teary eyes and puckered bottom lip.

She walked closer to him until they were standing face-to-face. It pained her to see him not look back at her with an adoring or loving expression. He'd had enough of her and her selfish games, it was evident in the vacancy of his eyes.

"What do you want, Blaze?" He asked completely void of emotion.

"I wanted to say…that I'm sorry, Silver." She whimpered.

"Great." He nodded, "Are we done now?"

"I mean it this time!" The feline yelped, disheartened by foreign coldness he was showing her.

"You say that every time, and every time after that." He replied in reference to the countless times she had scorned him in these last few months, making her feel so low.

"I was wrong to try and change you. I love you, Silver, but—"

"Let me guess." He cut her off, "You love him too, right?"

"Only skin-deep." She admitted, making him shake his head in disapproval.

"You know what sucks? No matter how much you hurt me, I love you. And no matter how much I hate it, I can't change that." The white hedgehog turned his back to her, finishing up with a devastating line before walking off in search of, Gold. "But I don't want to be a casualty in your little games anymore. I deserve better than you. It's all of me or none of me, and you always end up choosing the latter. So until you get it together, just do me a favor and stay out of my life."

* * *

Up on the third floor of the boy's dormitory, the last door at the end of the hall on the right hadn't been opened in the last week. The room belonged to, Jet the Hawk.

It was dark, the curtains drawn shut and furniture scattered about in a disorganized mess. Thanks to the darkness, it was impossible to see the disastrous looking room. The dresser was toppled over, a mass of torn up papers littered the floor, and the twin-sized mattress was halfway off its frame, lime-green sheets torn to shreds.

On the mattress sat a zombified Jet, knees to his chest as he hugged them and rocked back in forth while staring into darkness. He hadn't moved out of this position for a week. Not to eat, use the bathroom, or sleep. He was filthy, and the condemned room had a disgusting odor to it.

Guilt had been eating him alive from the inside out ever since the discovery of Rotor's body, and secretly attending his victim's funeral had only worsened his catatonic state.

All he wanted was to beat him up, video tape it, and send it to Sally to teach her a lesson on speaking out against him, and scare all the gay kids straight. He didn't know Eclipse would take it so far, and he wish he hadn't.

"Chaos, it smells like shit in here." A voice called out after the door had finally opened, the light in the hall coming through to make the hawk squint in pain.

It was Eclipse the Darkling, his face twisted into that sick and angry look it was stuck on. He looked down at the traumatized hawk with a wicked half-grin.

"Good to see you won't be talking for a while." He snarled, "Not that you would if you could. The whole thing was your idea after all. If anyone's doing hard time for this shit, it'd be you."

* * *

A relieved Sally finally made it back to her room, slamming the door shut behind her before wiping off the stickier things that had been thrown her way before leaping onto her bed, clutching her pillow for dear life as she buried her face within it to cry.

Rather than putting in any effort to find out who the masked people in the assault video were, everyone had just casted the blame of Rotor's suicide and attack upon Sally, whose outspoken defense had put a target on his back.

The saddest part was that she herself even started to believe it.

She couldn't sleep or eat anymore, the weight of guilt on her chest caving in on her fragile heart.

She avoided her remaining friends, rarely spoke to anyone at all, and tried everything to hide whenever she could. With all the blaming and shaming, no one allowed her a second the grieve one of her oldest and dearest friend's death.

Thankfully Fiona was away, and she had the room to herself.

But she just couldn't find the strength to grieve, not with Cobar or anyone else's accusations on her mind. She held her pillow tightly, smothering herself as she closed her eyes shut and wished herself away.

"Sally?" A voice called out, making her sit up in fright.

She looked over to the now ajar door, a familiar monkey squeezing through before closing it behind himself. His heart broke for her, having seen the aftermath and outrage against her on campus for days.

Two weeks ago she had everything going for her. People started to like her, she started to get more comfortable with herself, and she was always smiling. But now she can barely keep it together.

He stepped over to her bedside, taking a seat next to her as he gave her a sympathetic look.

"I'm sorry about all of this. You don't deserve any of it."

"Just leave, Ken."

"It makes me sick how everyone around here is so quick to hate on you for standing up for him, when they were cheering you on less than two weeks ago for the same shit—"

"I should have just kept my mouth shut." She mumbled, "Maybe he'd still be alive."

"Don't talk like that! Like this your fault, because it isn't." He corrected her, using both hands to turn her face toward his so their blue eyes would meet. "One of your best qualities is being so outspoken on matters that most people are too afraid to speak out on. You gave Rotor a voice when he needed one, and for a short while he was truly happy. You aren't to blame here. Those sick fucks in that video are!"

The chipmunk's eyes began to line with long overdue tears, thankful to hear that someone didn't blame her.

"I miss him…"

"These people haven't given you a chance to grieve at all, have they?" Ken whispered, pulling her into a hug as he ran a hand through her auburn hair. "It's okay to cry, Sally…. I'm here with you, always."

"Thank you, Ken." She sobbed, finally allowing the repressed tears to escape her as she clung to the monkey for dear life. "Thank you…"

* * *

Knuckles sighed heavily as he walked through the grassy plains of the football field toward the bleachers he had become so used to escaping to in times of sorrow. The death of Rotor Walrus didn't have much baring on him, considering he didn't know the guy, but it got him thinking.

He'd never thought about suicide before, but it could have been a possibility before hearing that he had a daughter. He thanked Chaos for Lara-Su, because she made those kinds of thoughts impossible anymore. He couldn't picture leaving that little girl behind in a million years.

Just when he got to the bleachers, he noticed a familiar figure sitting on the spot he usual did around sunset. His presence alerted the boy sitting on the bench, because he picked up his head to meet the echidna's amethyst eyes with sapphire ones slightly shielded by auburn bangs.

"I thought I was the only one who came out here anymore." Knuckles smirked, "Considering its hella cold out these days."

"I always come here to think." The squirrel replied, turning his gaze back to the grass. "I haven't been around these last few days. Probably why we haven't run into each other here before…"

"Or maybe we've gotten into the habit of avoiding each other unconsciously now." The echidna snickered, coaxing a light chuckle from the prince as he took a seat beside him. He peered over at the squirrel curiously. "How was it? Seeing your daughter be born I mean…"

"Special…" Elias nodded.

"I wish I could've been there for mine…" The echidna frowned, "I feel so shitty about it sometimes."

"Hey, it's not your fault you didn't know."

"Still, if I had been there…she wouldn't be calling someone else her daddy."

Elias frowned, looking over to the disheartened echidna he used to loath so badly, only feeling the utmost empathy for him at the moment. The dynamic certainly had changed between them. For the first time ever, they weren't ignoring each other, or trying to outdo one another. They were both in the same sinking ship of depression and daddy issues.

"She's not mine."

"What?"

"Alexis… She's not mine."

"W-Wow…" Knuckles stammered, sitting up to stare at the squirrel with sympathetic eyes. "I'm…I'm sorry man…"

"Yeah…"

"So what are you gonna do?"

"I have no idea." Elias breathed out in a sorrowful tone, "I have no idea what to do…"

"Well, my advice as the bio-dad…Talk to her and find out who the real dad is, because for all you know, he might want her more than anything on the planet…"

Knuckles rose an eyebrow as the prince let out another chuckle.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing, it's just….who would have thought you and I would ever be sitting here and giving each other advice?"

"That's true." He laughed along, "Definitely not, Sonia. That's for sure."

"Sonia…" Elias repeated, a frown resurfacing on his face as he thought of the magenta girl he loved so much.

* * *

Amy sighed heavily, feet dragging across the sidewalk as she walked out of the electives building with her head hung low. She couldn't shake Sonic's rude comment, or that fact that he was sticking up for that chipmunk girl against her and his best friend.

She didn't want to believe he had any feelings for the auburn-haired girl, especially after the romantic night they had at Twinkle Park, so she chopped up all his angst to grief. She knew he used to be friends with the kid who committed suicide a long time ago, and figured he'd be upset about it. She on the other hand, like most students, didn't really care too much.

The only thing bringing her down was the possibility that her earlier comments might have ruined the possibility of her and Sonic getting back together yet again.

"You blew it again, you dunce." She scolded herself aloud, staring at her feet sorrowfully as she carried on.

"Yo!" a voice called out to her, making her stop in her tracks. She looked back over her shoulder to be greeted by a familiar smile, the same smile she adored on her blue crush. "Angel Face!"

"What do you want, Manic?" She groaned, turning back toward the direction she had been walking in.

He jogged up beside her, leaning over to meet her sorrowful gaze with one of concern.

"I wanna know what's got you bluer than my bro." He explained, pulling her back toward him by both wrists until they were face-to-face.

"He told me to go fuck myself." She mumbled.

"What? Where's the fun in that on his end?" Manic chuckled, trying to light up her spirits with jokes as he usual did in any given situation, only in her case it wasn't working out too well.

"He's so angry with me." She whimpered.

"You know how it goes with him." The green hedgehog sighed with an eye-roll, "He's always so damn over-dramatic. You can definitely expect an apology call from him later on."

"I hope so…" She sighed, starring down sorrowfully at her shoes.

Manic stared at her intently, tilting his head as he drifted back to the first day he ever encountered her, ironically wearing that same sad frown.

It was pouring rain that day, and he had just gotten off the bus with his blue umbrella when he noticed a soaked little pink hedgehog shivering in the cold with that frown.

"Hey, c'mon." He whined, lifting her chin with his hand to shoot her his goofy smile. "Let's not worry about all that right now. How about you treat me to some lunch with one of those gold credit cards, eh?"

She giggled in response, coaxing his cheeks to glow and his smile to soften.

"You're such a dork, Manic!" She jeered playfully, poking a dainty finger to his chest. "But I could use a good laugh or two, and a hot chocolate."

"I could go for just about any sort of company right now." Manic chuckled, swinging an arm over her shoulders as he steered her back toward the café.

"As if." Amy rolled her eyes, "You, Shadow, and Rouge are practically attached at the hip!"

"Usually." He corrected her, brows furrowed together in a confused look as he thought of his two best friends. "But things have been…a little awkward this last week. They seem to be kind of avoiding each other at the moment."

"Really? Why?"

"Not sure." He shrugged, pulling her closer. "But I've got a cutie treating me to a lunch date! So, really don't care at the moment."

* * *

 **To clarify a few things mentioned in several reviews:**

 **1\. Tommy Turtle and Mellow Bee died in a car crash on their way back to campus because they were high. Legally, the school isn't liable for their deaths because it didn't happen on school grounds. The only death their liable for is Rotor because he committed suicide on school grounds. There is an open investigation underway with the video of his assault going viral.**

 **2\. As Tails stated in his argument with Sonic, two-thirds of the school is homophobic, and Rotor wasn't bullied by just Jet alone. He was constantly harassed by several boys in the locker room and people around campus. Plus, there were five people in the video wearing masks, meaning it's not as clear-cut as we see it.**

 **3\. The LGBT community is hurt and looking to put the blame somewhere. They aren't sure who the assailants are, but they know who triggered them, and that was undoubtedly Sally's revolt.**

 **4\. The school can adopt a bullying policy until their blue in the face, but it all really comes down to kids following those rules, which we all know doesn't happen 99% of the time. Principal Acorn has hired more security and upped curfew, but we all know teens are the best at hiding what they do... It's not that the school is bad, it's the kids being quite secretive. If no one tells, nothing ever gets done, and so far no one tells.**

 **Now, back to the chapter itself...**

 **The duffle bag Jules left Alicia has been opened! And it contains over 75,000 letters (I had to do the math) A letter for literally every day since their breakup.**

 **With all the misguided hate directed at Sally, no one has really given her a chance to even grieve her close friend. Will things ever get better for her? Only time will tell...**

 **Amidst his old friend's untimely demise, Sonic's priorities have definitely flipped, in the gears of morality and consciousness have been slowly turning in his mind. Will he finally learn what's really important, and reconcile with his former friends? Or will he just fuck everyone over again?**

 **Tails was finally faced with the mess he made of an insecure, hopelessly in love Cream. Maybe Sonic rubbed off on him a little too much when they were adoptive siblings, because the young kitsune has found himself in a similar dilemma to the boy he once called his big brother. Just what will he do?**

 **Shard has finally learned the truth of Mina's child, and he's finally left her...but is it for good? Or will the hedgehog finally give Espio a run for his girl?**

 **Silver is FINALLY growing a backbone, and has begun to realize his self-worth, but will his feelings for Blaze have him running back in no time at all? Or will he take a chance on something new?**

 **Manic and Ken are both genuinely caring individuals, but will their chivalry and charm be enough to outdo the charismatic player plaguing the hearts of their respective love interests?**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Alicia reads some of Jules' letters...**

 **Tikal forces Rouge to face a few underlying feelings and possibilities**

 **Did you forget it's still December, and that Christmas is well on it's way? So did Gold and Silver...until they got caught under the mistletoe.**

 **Poor Ray can never seem to catch a break...**

 **Sally has a moment with all her love interests, but only one will steal a kiss**

 **Shade finally makes a more direct advance on Knuckles, and he might just find himself walking back on that dark road he came from**

 **Sonia and Amy both find themselves spending time with people they never even gave a second thought before**

 **With Rosy's addiction worsening, is there even any hope of saving her?**


	50. Chapter 50

**WARNING: Mentions of suicide, self-harm, war casualties, homophobia and bullying**

* * *

 **Chapter 50: Dear Alicia**

 _Dear Alicia,_

 _I miss you. Every second of every day I miss you. I've called, but you changed your number. I write, every day, but I don't know where to send these letters anymore. I heard you were getting married at Station Square in Soleanna. I drove for six hours in the pouring rain from Mobotropolis to find you, and talk you out of it. Max caught me outside, and had a few of his bouncers rough me up. How could you marry a guy like him? I can't fucking stand him, and Chaos knows I can't stand the thought of you with him even more…and carrying his baby. But I did this to myself. I fucked up, and made the wrong choice. If only I had treated you better, maybe things would be different. Maybe that baby would be mine…_

Alicia sighed heavily, folding the thin, old paper back up to slide it gently into the envelope that had been holding it for over a decade. It was one of Jules' first letters to her.

She sat cross-legged on the comfy red armchair by the fireplace, the flames being the only source of light in the dark as she fished out another letter from the black duffle bag.

She wore a knee-length, spaghetti-strap, pink nightgown with lace trimming. Her long chestnut-colored hair fell in loose cuff-curls, and she had removed her makeup for the day.

It was rolling around eleven-thirty at night. She was relieved from campus hours ago, and knew Locke would be home early, or so she thought at least. After a bit of a drive to his place only to not find him in, she decided to let herself in and wait for him.

To kill some time she brought the reading material she had engrossed herself in ever since opening the bag, only growing more curious with each letter.

Some made her so sad, others made her chuckle, and some even made her blush. She felt a bit guilty, forcing him out of her mind to carry on while he so desperately hung on.

After reading a few more, and a couple more hours going by, there was finally the jingle of keys at the door. The chipmunk jumped up, having been half-asleep when the echidna stepped into the living room of his home.

"Alicia." He greeted awkwardly as she set down the letter she was reading to walk over to him. "I…I wasn't expecting you."

"Well, I thought since we both got off of work at six that we could spend a bit of time together." She explained, draping her arms around his neck as she flashed him a skeptical look. "Didn't we have a discussion about you putting in so much overtime?"

"I wasn't at work." He assured her before rubbing his neck nervously.

"Clearly." She mused, poking his nose. "You smell like liquor."

"I was out having a couple drinks."

"Really? What was the occasion?" She asked curiously, undoing his tie.

"Lara-Le's staying in town for a little while." He admitted.

"Lara-Le?" The chipmunk repeated with eyebrows raised, setting his tie on the coatrack.

"She and Wynmacher are here on business." The echidna explained, "We were celebrating."

"I see." Alicia nodded, a bit of edge to her tone. "Well, you should brush your teeth. I hate the smell of liquor."

"I know…" He mumbled apologetically before his gaze caught sight of the black duffle bag on the floor. "What have you been up to in my house exactly?" He asked curiously, noting the bag stuffed with envelopes.

"Just some reading." She chuckled lightly.

"So…no dinner?"

"It's two in the morning." The chipmunk reminded him, turning to walk up the nearby staircase. "Get cleaned up. I'll see you in bed."

* * *

 _Dear Alicia,_

 _I heard you finally gave birth, a baby boy. Did you end up naming him Elias, like you always used to say you'd name your future son? I bet he's beautiful, and if he looks anything like his mother he'll be one hell of a lady-killer when he's older. Do you sing lullabies to him? I bet he'd love your voice. Chaos knows I miss it. Those nights we'd sneak off to the lake, I'd bring my guitar and you'd sing your little heart out as I watched you dance. Aleena's in the next room, but sometimes I wish she was you. She's a great wife, but she just isn't you. She smashed my guitar to pieces yesterday. Said music is for kids, and that I'd never make it so there's no point in dreaming. My father gave me that guitar, and when I told her I wanted to give it to my future son, she freaked. She makes me feel like such a loser sometimes, and it only builds up on the mountain of regrets I have. I signed up for the army. Hopefully she'll stop screaming at me to get a real job. Chaos, I wish I could leave her, I wish I could find you, but I can't. She's pregnant, with not just one, but three babies. And one's a girl…_

* * *

Sonia made her way down the hall with that same storm cloud of depression that had been hanging over her head all school year. She clutched her textbooks tightly to her chest, stopping in her tracks to watch the handsome squirrel boy slam his locker closed. His eye clearly caught her, but he turned and walked on anyway.

She bit her lip to stifle back an outburst of tears, but it didn't prove helpful. It was only when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned to meet kind hazel eyes that her yearning to cry subsided completely.

"Don't worry, Sonia…" The yellow cat cooed sympathetically, moving her hand up to the magenta girl's cheek. "He'll come around. Just give him some time."

"I hope so…" Sonia murmured, looking back toward the direction Elias had taken off.

"This is why I don't do the romance stuff." Honey sighed, retracting her hand to pull out her cellphone from her dress, scrolling through the mass of upset messages from Mina. "Relationships are more trouble than they're worth."

"You say that like you've never had crush or dated someone." The magenta girl remarked as they begun to walk down the hall together.

"Well, probably because I never have." The cat laughed, shrugging her shoulders innocently.

"You liar!" Sonia pouted, "I've seen you at parties with people before."

"And that's usually as far as that ever goes." Honey replied, "I think dating is stupid. What's the point in putting effort into something that never lasts?"

"That's not true all the time! You don't think about marriage?"

"Why would I? I'm young! I want to party, not plan out a boring future."

"So you've never been in love before?"

"Nope, and I'd like to keep it that way." The cat crossed her arms in emphasis.

"Don't you ever get lonely? Or feel like something's wrong with you?"

"Why would I feel like something's wrong? I don't need someone else to validate the way I carry myself. The only love I need is my own." She replied knowingly, "And if I get lonely I'll just go out and fuck a couple people. No need for some worthless commitment."

Sonia blushed in embarrassment, not very comfortable with the cat's bluntness. Honey was certainly an interesting character to the magenta girl though. Her kind and caring nature highly contrasts with her promiscuity and opinion.

* * *

 _Dear Alicia,_

 _Every time I come home, my kids have grown up so much. Sonia's starting to walk. She's going to be my shining star, so smart and beautiful. She reminds a lot of you. Sonic's a little speedster. I took him to the park yesterday and he kept me chasing him all over the place. It'll be any day now, when I hand my guitar over to him. I heard you've had two more children, and you've adopted a little lynx girl from DigItaly. That's very noble, considering what's going on between our nations._

* * *

"So, have you talked about it at all since?" Tikal asked curiously, pointing her pen at the pretty bat girl sitting in the chair before her desk.

"No." Rouge mumbled, crossing her arms as she looked away in embarrassment. A red glow to her cheeks as she remembered her best friend's abrupt kiss. "We've been pretty much avoiding the hell out of each other."

"Whys that?"

"Because it's **AWKWARD!** " The bat bellowed, standing up to flail her arms in the air. "My mom's his legal guardian! That makes us practically brother and sister!"

"May I ask what led up to this kiss?"

"When I heard that kid killed himself, I knew I had to find Shadow. He's very sensitive with that kind of thing, and no one else knows how to comfort him like me. I went to find him, and he was crying and upset. Maria's death was so sudden and traumatizing for him. He's afraid I might disappear from his life one day too. He made me promise not to ever go, and it just sorta happened."

"Two years ago, you both were at Space Ark Academy." Tikal replied, flipping through notes on her desk. "Meaning that you were there when Maria Robotnik committed suicide as well."

"Yes." The bat nodded, slowly setting herself back down in the chair. "But by the time I got to the roof, it was just Shadow…"

"You found him, and saved his life." The echidna looked up from her papers, acknowledging the disheartened look on the bat's face. "After watching his mental state deteriorate, you took it upon yourself to have your mother legally take guardianship of him, and relocate you both to Green Hill Academy."

"Yes…"

"Of all the people we've ever discussed in your life, he seems to be the most valued." Tikal explained, making Rouge pick up her head to shoot her a curious look. "He's the one person you've genuinely wanted to help without selfish intent. You care for and comfort him in a way you feel like others can't."

"What are trying to tell me?"

"I think you love him, a lot more than you think you do."

"You're out of your mind!" Rouge stood up again, voice crossing over into upset terrain. "He's my best friend! It's nothing like that! Besides, I love Knuckles. I know I do."

"Unfortunately for you, and everyone in general, the heart can sometimes make room for two." The echidna explained with a sigh, standing up behind her desk to face Rouge at eye-level. "Knuckles is trying to pave a new way for himself, and maybe you should think about doing the same."

* * *

 _Dear Alicia,_

 _Today is my kids' birthday. I bought Sonia the prettiest pink dress, and I gave Sonic my guitar. Aleena took it from him, told him that it was a piece of garbage barely salvaged back together with tape and glue. She threw it out right there in front of everyone. It broke my heart, but just now I found Sonic digging in the trash for it. He told me he wants to be a musician when he grows up. I told him he could do anything he put his mind to. The same thing you said to me._

* * *

Knuckles knocked twice before the door opened. He expected to see the over-talkative pika jittering from the caffeinated beverages she downed on a constant basis, but to his surprise it was not her. It was her roommate, and his basketball captain, Shade the Echidna.

"Hey you, practice isn't for another three hours." She smirked, poking him in the chest as she playfully teased him. "Or could you just not wait to see me?"

"I…I'm here for Relic's tutoring session." He stammered with a blush, eyes unconsciously rolling over the very exposing pink tanktop she wore.

"She's out with that just-as-annoying raccoon girl." The echidna girl grumbled in disgust. "Worst pairing ever."

"It doesn't surprise that she and Marine get along." Knuckles chuckled, rubbing the back of his head nervously as he forced his gaze elsewhere. "I guess I'll just go then—"

"No!" Shade whined, grabbing his wrist to pull him into her room. She shut the door behind them before pushing him over to sit on her bed. "It wouldn't kill you to hang with me somewhere other than the gym." She pouted cutely, flicking his cheek.

"Ow!" He replied to her action, cupping his cheek as she laughed. "I'm sorry I haven't been up to hanging outside of practice. I've got…girl troubles." He mumbled, thoughts wandering to his young toddler.

"I bet I could help ease your mind a bit." She mused, hand falling to his leg as it often did, only now he didn't think much of it, simply writing her off as an affectionate kind of person.

"Unless you're some sort of genie, I doubt you could."

"Maybe I am…" She purred sensually, leaning closer to him while he was distracted.

"Yeah, right."

"Just close your eyes and wish for something." She urged, making him roll his eyes before he complied jokingly to her request.

When he closed his eyes, she let a lewd smile cross her face before she got off the bed to stand in front of him. The second he opened them she was topless, straddling his lap as she tried to bring her lips closer to his. He pulled back away from her, as he forced her back gently by the shoulders.

She opened her own eyes, surprised and a bit irritated by his rejection.

"I'm not gonna screw up like this." He said aloud to himself before addressing her. "I've got a kid, and I'm trying to work it out with this girl. I should have told you and I—"

"I know." She cut him off.

"Wh-What?"

"You think I didn't do my homework?" She smirked, "You caught my eye the moment I set foot on this campus. Obviously I asked around about you."

"So if you know, why are you doing this?"

"Um, because I don't care?" She scoffed, removing his hands from her shoulders so she could lean over him. There was no room to lean back anymore, and now he laid flat on his back underneath her. She licked her full lips seductively, setting her body down on his. "When I want something, I take it. Don't worry about it. It'll be our secret…"

He blushed, feeling her bare breasts rest on his chest, and her hips rocking against him, making his jeans feel ridiculously tight. She was so tempting, every trait he ever adored in every girl he's ever been with rolled up into one person, and it didn't help that it certainly had been a long time since he'd been this… physical.

"C'mon." She instigated, bringing her lips to his ear for a sensual whisper. "I can take you to places Rouge or Julie couldn't even dream of…"

Her hand trailed down toward his zipper when she heard no protest. He'd been so stressed, and frustrated with everything going on, that he almost gave in.

Then he remembered the echidna girls he wanted so badly, that little family.

"No." He said, brushing her hand away. "I don't want to do this…"

"Really?" She rose an eyebrow, pointing to his jeans. "Because it sure doesn't look that way. C'mon, what they don't know won't hurt them."

"You clearly haven't been at this school long." Knuckles replied, standing up to walk toward the door. "Otherwise you'd know, that at Green Hill Academy nothing stays a secret."

* * *

 _Dear Alicia,_

 _Aleena's infertility has had her really down. Today we went to Metropolis Sanctuary where we fell in love with this little boy. His name is Tails Prower, and he's two years old. He was born with a rare genetic mutation that produced a second tail. The lady at the desk told us it's the biggest reason why he hadn't been adopted sooner. I'll never understand why though, because that boy is special. I signed the papers without a second thought. I can't wait to bring him home to Sonia and Sonic. He's a sad orphan just like you were, and I'm hoping I could mend his broken heart the way I did you all those years ago._

* * *

In the main building, Cream had just got done loading away her books. She slammed her locker shut, but kept her hand on the little handle as she looked down at her feet. She sucked in her lips as her face burned an uncomfortable red, thinking back to the spontaneous kiss with Tails the other day.

It was like a fire ignited when their lips touched for the first time, sparking up the flame that had dwindled so drastically these last few weeks. She felt alive again, like he breathed life into her.

Then she thought of Cosmo, the girl she had come to be such good friends with, the girl she had given her blessing. She cursed herself for thinking back to that kiss so adoringly, rather than being disgusted at committing such an act of betrayal.

But she couldn't help it. She loved Tails, and she'd be lying if she told herself it felt wrong.

"Cream!" A voice called out, making her pick up her head to turn, her face still flushed red.

She blinked twice, reconfiguring the present reality in her mind as she pushed the kiss to the back of her head.

Running up to her with shoes squeaking on the tiled floor was her little locker-buddy, Ray. He waved her down until finally coming to a stop in front of her, offering her his typical kind smile.

"Ray." The rabbit greeted him kindly, "You're off the oxygen!"

"Y-Yes!" He nodded, "Nurse B-Bernie said my lungs didn't so-sound too bad anymore. So s-she let me go."

"That's great. I'm glad to see you're doing well. I missed you."

"I-I missed you too." He blushed, looking down at his feet in sorrow. "I-I'm sorry I mi-missed our date. I was go-going to make it up to you by ta-taking you to one of Vector's parties, but with no off ca-campus privileges I don't th-think he can throw one anytime soon."

"Don't worry about it." She waved in dismissal, offering him that warm, friendly smile he so desperately adored. "I'm actually feeling a lot better now."

"R-Really?" The stuttering squirrel cheered happily, "Wh-What brought the change?"

She didn't answer him, her light-brown eyes drifting off toward something behind him. He turned his head in the direction she had been staring to see Tails and Cosmo walking into the café hand-in-hand. He then turned back to the sweet rabbit girl, smile instantly falling as he recognized that look…

"We'll talk later, Ray. I've gotta go." Cream said before taking off after the kitsune, leaving a disheartened Ray to stare after her.

"I g-guess I did blow my last sh-shot…" He whispered to himself sadly before dropping his head to walk off in sorrow.

Cream chased after the seedrian and fox, finding them sitting at the table everyone usual sat at in the café. She kept her distance, taking note of how Cosmo was so oblivious to Tails' disinterest in whatever she was saying. His mind seemed to be elsewhere.

"Cream!" The green-haired girl stood up to call out with delight, waving the rabbit over. "Come sit with us!"

Tails turned to see the rabbit stroll up to the table to sit beside him, while Cosmo sat across from them with an innocent smile. The fox and rabbit immediately averted their gazes from each other in unison, dropping their eyes to their laps as awkward blushes formed on both their faces.

"I'm glad we're all finally hanging out together again." Cosmo cheered happily.

* * *

 _Dear Alicia,_

 _Aleena and I got into a huge argument, and she threw me out again. Chaos, I don't know why I still try to tolerate this. I'm so unhappy. She's just so jealous and controlling. Sometimes I feel like I can't breathe around her. I have been faithful in our marriage up until this point, and believe me when I say I've tried_ _ **SO**_ _hard to better myself for her. I learned my lesson when my 'player ways' costed me you. But now I think, if I couldn't give my all to the one girl I loved, why should I give it to an ungrateful woman who doesn't appreciate what I try to do for her? I gave up music and my dreams, joined the army for the family benefits, but she still wants to say I don't do enough. She makes me work too hard for her. I'm at Bernadette's tonight, and after I down this bottle, Aleena will an every reason to hate me._

* * *

In the music room, Gold and Silver sat together at the piano, their fingers brushing against keys as a beautiful melody played back to them, and they hummed together.

He told her he was an expert pianist, thanks to rigorous training from his mother as a child. She asked if he could teach her one of her favorite songs, and he obliged. So, they've been in this sound-proofed music room for hours, with not much improvement.

"I'm sorry." Gold giggled, moving her hand from the keyboard to cover her lips with her fingertips. "I'm so bad at this."

"Don't worry." He waved in dismissal, "It takes a lot of practice. You'll get it eventually."

His amber eyes crossed over her as his ears took in that heavenly laugh, more beautiful than any instrument he had ever heard. Her platinum quills that flowed to her waist and framed her face were so vibrant she almost seemed to glow. She literally looked like an angel that had taken a physical form, and her eyes were as blue and beautiful as the sky.

"Well, we've been in here for a while." She spoke up, getting up from the bench in front of the piano to walk toward the door. "My friends are probably worried about me."

"Oh, uh right! Mine too…" He lied, thinking back to his bitter farewell to the only person he was close enough to call friend.

He walked over to join her side, but immediately stopped in front of her as his eyes drifted to the top of the doorway and widened. She turned back to him with a curious look before following his up.

"What is it…" She asked, voice trailing off as a blush took over her face.

Hanging from the doorway was a plant with white berries, and a big red bow attached. A mistletoe. The seasonal decoration to force two people into an awkward situation when standing underneath.

Both of them looked back at each other with red faces, rolling their top lip over their bottom nervously.

"Who hung that there?" He mumbled shyly.

"Dunno." The tenrec chuckled awkwardly, "So…do we?"

"Well, we're supposed to…I mean, not if you don't want to of course."

"I mean, do you want to?"

"It is tradition…"

They both nodded in agreement, faces burning as red as the bow on the mistletoe before stepping closer to turn their heads. Their hearts pounded as their faces got closer and closer before finally the space between them was gone, and they kissed.

She pulled away first, gaze instantly dropping to her feet in embarrassment as she smiled.

"I'd better get back to my friends." She reiterated before turning to leave.

"S-Sure." He stammered, "I'll catch up with you later."

She waved goodbye before disappearing down the hall. He stared after her until she faded from view, raising his fingertips to his mouth, blushing as he reimaged her lips against his.

Lurking at the opposite end of the hall, was a distraught cat with pained hazel eyes that had just witnessed their holiday kiss. The purple girl was so angry and hurt, dashing out of the building in tears.

Blaze sprinted across the grassy field, sure to swerve around the condemned area by the flagpole before barging inside the boy's dorm. She took the stairs, her calves burning like fire as she ran up to the second floor and down the corridor.

She didn't think it through, too distraught to think rationally. Before it could even register with her, she had knocked on the door, and a cruel dark hedgehog had answered.

He leered down at her with a wicked grin, reptilian eyes falling over her sporty physic, and that horribly sad frown she wore.

"So you've finally come to play." He mused maliciously, gesturing her inside his dark room with a curl of his finger.

* * *

 _Dear Alicia,_

 _I should be diploid any day now. I write to you from my brother's pizza shop. I took Sonia, Sonic, and Tails out to eat, and now they're playing in the kid's area. Charles warned me that I should stop writing you, but I can't. It's the closest thing I have to actually talking with you. These letters give me peace of mind amongst the chaos that I've made of my miserable life. These days the only things that make me feel content are Sonia's giggles, Sonic's big smile, and Tails' baby-blues. It makes me wonder how you're living. Are you happy with him, Alicia? Does he treat you well? Do you love him? I hope not, because I'm still waiting on you. Not that I deserve you anyway…_

* * *

Strolling innocently down the hall with a textbook pressed tightly to her chest was the kind-hearted lynx girl, Nicole. She hummed sweetly to herself as she carried along to meet up with her boyfriend in the café.

However, she was forced into a slight detour when she was abruptly pulled into a closet. She was ready to scream her lungs off when the dim light came on to reveal familiar green eyes, teary and so pained.

"Shard?" She called out with such concern, holding her hands up as she inspected his sorrowful expression. "Are you alright?"

"I'm…I'm sorry about your friend." He whispered, an edge to his voice as he linked his arms around her to rest his head on her shoulder. "I wanted to be there for you, but I just haven't been my best lately…" He admitted.

She frowned, eyes glistening with tears at the mention of her deceased friend. The wounds were still fresh, but she was grateful for his condolences, and the emotion he was showing her again.

She wrapped her arms around him, returning his embrace.

"It's okay." She assured him, "I understand—"

"It's **NOT** okay, Nicole." He cut her off, pulling back to reveal the tears rolling off his face to her. "Nothing is okay."

"Oh, Shard." The lynx cooed sympathetically, "What happened? Was it Mina?"

He inhaled before looking back up to her with sad eyes, the concerned feeling she had for him only worsening.

"She terminated her pregnancy without telling me." Shard explained, making Nicole's eyes widen with shock. "She was afraid I'd leave her."

There was a long pause before the raven-haired girl spoke up again in her anxious tone.

"You will leave her, won't you?"

"I already have." He nodded.

"Good." The lynx girl replied, raising her hands to cup his cheeks and force his gaze to hers. "You might see yourself as a bad person, but you're one of the kindest souls I've ever met, Shard. You deserve someone who makes you happy, and will appreciate all that you strive to be, rather than berate you for things you've done."

He missed this so much. Her touch, her words, her honest green eyes. So unlike Mina's deceitful cold ones. She was like the purest, most radiant light in his dark little world. When he told Mina his heart had never once been faithful to her, he meant it, because his heart only yearned for one girl…

Nicole the Lynx.

Without even thinking, he grabbed her shoulders and crashed his lips down onto hers, making her eyes shoot open in surprise. It didn't last very long, because she immediately used all her force to push him away.

"No!" She shrieked, covering her mouth as her face flushed red. "I didn't mean me… You know I'm with, Espio." She stammered before bolting out of the closet in embarrassment.

He watched the door shut behind her with a distant stare before slamming his head against the nearby, cold, brick wall.

"I'm such a fucking idiot." He scolded himself, wiping the stream of blood running down from his forehead.

* * *

 _Dear Alicia,_

 _I've been on a mission with, Vigil the Chameleon. We're scouting the borderlands of Mobius for any injured refugees from DigItaly. This war isn't looking good for anyone right now. This morning we found a small child suffering from fatal injuries. His parents were shot dead on the raft ride, and he miraculously floated the rest of the way here barely alive. We couldn't save him. I keep thinking to myself, what if that were Sonic? Or Tails? I couldn't imagine this battle crossing into our lines, I won't allow it. Captain Metal has taken it especially hard, considering he's got a son the same age as the casualty. He says he's got a plan to bring peace. Arthur and I have both agreed to accompany him into the war zone. I'm scared, but it's something I know in my heart I have to do. Pray for me._

* * *

Both Mephiles and Scourge had been running late today, leaving the gothic-styled Rosy to lean up against the black Hummer all by herself. She crossed her arms and glared down at her black boots, annoyed with being kept waiting.

She tapped her foot impatiently on the pavement, gritting her teeth, and digging her nails into her forearms as she struggled to suppress the bitter memories that haunted her in her alone time.

The urge to cut flared in the pit of her stomach, the stinging pain from her wrists persisting her to reach for the sharpened blade she kept in her back pocket at the ready.

She started to sweat, and her jaw became sore from the grinding of her teeth. Unconsciously, her shaking hand had slipped from her arm and toward her pocket, but before she could reach into it, her eyes caught sight of white sneakers stepping in front of her boots.

The pink girl instantly retracted her hand, and looked up to see Shadow staring back at her with his arms crossed.

"What do you want?" She snarled, on edge thanks to the heavy urges gnawing at her.

"I know what you do." He replied, using his eyes to gesture down to her arm. "I saw your cuts."

Her face twisted into an angry expression, red with embarrassment as she shot him an annoyed glare.

"And?" She retorted, "It's none of your business."

"You're in a bad place, and one day you might just take it too far."

"So? What if I fucking want to?" She replied angrily.

"What if I want to save you?" He countered, making her brows come together in confusion.

"Save me?" She repeated, stepping closer so that they were nose-to-nose.

"I want to save you from you…" He explained cryptically, "Before it's too late."

He returned her skeptical gaze with an assuring and stern one. Peering into her light-brown eyes felt so familiar. He recognized that rage, that sadness, that self-loathing.

"You know what? I wish you'd stop fucking following me!" She finally shouted, turning to stomp off back toward the main building. "Fuck you, and your hero-complex."

"Rosy!" He called out, making her stop to turn her head back toward him. "Why do you hate yourself so much?"

She snarled at him before turning back toward her destination, holding up her hand with middle finger extended.

He watched her go, frustrated as he reimagined her fading figure to be that of long lost Maria Robotnik. The ebony hedgehog had accepted the fact that he couldn't have saved her, but there was hope for Rosy…

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 ** _Manic:_** _Yo! Smoke sesh in the janitor's closet?_

 ** _Rouge:_** _Sorry, maybe next time._

 ** _Shadow:_** _I'm doing something else too._

 ** _Manic:_** _C'mon! This whole dodgy thing is getting annoying now. What the hell is up with you guys?_

 ** _Rouge:_** _Nothing._

 ** _Shadow:_** _Nothing._

 ** _Manic:_** _Fine, don't tell me. All I'm saying is, you better work it out soon. I can't keep smoking alone!_

* * *

 _Dear Alicia,_

 _We've made camp for the night. The weather here is relentless, blistering hot mornings, and freezing cold nights. This place is a full on war zone now. Buildings burned to the ground, mountains of bodies and ashes everywhere. It's hard to believe this was once such a beautiful place. Captain Metal is devastated. When I asked him why, he waited until Arthur was asleep to tell me that he is an immigrant from DigItaly. Can you believe that? I had no idea. He must want to end this war more than all of us. He's fighting his own people for the sake of a country that despises his kind. Such an honorable man, a true hero. Someone I wish I could be. I'm a horrible husband, and an absentee father, the furthest thing from honorable. But I'm out here, and it's not to please Aleena anymore. I'm here for me now, to prove to myself that I can be a better man, and one day I'll come home to you and my kids a war hero._

* * *

Manic sighed in frustration, shoving his phone back into the pocket of his orange hoodie with a grumble. The pink girl walking beside him noticed his upset demeanor and quickly brought it to attention.

"No luck on getting the triangle back together?" She asked.

"Ugh, they're both being so damn frustrating!" He whined, tugging his face as he passed his hand down it. "One minute they're giving me a speech on how important our friendship is, and the next their avoiding each other at all costs."

"What do you think's going on?" Amy asked curiously.

"I don't know." Manic groaned, "Shadow was probably shitting on her about still liking Knuckles or something."

"Well, I mean he wouldn't be wrong." The pink hedgehog huffed, crossing her arms to stick her nose up in the air. "Don't get me wrong, Knuckles is a good friend, but he's a total tool. She needs to move on."

"You're one to talk." He replied in a defensive tone, making her growl in annoyance. "Sonic's not exactly A-list boyfriend material either."

"Whatever!" She pouted before dropping her eyes to the cement they walked on, "He didn't call to apologize like you said he would last night."

"He's probably busy trying to help his old friends cope. They all grew up together with that kid ya'know." The green hedgehog explained, "With that video going around, they probably feel terrible."

"I guess, but we're his _'current'_ group of friends and we're all a freaking wreck right now too. I haven't seen Cream or Blaze in days, Knuckles is off doing his own thing, and Tails is always with his girlfriend."

"It's called prioritizing, Angel Face." He chuckled lightly, "They need the emotional support more than we do right now. I actually think it's pretty cool of him, to help them like this."

"Not when he puts them over us." Amy shot back, "I still can't believe he'd try to defend that girl over me **AND** Tails!"

"Opinions differ sometimes, that's all." The green hedgehog shrugged, "Hey, what's going on over there?" He pointed toward a bustling crowd crying out in outrage.

They both walked over curiously, noting all of the items being thrown, and the cruel remarks being made. On their tiptoes, they could see over a few heads toward the center, where the auburn-haired chipmunk had just been shoved to the ground by an upset echidna boy.

"He's dead because of you! Have you seen this?" The echidna shouted, kneeling down to shove his cellphone in her face, the horrid video playing on screen. She closed her eyes, refusing to watch another second, tears streaming down her cheeks as the crowd pelted her with objects, and the echidna shouted at her some more. "Someone did this to him, because you kicked the hornet's nest!"

With every harsh statement he screamed in her face, the crowd roared in agreement. Manic frowned, disgusted by how the LGBT students she once tried to defend were treating her like she was to blame. Amy felt bad about the public shaming, but agreed with every word the echidna boy uttered.

"Leave her alone!" A monkey shouted, emerging from the sidelines to shove the echidna away.

"Get out of my way, Ken!"

"Cobar, this isn't right. She stood up for Rotor, for you, all of you!" The monkey addressed the crowd, "She's not to blame! Why are you wasting so much energy ganging up on an innocent girl when you could all put this effort into finding the real sick bastards who did this? The ones in that video!"

Just when Cobar and the crowd lowered their hands and began to have a change of heart, that malicious darkling shoved his way to the front of the crowd to point an accusing finger at Ken.

"Don't listen to him!" Eclipse roared to the crowd, "He's trying to distract you from something you already know! I know for a fact that it was her speech that pissed off half the school! She killed your friend."

He grinned evilly when the hype of the crowd stirred up again, his intentions solely on redirecting their attention off of him and his friends.

They shouted more aggressively this time, some charging at the chipmunk with angry fists raised. Things appeared to get increasingly violent, forcing Manic to pull Amy off to the side in fear of her safety.

Angry bodies closed in on the chipmunk lying on the sidewalk. Her heart began to race as her anxiety spiked. Her monkey friend tried his best to keep people at bay by shoving them back, but there were too many coming from every which direction.

"What are they gonna do to her?" Amy whispered nervously.

"C'mon, we gotta go tell Zonic!" Manic replied, grabbing her hand to pull her back toward the main building.

Just before they could make a break for it, the sound of horrid screams rang in their ears, coaxing them into turning back to look at the angry crowd. People in the crowd were dropping like flies, accompanied by a loud striking sound.

Soon a pathway was manually created after people dispersed and stepped away in fear of getting struck with a skateboard. Once the way was cleared, wheels hit the cement and rolled furiously down the path.

Amy and Manic both watched from the sidelines as Scourge emerged to the center, scooping the auburn-haired girl up off the ground and into his arms.

To everyone else, it all happened so suddenly with little time to even register she had disappeared, but for Manic it was like slow motion. He watched through as the other green hedgehog tightened his grip on the chipmunk, taking note of that blissful expression he wore with her in his arms.

"He's in love with her you know." Amy huffed bitterly, a bit of jealousy in her tone.

"No he's not…" Manic replied, watching the hedgehog on the skateboard until he disappeared from view.

* * *

 _Dear Alicia,_

 _Do you remember our first kiss? When we were accidentally locked in the detention room and forgotten. I asked you if you'd ever been kissed before, and you said no one would dare ask such a thing of you because you were so intimidating. I told you I wasn't intimidated in the slightest, and you gave me that terrifying glare in response. I stepped up to you anyway, wrapped my arms around your waist and pulled you in for your first kiss. It's one of the many memories that keeps me going out here in these wastelands. Aside from Sonia, Sonic, and Tails, you give me something to strive to come home for. I promised myself that whenever this mission is over, I'm leaving the military, I'm divorcing Aleena, and I'm gonna do everything in my power to find you…_

* * *

Scourge had rode his stolen skateboard all the way to the school parking lot, where he gently placed Sally in the backseat of his car before getting in the driver's seat to pull the car out of the lot. Sally cried silently as the vehicle bounced over the gravel of the single dirt road.

After getting some much needed distance from the school, the green hedgehog pulled over to the side and turned off the engine. He looked back over his shoulder, a sympathetic expression on his face as he watched the chipmunk lay on her stomach and cry into her folded arms.

He got out of the driver's side to open the back door. After a bit of shifting and maneuvering, he managed to slide in behind her in a spooning position.

Normally, she would have freaked at such close contact, but she was too distraught over the misguided anger. Her entire back was pressed up to his front, with his hand stroking her shoulder in a comforting motion.

His vibrant blue eyes grazed over her frame, her shoulders jumping up as she let out low sobs. He couldn't see her face, but he could imagine the tears sliding off her cheeks, upsetting him greatly.

She shuddered a bit when she felt his arms snake around her stomach and his face nuzzle into the crook of her neck, but she didn't try to break free from his hold, desperately needing the comfort he offered.

This window of opportunity was grand. She was emotional weak, and definitely had her guard down enough to be taken advantage of. They were all alone in the back of his car, far from school grounds with her body already pressed so tightly against his.

But he didn't try anything…

He just held her for hours as she cried in the dark, neither of them uttering a word the entire time.

Eventually, the sun dipped behind the horizon, and the moon emerged from the dark clouds. It had gotten incredibly late, and thanks to the new curfew they were probably in for some big trouble whenever they decided to return.

Now the two sat up. The chipmunk had edged away from him, staring at her shoes in the dark with an embarrassed blush on her face from him seeing her so vulnerable…again. He had sparked a joint, and was exhaling a cloud of smoke when he caught her curious gaze from the corner of his eye.

"What?" He asked, popping the stick back into his mouth.

"We talked about—"

"I know what we talked about." He cut her off quickly, not wanting to entertain the topic at all.

"So why do you keep doing this?" The auburn-haired girl asked in an irritated tone, "Why do you keep coming to my rescue anyway?"

"Because…" He began, pulling the joint out of his mouth to turn his head to meet her with sincere, honest, breathtakingly blue eyes. "When I look at you…I see everything I've ever wanted…"

Her blush worsened, the tense features of her face easing up into a much shyer expression. She turned away, making him chuckle a bit.

"W-We should go back." She stammered shyly, "We're going to get in trouble."

"What's the rush if we're already late?" He shrugged, taking another hit. "Besides, you don't look ready to go back and face those fags."

"Don't call them that, its offensive." She corrected him sharply, turning back to give him a stern look.

"Fine, I guess _'idiots'_ would be a more appropriate term for the way they've been acting anyway." The green hedgehog rolled his eyes, "All the shit they're giving you for making that kid a target, but not looking for the pricks who took aim and fired at that target. Like seriously, why the hell hasn't anyone arrested that Jet fucker? He did threaten the kid in broad daylight a few times."

"The people in the video were wearing masks. No one wants to go around accusing people like a witch hunt." Sally explained in a stressed tone.

"But they're pretty quick to burn you at the stake." Scourge countered, making her frown.

"I did put him in a dangerous position, with all the homophobes on campus I should have known better." Tears began brimming her sapphire eyes again, irritating the hedgehog.

She closed her eyes to push the tears out, and as soon as she did his index finger was at her cheek, wiping them away. The auburn-haired girl opened her eyes to look back at him in confusion.

"Hermoso, incluso cuando ella está llorando. **(Beautiful, even when she is crying.)** " He sighed, the back of his hand resting adoringly on her cheek as he gazed down into those familiar sapphire eyes…

 **INCOMING CALL**

Before anything else could come of the moment, her phone went off, and she immediately broke their staring contest to retrieve it from the pocket of her blue hoodie.

 _"Hello?"_ She called out to the speaker.

 _"_ _ **SALLY?!**_ _Holy fuck! Where the hell are you?"_

 _"Sonic? What's going on?"_

Scourge grimaced in disgust upon hearing the name of his blue enemy, easing what little remained of the joint back into his mouth as he watched her turn away with a blush to whisper harshly into her phone.

 _"Where the hell are you?!"_ The blue hedgehog bellowed through the speaker in panic, _"Its four hours past curfew, and your mom is freaking out! Officers all over campus are looking for you!"_

 _"I'm fine."_ She assured him, _"I just…decided to go on a late night walk and forgot the time."_

 _"Forgot the time?"_ He repeated anxiously, _"It's pitch black out!"_

 _"I'm sorry."_ She apologized.

 _"I'll meet you there in ten minutes. Don't go anywhere."_

 _"Meet me where?"_

 _"The lake!"_ He said in a matter-of-fact tone _, "Where the hell else would you be?"_

She looked over her shoulder at the green hedgehog flicking his joint out the other window before turning back toward her phone.

 _"Right."_ Sally agreed before hanging up the call.

Then she opened the door on her side, and got out of the car. Her hair picked up with the cold wind that nipped at her nose, the night being so dark she could barely see through the trees.

"Get back in." Scourge called out to her, "I'll drive you back."

"I'm not going back." She turned around to shoot him a half-smile, "I'm gonna go for a walk."

"Through the forest? At midnight? Hell no. Get back in."

"Sorry." She apologized, leaping into the dense forest as she waved him goodbye. "I'll see you around."

Before he could protest, or hop out of the backseat to chase after her, she had already disappeared into the darkness. He sighed heavily to himself before hopping over to the front seat.

Sally darted through the forest. Bare branches whipped across her body as she pushed through, hands out to shield her face from the jagged tree branches. Thanks to countless visits to the beautiful lake, she could easily get there with her eyes closed, making this dark running a bit easier.

About twenty minutes later, she finally broke through the tree lining, and fell into the grassy plains by the lake. She sighed heavily, wondering how in the world the blue speedster could possibly find running to be a fun leisure activity.

She rubbed her forehead as she stood back up from the ground in a bit of a daze. Shortly after, she heard the crunching of twigs behind her before a pair of arms were thrown around her and pulled her in to a tight embrace.

It was dark, the fireflies long gone for the winter. What the moon offered wasn't much, but just enough to allow her squinting eyes to see the outline of a blue hedgehog.

"Sonic?" She questioned, brows coming together in confusion as she listened to the light sniffles escape him and felt the shakiness of his body.

"You idiot." He scolded her in a harsh tone, clutching the back of her hoodie tighter as he gritted his teeth and lightly sobbed over her shoulder. "When they said they couldn't find you… I was so fucking worried that you might have done something to yourself!"

"I didn't mean to worry anyone." The chipmunk replied, pulling away from his lung-crushing embrace to drop her gaze to the ground. "I just…needed to get off campus for a little while."

Sonic frowned, remembering how horribly people had been treating her over Rotor's death. He put a comforting hand to her cheek, ushering her to look back up at him. His jade eyes full of sincerity, and his heart on his sleeve.

"I'm so sorry. About everything you're going through, Rotor's death, and just not being there enough for you."

"It's okay, Sonic."

"No it's not." He shook his head, resting both hands on her shoulders while he kept her gaze. "Rotor died before I ever got the chance to apologize for the way I left them hanging, and when they said you were missing I was afraid…. Afraid that I wouldn't get the chance to tell you that I think I love you."

"You…You what?" She stammered, completely taken aback by his confession.

"I love you, Sally." He rephrased, nodding his head in agreement with his words.

Her bottom lip trembled, mouth slightly agape in surprise accompanied by a deep tint of red to her cheeks. The clouds moved over slightly, allowing the moon to shine down on them like a spotlight, the grass swaying with the wind, and the lake shimmering beautifully behind them.

He moved his hands from her shoulders back up to her face, fingers locking around the legs of her glasses before he slowly inched them off her face. For a brief moment, he winced at her scarred face on instinct, the mass of tiny gashes around her eyes looked gruesome, and probably painful once.

She caught this, and felt a wave of embarrassment and shame wash over her, biting her lip to fight back shameful tears. He tossed her glasses to the grass before putting his hands back to her cheeks, aware of her insecurity.

"You're beautiful…" He whispered to her, slowly closing the gap between them.

It would have been a beautiful and blissful moment for the both of them, if only the pink hedgehog wasn't lingering in the back of his mind…

* * *

 _Dear Alicia,_

 _We've been captured. I think this'll be my final letter to you. Our execution has been set for dawn. We've each been locked away in separate cells, beaten ruthlessly and unfed. Aleena is a strong woman, I know she'll go on just fine, and my kids are probably better off not knowing me. So I should be at peace with this, but I'm not. There's one unresolved thought trapped in my head that just won't escape me. Something that won't allow me to let go, and it's the thought of you._

 _If tomorrow never comes, will you know how much I loved you? How badly I wish I could go back in time and change things?_

 _Please, if by some miracle you read this I want you to go back to the lake and fish out our rings. Rest them on my coffin in tribute to another promise I just couldn't keep to you…_

 _Forever Yours,_

 _Jules the Hedgehog_

* * *

 **So much romantic drama, not even just amongst the teens either. Locke having late night drinks with his ex-wife, Lara-Le. Alicia reading twenty year old love letters from her first love, Jules. This engagement is sure as hell being put to the test.**

 **Speaking of Jules' letters, there's a lot of interesting information in them. And if you look hard enough, you might find something quite strange about them...**

 **Also just a reminder, the story as of right now is still set in December, about a week and a half before Christmas and vacation yet it has not snowed.**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Espio vs. Shard!**

 **Little Lara-Su makes a new friend**

 **Maybe not the 'sexy playboy' type like his brother, but Manic proves he can be just as charming in his own way**

 **Mephiles is out for fresh blood, another depressed toy for his collection of characters to amuse himself with, and he's got his eyes on one yellow-striped hedgehog**

 **Amy and Shadow are put in a compromising position**

 **And so much more!**


	51. Chapter 51

**WARNING: Physical violence **

* * *

**Chapter 51: Secrets Out!**

Tikal sat at her wooden desk, one leg crossed over the other as she twirled the cord to the desk phone she had pressed in between her shoulder and ear while sifting through papers in front of her.

 _"Honestly Babe, I don't feel like my colleagues are taking this case seriously enough. It makes so sick to see how little interest these fuckers will take into a case because it revolves around a gay hate crime."_

 _"Perci, Darling, relax. You and I know how bad it feels to be overlooked and treated like second-class citizens. Remember how badly we had to fight Bygone City for a real marriage certificate?"_ The orange echidna sighed, marveling at the diamond ring on her finger with a sorrowful expression. _"That's why we can't just let this go. We have to seek justice for this boy. I can't tell you how terrified and hurt the LGBT students are here. It's been almost two weeks since the tragedy, and no one has come forth with any sort of information."_

 _"Well, there won't be much help on my end."_ The bandicoot pouted over the phone, _"Do you have any leads or possibly suspects you think we should follow up on?"_

 _"Nothing solid enough to move on. I've still got a few kids I'd like to interview before jumping to conclusions."_ Tikal explained, eyeing a blown up image of the masked assailants. Her brows came together in contemplation as she stared intently at one in particular.

 _"Just don't push yourself, Tikal."_

 _"Right…"_ She muttered, piecing together a possible lead. _"I'll call you back, Perci."_

 _"Is something wrong?"_

Without responding, the orange echidna woman just hung up the phone to bring the photo up to her face with both hands, her blue eyes locked onto the assailant in the hockey-mask. She found the mask to be eerily familiar.

Completely black, with three red stripes coming down the top. A style strikingly similar to…

"Shadow the Hedgehog…"

* * *

Fiona strolled down the hallway, rust-colored hair bouncing in a ponytail behind her with each joyful step she took, humming to herself in sweet harmony.

Amidst her peppy walking, she stopped to raise an eyebrow at someone. It was Ray, sighing heavily as he leaned up against his locker and stared down at his feet. She frowned at his sorrowful demeanor, approaching him without a second thought.

"Ray?" She called out sympathetically, making him raise his head to meet her sincere gaze. She put a hand on his shoulder, tilting her head as she slightly bent her knees to get at eye-level with the unusually short boy. "What's the matter?"

He averted his eyes from hers, throwing them back to the ground in dismay, concerning the vixen even more.

"Th-Thanks to Scourge, I lost m-my shot with Cream again." He mumbled sadly, "I don't know what happened while I was g-gone, but she's back to liking T-Tails again—even though he already ha-has a girlfriend. I'm just gi-giving up. She'd never fall for so-someone like me."

"Hey, c'mon now." Fiona replied, lifting his chin back up with her hand. "Don't beat yourself up for her mistakes. Sooner or later, she'll realize the guy she should have been with was always right be her side. For now, you'll just have to forgive her for being a dumb high school girl."

He smiled weakly at her, thankful for the encouragement and kindness she had been supplying him.

"Thanks, Fiona." He said, throwing his arms around her for an innocent hug. "I'm g-glad you're with us."

"Awe, Ray! You say that all the time." She giggled, stroking his golden hair.

"Because it's t-t-true." He replied, looking up to her with a more convincing smile. "We've r-really missed you over the years…me and M-Mighty."

"Hey!" A voice called out to them, making them both turn to glance down the hall. "You guys!"

"Mighty…" She whispered, heart racing as she dreamily watched the armadillo boy run down the hall, flagging them down with his arms.

Ray looked up to the vixen, catching that familiar sparkle in her eye, and the red glow to her cheeks. He smiled warmly, recalling how great the feeling of being in love was, at least when it didn't hurt.

In that moment he realized what Mighty couldn't.

Fiona was in love with him.

"Hey!" Mighty repeated, coming to a full stop in front of them, slightly out of breath. "Have either of you seen Julie?"

* * *

Honey rested a comforting hand on Mina's back as the two sat at their usual table in the middle of the café. The mongoose had her eyes locked onto the yellow-striped hedgehog in the lunch line. He looked so depressed.

She was devastated by the horrible falling out, and missed him beyond words could say, but she knew there was nothing she could say to regain his trust or affections.

She had lost him for good, and in a sense, she never really had him in the first place.

Shard sighed heavily, annoyed by the bustling crowd of happy teenagers surrounding him. He grabbed the nearest tray and walked out of the line, carelessly walking toward the nearest table with eyes fixed on his green tray of food.

 **SLAM!**

Mina's eyes widened in horror as she cupped her hands over her face, mortified by the sight she had just witnessed unfold in a matter of seconds. She stood up from her chair, Honey following suit as several other eyes turned toward the loud noise.

From out of nowhere, a chameleon had rushed in through the doors and sucker-punched the hedgehog dead in the face. His tray flew out of his hands, food and drink spilled everywhere as Shard skidded across the floor.

He quickly sat back up, touching the wet corner of his lip with his fingertips to swipe the crimson liquid flowing out of a freshly made cut. Then he got back up to his feet to stare daggers at the chameleon heaving with anger a few feet away.

"You tried to kiss my girlfriend!" Espio shouted, his words sending a rush of upset anger through the mongoose standing off to the side with the newly formed crowd that had encircled around them.

"Oops?" Shard shrugged, his sarcastic tone making the chameleon's blood boil. "What do you want? An apology letter? Nice hands by the way, but any pussy could knock someone down when they're off guard."

Fuming with anger, Espio charged at the hedgehog again, the crowd around them roaring with delight and cellphone cameras at aim. Mina wanted to do something, but Honey and her new magenta companion held the mongoose back.

Espio threw the first punch, and Shard just barely moved his head out of the way in time for the other boy's fist to go flying by his shoulder. Just before he could grab the chameleon's arm and break it, he retracted with such a quickness, then repeated the same motion with his left fist.

While the hedgehog was distracted dodging the second attack, Espio brought his knee up to Shard's stomach with a heavy force, literally taking his breath away as he caved to his knees.

"Cheap shot…" The yellow-striped hedgehog winced, holding his sides as he tried to will the pain away.

Before Espio could deal another punch, Shard impressively got to his feet in time to backflip out of the way before charging at the chameleon again with a heavy punch of his own, landing him square in the jaw.

Espio staggered back until he fell on his ass, slightly dazed by the powerful blow.

He was quick, but Shard was a lot quicker. His dodging was impressive, but he had the occasional opening. His hands were heavy, but with years of prosecution and violence behind him, Shard had seen heavier, quicker, and much more lethal blows.

It was clear after the first few hits that the DigItalian boy had stopped holding back, because he no longer tried to dodge attacks. He took whatever Espio dished, and returned tenfold in a series of agonizingly painful punches.

A few faces in the crowd cringed, while others cheered and instigated.

Just when everyone thought the chameleon had the upper-hand, the hedgehog had changed the game. It frightened them, how incredibly good he was, and how he smiled the whole way through, like a true savage.

He managed to shove Espio to the ground before getting on top of him to deliver jab after jab to the face, his hands never letting up no matter how much blood spattered across his own face.

" **STOP IT!** " A voice cried out, freezing him with his right fist hung back in the air.

Shard looked up to the see a crying Nicole shove her way hastily through the crowd, two officers following after her. In fear of trouble, nearly everyone in the crowd dispersed with the exception of Honey, Sonia, Mina, and the unsettlingly amused, Mephiles the Dark.

They continued watching as Zespio manually pulled Shard off of the beaten down chameleon and slammed him flat on the ground, cheek hitting the cold tiles as he watched the raven-haired lynx lift Espio up in her arms, mortified at the bruises that had already begun developing.

"He attacked me!" Shard called out once Zespio had forced him back up to his feet in cuffs.

Nicole looked up at him with tears rolling off her cheeks as she looked back in between the two. Shard had one cut in the corner of his lip, while Espio's face was bloody and all sorts of dark colors. Judging by their battle wounds, it was hard to believe that was the truth.

Zector took the groaning chameleon out of her arms to hoist back up to his feet. Then she stood up and marched up to the hedgehog until they were nose-to-nose.

"You're horrible." She said in a cold tone, shattering what little remained of his heavy heart to pieces before he was shoved toward the door by Zespio.

Zector followed close behind, holding up Espio as they headed off to the principal's office.

"How…interesting." Mephiles mused, licking his lips at the prospect of yet another new toy to amuse himself with.

* * *

Down the hall walked Knuckles the Echidna, bag swung over his shoulder, and both hands in his pockets as he strolled along in silence.

Christmas was right around the corner, but snow had not yet made an appearance. The echidna wondered what to get for his daughter.

 _'Does she like stuffed-chao? Doll houses? Dresses? Books?'_ He thought to himself, his mouth dropping into a depressed frown at realizing how little he knew about his own child. _'Would she even take a present from me? Is she still mad? Does she hate me? Will she always hate me?'_

His harmless thoughts soon turned depressing, mind wandering into that haunting terrain of questions that plagued the darker corners of his inner thoughts.

He'd come a long way. Going from a bit of a player with a habit of changing girlfriends more than socks to a more self-aware guy struggling to get it together. Rejecting Shade's advances was the ultimate proof of his progression, because if she had put the moves on him a few months ago whether he was dating someone or not, he without a doubt would have agreed.

But now he had no room in his mind to be a reckless, horny teenager. He was too busy yearning desperately for the approval of a little girl in wire-framed glasses.

"Knuckles!" Someone called out behind him, making him turn his head back curiously.

"Tails?" The red echidna rose an eyebrow, "What's up?" He asked once the fox finally jogged up to his side.

"I um…I need some advice." He admitted shyly, a tint of red to his cheeks.

"Why not just ask Sonic? You never come to me for help."

"He and I aren't on speaking terms." Tails huffed before dispelling any thoughts about the blue hedgehog he wasn't too fond of at the moment.

"Well, I guess." Knuckles shrugged, "What do you need advice on?"

The fox boy sucked in his lips nervously as he thought up a way to get the advice he needed without raising any red flags.

"If you could keep a carrot or a flower in your pocket forever, which would you pick?"

"What?" The echidna asked in a ridiculing tone, "What kind of question is that?"

"It's just a question!" The kitsune whined, "Just please, what would you pick?"

"I don't fucking know!" The senior bellowed.

"Just pick one!"

"Fine, the carrot I guess."

" **WHY?!** " Tails shrieked, sweat beads forming on his forehead. "I mean, why not a flower?"

"I don't know, Tails. Maybe because flowers die, especially if you keep them in your pocket. At least a carrot would give you something to eat."

"But…I really, really, really like flowers…"

"So then keep the damn flower."

"But I feel like carrots deserve a shot more than anything…"

"So then keep the damn carrot!"

"Ugh, I just don't know what to do!" Tails cried out, bolting down the hall to leave Knuckles staring after him in a whirlwind of confusion.

"What a fucking weirdo…" Knuckles said aloud before his name was called out from behind him yet again.

"Yo, Knucklehead!" The echidna turned his head to see his other good friend jogging up to him.

"Sonic." He greeted, "Tails just passed by a few seconds ago. Acting really weird too."

"Yeah, whatever." The hedgehog rolled his eyes before throwing an arm around the echidna, "Listen Bud, we've been pals practically forever now, and I need some advice."

"Advice?" Knuckles groaned, already mentally exhausted from Tails' odd question. "You never come to me for help. Why not just go find Tails? He went that way—"

"We haven't really seen eye-to-eye lately." Sonic huffed before shaking it off, "Anyway, are you gonna help me or not?"

"Fine, I guess." The echidna shrugged, "What is it?"

Sonic shifted his gaze all over the hallway, thinking about how to rephrase his question in a way where he wouldn't have to drop names, or give away anything personal.

"I've been thinking about…lunch." He improvised.

"Um…okay…"

"And, umm…I've been thinking about what I'd want in my lunchbox forever." He stammered, tapping his hand on the left side of his chest when he said _'lunchbox'_.

"And?"

"Well, I'm torn between celery and cotton candy!"

"Celery, and cotton candy?" Knuckles repeated, narrowing his eyes at the hedgehog in irritation at yet another weird question.

"Celery isn't exactly glamorous, and makes me feel like shit sometimes, but…it's so good for me." Sonic mumbled, a blush creeping up on him. "But cotton candy's **ALWAYS** been there for me. It's so sweet, cute, and makes me feel like I'm on cloud nine all the time."

"What kind of question is this? And who the hell talks about food like that?" The echidna groaned in frustration, "Seriously, is everyone being a fucking weirdo today?!"

"C'mon, Knuckles!" His friend whined, grabbing his wrist to prevent him from running away. "Just tell me what to have!"

"It's a clear-cut fucking question!"

"Clear-cut?" Sonic repeated, "How?"

"Dude, you've **ALWAYS** had a sweet tooth." Knuckles explained, tone still riddled with irritation and zero patience. "You know you'd have cotton candy every day for the rest of your life if you could!"

"But, celery makes me a better person."

"Then have fucking celery."

"But you're right…" The hedgehog sighed, "I do like cotton candy a lot."

"Then just have both!" Knuckles shouted, throwing both arms in the air. "Lunchboxes can fit more than one thing!"

"I just… I gotta go. Thanks." Sonic replied, shaking his head before he darted off down an intersecting hallway.

Knuckles immediately sighed in relief, slapping his palm against his forehead as he gritted his teeth in annoyance. "What the hell is with everyone today!?"

* * *

"Shadow."

"Not now."

"Shadow."

"Can't you see I'm walking?" The ebony hedgehog called out over his shoulder in a cold tone, "Dr. Tikal called me out of class. I've gotta go see her."

He soon found himself stopping, his gaze shifting down to the cement walkway once he felt a hand encircle around his wrist. He then reluctantly turned around to face the snow-haired bat he'd been doing everything in his power to avoid.

"What do you want, Rouge?" He asked.

"We should talk…"

"Look." He sighed, ripping his wrist out of her hold before addressing her. "I'm sorry, okay? I was just…messed up. I just needed to know you were really there…Nothing weird like you might be thinking. Now, I've gotta head over to the main building."

He then turned heel and ran off, leaving the disheartened Rouge to stand in the freezing cold with her hand reaching out to him.

"That's…That's not what I meant." She sighed to herself.

Shadow quickly found his way into the main building, and down toward Tikal's office. He knocked twice before she opened the door and gestured him inside, her suspicions masked by a polite smile until she shut the door behind him.

The red-striped hedgehog let out a frustrated sigh as he collapsed on the chair in front of her desk. He ran a stressed hand through his quills, muttering something under his breath as she took a seat at her own desk, eyeing him skeptically until he removed his hand to meet her gaze.

"We weren't penciled in until tomorrow." Shadow finally spoke, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "I told you already, I'm fine."

"I didn't call you in to talk about how Rotor's suicide impacted you." The echidna woman explained in monotone, sliding a photograph over to him.

He picked it up curiously, genuinely confused about the whole thing. It was a blown up image from that Chaos awful video that had been circling around. He personally watched no more than thirty seconds of it, so the image before him was quite a surprise.

"What is this?" He asked her in an upset tone.

"More like who." She replied, tapping the boy in the picture with the red-striped hockey-mask. "Does this look familiar?"

Shadow stared down at the image again, brows coming together as he thought of a time or place he might have seen such a mask. Then he looked back up to the counselor, catching that accusing look.

"No." He replied coldly, "But judging by your face I assume you think otherwise?"

"That's a custom mask, with a design similar to your own quills…" Tikal explained calmly, "Coincidence?"

"Absolutely, considering I had no part in that video." The hedgehog growled, standing up to his feet. "I'm leaving now, and I have no intention to come back. So please, remove me from your patient list."

He then walked over to the door, taking the knob in his hand. She had been seeing him for quite some time, and could always tell when he was holding back or lying about something. This wasn't one of those times.

It suddenly hit her that he was telling the truth, and that she had just accused and lost trust with him. She shot up from her chair, calling out to him to apologize, but he wouldn't hear any of it.

"Shadow, wait—" She begged, but the door clicked shut long before she could finish.

The echidna collapsed back in her seat, eyes glistening with tears at how frustrated the situation had her. She sniffled lightly, gaze falling to her desk before she realized something….

The photograph she had shown him was gone.

* * *

In the Principal's Office, Alicia had just finished dealing with the altercation between Espio and Shard, reprimanding them before informing both of them that they'd both be suspended for the week and a half that remained until Christmas break, and the detention they'd face later today.

The chipmunk sighed heavily, slumping in her chair with a dainty hand pushing back the chestnut-colored fringe from her face. Since Rotor's suicide, the school had been put under a microscope by authorities, and yet the assailants of the video still hadn't turned up.

Determined to not let the stress get to her, she set her pen down to reach into the black duffle bag she had become so accustom to carrying around for one of Jules' many letters.

In the silence of her office, with the three tribute candles burning brightly behind her on the windowsill, she continued reading a few more letters.

 **KNOCK, KNOCK!**

Sometime later, a knock at the door jolted her up, her hands fumbling to shove the opened letter back in her drawer as the door to her office was pushed open. Her eyebrows rose into a _'not so pleasantly'_ surprised look as her fiancé—and his ex-wife made their way to her desk.

"Locke, you didn't tell me you'd be visiting." Principal Acorn said politely, sapphire eyes instantly rolling up and down the echidna woman with a small child in her arms. "Or that you'd be bringing, Lara-Le."

"Hello, Alicia." The gorgeous echidna woman smiled, "It's been so long."

"Well, Lara-Le and Kneecapeon here wanted to visit, Knuckles." The chipmunk's fiancé explained, "So, I figured I'd accompany them for something of a family reunion."

"I see." Alicia nodded, a glint of envy in her eyes as she stared back at the echidnas who resembled a family. "Well, I'll have Rosemary send for Knuckles. In the meantime, you and your son can wait outside, Lara."

"Actually…" The echidna woman mused sweetly, setting her son down on the ground. "I was hoping the three of us could catch up. Reminisce on the good old days, ya'know?"

"I assumed you both got that out of the way during your night of drinking." The principal replied in a very passive-aggressive manner, making both echidna eye each other uncomfortably.

"Um, Kneecapeon, Sweetheart." Lara-Le cooed, kneeling down beside her son to point him out the door. "I saw a table with crayons and paper in the waiting area. Go have some fun. Mommy will be out in a second, alright?"

"Do I still get to see Nana?" The little echidna boy whined, "You promised…"

"You will." She assured him, kissing him on the forehead before pushing him lightly toward the door. "Now go on."

He nodded, waddling cutely out of the principal's office and out toward the waiting area. He quickly eyed the table covered in a series of colorful crayons. He then noticed someone already seated at the table.

He tilted his head slightly, intrigued by the other toddler. She was an echidna girl. Pink hair tied off in pigtails, wearing wire-frame glasses with big violet eyes. She wore a denim jumper with a pink shirt underneath, her tiny hand wrapped around a crayon as she dragged it across a piece of printer paper and kicked her feet out.

"H-Hi!" Kneecapeon stammered shyly, a nervous blush on his face.

The echidna girl turned to him, offering him a big smile with a missing front tooth.

"Hi!" She waved, "Who are you?"

"My name is Kneecapeon." The little boy greeted, digging his foot into the tiled floor. "But I like to be called Mace, because that's what my big brother calls me."

"Okay! I'll call you Mace too!" She cheered, hopping down from her chair to greet him. "My name is Lara-Su."

He was slightly taller than her, both of them just about the same age. Although they bore an incredible resemblance to one another, their personalities differed greatly. She was so outspoken and lively, while he was so shy and quiet.

"Wanna color with me?" She asked him, taking his hand in hers before he could even protest.

"Uh, okay." He nodded, following her back toward where she had been sitting.

At the entrance to the main office, Lara-Su's parents had just emerged, both of them immediately cutting their conversation short when they noticed their little girl's new companion.

"Well, doesn't that look familiar?" Julie-Su smirked, crossing her arms as she watched the children.

Knuckles' mouth just hung open, heart drowning in nostalgia while he mind traveled back into beautiful memories. Watching the toddlers play together was like watching themselves when they were young.

Lara-Su hopped back up into her chair with ease, while the little boy fumbled to find his balance, and ended up toppling the entire chair over. She giggled cutely, hopping back down from her chair to go to his aid. She extended her arm out to him, coaxing an embarrassed blush out of him with her laughter.

"You're such a dummy!" She jeered playfully, helping him up off the floor.

"Lara, be nice!" Julie-Su scolded her daughter lightly, a big smile on her face as she recalled a similar memory.

Upon hearing her voice, the little girl looked up to see her mother standing at the doorway, her eyes lighting up like stars before she dashed over with arms outstretched.

"Mommy!" Lara-Su squealed excitedly, throwing herself into her mother's arms while completely ignoring Knuckles' presence. His heart silently breaking.

"Nana!?" A voice called out to him, making him turn away from the two girls to be met with tearful blue eyes.

"Mace!" Knuckles cheered, rushing over to scoop the little boy up in his arms. He hadn't seen him in years, and found it so hard to hold back emotional tears himself.

"Well, who's this cutie?" Julie-Su mused sweetly, walking over to Knuckles' side with Lara-Su in her arms.

"Just another little life I'll regret missing out on..." The red echidna explained sorrowfully, bouncing the little boy in his arms. "He's my half-brother, Kneecapeon; but I call him Mace."

"I never knew you had a brother." The pink girl rose a curious eyebrow.

"That's because he's been with my—"

"Knuckles?" Another voice called out, making him turn around. His eyes shot open with surprise.

"M-M-Mom?" He stammered in disbelief, watching the echidna woman rush over to throw her arms around him. "I haven't…seen you in forever…"

"I know, I know." She whispered, holding both of her sons tightly.

"Does Dad know you're here?!" He asked worriedly once she pulled away from him to cup his face.

"I'm the one who drove." The older echidna sang from the doorway before walking over to them. He quickly noticed Julie-Su standing off to the side with her daughter, a big smile crossing his face. "Julie-Su? My Chaos, I haven't seen you since you were a little girl."

"Hello, Locke." The pink girl greeted sweetly. Lara-Le then turned toward the girl as well, raising an eyebrow at the child she had in her arms.

"I don't believe we've met before." The echidna woman smiled at Julie-Su, "I'm Knuckles' mother."

"I've always wanted to meet you, Ma'am." Julie-Su replied nervously, a blush to her face. "I'm Knuckles'….best friend."

"I see." Lara-Le nodded before bending slightly to be at eye-level with the toddler who bore an uncanny resemblance to her own son, "And who might this little angel be?"

"She's my daughter."

"Really? Well, hello there. What's your name?" Lara-Le asked the little girl.

"My name is Lara!" The toddler bellowed, making all eyes in the office widen.

Soon all eyes were on Knuckles, including the receptionist at her desk, and the principal standing in the doorway. He gave a shrug and nervous smile in return, sweat pouring from his forehead.

"Umm…It's a long story." Knuckles sighed.

"We've got time." His parents said in unison, both of their voices stern.

* * *

Evening classes had just ended, and without extra-circulars to attend, students were bored out of their minds lazing around campus for another four hours until curfew.

There were no sports to be played, no clubs to attend, and no movie night in the auditorium. Students were restless, the new rules being so restricting that they could hardly breathe. Officers littered several areas of campus, causing a lot of paranoia among the rebellious-natured teens.

Strolling down the walkway yet again was a peppy Amy Rose, her arm encircled around her new Sonic temp-replacement, the kind-hearted Manic.

She wore her white fur-collared pink jacket with puffballs hanging on strings bouncing off her chest with each step, black pants, and her favorite knee-high pink and white winter boots. Her hood was up, hiding her shoulder-length pink quills, and her makeup was simple. Just some mascara and pink lipstick.

Her companion's attire was incredibly lackluster next to her high-end fashion. His quills were long, messy, and unkept as usual. He wore a dark-green hoodie with a few oil stains here and there, blue jeans, and warn out tennis shoes just barely scraping by.

He wasn't a sight for sore eyes, more like a reason for sore eyes.

He smelt like a giant, walking, talking cigarette with a hint of marijuana and liquor. The pink girl had to put in extra effort to not inhale too much, fearing that she might pass out from the nauseating mixture of smells.

"Maybe instead of buying you lunch today…again, we could sneak off campus and go buy you some new clothes, shoes, and cologne…. **TONS** of cologne."

"Nah, I'm all set with that." The green hedgehog chuckled, throwing his arm around her to pull her close so he could tease her with kissy-faces. "You're just trying to get me all alone, aren't you? Looking for a little romantic getaway, Angel Face? I'm down to clown!"

"As if!" Amy bellowed, pushing him back at arms-length, her face glowing like one of the Christmas lights hanging from the main building roof. "And why do you keep saying that!"

"Saying what?"

"Angel Face!" She repeated in annoyance, "Why do you keep calling me Angel Face?"

"I give everyone a nickname." He shrugged innocently.

"I know, but why that one specifically?"

They both came to the steps of the girl's dorm, stopping at the bottom to turn to one another. He bore almost no resemblance to his brother in the slightest, but one feature gave their relation away. The best feature, the one girls all over campus swooned over, the one Amy's loved almost all her life.

That Sonic smile.

The wind blew hard, much harder than anything normal. Both of them winced, the freezing cold gust of wind sending shivers throughout their bodies. After it had died down a bit, Amy opened her eyes to see Manic's hand at her cheek.

The wind had blown a quill out from underneath her hoodie. He delicately took hold of it, as if she were priceless, and tucked it back gently. His hand lingered lightly at her cheek, the heat from her blush radiating off onto his hand.

"In all the years that I've known you, I've seen you angry, sad, happy, and everything in between." He spoke softly, "I've learned that no matter what facial expression you make, whether it's one of anger or sorrow….your face is beautiful no matter what. Like an angel."

Her body temperature had risen to unbelievable heights, her entire body glowing a painful red let alone her face.

Suddenly, she felt something hit her forehead, something so cold it made her jump slightly. They both looked up in confusion, eyes widening in surprise as white pieces of cold fluff rained from the heavens.

"Snow?" Amy whispered, watching the white flakes stick to the ground.

"About time!" Manic bellowed excitedly, removing his hand from her cheek to outstretch his arms toward the sky with a huge smile. "One week left of December and **NOW** you finally decide to show up?!"

The pink girl just giggled, admiring the way he looked out to the falling snow so adoringly through kind blue eyes, accompanied by that smile she loved so much.

* * *

Eclipse whistled to himself, hands stuffed in the pockets of his puffy, black winter jacket as he briskly walked across the lightly snow-covered grass. He'd done an excellent job of covering his crimes, and keeping the rest of his friends shut about the whole ordeal. It had been weeks, and police showed no sign of progress—or caring.

It was only a matter of time before the case would be closed, and the young darkling would be free.

The thought of getting away with it all had him so giddy. He smiled wide, threw his head up to the sky and laughed aloud as snow fell onto his tongue. He outstretched his arms, spinning in circles as he laughed hysterically.

He only ceased his gleeful celebrating when he felt hands grab both his shoulders from behind, citrus-colored eyes widening in surprise as he was dragged behind the electives building where no one resided.

The young teen soon found himself slammed against the jagged brick wall, wincing in pain at the force before opening his eyes to meet furious ones of a blood color.

Nervousness quickly left his body, his smile returning along with his cynical demeanor. From what he saw, there was nothing to fear. After all, it was only his big brother, Shadow.

"What?" Eclipse scoffed, "Finally come to say hi?"

"This isn't the time for your bullshit." The ebony hedgehog scolded him, slamming him against the wall again. He then reached into his pocket, pulling out the photograph Dr. Tikal had presented him with to shove in his younger brother's face. "Tell me this isn't my hockey mask from Dad's house. **TELL ME THIS ISN'T YOU!** "

There was a long pause, the sound of nothing but the wind blowing snowflakes around. Their eyes were locked in a battle of blood and fire, Shadow's expression desperate while Eclipse was unmoved, nothing but that evil grin he always sported.

His silence was all the confirmation the ebony hedgehog needed.

"You beat that kid up….you killed him." Shadow whispered in realization, clutching the photo in his hand tightly and his brother's shoulder in the other hand. "Why?"

"You know…this is the first time you've talked to me since I've been here."

"Stop changing the subject and tell me why! Why would you do this?!" The hedgehog demanded, "Talk to me…"

"Why? What's the point if you never listen!? Neither of you ever have…"

"This isn't about us, Chaos dammit. This is about you, idiot! You could go to jail!"

"I could." Eclipse repeated in a knowing tone, still pinned to the wall. "But I won't. No one knows anything, except you."

"And what the fuck makes you think I won't say anything?" Shadow growled, losing his patience with the sarcastic darkling.

"Because I know you." He replied in a menacing tone, shoving his older brother back to unpin himself. Shadow staggered back a bit before the darkling stepped slowly toward him. "You'd never sell me out, because I'm not Mephiles. Unlike him, you and I aren't just step brothers. We share blood. And unlike my other brother, you actually have a conscious."

Shadow said nothing, confirming the darkling's thoughts with his silence and the drop of his gaze down to the snow-covered ground.

"That's what I thought…Big Brother…"

* * *

After bidding her farewells to the green hedgehog, Amy walked up the steps and into the girl's dorm. Relief hit her when she stepped out of the freezing cold and into the heated building, delightfully shutting the door behind herself.

She leaned against it, smiling to herself before getting back upright onto her feet. It seemed that most of the girls were already in their rooms, asleep, or out enjoying winter's long awaited first snow fall.

Not being the biggest fan of freezing cold or snow, the pink hedgehog decided to just head off to her room and get ready for bed.

She sighed heavily, trudging up the steps with a disheartened expression. She was always this gloomy when leaving Manic's presence. Without him, it was a bit lonely, all of their other friends being so distant and all.

On her way up the stairwell, her emerald eyes caught sight of a familiar rabbit bolting down the steps. A smile snuck up on her face, delighted to finally run into her longtime friend who had been missing quite often these last few weeks.

"Cream—"

"Not now!" The rabbit yelped, speedily dashing down the steps without so much as a hello.

Amy sighed again, continuing her journey up the stairwell. She then came down the hall toward her room, eyes lighting up again at the sight of her best friend, and roommate. The cat was standing at the door, head down, and hand still firmly around the knob.

"Blaze!" Amy shouted excitedly, not having seen or heard from the cat since her breakup. Blaze tended to leave before the rest of her bunkmates got up, and came back when they were sound asleep, avoiding everyone.

Once again, the pink girl's smile soon fell as she watched the cat dash away down the opposite end of the hall.

She missed all her friends so badly, and it surely showed in the depressed features of her face. She finally came up to her door, pulling the keys out from her expensive pink purse.

She slid the key in the lock, but before she could turn it her ears twitched at a sound.

Crying, it was someone crying.

She pulled away from her doorknob to look around, but saw no other girl in the hall. The sobbing continued, peaking her curiosity as she left her door to tiptoe down the hall with ears perked up. As she walked further down, the sobbing became more coherent, closer and closer until she came to a halt at a slightly ajar door.

Without even thinking or knocking, she opened it more and poked her head through to be met with a familiar sight. One she saw often in her preteen years.

"Tekno?" Amy called out sympathetically, pushing the door open to allow herself entrance.

The canary lifted her head from her knees to meet the hedgehog with pained blue eyes and black mascara tears. She quickly rubbed her face on the black and red-striped sweater she wore, surprised and startled by the appearance of the girl she used to call her best friend.

"Are you okay? I didn't mean to scare you." The pink girl apologized, taking a seat beside the canary on the twin-sized bed.

"I'm fine. Just leave me alone, please." Tekno begged, shewing Amy away with her hand. That's when her sleeve rolled up, revealing to the pink hedgehog a series of bruises in several shades.

"Who did that?" Amy asked, all too familiar with domestic violence type injuries. "And why are you crying?"

"Just go, Amy…."

"Tekno." The pink hedgehog whimpered, resting her hand on the canary's cheek in a comforting manner. "You can talk to me…"

"Since when?" The canary shot back angrily, "Definitely not since you came here and got all popular! You've barely even waved at me since I got here."

Her words stung, but they were all true. The two had been the best of friends when they both attended Mercia High together, until she transferred this year. At the time, they were both losers, outcasts people picked on for amusement.

It was only until Amy's online popularity skyrocketed that she and the canary were all either of them had. Amy came into her life as quickly as she left, leaving the canary behind in the pit of bullying and torture until she dug herself out and finally got the transfer to Green Hill Academy herself.

"I should have kept in touch, and I'm sorry, but whatever's going on with you seems a little more serious that catty high school bullshit." Amy replied, picking up the canary's weak and bruised wrist in her hand, shaking it lightly for emphasis. "Please, just tell me what's going on with you…"

"Nothing….Just go."

"Is it your boyfriend? Is that asshole Jet behind this?!"

"He's **NOT** my boyfriend anymore!" Tekno shrieked, sending a shiver down Amy's spine. "I hate him. I hate him more than anything in the world." She whimpered, snatching her hand from the pink girl's grasp to hug her knees and cry again.

"Did he hurt you?"

"Not in the way that you think…" The canary whispered between sobs.

Instead of leaving as ordered, the pink hedgehog just threw her arms around the canary and pulled her in for a much needed hug. She allowed Tekno to cry on her as she stroked her green hair softly, shushing her cries with sweet whispers.

After some time, Tekno had calmed down, and broke away from the hug to meet the hedgehog's eyes once more.

"I missed you…" The canary cooed, "You were my only friend for so long, and then you left. I thought maybe if I was cool enough, you'd wanna hang out with me like the old days, Jet was popular at the time. That's the only reason I dated him. I thought I'd get popular and we could be friends again."

"Oh Tekno, why didn't you just talk to me?"

"I tried, but you were always avoiding me, or exclusively paying attention to your hot boyfriend."

"Hot boyfriend? Oh, you mean Sonic…" Amy mumbled, looking away in sorrow. "He isn't…my boyfriend anymore."

"I know. I read all about it on Nack's blog." The canary nodded, resting her head back on the pink girl's shoulder.

"Doesn't this feel like before? Back to being brokenhearted losers together." Amy chuckled, lightening the mood and bringing out a giggle from the canary.

"It would if we had some candy and watched one of those romantic dramas on my laptop."

" **UGH!** I miss my romantic dramas **SO** much!"

"I think the Notebook is still on Netflix." Tekno perked up, smiling as Amy's eyes lit up.

" **PLEASE** tell me you have candy and a Netflix account?!"

"I've got a few quarters and there's a vending machine around the corner." The canary giggled, jumping out of her bed to seize her red purse. "My laptop's on the dresser. Password is, CyberRoses. I'll be right back with some gummies and chocolate." She added before skipping out the door.

Amy smiled brightly, thankful for some companionship. She then hopped off the bed herself and reached over for the laptop resting on the dresser.

She opened it up, getting into a cross-leg position on the bed after kicking her boots off to get comfortable. Her heart did backflips when she was greeted by the nostalgic screensaver.

A selfie of them taken a year ago on their first day of high school. They'd both grown so much since then. Tekno was freed from those hideous braces months ago, and she was no longer as flat as a board anymore. Amy had kissed that horrendous fashion sense goodbye, and her short quills had grown out a bit.

The pink hedgehog chuckled to herself before typing in the password. The screen went black for several moments before she was greeted by the canary's homepage.

"Ohh, looks like she left some tabs open. Something naughty I hope!" Amy giggled to herself, clicking open the first tab.

Her curious smile soon fell, opting to let her mouth hang open in astonishment, and her eyes widen in horror.

"I'm back!" Tekno sang, coming through the door with arms full of unhealthy snacks. "Amy?" She called out after not getting a response. That's when she walked over to peer over the pink girl's shoulder, dropping all the candy to the floor.

On the screen was the original assault video of poor Rotor, the anonymous account, and the original file.

The pink hedgehog was frozen in shock, mortified to find such a thing on the laptop of someone she thought she knew. Tekno quickly kneeled down beside her, taking her shoulders in both hands.

"You…It was you…You recorded this…" Amy stammered in total disbelief once she finally turned to face the now crying canary.

"I can explain everything!" Tekno cried out, "Just please…please don't tell!"

"How could you do something like this? And send this out?"

" **I DIDN'T WANT TO!** " The green-haired girl sobbed, "Jet and Eclipse, they forced me. I only sent the video out thinking that someone would identify them, not me!"

"Tekno, this was Sonic's friend…"

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." The canary cried, clinging to her old best friend's shoulders desperately. "Promise you won't tell…We're supposed to be best friends for life….remember?"

Amy thought to herself for a while before nodding in agreement. In relief, Tekno threw her arms around the pink hedgehog, thankful for the secrecy. All while Amy stared blankly over her shoulder.

* * *

Shard roamed the halls of the main building, searching for the detention room he'd surprisingly never been to up until now. He had a small white band-aid on his lip, raw knuckles, and a broken heart. His mind constantly drifted back to Nicole, and that disapproving and disgusted look she had given him, a look he never wanted to see.

"Hey you, wait up." A voice called out to him, making him stop in his tracks.

He turned around to be greeted by unusual reptilian-eyes. It was Mephiles, walking up to him to circle around him like a hungry shark.

"What do you want? I've got somewhere to be." Shard spat bitterly, not in the mood for sarcasm or games.

"I know who you are…" The gray-striped hedgehog sang, "Shard Metal, the most notorious underground brawler Soleanna has ever seen. You're the reason for the local phrase of _'always bet on metal'_ out there."

Shard stood still, not uttering a word as the other hedgehog continued to circle him and speak.

"You once beat up a kid so bad he lost vision in his left eye and went deaf in both ears. You broke another boy's legs and crippled him for life." Mephiles went on, "I feel like I'm in the presence of a celebrity!—"

"I'm not that person anymore." Shard cut him off.

"Of course you are, no matter how bad you wish you weren't. The way you beat up that chameleon earlier while wearing a big smile proves it."

"Fuck off." The DigItalian boy hissed before turning heel back down the hall, but Mephiles just continued to follow him and call out to him with malice.

"You're a fighter, a good one at that. And who could blame you? Growing up in a city of racists, you had to be tough or they'd eat you alive out there." The older hedgehog grinned, "You were born to be bad, and no path and certainly no raven-haired girl will ever change that. Why try? What's that got you so far?"

"Just what the hell do you want from?!" Shard bellowed angrily, turning to meet the other boy with furious green eyes.

"I want that hate…" Mephiles replied vaguely, handing over a slip of paper with his number. "When you finally realize you're shit, you'll always be shit, and you can never change that…you'll seek me out."

With that, the creepy hedgehog vanished down a corner, leaving Shard to stare blankly at the paper he left behind.

Sometime later the DigItalian boy finally arrived to the detention room, the very last one too, and unfortunately for him there was only one seat left. Right next to a battered Espio. He grimaced, clutching the slip of paper in his pocket a bit tighter as her moved through the row of desks to the only empty seat in the back.

On his way, he noticed one other familiar face. From the corner of his eye he spotted Sally, the lynx girl's older sister. She seemed uncomfortable, her gaze down at her lap with a red glow to her cheeks as her desk was sandwiched between two hedgehogs glaring hard at one another.

One green and one blue.

* * *

 **To clarify, Shadow and Mephiles are in fact 'step brothers', but Eclipse is a half-brother to both of them. Eclipse and Mephiles share the same mother, while Eclipse and Shadow share the same father; but there is no blood relation to Mephiles and Shadow.**

 **Perci-Tikal's wife-is a member of the Metropolis police force and has explained that her colleagues aren't taking the case seriously due to the nature of the hate crime being against homosexuals. It's a sad thing, but it does happen... So Tikal has taken it upon herself to figure out who the attackers in the video are.**

 **I almost forgot Knuckles hadn't told his father about Lara-Su yet, so I figured this would be a good way to introduce Lara-Su and Kneecapeon, Julie-Su and Lara-Le, and reunite the Echidna family in general.**

 **Flowers and Carrots, Celery and Cotton Candy? What on earth could Tails and Sonic be talking about...**

 **Without the drive to be a better person from a girl he's fallen for, Shard might ultimately be pulled back into the dark cavity that has become his shattered heart-and Mephiles has every intention in pulling him down.**

 **Shadow and Amy both know who is behind the video! Now the only question left is which one of them will tell first? Or will they ever tell?**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **We take a look at how Wave has been coping since the death of her good friend**

 **Mina makes her last stand with Shard, and the result is catastrophic**

 **Another suicide (attempt?)**

 **We finally learn the truth behind Megan's lies**

 **Shadow's on edge about his brother's secret, and Manic only makes it worse by confronting him**

 **Rouge is greeted by someone from her past...someone she can't quite remember...**

 **And so much more!**

 **Review Replies**

 **Bad-Newz: To answer both of your questions: 1. The bet between Jet and Sonic has currently been put on hold, BUT definitely not forgotten. 2. I don't intend for this story to have more than 100 chapters, but it all depends. We're at the halfway point, but I've still got a few plots and such to get to before the finale. **

**TheHunterPersian: I actually googled the 'bury your gays' trope and um, why the hell is that even a thing? No way would I torture just my LGBT characters, I torture ALL my characters Lol. No one is safe from anything at anytime. **

**Anon123: To answer both of your questions: 1. Eventually I will delve into Jules' relationship with women other than Alicia and Aleena. For right now I can only confirm that she his mistress among many others. 2. There will be a call back to Sonia's parents finding out about her bulimia very soon. **

**To All Reviewers Tripping Out On Jules: Slow your roll kitties! A lot of you are so quick to say he doesn't deserve Alicia because he's unfair to Manic when they're two separate situations. To play devil's advocate here, Locke isn't exactly father of the year either. For the first half of this story he completely neglected Knuckles and bought him off with materialistic things such as his car. He also kept Knuckles away from his half-brother and mother out of spite after the divorce. Neither man is exactly respectable in the father department. It all just comes down to how they fell about Alicia, and right now Locke seems more concerned with his ex-wife being back in town. **

**FUN QUESTION: I haven't asked one in a while, so here goes. If you could only pick ONE CHARACTER to have a happy ending, who would you want it to be and why? **


	52. Chapter 52

**WARNING: Self-harm, suicide attempt, somewhat graphic surgery scene, mentions of homophobia and hate crime.**

* * *

 **Chap** **ter 52: Remembering You**

 _'He gestured me in and in I went. Heartbroken, stressed, depressed, lost, lonely. I saw nothing else to do._

 _It was dark, a sheet draped over the window to keep the light out. Once inside I noticed his roommate was gone. He shut the door behind me, trapping us in darkness together._

 _I could feel his revolting eyes loom over me. Then his hands fell at my shoulders as he hummed with delight in my ear, making me shudder._

 _"What happened to that resilience?" He mused as he begun to rub my shoulders._

 _"It's gone… Everything's gone." I mumbled back hopelessly._

 _"Good." He replied, turning me around to take hold of my hips. It was dark, but I could imagine the twisted smile on his face, basking in my negative emotion._

 _He lifted one hand off my hip to cradle my cheek, his touch as cold as ice. There was a long silence, my nerves on edge as he trailed his fingers down my jawline and toward my neck._

 _"I'm not gonna sleep with you." I growled at his suggestive touch, hand making it's way toward my chest. He chuckled lowly, rising it back up to my cheek to rub his thumb across my lips._

 _"Hmph, you think that's why I want you?"_

 _"Why else would you want me here?"_

 _"If that's how you see it, then why come in the first place?"_

 _I don't know._

 _I don't know why I came to him. After watching Silver kiss someone else, and that last bit of hope in my heart dying out I just felt this compulsion to seek him out._

 _"Then what do you really want from me?" I asked nervously._

 _"I want your pain." '_

Blaze stared out the window with a blank expression, hazel eyes vacant of emotion. Snowflakes continued to fall and pile up on the earth, and the sky was a melancholy gray with no sunlight to be shown.

She was sitting on the edge of a bed that was not her own, but that belonging to her original schoolyard bully, Mephiles the Dark.

He stood up in the center of the room, pulling a shirt over his slightly built upper-body. After doing so, he looked over at the cat with his hideous eyes, clicking his tongue delectably against his teeth.

"Something wrong?" He called out to her.

"No." She replied depressingly, "I just hate snow."

* * *

After putting that notorious charm to work with a bit of flirting and smiles, Elias had managed to convince all of his teachers into letting him skip out on class for the remaining week and a half before winter break.

So while everyone else had a good twelve days of classes left, the young prince found himself starting vacation today.

The auburn-haired boy walked down the steps of the main building, braving the freezing cold as his legs fell ankle-deep in snow. In his hand a black luggage he struggled to roll through the snow. Eventually he maneuvered his way toward his car in the parking lot.

He opened the back door and threw his luggage in before hopping into the driver's seat and turning the engine.

Although the _'no off-campus privileges'_ rule was still heavily underway, the prince of course had gotten a pass to visit supposedly his newborn child for the holidays.

As he pulled out of the lot his sapphire eyes caught a glimpse of familiar pink quills.

Sonia, standing in the snow just a few feet away, starring back at him with longing jade eyes. His grip tensed up on the wheel as he forced his gaze back on the road before speeding off.

He hadn't talked to her since the night she and Honey spoke with him, not knowing at all what to say. His heart and brain both felt scrambled.

Eventually he arrived at Metropolis Hospital where Megan was still bed-ridden. Giving birth had damaged her body quite a bit, and she didn't seem to be recovering normally.

Elias walked the all-white corridors, dodging stretchers and briskly walking nurses as he searched for the room his girlfriend had been staying in. With his mind elsewhere, he tripped and fell over something.

"Watch it!" He was scolded by a deep, dark, crude tone.

He opened his eyes to see that he had just fallen over a wheelchair patient. A barrel-chested purple devil with casts on both legs and several bandages in all sorts of places from his hand to his forehead.

"S-Sorry." Elias apologized before speedily taking off down the corridor again, this time much more alert.

After more walking and dodging he finally made it to the right room and wasted no time pushing the door open.

"Meg?" He called out, stepping over to the bedside of the seemingly asleep squirrel.

She soon fluttered her jade eyes open, a big smile crossing her face at the sight of her loving boyfriend. He sat down in the plastic chair by her bed, pulling it closer to be right next to her. She giggled happily, extending her arm out for him to take her hand.

"Eli, you're here…" She cooed, still a bit sleepy as she weakly squeezed his hand.

"Yeah." He nodded, offering her a smile back. "Where…Where is she?" He asked curiously.

"In the nursery." The squirrel girl answered, sitting up from her laying down position to reach for the hospital phone on the other side of her bed. "I'll have a nurse bring her up—"

"No." He cut her off, making her raise an eyebrow as she lowered the phone back down on the side table.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, taken aback by the tone in his voice.

He bit his lip in contemplation before bringing his sapphire eyes back up to meet her jade ones.

"I came to talk to you about something." He admitted, "About Alexis."

"I told you for the millionth time, she's fine. Perfectly healthy."

"I know." He nodded before shooting her a skeptical look, "But she wasn't supposed to be born until early February."

"She's premature. It happens sometimes—"

"That's not what the doctor says." Elias countered, making the squirrel girl start to sweat.

"Well, he's wrong."

"I also know we didn't sleep together at the hotel."

"Of course we did!" She shouted, panicking on the inside. "You were my first! And obviously too drunk to remember a thing!"

"Maybe, but even if we had slept together that night the timeline still wouldn't add up to Alexis being born now…." He pulled his hand away from hers to sit upright in his chair. "Meaning that you were already pregnant when you came to the party."

"That's not true!—"

"It is! I already know!" He shouted back, standing up from his chair with tears building up in his eyes. "I know she's not my daughter, Megan."

She'd been caught, and she knew it. No longer could she fool him, no longer could she try to fool herself. Under his angry scowl she bursted into tears, cupping her face to heave into her hands.

The features of his face softened, more sympathetic as he sat back down beside her.

"How could you lie to me?" He whispered as she sobbed frantically into her hands, "For the last four months. How could you make me believe me she was mine?"

"I had to!" Megan cried, lifting her face out of her hands to reveal her whole-hearted expression. "I'm sorry…"

"Why?"

"Because I know what it's like to grow up with one single parent." She explained, wiping her eyes with her arm as she sniffled lightly. "I didn't want my baby to go through that."

As angry and sad as he was toward her, he couldn't help but empathize. In these last months, he had grown a lot of affections toward her, previously viewing her as the one he'd spend the rest of his life with.

"Meg…" He spoke more gently, "Who is he? Her real father…"

"A fucking nobody!" She cried out angrily, hurling the pillow sitting behind her at the wall adjacent to her bed. "He was a boy in our neighborhood that my father warned me about, but like a stupid idiot I didn't heed his warnings."

"What happened?"

"He was a big troublemaker, an alcoholic dropout who loitered our streets. I was curious about him. The tall squirrel boy with gorgeous emerald eyes. We fell in love—or so he led me to believe. He was twenty-three and experienced, I was sixteen and a virgin. He treated me like a princess, but at the same time he pressured me so much. As uncomfortable as I was with it, I felt obligated. Then when I told him I was pregnant…he ran away."

"Megan…"

"I knew if I told my father he'd think so lowly of me, maybe even disown me for being such a fool." The squirrel girl sobbed, clutching her sheets tightly. "I knew if I came out as pregnant, it'd have to be by someone respectable. I went to Vector's party looking for someone suitable and drunk enough to convince. Then I stumbled upon none other than the school prince himself, drunk beyond cogence."

"So you preyed on me… Stole four months of my life, forced me to scrap all my future plans, and distance myself from my best friend at a time she needed me most—the girl I really loved!" He reprimanded her, rising from his chair once more. "All to please your fucking dad?"

"Elias, please I'm—"

"Don't." He rose his hand to silence her, "Just don't." He added before walking out of the small hospital room, leaving the squirrel girl to cave into tears once more.

On his way out of the hospital, the prince had walked by a window in one of the all-white halls. Above it was a golden plaque that read, _'Nursery'_.

He unconsciously stopped in his tracks, eyes falling on the first baby furthest to the left of the window swaddled in a pink blanket. He touched the glass with his fingertips, biting his bottom lip in agony as he read the name written out on the chart above her.

 _Alexis Acorn_

He closed his fist and pulled his hand off the glass before turning away.

* * *

With all of her roommates off in class or with their friends, as with every time she was alone, Wave took the opportunity to lower her guard and cry silently into her pillow as she laid on her stomach. Ever since the demise of her beloved friend she's suffered in silence, spoke to no one, and cried whenever no one was watching.

Unlike most members of her community, and those who simply hopped on the bandwagon, the swallow did not blame Sally Acorn for Rotor's assault. Instead, she blamed herself.

If it wasn't for her pressing or encouragement to come forth about his sexuality, no one would have ever known, and maybe he would still be alive. That's how she saw it at least.

She curled up on her bed, clutching her pillow as she sobbed through clenched teeth, smothering out the sounds of her cries. She usually made it a priority to lock the door before caving into her bottled up emotions, but for the first time she had forgotten.

She didn't expect anyone to return for hours, so it slipped her mind. Never did she imagine her albatross friend walking in on her in her most vulnerable hour.

"Wave…" He called out sympathetically, slowly walking toward the swallow who had jolted up from her laying down position, misty-eyed and heaving.

"What are you doing here?!" She screeched.

"I'm worried about you." He replied, reaching out to her with his hand. "No one's seen you in days."

He cradled the side of her face, thumbing away a few stray tears. She blushed at the action, tightening her grip on the pillow in her hands.

"Don't worry. They'll get those sick fucks." The muscular bird assured her, "Just please, stop avoiding your friends…avoiding me…"

He leaned in closer to her, intent on an innocent peck.

Maybe before she would have tilted her head to meet him halfway, but instead she shoved him back, forcing his eyes to shoot open with surprise as he staggered a bit.

"No." She said, looking away from him as she dropped her pillow on the bed. "I'm a lesbian."

"Wave…"

"Go."

"But, you said—"

" **I KNOW WHAT I SAID!** " She screamed, leaping off the bed to stand in front of him, glaring hard at him through tears. "But I'm a lesbian. I have to be…"

Storm shook his head in confusion, grabbing her wrist to prevent her from turning away again, forcing her sad blue eyes to meet his coal-colored eyes.

"What the hell does that even mean?!"

"I did it!" She exclaimed, "I pushed him into coming out, because I did. If I'm not even a lesbian, it means I pushed him out for nothing!"

"Wave, it's not your fault—"

"Just get out!" She shrieked, crying as she shoved him back toward the door. "Get out, get out, get out!" She repeated over and over until he was out and she slammed the door shut in his face before leaning up against it to slide down to the floor in tears.

* * *

"Dammit, a week of fucking detention and community service for missing curfew? This is bullshit." Scourge grumbled to himself, janitor mop in hand as he cleaned the dirty tiled floors of the electives building. "She probably thinks I was fucking her daughter or something, bitch."

The floors of the electives building were filthy, kids trekking in dirty snow and mud. The green hedgehog was assigned to custodial as community service for missing out on curfew the other night. These new rules were starting to work his nerves, especially because sneaking a cigarette was far more complicated than it used to be with all these new officers roaming around outside.

"This fucking sucks." He groaned, shoving the mop back into the bucket of mucky water as he used the back of his left hand to wipe his brow.

During his break moment he was abruptly grabbed by the leather collar of his jacket and dragged forcefully back into a much darker corner of the hallway, one where the florescent lights had been broken for months.

"What the fuck!" He shouted angrily as he was slammed hard against the wall, bucket of dirty mop water spilling all over the floor he had just cleaned.

He winced, clutching at the hand that now gripped his neck tightly, but not tight enough to stifle his voice. When he peered his cold blue eyes open he was met with the virtuous eyes of Officer Zonic, his worst enemy if he ever had one.

"I know it was you." The tall blue hedgehog growled, "You've always been fucking scum since the first day you stepped onto this campus. No one's more vial and despicable than you. It had to be you."

"Thanks for the compliments, Sweetheart." Scourge remarked sarcastically, tugging at the officer's hand on his throat with both of his. "But I have no idea what you're talking about, so let me go."

"Don't play dumb! You might sneak a lot of shit by me, Scourge, but not this time." Zonic growled, gripping the boy's neck even tighter. "I know you're one of the sick bastards who assaulted that boy and drove him to his grave! I'd go as far as to say you're probably the one who orchestrated the whole thing."

"Fuck you!" The green hedgehog hissed, thrashing violently against the wall for freedom. "I didn't do shit!"

"I know you did, and I'll make sure you see justice for this you little bastard—"

" **ZONIC!** " A voice shouted, making both hedgehogs jump.

They both turned to the left to see an upset Bernadette stomping over to them, heels clicking hard on the wet tiled floor. The blue hedgehog instantly released Scourge from his hold, allowing the teen to fill his lungs with the proper amount of air again as he keeled over on the floor.

"That's enough." The nurse reprimanded the officer, her gaze falling to the coughing teen on the floor. "Sickening as he may be, there isn't any proof it was him."

"Bite me, slut." Scourge grumbled.

"Run along before I have your detention extended." She narrowed her eyes at him as he got up to shoot her a cold scowl. He did as told, not wanting to stick around the authority figures longer than he had to.

Then it was just Zonic and Bernadette. He looked at the floor shamefully, figuring the nurse had seen the ugly side of him. She sighed heavily, reaching out to cup his face in both hands to force his eyes back to hers.

"I know guilt must be eating at you for what happened to that boy, and you want to seek justice for him like Tikal, but you mustn't lose yourself." She comforted him in a motherly tone. "You aren't like that green rodent, so don't stoop to his level. You're good, Zonic."

"Thank you, Ms. Bernadette…."

* * *

 _'My mother died giving birth to me due to a series of complications. Even with modern technology her chances of surviving were zero and she knew it, but she carried me anyway._

 _For the first four years of my life it was just and my father. I vaguely remember us having a good relationship in those years, prior to when he finally brought…them into our lives._

 _First it was the slutty harlot he tried to convince me into calling my new mother. I hated her, the sole drive for the falling out between my father and I._

 _It didn't help that she came with him. The child from her previous marriage, Mephiles the Dark whom I have the misfortune of calling step brother. Thankfully he lived in Soleanna with his own father, but that didn't stop him from visiting to wreck my vacations and summers._

 _My home life was miserable. My father worked hours on end, leaving me with the witch who'd only ever scream in my ear._

 _Around my fourth birthday, she gave birth to Eclipse, my half-brother. I honestly don't know what the point was, but I can only assume it had something to do with the hefty inheritance my father would be forced to split between me and now her child._

 _She had gold-digger written all over her, and I wouldn't put such a thing passed her. She was never motherly to Eclipse in the slightest, forcing me to do all the work while she went out and maxed out credit cards._

 _"Don't worry, Little Brother." I used to whisper to him as I swaddled him in his favorite blanket, setting him down in the drawer beside my bed that I had configured into a makeshift crib. "Your stupid mother and our father might not be there for either of us, but we don't need them. I'll always be here to protect you, and one day you'll be big enough to protect me too…"_

 _I wasn't always alone or so emotionally detached._

 _I remember I had a brother, a baby brother I cared for my entire childhood up until I turned fourteen and left for boarding school at Space Ark Academy._

 _Then Maria died, and my whole world went black and stood that way…._

 _It's still that way.'_

" **THERE YOU ARE!** " A voice shouted, making the red-striped hedgehog sit up from his bed.

He looked out toward the door where his roommate had just entered with an upset look.

"Manic?"

"Where the hell were you this morning? We had plans remember! You, me, and Rouge were supposed to sneak out to the woods and smoke at the stump."

He was quick to notice the black hedgehog's facial features tense up at the mention of their female friend, making him more curious about their avoidance.

"I was busy—"

"That's bullshit." Manic scolded him, "Just what the fuck is up with you guys?! I'm real sick and tired of the fucking run around."

"I kissed her."

"Well I don't—Wait, you what?"

"I kissed Rouge."

The air in the room suddenly chilled to practically below zero, and not just because it was snowing out. Shadow had averted his eyes from the green hedgehog, but that didn't help the tension.

Before he knew it, Shadow was manually pulled off his bed, and shoved to the wall it was leaned up against, Manic's hands gripping his shoulders tightly as he glared hard at him.

"Are you a fucking idiot?!" The green hedgehog scolded him, "What about my sister?!"

"Your…sister?" Shadow repeated in confusion, before his mind wandered back to the magenta girl for the first time in weeks. His blank expression soon turned to one of sorrow, remembering the bitter way he left her. Then he went from sorrow to confusion as he rose an eyebrow at his good friend. "You…You knew about that?"

"Chaos, they swear I'm so fuckin' stupid! If I could hear Sonic and Blaze fucking in the room down the hall last summer, obviously I could hear you and her getting all mushy in her room on Thanksgiving!" Manic bellowed in annoyance, "And in case you haven't noticed, I'm pretty fuckin' diligent. Probably a better judge of character than that freak with the snake eyes."

Shadow's tense features soon softened as he thought back to Sonia again.

"We broke up…a long time ago." He mumbled sadly, dropping his gaze to the wood floor beneath their feet.

"So what? You like Rouge now or something?!" Manic pried with questions, hands still firmly gripping the black hedgehog's shoulders.

Fed up with being backed into a corner, and the mental frustrations he had already been under prior to this conversation, Shadow took hold of the much weaker hedgehog's arms and shoved him away, thus freeing himself.

"Just fuck off, okay?" He barked angrily, losing his cool. "I've got more important shit on my mind than this." He added before stomping out of his own room to leave a confused Manic to wonder.

* * *

"Espio, I'm so sorry he did this to you…" Nicole whimpered, sitting on the chameleon's bed as he lay on his back beside her, staring up to her with a swollen face littered with bruises.

"I did try to take him on like he said." Espio admitted, "I'm the one who's sorry. It's out of character and nature for me to be so hot-headed and violent…but I just got so mad after you told me what he did. He's been trying to steal you from me since the moment we met, even when he was with Mina I know he was still plotting to get to you. The thought of losing you to a guy like him frightened me, I felt backed into a corner and I—"

"Espio…" She cooed in that angelic voice, leaning over him to hover her face above his as she gently cradled his bruised face in her hands. "That's such a silly thought. You could never lose me to anyone, because I love you."

"But he loves you too."

"I know." She sighed, pressing her forehead to his. "But I chose you." She reminded him, bringing her lips down on his for a tender kiss. He smiled through it, closing his eyes as he thanked Chaos that she did.

"Ooohhh!" A voice cooed jokingly behind them, making both of them blush madly before the lynx pulled apart from him. They both looked back out to the doorway to see all of his friends pooling into the room, excluding the echidnas.

"Jeez, Es!" Mighty cringed, being the first to walk over to the two. "Who used your face as a punching bag?"

"Very funny." The chameleon grumbled, narrowing his eyes at the armadillo. "And where's that girlfriend you promised Matilda?"

"I'm working on it!" He blushed, making everyone in the room snicker with the exception of Ray and an uncomfortable Fiona. "I've just been holding out for the right time."

"Well, the right time better come in the next twelve days." Saffron sang, wagging her finger at the armadillo. "Tilly has her heart set on you bringing home a girlfriend."

"I know, I know." Mighty sighed.

"Alright, let's chill. There's always time to tease Mighty later." Vector chuckled before gesturing out to all of them. "For now, it's Espio's roast hour."

"Great…" The chameleon sighed, his girlfriend giggling beside him.

* * *

 _'A snowy day, just like this one._

 _Almost four years ago, on my knees. It was so cold the tears stuck to my cheeks and my breath flew out of my mouth like smoke as I bowed my head and begged._

 _"Please, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…I'm so sorry."_

 _"You betrayed me. You slept with him, carried his child inside of you no less."_

 _"I'm so sorry. Please forgive me… Forgive me."_

 _"I wish I could, Little Rose."_

 _Once I heard the crunching of feet against the snow fading I panicked. My heart was in ruins, my vision obstructed by endless tears._

 _"_ _ **PLEASE DON'T LEAVE.**_ _" I screamed, "_ _ **I LOVE YOU. PLEASE DON'T GO.**_ _"_

 _I picked my head up to see that no one was there anymore, and I was all alone. I screamed out in agony as I pounded my fist on the snow-covered sidewalk, heaving with anguish as my fist became raw, and the snow turned a dark red…_

 _That's when it started, the moment the one I loved turn their back on me for the first time, the last time we spoke._

 _That's when the voices began to whisper._

 _You're a whore Rosy._

 _You're unloved Rosy._

 _Die, Rosy.'_

 **DRIP, DRIP, DRIP.**

The pink hedgehog sat up against her door, knees up as her head hung over them with her arm extended outward.

Beside her on the floor, a bloody blade.

Blood pooled beneath her arm. Her hollow, half-lidded, brown eyes struggled to stay open. The only sounds that could be heard in her dimly lit room were her weak pants for air, and drops of blood hitting the floor, the sound making her float in and out of consciousness.

This was unlike all the previous times she had inflicted harm on herself, because this time instead of her usual horizontal lashes, this one was cut vertically and much deeper than she had ever gone before….

* * *

In the gym, the school basketball team had just ended another rigorous practice game, getting in all the training they could before their season began.

"Good practice." Shade complimented her team, picking up the ball to spin on her finger as she smirked at each of them. "You're free to go."

They all nodded, almost all of them staring at her dreamily before they departed out the double-doors toward the new temporary boy's locker room. As they did so, the orange echidna narrowed her eyes at one in particular, calling him back to her.

"Not you." She said, the teammate she referred to stopping in his tracks. She walked up to him, hips swaying side-to-side until she came to as stop next to him, resting a hand on his shoulder. "You did pretty awful out there, considering you're usually the best with the three-pointers. What's going on, Storm?"

The muscular albatross let out a heavy sigh as he ran a stressed hand over his head and stared at the floor.

"Just some girl troubles." He muttered.

"Hmm…That seems to happen a lot around here." She remarked, recalling a similar thing Knuckles had said. "What's the trouble?"

"It's complicated."

"Well, you better squash it before the season starts." Shade sighed, patting his back before taking off toward the doors, tossing the ball onto the ground carelessly.

After getting dressed and freshening up in the locker room, the echidna girl found her way back to the main building, her English class starting soon. On her journey, she caught sight of a familiar figure, making her jaw tighten.

Standing in the hall, with her head in her locker was, Rouge the Bat. She looked so conflicted, the gorgeous features of her face tense as she gazed at the mass of photographs she had pinned to the door of her locker—for the most part only two of them in particular.

One to the top left corner, hanging at a bit of an angle. It was a photo taken about four years ago when she and Shadow both still attended Space Ark Academy, when Maria Robotnik was still alive and happy. It was the three of them, in their Chaos awful school uniforms. She and Maria in gray and black plaid skirts with white button-up shirts, while Shadow stood in a gray suit with a white collar. A golden pin with the school's insignia on the left side of each of their shirts.

She was to the left, Maria to the right, and Shadow in between them with his arms draped over both their shoulders. It was her favorite picture, because it was taken at a time of peace. A time she vaguely remembered where both Maria and Shadow were smiling.

The other picture was at the bottom left corner, pinned above several other pictures. A selfie she had printed out over a month ago, before Knuckles had thrown her out on Thanksgiving. It was them, laying back in her white-sheeted bed, their hair sprawled out behind them while they struck a silly pose for the camera. He stuck his tongue out while she winked and blew a kiss.

A crush that almost seemed to last a lifetime, something that started out as lust somehow turning into a love she almost couldn't see herself letting go of.

The bat was soon pushed out of her thoughts when the very door she had been staring at slammed right on her face. She staggered back, cupping her nose as she screeched out in pain.

"What the fuck?!" She bellowed angrily, looking back up to see an orange echidna girl standing in front of her with her hand on the now closed locker door.

"Oops."

"What the hell is your problem, bitch?"

"You were in my way." Shade replied coldly, glaring at the bat with disgust as she continued to casually walk passed her with no fear. "And the name is Shade, bitch."

Rouge turned to watch her go through furious teal eyes, droplets of blood hitting the white tiles beneath her as she thought to herself.

 _'Shade… Why does that sound so familiar?'_

* * *

As soon as the bell rang, Shard shot out of his chair and made for the door as quickly as his feet would let him, knowing that the lavender-haired mongoose had been sitting right behind him.

"Shard." She called out desperately behind him as she jogged to keep up with his brisk walking down the somewhat crowded hallway.

He didn't answer. Just tightened his grip on the strap of the backpack hanging lazily off his shoulder as he turned a corner in an effort to lose her.

"Shard." She tried again, turning the corner along with him.

No response again. He just turned a series of more corners until they were in a much more vacant hallway.

" **SHARD!** " She screamed this time. He scowled, finally losing his patience as he turned around to address her in his original cold manner.

"What? Can't tell when someone's trying to avoid the fuck out of you?"

She pouted, bringing both hands to her chest in an apprehensive manner as she looked up at him with such sorrow—not that he cared in the slightest. He offered her nothing but a scowl just as cold.

"Want me to sign another confidentiality agreement for your shitty ass career? So people never find out you're racist **AND** a reckless slut—"

"No!" She cried out, eyes brimming with upset tears. "I want to fix this…" She whimpered.

"There's nothing to fix."

"I love you. You said you didn't care about my past anymore, didn't you?"

He looked down at his shoes, acknowledging that he had said that to her.

"I didn't want to lose you. I was so afraid you'd leave me, Shard." Mina whispered, edging her way over close enough to take him in her arms, wrapping them around his waist as she peered up at his afflicted eyes. "I've never cared about anyone but myself, then you came along and changed my world. I wanted better things for us too…You have to be believe me when I say I do love you…"

He looked down at her, lightly biting his bottom lip as he thought to himself. They'd gone from enemies on opposite ends of a race war, to a dysfunctional couple with some crazy baggage.

Not a long time, not very honest, but it did mean something to the both of them.

Shockingly, he pushed her away before that cold scowl returned to his face.

"I'm not a good guy, but I tried so hard…and you still thought the worst of me-she still thinks the worst of me." He spoke in a disheartened tone, even now his mind still wandering back to the raven-haired lynx. Then it somehow took a dark turn toward someone else…someone with eyes like a reptile. "You did what you did because you thought I was shit, because I am shit, and I'll always be shit….no matter how hard I try."

"Shard, please—"

"But I'm done. I'm done trying with this nice guy shit." Shard shook his head, "Mina…go fuck yourself." He remarked coldly, breaking her heart all over again.

He then walked on, leaving the mongoose to lean back against the lockers until she slid down to the floor, crying into her hands as her wails echoed down the hall.

* * *

With the city police force not taking anything seriously, or showing any sign of investigation, Dr. Tikal had took it upon herself to track down the malicious offenders who had assaulted and driven poor Rotor Walrus to suicide.

She had turned the bare wall by her desk into a board, and plastered it with photos organized by group. In a column on the right of the wall were blown up images of all the masked teens. With hours of re-watching that video, she had caught an image of the fifth assailant behind the camera through a reflection in the shower mirror.

In the middle of the wall were a series of school photos. After talking with several students and a bit of interrogating, she had managed to narrow down five-hundred to about eighty-seven possible suspects.

"He knows something…" She whispered to herself as she used a marker to cross a red _'X'_ over Shadow's school photo.

She then stepped back to look at the board, eyeing every suspect she had left as she tried to decipher a possible motive for not one, but five people.

From the outside looking in, her little investigation looked more like an obsession now…

"Excuse me, Tikal." A voice called out, making her jump in surprise as she spun around to see a tall blue hedgehog enter her office.

"Zonic." She greeted him the cheeriest that she could. "Is everything okay?"

"Ms. Bernadette told me you were still looking into Rotor's case." He said, walking over to look at the wall with her.

"Yes. My wife is a Sargent in the Special Victims Unit. She says her colleagues aren't taking this case seriously, and that they might close it completely before New Years…" She mumbled sorrowfully, clenching her fists in anger. "It's their job to seek justice for kids like him, but they've barely lifted a finger! That's why I will not just let this go, and if Bernadette sent you down here to talk me out of it I—"

"No." He cut her off, raising his hands in innocence. "I came to help."

"Really?" She rose a surprised eyebrow, "Why?"

"I grew up with Zespio and Zector in foster care." The officer explained sorrowfully, "They're like my brothers. I couldn't imagine someone doing something like this to them…"

"I see." Tikal nodded before they both turned their attention back to the wall of photos. "Maybe if we put our heads together our chances will be doubled. Do you have any possible suspects in mind?"

"Just one." Zonic said, stepping up to the wall to point at a photo. "And he's no possible suspect, he is guilty." He added, pointing to a picture of Scourge the Hedgehog.

* * *

"Oh my Chaos! Why would she do this?!"

"Relax, this is nothing new for her. Well, at least the cutting aspect, the motion is new."

"What do we do? She's lost so much blood!"

"Just shut up, go find me rubbing alcohol and a stapler."

"What? No! We have to take her to the nurse!"

"If we tell anyone about this we might as well be dead ourselves. Now shut up and do as told."

Their voices are what stirred her from what could have possibly been her eternal slumber. The pink hedgehog groaned painfully and shifted uncomfortably on the bloody wood floor beneath her. She struggled to lift her heavy eyelids, the first thing she saw being those hideous green eyes, and that malicious grin.

"Mephiles?" She called out weakly, looking around to see that she was still in her room leaning up against a wall with him kneeled down beside her.

"You're awake." He smirked, "Just in time for the fun part." He added before biting down on the sleeve of his gray sweatshirt to tear the seams.

She watched as he took hold of one of the loose strings lining the piece of his sleeve that he had torn off with his teeth, pulling it slowly so it came out in one long piece.

The pink hedgehog looked confused, but felt too weak to question his actions let alone speak. Minutes later the door beside them opened, and she looked up to see a panicking purple cat scramble in with a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a large stapler.

"Here." The cat said, handing over the stapler and bottle to the gray-striped hedgehog.

Blaze and Rosy both watched as a calm Mephiles dismantled the stapler, plucking out a single staple to bend out of shape into a straight point with a loop on the other side. He then fed the string he had ripped form his sweatshirt through the hoop, constructing a homemade thread and needle.

He licked his lips hungrily, making Rosy's eyes widen as he lifted the makeshift needle to inspect it.

She shook her head wildly, but in response he simply shoved the piece of his torn sleeve into her mouth.

"Shut up." He commanded, taking the bottle of rubbing alcohol to hover over her open wound. "This may hurt…a lot."

Once that acid feeling hit her open wound she screamed bloody murder, her cries muffled out by the piece of fabric in her mouth. It was like beautiful music to his ears as he leaned over, took a lighter from his pocket and ignited the flame.

She struggled violently, feeling the warmth of the fire cauterize her sensitive skin. He held her down the best he could, but she didn't make it easy.

"Hold her steady." He told the cat who reluctantly kneeled beside the pink hedgehog and held her body in place.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Blaze whimpered, hazel eyes glistening with tears as the muffled cries of Rosy rang in her ears.

He then took his makeshift needle and with a little poking, pulling, and more muffled screams of agony, the extensive gash from the pink girl's wrist up to her inner elbow had been sutured. A traumatic and horrifying experience for both her and the cat girl holding her down, but such a treat for the dark hedgehog who seemed to feed off misery.

"You were really trying to kill yourself this time, weren't you Rose?" He sang, using the flame from his black lighter to burn the excess string lingering from her sewn up wound.

She whimpered, rolling down her sleeve as she refused to acknowledge his malicious taunting. She knew he was loving this.

"Who is she?" The pink girl growled through teeth clenched in pain.

"This is a new recruit for our kingdom of darkness." Mephiles smirked.

"That could get infected, you should see a real nurse—"

"No nurses, no hospitals." Rosy cut off the concerned cat, glaring at her with furious eyes.

"I told you it was no use." The dark hedgehog shrugged, getting back up to his feet to dust himself off. "Nothing will ever get through that stubbornness. Besides, it isn't the first time I've had to sew her up."

Rosy turned her angry gaze toward him as he leered down at both depressed girls like they were flies and he was a venomous spider.

"It's time I take my leave." He chuckled, heading out the door. "You two should get acquainted." He added before closing it behind himself.

That was the most fun he'd had in days. He strolled along happily out of the girl's dorm and out into the cold winter wonderland, his exposed wrist from the torn piece of his sweatshirt freezing as he tried to bury whatever he could of it into his pocket.

He walked quickly, loathing the cold and snow. In a matter of minutes he found himself in the boy's dorm, walking down the hall toward his room. Just before he could walk up to his door, he stopped in his tracks, raising a curious eyebrow as he began walking at a much slowly pace.

Leaning up against his door was not his roommate, but another hedgehog. One with yellow stripes, and angry green eyes.

"Well, well." Mephiles sang delightfully, gaining the attention of the other hedgehog waiting outside his door. "Another collectable. My empire's coming along nicely…."

* * *

More than a week, yet Jet still hadn't left his room. He'd been called upon to visit Dr. Tikal several times, but he never moved from that spot in the disorganized room. Whenever officers came up to apprehend him and force him to go to class or see the counselor, they wouldn't get far enough to reach for the knob with that horrifying odor. In weak, low mumbles, the hawk would assure them that he'd come out soon, but never once fulfilled that promise.

He'd been in his dark, blacked-out room for so long he had forgotten how much time had passed, and had no clue that it had snowed yesterday.

Cold sweat dripped from his brow as he stared into nothing but darkness with heavy, purple bags under his eyes from lack of sleep. He sat in the same position for over a week, his knees to his chest as he hugged his arms tightly around them, sitting in a puddle of his own filth. His muscle had gone to flab with the incredible decrease in physical activity, he'd been hungry for so long that his stomach grew used to the hunger pangs, and he could hardly tell when he was awake or asleep anymore.

Guilt had been eating him alive from the inside out, much more than any of his accomplices. He was the only one who couldn't carry on functioning like normal, or confide in anyone of his crimes. He was all alone to take a downward spiral into insanity.

The only light in the dark room came from his cellphone sitting at his side, a blue light blinking to signify a new message.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 ** _Tekno:_** _I'm leaving you._

It was sent days ago, but the hawk couldn't find the energy to open it.

His thoughts had complied into one long movie reel that seemed to replay over and over again in his mind. His once loving and happy family, his father's desertion and his mother's decent into spiteful madness, cutting down his brother's deceased body from the ceiling fan, and the vicious attack he had organized on the now deceased Rotor.

There were moments where he thought back to his two best friends, Wave and Storm. They were there during his darkest days, days where his mother beat him relentlessly, and he came to school with bleeding lashes. They never spoke of it, and Wave had no clue about the ordeals he faced in his home life, but they were unknowingly the best medicine for him.

Oh, how he wished he could reach out to them now.

For years his mother had forced homophobic notions into his mind, using his brother's death as leverage into making him believe in what she did out of spite for her husband leaving her for another man. He was just a child, so fragile, so broken, and vulnerable.

She took advantage of his grief and turned him into a monster…and he was finally realizing it himself.

His father was no saint either. He knew, he knew everything and did nothing. He went off with his new lover and started a family of his own, leaving his two sons behind with a bitter drunk. He never called, wrote, or came to check on them—not even when Jet had called and told him everything, begged him to return and save them.

That's what made it so easy to believe his mother's claims, because with his father…there was never an explanation or closure, there was only farewell.

As he sat in the dark, watching the worst parts of his life play over and over in his mind, he thought of his father for the first time in years—for once not in a hateful way.

The gears in his mind began to turn, freezing the world entirely to him as he thought of a solution to the mental anguish and misery he was drowning in. That clarity he needed so desperately to find his way back to reality was that closure with his estranged father.

Weakly, he reached out to the phone beside him with a bony arm, waving the device rid of the urine and vomit it had been slightly submerged in before he hit the home button, eyes squinting in agony as the bright light struck his sensitive blue irises.

He disregarded all messages quickly before tapping into his contacts and scrolling all the way to the very bottom. The hawk gulped, not doing much for his dry throat as he shakily hit the call button beside the name _'Dead Faggot'_. Then he raised it to his ear and closed his eyes again, until a voice sounded on the other line.

 _"Hello?"_

 _"Mr. Kukku?"_ The hawk questioned in a raspy tone, finding it difficult to talk with such dry and cracked lips.

 _"Who is this?"_

 _"It's…It's Jet."_

 _"Oh my Chaos!"_ The bird on the other line gasped in shock, _"Jet?"_

 _"I know it's been so long, and all, but I was wondering if I could maybe talk to my dad…"_

 _"Oh Hun, you don't know, do you?"_

 _"Know what?"_

 _"Jet, Sweetheart, I'm so sorry to have to tell you this but…"_ The other bird's voice trailed off in replacement of light sobs before he continued to utter something that would have Jet's entire world come crashing down completely. _"Jet, your father was shot dead at a pride parade three years ago. He's buried next to your brother in Babylon Gardens."_

 _"No…."_ The hawk replied in disbelief, eyes overflowing with tears as he let the phone slip from his hand and onto the wooden floor beneath him. He shook his head vigorously before he began to thrash and scream out as if a knife had twisted in his chest. "No, no, no, no, **NO!** "

* * *

 **Hope you guys caught that character reference I snuck in there, foreshadowing much?**

 **Well, now you know Megan's real baby daddy is your stereotypical dead beat who was way too old for her in the first place. He's not any character we really need to worry ourselves with obviously. The only thing you need to worry about is Elias, and what he'll do next.**

 **Like Rouge, Manic knew about Shadow and Sonia's secret relationship the entire time but said nothing. You really can't get anything like that passed your closest friends. But girls are the least of Shadow's concerns right now, as he struggles with the truth about his younger brother, Eclipse.**

 **With the community's anger directed at Sally, Shadow and Amy's secrecy, and Officer Zonic's profiling...it looks like Eclipse and his friends might get away with it after all... and for once the innocent Scourge might take the rap for the whole thing...**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy**

 **Sparks finally fly between Julie-Su and Knuckles**

 **Dr. Tikal has a sit down with a certain green hedgehog**

 **Cosmo is feeling the distance between her and Tails, and after over hearing some girls in the bathroom devises the worst possible solution**

 **Eclipse will stop at nothing to ensure his secret is safe**

 **Amy Rose leaving Green Hill Academy?!**

 **And so much more!**


	53. Chapter 53

**WARNING: Bullying and assault**

* * *

 **Chapter 53: Deprived**

 _'They'd get into a circle and shove me, kids who loitered Station Square. They'd spit on me, kick me to the ground, and try to stomp me out like a cockroach. It happened all the time, everywhere I went. I was never safe, not even at my father's grave._

 _"Awe, look! The nanite misses his daddy!" They'd taunt me before taking my head to shove to the fresh dirt of his grave, rubbing my face into it._

 _"My dad came back from the Great War_ _ **ALIVE**_ _."_

 _"Your dad's probably burning in hell!"_

 _I was only eight, and my father had just died, and no one seemed to care at all because of my heritage. I'd go back to the group home covered in bruises with torn up clothes, but Harvey just told me to bathe and that things would be better tomorrow—They never were._

 _Every day for years it went on. I'd walk to school, get beat up. Visit my father's grave, get beat up. Walk home, get beat up._

 _Until one day…I finally snapped._

 _It was my father's birthday, so I brought him balloons and flowers to place around his stone. When I went back with a can of water for the flowers the next day, my eyes widened as I dropped the can to the ground._

 _Balloons slashed, and flowers torn from the dirt._

 _I caved to my knees and cried for hours._

 _That day everything changed for me. My anger, my pain, I'd finally reached my breaking point._

 _I stormed off toward Station Square, knowing they'd be loitering the alleyway. I made sure it was dark, and put my hoodie up for good measure before I turned into the lion's den…_

 _Then I beat them. All five of them in one go. Just twelve years old, no sort of training, nothing fueling me but pure hate._

 _When it was all over, I sat on the ground with a proud on smile on my face—one I wasn't aware of until someone emerged from the shadows to point it out to me._

 _"Impressive." He mused in a deep voice._

 _"Who's there?!" I called out in panic, jumping to my feet in case I needed to flee from authorities._

 _"My name is Nazo…" He replied confidently, stepping out into the moonlight to reveal his steel-colored quills and evil grin. "And you are?"_

 _"Sh-Shard Metal." I stammered nervously, intimidated by his cold appearance._

 _"Shard Metal…" He repeated with interest, "How old are you?"_

 _"Twelve."_

 _"Yet these boys are seventeen and have been training in the art of boxing for years to impress me, and you overpower them all." He gestured to the barely conscious teens around us before a wicked smile broke out on his face, "Have you ever of…underground street fighting, Shard Metal?" '_

"Have you ever noticed this school runs on a monarchy?" Mephiles said, snapping the yellow-striped hedgehog out of his thoughts as they strolled down the hall together.

"Yeah, but that doesn't answer my question." Shard replied, "What do you want with me?"

The older hedgehog stopped in his tracks to look down at the DigItalian boy with a smirk.

"I want to be king of this shitty school, and bring on a new rein more fitting of this depressed hellhole." He said confidently, "But to do that, I'd need all my chess pieces. I've got bishops, rooks, sacrificial pawns at the ready…now all I need is a knight."

* * *

Sonic and Tails both had their backs toward each other as they made their beds, neither of them acknowledging the other's presence as they carried on with their tasks. Ever since their disagreement over the treatment of the auburn-haired girl, they'd had an immense falling out.

The blue hedgehog sighed to himself lowly, wondering how long the little kitsune would hold out this little squabble. He never could stand when the fox was upset with him, ever since they were children. It was quite rare that Tails was ever mad at him, and when he was, it usually didn't last very long—not as long as this anyway.

"Look, Tails." Sonic finally spoke up, breaking the long awkward silence in the room as he turned around to address the younger boy. "I'm—" Just before he could get on with an apology, the door to their room opened and in stepped their other roommate.

It was Antoine, bundled up in a red winter jacket and white mittens. Following in behind him were Bunnie, Nicole, and Sally herself—Tails snarling at the sight of her.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Sonic greeted them kindly, eyes remaining mainly on the chipmunk.

"Mother has given us a pass off campus." The lynx girl explained over the purple crochet scarf around her neck.

"Really? That's sweet!"

"It sure is!" Bunnie laughed, readjusting the pink beanie over her golden hair. "Feels like a prison here all the time."

"Psh, who are you tellin'?" The blue hedgehog waved, "I haven't been able to sneak off to my uncle's pizza shop for a good chilidog in forever!"

"Somethings never change, do they?" Nicole giggled, recalling how often they'd find Sonic at the pizza shop downing chilidogs in a secluded booth as children.

"So where are you guys off to?"

"Well…" The lynx trailed off sorrowfully, gaze dropping to the floor.

"We're going to visit Rotor's grave." Sally finally spoke up, walking over to the blue hedgehog with a sincere smile. "We were wondering if you'd come with us…"

"You'd actually let me?" Sonic breathed in disbelief, jade eyes widening as they fell upon Antoine who nodded back at him with a genuine smile.

"He always loved to wait for ze first snow fall." The coyote recalled, "He'd want us all together…"

"Yeah…" The blue hedgehog smiled, heart throbbing with joy as they all recalled the same fond memories of the walrus.

During their conversation, Tails could only stare in disgust at the smiling auburn-haired girl who seemed to be so engrossed with looking at the hedgehog. Feeling his hard stare on her, she turned her head to meet his angry light-blue eyes with kind ones of a darker blue.

Before he knew it, she had stepped over to him, a kind smile on her face as she kneeled to eye-level with him.

"You must be, Tails." She greeted, extending her hand out to him politely. "I hear Rotor was quite fond of you too. You're welcome to join us if you'd like—"

"I wouldn't have to be visiting him at a grave if it wasn't for you!" He replied coldly, ignoring her hand as he angrily walked passed her toward the door.

Sally frowned, retracting her hand as she dropped her disheartened gaze to the floor. From behind, Sonic had planted a comforting hand on her shoulder, willing her gaze back up to him.

"I'm sorry about him." He apologized on behalf of the young, confused kitsune.

* * *

"You really believe it's him?" Tikal asked the officer standing before her desk with his arms clasped behind his back.

"Absolutely." Zonic nodded, "There's no doubt in my mind that Scourge would be behind something this heinous."

"He does have a lengthy criminal record for a seventeen year old." The echidna woman remarked, flipping through the thick file on her desk. "Not to mention he's very elusive and secretive."

"He's also been nothing but trouble for this school since his freshmen year. Rebellious, deviant, and problematic even now."

"Still, without proof we can't go jumping to conclusions." The counselor reminded him, making him frown as he nodded in agreement.

"You're right." He agreed.

"Then we'll just have to get some, won't we?" She added, intertwining her fingers as she rested her elbows on her desk. "Bring me, Manic the Hedgehog."

* * *

In the girl's dorm, sitting in the corner of the empty communal shower was a distraught Amy Rose. She was curled up, naked, with hot water pouring down on her as she clutched her pink cellphone tightly to her ear.

The phone was not water proof, buzzing every so often with each droplet of water that splashed on it, but she didn't care.

Her mind was elsewhere, soulless green eyes fixed on the pink tiled floor as she let tears escape her fidgeting body.

 _"Hello?"_ The sweet voice on the other end of the line called out, _"Amy? Is that you?"_

 _"M-M-Mari-An."_ She stammered, _"Where's Rob?"_

 _"He's out visiting your mother again."_ The echidna woman explained, bouncing her son on her lap as she pressed the phone tighter to her ear in an attempt to hear better with the sound of rushing water obstructing the pink girl's voice. _"Is everything alright? You sound upset."_

 _"I…I want to come home."_ Amy cried out, _"I don't want to stay at Green Hill Academy anymore."_

 _"Oh Amy."_ She cooed in that motherly voice _, "Why? Don't you like it there with all your friends? Rob pulled a lot of strings to get you in—"_

 _"_ _ **I WANT TO COME HOME!**_ _"_ The pink hedgehog screamed into the phone, _"_ _ **I WANT ROB!**_ _"_

Mari-An sighed to herself, rubbing her temple as she thought of what to do.

It was true, Rob had to make some very risky business moves to get the pink girl into the prestigious boarding school, but knowing him he'd do whatever Amy asked of him without second thought no matter what it was.

 _"I'm sorry Amy, but this is a learning opportunity for you. You can't just run away from your problems, or rely on Rob to protect you forever even if he would."_ The echidna woman stated sternly, _"You're fifteen years old, not a child anymore. Whatever's going on, see yourself through it the best you can. I have to go put Jon down to nap. Please, take care of yourself."_

She then ended the call, leaving an upset Amy to chuck her phone to the other side of the shower room, smashing it to pieces yet again on the cement wall.

She rested her head down on her knees, muffling the sound of her sobbing as she cried to herself.

The heavy strain on her heart for holding Tekno's secret was eating away at her, causing a conflict of interest with her morality and loyalty to an old friend.

* * *

 _'After a long, long,_ _ **LONG**_ _chat with his p_ _arents, Knuckles and I were both fairly surprised at how well they'd taken the news of a granddaughter—well, after the relentless scolding they both gave the dummy._

 _My mom died of cancer when I was young, too young to remember practically anything about her. Maybe that's why I wanted so desperately to meet his mother, and why I looked at her like a foreign object, something I've never seen before._

 _She had convinced Principal Acorn into allowing her to take me and Lara-Su shopping with her and Mace today while Knuckles left with his dad to catch up._

 _I thought it would be so awkward, but it wasn't anything like that at all._

 _Lara-Su and Mace get along so wonderfully, and talking with Lara-Le brings such foreign joy to my heart._

 _"Did my son give you that?" She asked, pointing to the over-sized, green emerald that I had put around my neck for the first time since he gave it to me._

 _"Y-Yes." I blushed in embarrassment, coaxing a giggle out of her._

 _"Did he ever tell you what it means?"_

 _"I didn't peg it to have any sort of meaning." I remarked, recalling how often he passed the stupid thing around._

 _"That's the Master Emerald—where Locke's store got it's name." She explained, "His father, Athair believed the stone was spiritual."_

 _"Spiritual?"_

 _"Yes, his side of the family is_ _ **VERY**_ _superstitious." She giggled before continuing, "Those fools believe that stone will choose their soulmate. It used to belong to me. Imagine Locke's surprise when I chucked it back in his face and divorced him. Then again, maybe if he had given it to Alicia…" Her voice trailed off with bitterness._

 _"He's given this stupid thing out to a ton of girls already, and they always end up losing it to someone else." I rolled my eyes._

 _"Yes, but you haven't." Lara-Le challenged, making the blush on my face worsen. "Hopefully I'll have the pleasure of calling you my daughter in-law someday, Julie-Su."_

 _I smiled, clutching the emerald in my hand as her words hung brightly in my heart._

 _I wonder what Knuckles would think of that comment…'_

Julie-Su smiled to herself, unlocking the door to her dorm room before entering to see only one of her roommates was in.

It was the voluptuous bat, sitting on the floor in front of her full-length mirror with several tubes of concealer sprawled out around her on the floor. The echidna girl rose a confused eyebrow, walking up behind her to see what she was up to.

Rouge immediately caught sight of her in the reflection, the giant emerald shimmering like magic on her chest, making the bat girl grimace before she returned to her task at hand.

"What happened to you?" Julie-Su asked, noticing the bat patting cover-up onto her nastily-bruised nose to conceal the discoloration.

"Nothing." The bat retorted in annoyance, growing increasingly frustrated with covering up the fresh bruise. "Some stupid bitch thought it would be cute to slam a locker door on my face."

"Jeez." The echidna smirked, "Looks like your days of being rival free are over."

"No kidding." Rouge grumbled, glaring hard at the reflection of the over-sized emerald on the pink girl's neck.

"So who's the _'bitch'_ that decided to grace you with more hours in the makeup seat?"

"Hell if I know her name." The snow-haired girl shrugged, forgetting the name of the light-orange echidna girl from yesterday.

* * *

In the café, Tails had stomped in, clearly agitated as he took a seat in front of his loving girlfriend, Cosmo. A worried expression crossed her face at the sight of his upset demeanor, and she quickly reached out to grab his hand—but he retracted.

"Tails, what's the matter?" She asked, voice full of concern.

"Nothing." He sighed, still upset at seeing Sonic with the chipmunk he along with many others blamed for the death of a fellow student.

She nodded reluctantly, knowing how much he loathed when she tried to press for answers. Lately it seemed as though he'd been slowly building up a wall to keep her out, the distance he was forcing depressing her greatly.

The little seedrian tried to lighten the mood the best she could, but her efforts proved fruitless. He sat with his head resting in his palm, staring right through her as she tried to ask about his day, only receiving one word replies and the occasional shrug.

"Hi Tails…Cosmo…." A voice called out from beside them.

They both turned to see a sheepish Cream offering them an awkward wave, a light blush to her pale cheeks as she did so. It was only then that the fox's mood skyrocketed back to his typical happy cheer.

"Cream!" He greeted the young rabbit with glee, tapping the seat beside him. "It's awesome to see you." He added enthusiastically, an identical blush forming on his own face.

Cosmo poked her tongue at her cheek, her presence completely drowned out to the fox as he became engrossed in heavy conversation with the rabbit girl. Any attempt to gain his attention failed as the rabbit kept his gaze the entire duration of their lunch break.

Afterward, her boyfriend didn't even offer to walk her back to class the way he used to. He just weakly waved her goodbye before dashing down the hall with their Cream.

The green-haired girl sighed heavily, trudging over to the nearest bathroom to wash her hands. Upon entering, she noticed two older girls by the sinks—a gorgeous light-orange echidna, and a peppy mink.

"Ex-Excuse me." Cosmo said politely as the girls moved over to give her room at the sinks.

Unconsciously, she began listening in on the older girls' conversation while she freshened up.

"Oh I don't know, Shade." The mink girl pouted, crossing her arms. "He's just been so distant, like too distant these days. He used to be so lovey-dovey toward me, and now it's like he barely even sees me. **BUT** his eyes and ears are clearly still functioning because he puts them to hella good use whenever that bitch, Bunnie Rabbot comes through."

"Ew, don't she got a man?"

"Barely." The mink huffed, "She looks like the kind of girl who doesn't care either way. Ugh, I just don't know what to do about him. I don't want to leave him, but things can't keep going the way they are."

"Well, how's the sex been?" The echidna girl asked, making the mink pale in the face. "Oh, Tiara B. Don't tell me you dragged that boy into a sexless relationship."

"I didn't! We've done it before." The other girl defended herself, "Just not in a really, really, really long time."

"Chaos, no wonder he's got his eyes on _'easy looking'_ girls. You must bore the crap out of him—"

"Sex isn't the only thing that matters in a relationship ya'know!"

"Girl, these are teenage boys." The echidna snorted, picking up her bag from the floor to hoist over her shoulder. "They ain't thinking about fairytales and shit. Just show his _'little navigator'_ some attention and his eyes will be right back on you. Simple as that."

"Maybe you're right…"

"I know I'm right. Now let's get to math before Professor Charles throws a bitch-fit."

The two older girls then vanished out the door, leaving a blushing Cosmo to stare at herself in the mirror.

 _'Sex…'_ She thought to herself, _'Maybe that's something Tails and I could…try.'_

* * *

"Hi…um, Manic?" Silver mumbled shyly, stepping up to the green hedgehog who had just shut his locker.

Manic turned to see the timid hedgehog offer him a weak wave, smiling at him in return before patting his shoulder.

"Yo, what's up?" The green hedgehog greeted, "Hope you didn't come to me for English notes. I was just on my way to see you about all that jazz. Man, Ms. Breezie is such a treat to look out, but my ears don't pay nearly as much attention as my eyes."

"Uh, no." Silver chuckled lightly, rubbing the back of his neck nervously as he fished out a pair of concert tickets from his pocket. "I was wondering if you like the band Crush 40. Ya'see, my friend gave me these concert tickets and I—"

" **DID YOU SAY CRUSH 40?!** " Manic blurted out in such high-pitch at the top of his lungs before shrieking like a fangirl. "I fucking love them! That song City Escape is my shit!"

"Really?! That's awesome! Then will go to the concert with me?!"

"Dude! Hell yes I'll go—"

"Manic the Hedgehog!" A voice called out from behind them, making both boys turn around to see the scowl of the stern Officer Zonic approaching them.

Manic's smile soon fell, while Silver's gleeful expression was replaced with a skeptical one.

"Um, hi Officer." The green hedgehog greeted as innocently as possibly, leaning up against his locker in fear of it opening to reveal the contraband he had been storing away for the winter.

"Come with me." Zonic demanded, taking the boy by the forearm before dragging him down the hall he came from.

Manic sighed heavily, waving back to the confused Silver with his signature goofy smile.

"On second thought, I might be busy that day." He called out disappointedly, assuming the officers had found something in his room and he was now on his way to a lifetime of detention.

Silver frowned, stuffing the tickets back into his pockets before trudging back down the opposite end of the hallway.

* * *

Back in Mercia Hospital's psych-ward, Rob O'Hedge had been cleared for visitation, and was now seated behind a glass window as he waited for his aunt. It felt like forever before two male nurses' dragged a frail, pale, pink hedgehog through the doors and threw her in the seat on the other side of the glass.

Rob's heart always broke at the sight of her. Every time he visited she looked worse and worse each time. Today she looked horrible, half-dead and fidgeting with panic.

"You've got five minutes." One of the male nurses called out to the teal hedgehog, "She's not having a good day today."

He nodded in understanding before leaning over to press both hands against the glass, calling out to the psychotic hedgehog gently.

"Auntie, it's me, Robbin." He whispered softly to her, making her pick up her head to offer a weak smile.

"Oh, sweet Robbin." She cooed, leaning over to press her hands over his on the glass. "I've missed you for years…"

"I was here yesterday, don't you remember?"

"Of course, of course." She nodded before her loving expression faded into one of concern, "Amy, my darling girl. Have you seen her? Has he taken her yet?!"

"I haven't heard from her. She's at school and I—"

" **WHAT?!** " The frail hedgehog bellowed, standing to her feet before clawing at the glass like a caged animal. " **HE'S THERE ROBBIN! HE'S WITH HER IN THERE, AND HE WILL FIND HER! YOU HAVE TO SAVE HER!** "

"Auntie I don't understand!" He cried out, standing up himself to look her in the eye. "Who, who do I save her from?!"

"That's enough." One of the male nurses who had brought her in called out before they both grabbed for her arms and began to drag her away.

"Auntie who?! **WHO IS HE?!** " Rob screamed, pounding on the glass before a security guard came to pull him away.

"A monster, the reaper, a devil in flesh!" She cried out, thrashing violently until she was sedated and finally subdued. "Save her…Please…"

Hours later, Rob had finally pulled up in his own driveway and walked up the stone walkway to his lavish manor. He sighed heavily, running a frustrated hand through his teal-colored quills before opening the door to walk inside his living room, his young son immediately jumped up and down in the play pen at the sight of him.

"Rob, is that you?" His wife called out before poking her head out of the kitchen. She then set down the bowl of ingredients she had been mixing to rush over and greet him with a kiss, noticing his stressed mood almost immediately. "How is she?"

"Awful." He cringed, shaking the thought of his sickly aunt out of his head.

"I'm sorry, Robbin." The echidna apologized, "You should go freshen up. Dinner's almost ready."

"I won't be staying."

"What? Where are you heading?"

"Green Hill Academy." He replied, "I've got to check on Amy."

"Robbin…" His wife spoke sternly, her patience with him wearing quite thin. "Between visiting your aunt, work, and your constant phone conferences with Ms. Alicia about Amy's progress you've barely been home."

"I just have to make sure she's alright, Mari-An." He replied, "She's my responsibility—"

"What about your own son, Jon?" She countered, pointing out to the now sobbing baby. "You haven't held him in days…"

Rob suddenly felt a wave of sorrow wash over him. He'd been so engrossed in his psychotic aunt's ramblings that he'd paid little to no attention to his family these last few days, concern for his cousin occupying most of his mind.

He nodded before removing his jacket to set down on the couch before walking over to the play pen, picking him up to bounce the crying baby back to happiness.

"I'm sorry, Jon." He apologized to the baby, poking his tiny nose. "You've been going through daddy withdrawal, haven't you?"

Mari-An smiled before walking back to the kitchen, making it a note not to tell him that his cousin had called crying and upset earlier.

* * *

After aiding the dark hedgehog in his unprofessional medical procedure last night, Blaze took it upon herself to spend the night in Rosy's single dorm room to watch over her—much to the vicious pink girl's reluctance. Over time, Rosy became more tolerant of the feline's presence.

Neither of them went to class today. They both sat up against the wall on the pink girl's bed, exhausted. Rosy's arm throbbed with agonizing pain, keeping her awake almost all night while the trauma from the experience kept Blaze up all night as well.

Occasionally they spoke, but for the most part it was silent, both of them secretly drowning in misery beside each other.

"How can you stand him?" Blaze mumbled, "He's so cruel to you."

"Everyone's cruel." The pink hedgehog replied coldly, "He's just incredibly honest about it."

"Is he your boyfriend?"

"Like hell he is. He's just there for a good lay. I can't stand the fucker."

"Then why are you friends with him?—"

"Friends?" Rosy snarled, turning to shoot an annoyed look at the naïve cat. "I fucking hate him, but I've got no one else at this point with Scourge's ass all over the place and Fiona on her wanna-be nice girl tip."

"Maybe you and I could be friends—"

"No thanks. You want to know what I can't stand more than Mephiles? People like you."

"People like me?"

"Idiots who wanna go around acting all goodie-goodie when in reality you're nothing but a piece of shit who can't own up to anything no matter how wrong you are. You swear you're such a good person but your actions speak differently. Don't think I haven't heard about your manipulative, ignorant bullshit. What, you think Mephiles likes you for being cute or some shit?"

"I'm not like that at all!"

"Sure, just keep proving my point." Rosy rolled her eyes, "Just wait until he breaks you. Maybe your eyes will see better in the dark, Pussy Cat."

Before Blaze could continue their argument, the door beside the bed was creaked open. Both of their faces instantly paled at the sight of the reptilian-eyed hedgehog.

He walked in with a proud smirk, shutting the door behind him with one hand while holding out yellow envelopes in the other.

"I see you've shared a bed last night…" He mused, stepping over the bag of clothes and things Blaze had brought to stay the night. "Maybe next time I'll join you."

"Fuck off." The gothic hedgehog growled, while the cat beside her tried to suppress her uncomfortable blush.

"Awe, c'mon Rose. Is that how you speak to someone who saved your life?" Mephiles replied with such cynicism. "Maybe next time I'll sew your mouth shut too."

"Just what do you want already?" Blaze shot out, making him turn to her with a grin before lifting the envelopes in his hand.

"I've got a delivery job for the two of you…"

* * *

Julie-Su stood outside by the doors to the electives building. She wore a pink trench coat with a purple scarf draped around her neck as she stuck her gloved hand out to catch snowflakes with a smile. It seemed that snow hadn't stopped falling since it started, and Christmas was sure to have plenty of it to the relief of those who were so worried when it hadn't snowed earlier that month.

She couldn't wait for vacation, to spend it all with her daughter. Ice skating, visiting mall Santa, and reading her stories with hot chocolate by the fireplace in her grandfather's home.

Her blissful thoughts were soon disrupted when the double-doors of the building swung open, and a series of boys ranging in age booked down the steps carrying basketball uniforms and shoes in their hands.

Her eye quickly caught sight of red dreads, and she immediately called out to the red echidna in the crowd.

"Knuckles!" She waved, making him turn around before being greeted by a big smile. He quickly turned heel and sprinted back up the steps to greet her with a hug.

"Julie." He replied just as happily, pulling away from the hug to shoot her a sheepish smile.

"How are you guys still allowed to practice for basketball when sports are canceled because of the video fiasco?"

"We practice unofficially. Our captain says those freaks will be caught eventually, and when they are sports will be put back on track. Thankfully the season doesn't start until after Christmas, so we're keeping up with practice just in case."

"Oh, I get it." Julie-Su nodded.

"So…" The red echidna trailed off shyly, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "How was…spending time with my mom today?"

"It was nice." She giggled, dropping her gaze to the snow covered cement. "I had a lot of fun talking to her…"

"Please tell me she didn't show you embarrassing pictures of me, or tell any stories that make me look like a dork."

"No, nothing like that." The pink echidna chuckled, waving in dismissal.

"Well good." He nodded before his violet eyes caught sight of the green rock around her neck. "Hey…I like your necklace." He added, pointing to the emerald just peeking out from beneath her scarf, way too vibrant and beautiful to not notice.

"Thanks." She blushed, biting her lip. "My…My boyfriend gave it to me…"

"B-B-Boyfriend?!" Knuckles stammered in disbelief, eyes widening as a huge smile crossed his face.

"Mhmm." She nodded, blush worsening under his surprised stare.

"As in…me, right? You're talking about me?!" He asked, the statement not quite registering with him as he pointed to himself.

"Yes you, dummy. Who else?" The echidna girl laughed before pulling him in by the shoulders for a kiss.

He was so overwhelmed, dropping his gym bag to lift her up by the waist and spin her around as they held the kiss. Once he finally set her down he immediately stepped back to pull his phone from his pocket.

"What are you doing?" She asked, watching him tap buttons frantically.

"Calling my mom!" He cheered excitedly, coaxing yet another laugh out of her.

* * *

Sitting on the snow-covered steps of the main building was a disheartened Sonia. She sighed heavily to herself, slipping her phone back into the pocket of her frilly green jacket after several failed attempts at getting in touch with her new friend, Honey.

She had finished her last class of the day, and with no other activities going on, she had nothing to do but sulk until bed—something she had gotten quite used to this year.

She held her head up in both hands with her elbows resting on her knees as she breathed out air that faded in a cold fog.

Thanks to skipping a grade, this was her final year at Green Hill Academy, meaning that it was supposed to be the best year of her life. Halfway into the year and it had shown to be nothing but disappointment after disappointment.

After years of crushing she finally got together with the sports star, Knuckles the Echidna…only to be cheated on and left for her old love rival, Rouge the Bat. It left an incredibly harsh impact on her self-esteem, and soon she found herself in the dark days of bulimia and body shaming.

Then she came across Shadow the Hedgehog, someone who promised to be there for her, and care for her like no other. Regretfully, she had put all her trust in him, truly believing he was the one who'd see her through the darker days…only to be betrayed once again. Only that time it hurt worse, because she was already so vulnerable and he knew it.

In the pursuit of boys who'd never love her, there was always one standing right behind her, one she was aware of but never thought much of more than a close friend—at least not until hearing his mother's tale…

"Hey…" A voice called out, snapping her out of her thoughts to lift her head.

Her jade eyes widened as they were met with a pair of sad ones a beautiful sapphire color, obstructed slightly by auburn fringe. Her lips parted slightly, cheeks flushing a dark pink as he smiled down at her, holding out one of the styrofoam cups he had in both hands.

"Elias…" She breathed in disbelief, standing up to her feet to take hold of the warm beverage.

"Perfect weather for hot chocolate now." He smiled, nodding toward the girl's dorm. "But way too cold to be standing out here like this. Come one, I'll walk you to your room…"

She smiled back, nodding her head in agreement before finally walking alongside him again.

* * *

"Who did you tell?"

"No one, I swear!"

"You're lying again." Eclipse growled, sending a heavy hand across the canary's face once more. "I'm not fuckin' stupid!"

"I didn't." The canary stood strong, bracing herself before his hand smacked her once more.

He had cornered her, shoving her back up against the wall beside her bed as he interrogated her, drilling fear into her as he so often did.

"Somebody fucking knows. Why else would that counselor bitch and prick of an officer still be looking?" The darkling scolded her, slamming her head back on the wall. "Somebody had to tip them off, and you're the only one stupid enough to talk."

She sobbed dramatically, tears mixed with mascara and eyeliner running down her throbbing face as he continuously slapped her around and slammed her up against the wall like a ragdoll.

"Who the fuck did you tell, Tekno?!" He yelled.

"No one…" She whimpered, his patience wearing thin.

He gritted his teeth, digging his nails into her shoulders before tossing her to the bed face first. He quickly got on top of her, his hand shoving her face down on the green pillow, making it incredibly hard for her to breathe. She kicked and cried underneath him, but he overpowered her greatly.

"Who did you tell?" He asked again before lifting her head up to allow her air.

"N-N-No one." She stammered breathlessly.

"Somebody knows…" He growled in her ear, his hot breath making the hair on the back of her neck stand up. "And you better fucking give me a name…or I'll plug you up with the same hockey-stick I shoved in his ass."

The canary's chest heaved with anxiety, his tight grip on her hair and the weight of his body after a series of strikes making her body ache with pain. His voice was raspy, chilling, and above all terrifying. She feared him unlike anything she'd ever known, seeing first-hand what he was truly capable of.

As much as she wanted to protect the old friend she had just rekindled things with, her fear of Eclipse the Darkling overtook her…

"Amy…" She sobbed, "Amy Rose."

* * *

 _'My relationship with my parents? Well, you could classify that as practically nonexistent. My dad was always off on some military mission, and whenever he was home he'd hardly glance my way. Mom was always around, but never around for me._

 _I remember this drawing I did when I was around seven or eight. It was a family portrait of all of us. It was the first thing I remember being proud of myself for. I ran all over the house, looking for everyone to show it off to._

 _I went to the living room first, and found dad sitting in the armchair with a pen and notebook in hand writing a letter or something._

 _"Daddy, look!" I cheered excitedly, hoping to finally get his attention with my art. I held it out to him, but his gaze never found it—or me. "I did a drawing of us."_

 _"Wonderful Manic, go show your mother." He replied without even looking._

 _I sighed, frowning before dragging my feet over to the kitchen where Ma was humming sweetly as she bounced baby Tails in one arm and wiped the counter with a rag in the other._

 _"Mommy, look! I drew—"_

 _"Shhh, Manic!" She shushed me harshly, gesturing with her head to the baby who was half-asleep until he heard my voice and began to cry. "Ugh, now look what you've done! You've woken sweet Tails." She groaned, dropping the rag to bounce him in both arms._

 _"I just wanted to show you my picture…" I mumbled sorrowfully._

 _"Not now." She shook her head, pointing me out the sliding glass door to the yard. "I'm busy with the baby, go see if your brother and sister want to play."_

 _I pouted, made sure to shoot one hell of an envious glare to the crying brat before stomping out to the yard where Sonic and Sonia were playing tag._

 _"Hey, you guys." I called out, holding up my picture to gain their attention._

 _They both ceased their frantic running to walk over and look at my picture. I smiled happily, finally feeling noticed. They both tilted their heads and scratched their cheeks, confusing me a bit._

 _"What's wrong?" I asked, "Don't you like it?"_

 _"It's supposed to be a family picture, so where's Tails?" Sonia asked, making me bite my tongue._

 _"Yeah!" Sonic added, pointing to the space between me and him in the picture. "He should be right here next to me!"_

 _"No!" Sonia disagreed, pointing to the space between her and I. "He should be next to me!"_

 _"No, me!"_

 _"Nu-uh, Sonia! He likes me best!"_

 _"Yeah right! He's my baby brother more!"_

 _"No way!"_

 _"Oh Sonic, Sonia!" Ma called out from the door. We all turned around to see her set Tails down on the ground. "Tails says he'd rather play than nap."_

 _They both wasted no time scrambling toward him, still fighting over him while I was left standing alone with my drawing._

 _In a fit of anger and jealousy I tore it shreds, scattering the pieces all over the yard before storming back off up to my room where I locked myself away. Not that any of them noticed.'_

"I see." Tikal nodded at the green hedgehog sitting across from her, "You weren't exactly tended to nearly as much as your adopted brother. I'm sure that upset you greatly."

"Hell yeah it did." Manic replied, crossing his arms as he glared at the ground. "None of them ever cared. I could've ran away and they'd probably never go looking..."

"And that you did, didn't you?" The echidna rose an eyebrow, watching the teen tense in his seat. "You ran away for two weeks, found in Moebius after police apprehended you incredibly intoxicated."

"Y-Yeah…" He mumbled.

"Manic…" Tikal began, coaxing the teenager to look back up at her. "I want to know about Scourge the Hedgehog."

"Scourge?" Manic repeated, biting his lip as he dropped his gaze back to the floor.

This was against everything she stood for as a counselor. Using a clearly distraught and unstable teen to pry information out of on another. But Rotor's case was important to her beyond professionalism.

It would take more than his criminal record to pin him for the assault, his record merely consisting of minor crimes more related to drugs and thievery than assault or hate crimes. The biggest crimes on his record were trespassing and breaking in and entering.

There was no motive listed for those crimes in his records, but there was one person present during these crimes, one person who knew of the motive.

Manic the Hedgehog.

"Tell me, what happened in Moebius that Scourge won't allow you to speak of?" Tikal asked, recalling the information Fiona had once provided her on the deviant green hedgehog.

He shifted his gaze uncomfortably around the room, debating with himself before he finally looked up to the echidna and opened his mouth to speak…

* * *

 **Knuckles and Julie-Su are finally official, but Rouge doesn't seem very happy about it. The two girls have been on good terms for quite sometime, but those days are sure to be over quickly. Not to mention there's another echidna girl working the bat's nerves as well.**

 **Like Sonic and Jet before him, Mephiles wants to take the school for himself, and if you thought Jet's ignorant era was bad you're in for a rude awakening if the creepy hedgehog finds his way to the top of the food chain...and right now there's not much in the way of competition anymore.**

 **Amy and Shadow are both having a hard time holding down the secret, and mentally struggling with their conscious on right or wrong. Sometimes knowing the right thing to do is a lot simpler than the action, especially when the secret you hold is for someone you care about.**

 **Unlike Shadow-Amy has no reason to protect Eclipse, and with knowing that just what will he do about her?**

 **With no guidance of an older figure, Tails has found himself making a heap of mistakes lately. His bad mood only seems to be lightened up by Cream-not his girlfriend who's nothing but an innocent casualty in the fox's mess. Fearing that she's doing something wrong to cause his distance, and after hearing Shade's advice to Tiara, the seedrian naively believes sex may cure the troubles of her relationship-which probably won't go over well with Cream.**

 **After his father sacrificed himself in the Great War, Shard was left all alone in the world to fend for himself in a country that hated his kind. After years of taunting and teasing he forced himself to grow thicker skin and stand up for himself in the only way he knew how-fighting. At age twelve, the young boy was picked up by Nazo, the man who would become his handler in underground street fighting tournaments he'd participate in.**

 **Both Zonic and Tikal have Scourge pinned for the assault and are looking at him as the main suspect, but with no proof they can't do much. Against her better judgement, Dr. Tikal uses an unorthodox method in which she purposely uses a fragile teenager for her own benefit. To figure out Scourge, one must first figure out Manic.**

 **Much Needed Update Relationship Statuses!**

 **Scourge and Manic: UNKNOWN**

 **Scourge and Sally: OBSESSION**

 **Shard and Nicole: CRUSH (One-sided)**

 **Sally and Sonic: MUTUAL CRUSH (Not officially dating)**

 **Mina and Shard: BROKEN UP**

 **Mighty and Fiona: CRUSH (One-sided)**

 **Ray and Cream: CRUSH (One-sided)**

 **Cream and Tails KISSED**

 **Cosmo and Tails: DATING**

 **Rouge and Shadow: KISSED**

 **Knuckles and Julie-Su: DATING**

 **Sonia and Elias: MUTUAL CRUSH**

 **Alicia and Locke: ENGAGED**

 **Espio and Nicole: DATING**

 **Megan and Elias: BROKEN UP**

 **Tekno and Jet: BROKEN UP**

 **Ken and Sally: CRUSH (One-sided)**

 **Shade and Knuckles: ATTRACTION**

 **And that's all I can think of for now. Of course, this list never stays the same for long anyways.**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Tikal and Zonic are back at square one**

 **Wave finally gets some sense talked into her**

 **Sonic decides to come clean about his conflicting feelings between Sally and Amy. How will auburn-haired girl take it?**

 **With a bit more manipulation and underhand scheming, Mephiles manages to dig his claws into both Blaze and Shard completely. With all the pieces finally in place he's one step closer to building an empire**

 **And so much more!**


	54. Chapter 54

**Chapter 54: Follow Me Down**

Tikal stood by her desk, arms crossed as she frowned upon the wall of suspects that had dwindled down from the eighties to only twenty-seven suspects. She bit her lip in contemplation, tapping her fingers on her forearms as she tried to think long and hard about everything she knew.

Amidst her thoughts, there was a knock on the door behind her that quickly snapped her out of it. She turned to see Officer Zonic stroll in, shutting the door behind himself.

"How'd it go with Manic?" He asked, stepping over to the frustrated counselor. "Did you get anything out of him?"

"He told me to go fuck myself, and left."

"I told you there was no use in talking to him." Zonic sighed, eyeing the same wall she did. "No matter what, or how hard anyone tries, that boy would lie to his grave for Scourge."

"Honestly, I think he'd die for him." She replied, thinking back on the two green hedgehogs. "There's a lot more to them than meets the eye, that's for sure."

"So what now?"

"For now, we follow up on other suspects until he gives us reason to look back at him." Tikal explained, walking up to the wall to tap another student's photograph. "Someone mentioned something about seeing Geoffrey St John skulking around the girl's dorm that night just a few feet away from the crime scene. Bring him in next."

"Sure." Zonic nodded, pulling his walkie-talkie from the belt at his waist.

* * *

Wave trudged through the snow with her sorrowful gaze downward. She wore a white winter jacket that she buried her hands into the pockets of, black pants, and white boots that camouflaged in the snow that came up mid-calf on her.

She hadn't said a word to anyone other than Storm that one time, too hung up over the loss of her friend to give anyone the time of day. She functioned like a robot; went to class then to sleep with little to nothing in between. Reality was too harsh for her to face, still in the shock stage of grief unlike nearly everyone else who had moved on completely.

"Wave!"

She turned around upon hearing her name being called, only to see an orange echidna boy jogging through the snow toward her. She frowned, quickly turning away so he couldn't see the pain in her eyes.

"Wave, Sweetheart." He cooed, cupping her face gently to force back his way. She tried to avert her gaze elsewhere, but there was no escaping his concerned baby-blues. "Storm told me what happened, that you think this is your fault—"

"It is." She corrected him sharply, "I pushed him to come out, and now he's dead because he came out."

"That's not true—"

"Isn't it though?" She shot back, cutting him off once more. "Everyone's pinning it all on the ugly chipmunk girl, but **I DID THE SAME EXACT SHIT!** I made him a target…"

"Oh Wave, this isn't your fault!" Cobar whimpered, tears brimming his eyes at the memory of his beloved and very short-lived relationship with Rotor Walrus. "It's nobody's fault…but those sick bastards." He added painfully, throwing his arms around her for a warm embrace.

The swallow caved into her grief, crying over his shoulder as she wailed and sobbed like a baby. He did the same, clinging to the back of her jacket as his glasses pressed into her shoulder blade.

"I don't…I don't what to do with myself anymore, Cobar." She sobbed, "I have so much hate inside of me."

"I do too, believe me I do." He whispered back, "But we can't let it take over us, and you can't push everyone around you away… Especially not Storm. He loves you…"

"I know, but I just can't…"

"Rotor would want you to be happy no matter what orientation you are, Wave." The echidna assured her, "As long as you're with someone you love, he'd be happy…"

She nodded, tears trickling down her cheeks as she held him tightly.

Little did they know, from the highest floor in the boy's dorm a pair of pained blue eyes were locked onto them from far across campus. Eyes of a hawk.

* * *

 _'It's complicated._

 _A lot more complicated than it seems._

 _I'm like the wind, and she's like the mountain always trying to keep me grounded. She corrects me when I know I'm wrong, and makes me feel comfortable with just being me… Not the almighty hero I've projected out to everyone._

 _Being so different, we bump heads like crazy, but I think that's what I love about her. She keeps me on my toes, our arguments are like a battle between fire and ice._

 _She's got her negatives too. Sometimes she pisses me off real bad. Sometimes I feel like a puppy she's training in obedience. She's so uptight it's hard to just get a peck on the cheek out of her, and she always has to make everything so difficult._

 _But the worst thing about it is the fact that no one ever wants us together anyway._

 _On some Romeo and Juliet shit._

 _Even with all the good things I've been doing with the Freedom Fighters they're still weary of me, and I don't blame them for that._

 _And clearly my friends have sided with the public war on her no matter what I have to say._

 _Then, there's Amy. My first fangirl ever, and my first girlfriend ever._

 _Yeah, she did me pretty dirty when she fucked Scourge behind my back, but I was no saint either. We were both on our worst behavior, and we've both moved passed it._

 _It's so weird, her and I. From the outside looking in, it probably doesn't seem as genuine as it really is. She loves me like crazy, and I guess I can thank my brother for that one._

 _I can't remember a time where she wasn't chasing me, adoring me, or begging me to take her out somewhere. You just don't know what love is until a pink girl in an ugly orange skirt chases you down the street professing it to you every single day._

 _I never realized how much I actually did like her company until she moved away with her cousin. With her there was never a dull moment, and everything was always so fun._

 _Then we met up again here, this year at Green Hill Academy._

 _Although she had changed physically, she was still the same Amy from down the street I remembered._

 _She dotes on me like a prized possession, supports me in anything I do no matter if it's right or wrong, and makes me like king of the freakin' world._

 _With her it's not about the fame she brings, that's just a bonus._

 _When I kissed her at Twinkle Park it wasn't for show, or out of pity._

 _I did it because…I love her too._

 _It's just complicated._

 _So freaking complicated.'_

Sonic sighed to himself, pulling up the sleeve to his navy-blue jacket to gaze upon the light-blue bangle bracelet Amy had won for him at Twinkle Park.

Then the wind picked up, catching snow in his lime-green eye. He winced, rubbing his eyes on the back of his mittens before looking up to see the pinkette he had just been thinking about. Only instead of the adorable smile he always imagined her with, she hung her head low with a frown as she sat at one of the snow-covered picnic tables with such a dark cloud of sorrow around her.

"Ames?" He called out after walking up close enough for her to hear.

She picked up her head weakly before looking up to him with the most sorrowful expression he had ever seen on her face, concerning him greatly.

"Whoa, is everything okay?" He asked, taking a seat beside her. She turned away from him, only making him more concerned. "Amy, what's goin' on?" He tried again.

She shook her head, keeping her eyes closed tightly as she refused to look at him. Bile churned in her stomach, the guilt of a horrible secret nauseating her.

"Did I do something?" The blue hedgehog whispered.

"Just leave me alone, please." She begged before dashing off toward the girl's dorm.

He watched her go, puzzled by the unusual coldness, and concerned about her well being.

* * *

In the main building, Knuckles and Julie-Su strolled down the hall for the first time ever hand-in-hand. They were finally official, and he couldn't be happier one step closer to the family he imagined in his mind.

He'd overcome a lot, and those dark thoughts about his efforts being meaningless had all dispelled with yesterday's first actual kiss.

Both echidnas blushed, their eyes roaming the halls they walked down.

"Is this weird?" He asked her shyly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"A little." She admitted, both of them finally stopping in front of the counselor's office. "I don't know whether to kiss you goodbye or punch you in the arm like I usually do…"

"How about we kiss, and every time you don't know whether to kiss me or do something else from now on—just kiss me every time." He joked before pulling her in for another mind blowing kiss…

One cut incredibly short by the abrupt swing of the counselor's door, the light-orange echidna smiling brightly in the doorway.

"Julie-Su, you're a bit early…and obviously busy." Tikal giggled, making the teens pull apart in embarrassment.

Knuckles' violet eyes soon caught sight of the woman in the door way before they shot open in surprise. He quickly unlinked his arms from his new girlfriend's waist to throw around the older echidna for a hug, making Julie-Su raise a skeptical eyebrow before he finally shouted with glee.

"Aunt Tikal!" He squealed excitedly, pulling away to shoot her a big smile. "When did you start working here?"

"A long time ago." She waved in dismissal, returning his cheery smile.

"You uh…never mentioned Knuckles was your nephew during our sessions…" Julie-Su blushed, coughing away the awkwardness.

"Of course I didn't, otherwise I wouldn't know nearly as much as I do." Tikal laughed, gesturing Julie-Su inside. "Excuse us girls, would you Knuckles?"

"Of course." He nodded happily, waving goodbye to them both. "I've got class. We'll talk later!"

* * *

 _"We could just go to my house again for vacation…"_ Espio mumbled shyly over the phone, making the lynx giggle as she sat on her bed searching through her bag for a specific notebook. _"My mother's off to base, but I'm sure we could figure out how to use the stove together and cook up something—more realistically, I think Uncle Chuck's Pizza delivers to Rainbow Valley."_

 _"As wonderful as that sounds, I reluctantly have to decline you on that one."_ Nicole replied, _"Christmas is—and always will be for my mother. It's her favorite holiday, and it'll be the first Christmas we spend with Sally in almost eight years."_

 _"I understand."_ The chameleon assured her, _"So I guess I won't be getting my New Years kiss."_

 _"Espio…"_ The raven-haired girl pouted, a deep blush to her cheeks as she puffed them out like a blowfish. Then there was a knock on the door, throwing off the romantic vibe as she shot up from her bed. _"Hold one a second. Someone's at the door. Mina probably forgot her key again."_

She set the phone down on her dresser before walking over to take hold of the doorknob. Once she opened the door she rose her eyebrows in surprise, expecting to see one of her roommates, but instead she was greeted by a girl she was not acquainted with in the slightest.

"Hello." The lynx greeted in her typical sweet voice, offering the other girl a kind smile. "Can I help you with something?"

There was a long, awkward pause.

The other girl was a purple feline wearing black pants and a crochet, white sweater. Her hair was done back in a ponytail, and she sported a red bindi on her forehead. In her shaky hands was a yellow envelope that her hazel eyes fixated on.

She mulled her lips over nervously before holding out the envelope for the confused lynx to take.

"What's this?" Nicole asked, taking the envelope out of the other feline's hands.

"Someone wanted me to give you this…"

"Me?" The lynx rose an eyebrow, looking over the unsigned envelope. "Who?"

"I have to go…"

The purple feline then rushed off down the hall at such an incredible speed, causing a gust of wind to whip the lynx's now shoulder-length hair back out of her face. She looked down at the envelope she had been left with in confusion.

"That was strange." Nicole noted, walking back into her room to grab her phone from the dresser. _"Espio, you still there?"_

 _"Of course I am."_ He mused in his typical soft-spoken tone. _"What was that about? Did Mina storm in a crying mess again?"_

 _"No."_ His girlfriend shook her head, tearing the envelope open with both hands while she held the phone in the crook of her neck. _"Some girl just delivered an envelope someone had sent to me."_

 _"An envelope?"_ The chameleon questioned, _"Like a love letter?"_

 _"I'm not sure."_ She replied, pulling out a folded up paper and photographs from the yellow envelope. _"Hold on a second…again."_

She set the phone back down to unfold the piece of paper. Inscribed in perfect scripture was a very chilling note.

 _If you think your little boyfriend's injured now, just wait until I catch him again—either of you actually. You think I'm horrible? I'll show you fucking horrible. Here's a little taste, bitch._

She dropped the paper to the floor, terrified and confused by the words until she spotted the photos sitting by her phone. Curiously, she picked them up.

Her jade eyes widened in horror as she flipped through them, lip trembling as shock took hold of her.

It was Shard, the photos were all Shard. Pictures taken sometime before his arrival at Green Hill Academy this year, partaking in what appeared to be an organized fight. Snapping limbs like twigs, pounding faces with blood spattered all over the camera lens, and smiling the whole way through like a sadist.

"Oh my Chaos…" The lynx whispered in horror, too paralyzed to look away from the gruesome photos.

 _"Nicole? Are you there?"_ Espio called out from the phone on her dresser.

* * *

Cosmo wobbled down the hall with a stack of books far over her head as she struggled to keep them upright. Her black slippers slid on the tiled floor, and before she knew it she had fallen right on her butt, books falling over like a Jenga tower before scattering all over the floor.

She sighed heavily, getting to her knees before reaching out to pick them all back up. Just before she could take hold of a second book her ears picked up on familiar laughter.

She looked up to see her boyfriend, smiling and back to his bright mood. The kitsune chuckled, the corners of his mouth stretched into such a cheery smile. The seedrian couldn't have been happier to see he was feeling better, until her eyes shifted to the side and noticed why.

It was her again, the blushing rabbit with the big brown eyes and caramel-hair tied off in low pigtails. The seedrian's jealous pout soon turned into an envious glare as she caught sight of the fox with half of the rabbit's books in his hand, while she was left to pick up her books from the floor.

They turned down an intersecting hallway, leaving the green-haired girl to drown in a pit of envy and stress as she went back to picking up her books.

In the midst of picking up the mess of books, she noticed another hand begin to reach out for the ones a bit out of her reach.

Cosmo looked up with hopeful eyes, thinking that her boyfriend might have turned around and come to her rescue, but it wasn't.

Instead she was greeted by the sheepish smile of a shaky squirrel boy.

"S-S-Sorry." He stuttered nervously, handing her back the remainder of her books as they stood up from the floor. "I th-th-thought you co-could use some help."

"Oh don't be." The sweet seedrian waved in dismissal, "I'm very grateful…and Cosmo, my name is Cosmo." She added with a giggle.

"I'm Ray." He replied in a tone just as sweet.

"Well, thank you very much Ray." The green-haired girl smiled, "I've gotta go catch someone. I hope to see you again soon!"

"No pr-problem." He nodded, watching her as she skipped off down the hall, completely awe-struck by her sweetness. "I h-hope so too."

* * *

 ** _Sonic:_** _What are you doing?_

 ** _Sally:_** _Just helping out with Ken in the library for community service._

 ** _Sonic:_** _I need to talk to you. Shuffle your way out to the lake._

 ** _Sally:_** _Now? In the middle of a snowfall, when there's over a foot of snow on the ground?!_

 ** _Sonic:_** _Please. I need to talk to you._

 ** _Sally:_** _You're never this well behaved after hearing I'm with Ken, so it must be important, huh?_

 ** _Sonic:_** _It is… Just come._

 ** _Sally:_** _Alright then. See you soon._

The chipmunk looked puzzled, sliding her phone back into the blue backpack she had set on the table before getting up to hoist it over her shoulders.

"Something wrong, Sally?" The monkey sitting across from her asked, confused by her sudden exiting.

"No. I've just got to go check on someone—"

"The mystery guy?" Ken rose a curious eyebrow, making the sheepish chipmunk blush. "I see." He nodded, clearly disappointed at her leaving.

"I'm sorry, Ken." She apologized, jogging off. "I'll make it up to you somehow!"

She then bolted out the doors and into the cold winter. Snow immediately clung to her running form, melting on her big blue jacket, and crunching under her matching blue winter boots. Her shoulder-length auburn hair floated with the wind as she jogged down the steps and across campus to the tree line.

For the first time since her friend's untimely passing she was happy and smiling again. She didn't even care that cold glares and harsh comments were thrown her way anymore, or that her almost-title as the queen of the school had crumbled to nothing.

As she leapt into the trees and free ran over snow-covered rocks and fallen branches her smile remained, thinking about the blue hedgehog she was on her way to see.

She and Sonic have had their fair share of ups-and-downs, disagreements, and feuds even, but lately he's been a rock in the recovery process for not only herself, but the rest of the Freedom Fighters as well.

Kind, sincere, and honest—his true self, the one she adored.

With his actions and treatment earlier on in the year coupled with the softer side he'd shown her at the lake, her feelings were at war. Then he said he loved her…and the war was over—at least for her.

After some time she finally broke through the tree lining and out toward what used to be the grassy plains of a now frozen lake. She swiped the auburn bangs out of her face to see the blue hedgehog standing by the frozen lake with both hands in the pocket of his navy-blue jacket.

"You rang?" She called out, making him turn to see her strolling to his side.

"Hey…" He mumbled before dropping his green gaze to the snow. She rose a curious eyebrow, never having seen him this timid before.

"Something wrong?" She asked, tilting her head in confusion.

He shifted his feet in the snow a bit before his eyes drifted to the frozen surface of the lake.

"We need to talk…about how I told you I…love you…" He forced the words off his tongue, making her expression fall into one of worry and disappointment. Her head immediately shot down.

"You didn't mean it, did you?" She sighed, obvious sorrow in her tone.

"That's not it." He told her, placing both hands on her shoulders so she'd lift her head to face him. "I meant it. I know I did."

"Then what is it, Sonic?"

"You're…You're not the only one." He stammered, breaking their eye contact once more. "I still want Amy."

There was a long pause as another gust of cold wind whipped across them. Her expression was unreadable to him, making him blurt out in nervousness.

"I'm sorry, but I just…I don't want to mess things up with you anymore. I want to be honest, because I feel like I can be with you—I owe that to you." He explained, "I'm just all confused right now, and I know we've got something here, but I don't think jumping into it is the best idea. I'm sorry—"

"Sonic." Sally finally spoke up, willing his gaze back to her. He was completely taken aback by her sincere smile. "I understand."

"You do?"

"Mhm." She nodded, draping her arms over his neck. "Feelings get real mixed up in a place like this."

"So you don't hate me and think I'm some two-timing pervert?"

"Well, I do think you're a pervert, but I don't hate you and technically we've never actually _'dated'_." She said with a bit of disappointment, "I'm glad you're being honest with me though, and that I don't have to pry things out of you anymore. It shows how much you've grown as a person. "

"I guess you just have that effect on me." He smiled, bringing his lips closer to hers before she held up her hand in between them like a stop sign.

"However…" She interjected, "I don't play games, and I don't like to share. So until you make up your mind on what you want, you and I are just friends."

"Wow, what?!" He whined, "No kisses?"

"None whatsoever." The chipmunk smirked, poking his nose. "And you should talk to her too."

"C'mon…" He whined, leaning closer to have her giggle and hold up her hands to keep him at bay. "You're lips are gonna get bored without me!"

"I'm sure they'll find entertainment elsewhere in your absence." She joked, "You know, Scourge can roll his tongue pretty well, and it's pierced." She added, referencing the green hedgehog's occasional use of a second language.

Sonic's face immediately twisted up into an upset pout, throwing the chipmunk into a frenzy of giggles before she begun waving in dismissal.

"It was a joke!" She assured the envious blue hedgehog.

* * *

Keeping secrets is something Shadow the Hedgehog's never really been good at. Maybe that's why he couldn't function with the knowledge he had, or maybe it was because the knowledge was his young brother's aid in a horrifying assault that lead to suicide—a subject matter he's extremely sensitive toward.

Justice, or betrayal? Your brother's life, or a stranger's? Silence, or the truth? These were some of the many questions that had been keeping the hedgehog up for days.

A walking zombie, trudging through the snow with his gaze to the ground, aimlessly walking all over but never speaking or really going anywhere.

Any attempts made by Rouge or Manic to speak with him proved fruitless, only getting them shewed off.

He was just so sick. Sick with guilt, sick with confusion, and sick with stress. Every time he walked passed the flagpole he wanted to die, ran to the nearest trashcan and vomited whatever was left in his stomach after days of not eating.

After another long day of nothing, he walked back to the boy's dorm and up to his room. It was struggle, his energy drained, and his stomach twisting constantly. He clutched it tightly in one hand as he used the other to steady himself upright on the wall.

Once he heard another pair of footsteps coming toward him down the hall, he lifted his head weakly to be met with the scowling, Rosy Rascal.

"Oh great. It's you." She snarled, crossing her arms with a yellow envelope in one hand. "Well, where's the lecture about _'saving me from myself'_ or some bullshit like that?" She taunted.

Her distasteful expression soon phased into one of fright when the black hedgehog keeled over onto his knees, the pain in his stomach becoming unbearable even for him.

"Whoa!" She yelped, kneeling beside him to help him back up to his feet. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"N-Nothing." He winced, the stress and lack of eating finally getting to him.

"Yeah, whatever." The pink girl rolled her eyes, "C'mon, I'll help you to your room." She sighed, knowing that his room was the one right across from Mephiles and Scourge's—the same room she had just left.

After another trip back down the hall, only this time to open the door on the right side, Rosy pulled Shadow over to the bed she assumed to be his with the red sheets and running shoes on the floor. She set him down gently before he rolled onto his back and groaned painfully.

"You're hungry and clearly dehydrated." The pink girl rolled her eyes, pulling a granola bar from her pocket to hand him. "Eat. Then when you feel better go get some water or something."

She got up to leave, but was halted when he grasped her wrist, making her scream out in pain. She then turned around to meet his confused expression with a shameful one before she unconsciously rolled up her sleeve to reveal the reason for her pain; a long, fresh, sutured vertical gash up her entire lower-arm.

She waited for some stupid speech, or reprimanding of any kind, but it never came.

"Stay with me…" he whispered sorrowfully, "Please…"

Against her pride, she set down the yellow envelope Mephiles had instructed her to deliver on his dresser before crawling into bed next to him.

"Why won't you just leave me alone?" Rosy muttered as she laid beside him.

"Because I know what happens if I do…" Shadow replied between munches on the granola bar. "I've seen it before."

"Seen what before?"

"Death…" He mumbled sorrowfully, tossing the wrapper to the ground. "I couldn't save her then…but I know I can save you now…"

"What the fuck makes you think you're Superman?" She asked, turning to lock their gazes.

"I prefer Batman." He smirked.

"Guess you're not starving anymore." Rosy remarked, "You're back to being a sarcastic prick."

"I guess I'm not me when I'm hungry."

"Very funny, but not really."

"So you wanna leave?"

"Hmph…" She huffed before breaking out into a genuinely pleased smile. "No…"

* * *

After a clean getaway from campus security, Manic snuck off into the snowy mass of trees, struggling to pick his feet up in the heavy snow as he made his way to the stump full of contraband. When he finally reached the familiar area, he expected to see the stump buried in snow, but to his surprise it was cleaned off and the lid was open—sitting beside it with back leaned against it was the older green hedgehog he once knew.

"Here I thought flickys were stealing my shit." Manic huffed, gaining the attention of the obviously drunk boy sitting by the stump.

He looked with an unreadable expression before turning his head back to pour more alcohol down his throat.

"It's my stump." The boy in the leather jacket corrected him nonchalantly, "I made it."

"Well, it's got both our initials on it." Manic reminded him, walking over to take a seat on the opposite end of the stump so their backs were toward each other.

He then reached into the stump without looking back, pulling out a joint to light with a lighter he'd dug from in his green winter jacket. It was silent between them as Manic let out a puff of smoke and Scourge downed more liquor.

"It's been a long time since we've chilled like this." Manic smiled to himself before inhaling on the rolled up joint.

"Don't get used to it." Scourge replied coldly, forcing a distance when they were just a foot away from each other.

More time passed until one hedgehog was drunk off his ass and the other was high as a space shuttle. The shaggy-quilled hedgehog was surprised that his old companion hadn't left at first sight of him the way he had a habit of doing.

"They think it was you, ya'know." Manic mumbled, bringing his knees to his chest as he recalled Dr. Tikal's interrogation. "They think you were the one who called the hit out on that kid…"

"Do you think I did it?" The other green hedgehog asked curiously.

"Of course not." Manic shook his head ferociously, "I know you…"

Scourge nodded before getting up to dust the snow off himself. Manic panicked upon hearing the other hedgehog begin to walk off, too content with the short time they've spent together only for him to run off. With his mental all whacked out from the high, he desperately turned around to see Scourge making his way back toward the school.

"Scourge!" He called out in what sounded like pain, coaxing the other hedgehog into looking back over his shoulder. Cold, vibrant blue eyes meeting warmer ones of a less vibrant hue. "I miss you…"

"Well, you shouldn't." Scourge replied coldly before turning back to continue walking away.

* * *

Miles away from Green Hill Academy, on the opposite side of the country in the outskirts of the eastern boarding city of Moebius was the base station of the Mobius Army. It was a spherical dome made of steel, the base of operations, and often home to the soldiers who were stationed there.

With winter finally heavily underway, there wasn't much patrol needed for the borders, and their rival country had made good on their peace treaty for the last couple years.

Still, soldiers remained at base for training, and off-shipment in case an ally country needed support or aid in battle.

Thankfully these last few days had not only brought snow, but peace to the soldiers who hadn't been called out for missions.

Among these at peace soldiers was newly crowned commander, Jules the Hedgehog. He sat out on the balcony that overlooked the outskirts of the country side. In his hands an old photograph.

It was yellowed with age, and singed at the edges from being in his pocket during explosions he'd gotten too close to, but it was still distinguishable.

A sixteen year old Jules and Alicia. It was taken from the side. She had her arms draped over his neck, his wrapped around her waist as their blue eyes locked and they wore blissful smiles. Behind them that lake she loved so much.

He sighed heavily, mentally traveling back in time to happier days. Days with her at his side.

"I thought I'd found you out here." A voice called out behind him.

He lifted his head to see a chameleon woman in an identical uniform stroll over and take the empty seat beside him. She offered him a sincere smile once her hazel eyes caught sight of the photograph he had a habit of sneaking away to look at.

"Vigil." He greeted his longtime military partner and field medic.

"I can't believe you still have that picture." The pink chameleon offered a sincere smile, fully aware of the hedgehog's personal life. After being partners for so long, she'd even wager that she knew more about him than anyone—including his wife and brother. "I was sure you lost it in that last bombing…"

"I almost did." The blue hedgehog chuckled, sliding the photo gently back in his front pocket. "I ran back into the burning building to grab it before the whole thing blew up."

"You know you're gonna have to let go someday soon." Vigil sighed, "She's getting married again."

"I know." Jules frowned, staring down at his feet. "If only my heart would let me."

"I'll never understand you Jules the Hedgehog." The woman beside him shook her head, crossing her arms as well. "You swear you love her so bad, but when you had her you did everything to fuck it all up."

"I was young and stupid. You never really realize what you have until it's gone."

"She loved you, and you loved her, but that still wasn't enough for you." The chameleon scolded him lightly, "You didn't even want to go public with her because of what your popular friends thought. Then the gorgeous Aleena transfers in and you push Alicia to the side faster than you pulled her in."

"I regret it all, Vigil. I do, and you know I do. Everything stupid I did back then, it's all coming back to haunt me through my daughter, my precious baby girl."

"Your daughter?"

"Sonia's got bulimia and depression, because some idiot high school boy tore down her self-esteem the way I did…Alicia. Wanna know the shitty part of it all? I can't even be there for her…"

"Believe me, I know how that feels. Thanks to the job I'm not exactly mother of the year either." Vigil frowned, "Rosemary called and told me my son was assaulted."

"Espio, assaulted? And here I thought he was a toughie like his mommy." The hedgehog jeered playfully, lightening the depressed mood as she chuckled lightly.

"He is." She assured him, "But Captain Metal's son is no force to be reckoned with. I'd be there for him if I could be. I'm sure he's lonely on the holidays I can't make it home…"

"Well he won't be this year!" A voice bellowed victoriously behind them. They both turned their heads back toward the door to see a raven-haired mongoose smirking at the entrance.

"Arthur?" Vigil rose an eyebrow.

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" Jules added.

"I convinced the higher-ups into letting us go home for a few weeks. So pack your bags, and get ready to see your families again…"

* * *

Shard stood at his locker, gazing at his reflection in the tiny mirror of the door with a grimace before slamming it shut, no longer able to look at himself. He threw his bag over his shoulder and began walking, thinking to himself about pulling back from Mephiles.

He was reluctant to trust the other hedgehog, finding him quite creepy with obvious hidden motives. Even so, the reptilian-eyed hedgehog's words still burrowed their way into his brain, about how worthless his efforts at trying to fight his demons were.

The conflicting feelings and thoughts clouding his mind quickly vanished once he caught the wakeup call of a century. A stinging slap right across the face, tossing his head to the side with a heavy force. He quickly clasped his hand over his painfully throbbing cheek before looking up with furious green eyes to meet terrified ones.

"Nicole…" He whispered, sorrow lingering in his voice.

" **WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?** " The upset lynx bellowed, shoving the note and photographs into his chest.

"What?" The hedgehog rose an eyebrow before taking the note and photographs to look over.

He shook his head, wondering how the hell she could have gotten pictures from his infamous street brawls. He looked back up at her, the terror on her face hurting him in the worst ways.

"I didn't send this to you." He assured her in desperation, shaking the papers for emphasis. "Nicole, I swear I didn't—"

"But that is you, isn't it?" The raven-haired girl whimpered, "Hurting people…and smiling about it."

"It was, but that's not me anymore." Shard tried to explain himself the best he could, praying on the inside that she'd stop looking at him like an animal. "These were from three years ago. I was a part of underground fighting, but I stopped last year, before I came here."

"How could you be involved with something so vial? So…so evil, Shard?!"

"Well we all couldn't be adopted into loving homes, or live in nice places." He shot back angrily, losing his temper a bit. "It was fight or be killed out there for me, and I wasn't ready to die."

Her judgmental scowl softened, recalling her struggles with Mina based on her ethnicity. He saw she was starting to come around, thankful that he might have one last hope after all.

"Nicole…" He called out again, this time much calmer as he reached out to take hold of her arm.

"You looked like you liked it… Hurting people."

The lynx looked up to meet his guilty gaze. He didn't offer a response, confirming her thoughts with his silence. Repulsed, she pulled herself from his grasp, stepped back and shook her head to sprinkle tears everywhere.

"You're sick…" She cried, turning to sprint away from him. "I want **NOTHING** to do with you, ever again."

"Wait!" Shard called out desperately, reaching out to her as she rushed off.

"No! Just stay away from me, and my boyfriend."

She then vanished, leaving him to drop the photographs and threatening note on the white tiled floor to stare after her with a hopeless expression.

* * *

Outside in the snow-covered front lawn of campus was a sweet golden tenrec putting on the final touches to the snowman she had built. Her cheeks were a rosy pink, big blue eyes shimmering with purity as she hummed a festive tune.

Her extra-long quills were tucked away beneath a tan colored beanie, the majority of her body kept warm by the large tan coat with teal trimmings on the sleeves, and tall, knee-high, snow boots of the same tan color.

She was far from any other students, being one of the few on campus who had long awaited winters first snow fall excitedly.

"There we go!" She cheered cutely, popping a pointed carrot into the center of the newly formed snowman's face.

"Looks great."

"Huh?" She gasped in surprise, turning around to be met with the amber eyes of yet another kind-hearted student. "Silver!" She greeted him with a warm smile.

He waved a gloved hand as he stepped over to her. The thin hedgehog wore a navy-blue sweater, black pants, and his signature boots. The white scenery, his fair complexion, and the black liner lining his eyes did wonders for them—making them appear like embers of a warm fire.

"I can't believe you're still out here." He chuckled, "Have you even gone to class today?"

"Of course I did!" She pouted cutely, crossing her arms. "I just ran back out here as soon as every class was over."

"You really love the snow don't you?"

"Absolutely!" The tenrec admitted freely, outstretching her arms to twirl around. "What's winter without snow? I'm just so glad it's finally here in time for the holidays!"

"Something like me without you at the Crush 40 concert I imagine." Silver smirked.

"You haven't found anyone to go with yet?"

"I did, but I'm positive he'll be expelled before the concert even happens." The hedgehog sighed in defeat.

"Awe, c'mon! Don't be such a buzz kill! It's snowing!" She giggled, reaching out to take his hands in hers before spinning him around along with her.

He couldn't help but crack a smile, and blush lightly at her angelic laughter.

"Alright, alright. Quit it before I get motion sickness." He waved, stumbling back thanks to the dizziness.

"You could always take my friend here to the concert with you." She teased, gesturing toward the snowman beside them.

"He'd probably bail on me too." Silver joked, "Melt at the front door or something."

"We need to work on your positivity." Gold giggled.

They stood there and talked some more for a minute. She encouraged him to go to the concert regardless if he went with anyone or not, and he convinced her to give the snow a break and go warm up inside.

She reluctantly agreed, taking his arm so they could help each other shuffle through the snow and toward the girl's dorm.

"So, are you going home for vacation next week?" The tenrec asked curiously, looking up to the hedgehog beside her.

"Nah. My mom will be working all vacation anyway, so I figured I'd just save my money." He shrugged.

"In that case…I know I can't go to the concert with you, but I can take you somewhere else that's really special."

"Somewhere else?" Silver rose an eyebrow, looking at the tenrec hanging on his arm.

"Mhmm." Gold nodded fishing yet another pair of tickets out of her coat pocket.

He took them from her hands, both of them stopping as they reached the icy steps of the girl's dorm. His eyes widened with surprise as he read the event tickets before looking back up to the tenrec girl with the biggest smile on the planet.

"The Psychic Convention?!" He read aloud in disbelief.

"That's right." Gold confirmed with a smile of her own. "The convention we met at years ago…"

"But it's all the way in Mobotropolis, and it's a three day event."

"Don't worry! It's all taken care of." The tenrec waved in dismissal. "My parents felt bad that they wouldn't see me for Christmas so they bought me these tickets and hotel rooms."

Before she knew it, the golden girl had been swept up off her feet and spun around like a princess by an overjoyed Silver.

"Silver!" She scolded him playful through laughter.

"Thank you so much!" He cheered excitedly.

Eventually he set her back down right on her feet, his hands lingering at her waist for a moment as he stared back into her baby-blues with a happy smile.

A few feet away from the two, standing by the now shut off water fountain were a gray-striped hedgehog and a **VERY** envious purple cat.

"Hmph, looks like you're not even the last thing on his mind." Mephiles chuckled lowly, noticing the angry cat ball her fists.

"She's always gotten on my nerves." Blaze growled, glaring hard at the tenrec and hedgehog making their way into the building.

"Well, she won't have the time to get under your skin anymore." The hedgehog beside her taunted, "She'll be too busy getting under him in no time at all—"

"He's not like that."

"Maybe not with you. He probably smelt the blue hedgehog's dick on your breath every time you kissed him." She bowed her head in embarrassed shame as he began to circle her like a hungry shark, amused by the depressed features of her face. "Can't you see no one's looking for you? None of your friends care, and neither does he. You're all alone, but you don't have to be."

"What do you want from me?" She mumbled hopelessly.

He stopped in front of her to cradle her face, forcing her hazel eyes to meet those disgusting snake eyes of his. He pressed his forehead against hers, running his tongue over his lips just inches from her own.

"Just follow me down…" He whispered cryptically.

She thought about it for a moment before finally nodding in agreement. His mouth stretched out into a cynical grin.

"Welcome to the underworld, Blaze the Cat."

* * *

Sonia and Elias strolled down the hall of the girl's dorm side-by-side, laughing and smiling as they got back into the swing of their friendship before the year got so complicated and hectic. Ever since yesterday it seemed that things had gone back to normal between them. They hung out together, he called, and they texted all throughout the day.

Both of them were so relieved and happy to be back in each other's lives the same way they used to be.

Finally they stopped at her door, and they began to say their goodbyes.

"Are you sure you're okay?" The magenta girl asked, finding it quite odd that he hadn't even mentioned Megan or what happened between them.

"I'm fine." He assured her with his captivating smile.

She smiled back, throwing her arms around his neck for a hug. She rested her head on his chest as he draped his arms around her waist the way he used to, smiling over her shoulder as he closed his eyes.

"Sorry I haven't much of a best friend lately…" He mumbled regretfully, "This year's been so hard on you."

"It's been hard on everyone." She sighed, "I'm just glad you're here now."

"Me too…"

They then broke their hug, leaning back to offer each other comforting smiles before he took off back toward his own dorm.

Sonia blushed, smiling after him until he disappeared. She then rushed into her room excitedly, immediately leaping onto her bed before pulling out her cellphone.

"Sonia!" Cream cheered happily from her own bed, delighted to see the hedgehog in such a good mood. "You seem happy."

"I am." The magenta girl smiled, scrolling through her contacts.

"Good." Julie-Su smiled over from her bed, "A smile looks really good on you."

Rouge pouted from her own bed, glaring at the three girls who were happily texting away their respective love interests while she hopelessly awaited for either of her best friends to text back.

"This sucks." The bat girl huffed, crossing her arms as she thought about her unfortunate romantic life.

* * *

 _'Sonic the Hedgehog, old news. Just a nobody with an ego, and no means of climbing his way back to the top, nothing to worry about in the slightest. One too many mistakes as a result of his arrogance._

 _Jet the Hawk, crushed under the weight of his idiocy and ignorance. Probably the biggest downfall I've ever seen in my four years at this shitty school. There's no way he could ever redeem his popularity, especially not when these idiots figure out he was the one who orchestrated that boy's suicide._

 _Sally Acorn, very unlike the others. Too virtuous, too genuine, and too headstrong. Fortunately she's not very well-liked by the public more than I am. Still, she is a threat with a history of plummeting popularities. I'll have to do something about her._

 _In the last four years I've seen idiots come and go from that throne these morons constructed, enforcing the food-chain rule to an extreme._

 _I've always been a looker, seer, watching, but I've grown quite restless._

 _It's looking like it's almost time to make my move…'_

"Mephiles!" A voice called out, snapping the reptilian-eyed boy out of his thoughts.

He was standing out in the snow by the fountain alone after sending Blaze back to her dorm. He had his hands clasped behind his back, and looked out over his shoulder to see a furious Shard stomp over to him, braving the cold in nothing but lounge wear.

Mephiles rose an eyebrow as the other hedgehog took hold of his collar and forced their green gazes to collide.

"You want this shitty school? Fine, I'll help you fucking take it." Shard barked in his face, grip tightening on the boy's collar. "But I want something in return."

"Just name it."

"I want to fight."

"That's why I called upon you. I want that hate, that rage, and that power." Mephiles grinned evilly, the pieces falling into place for his plans. "I have just the opponent." He added, thinking back to the red-shelled armadillo who had sent him to the hospital once.

* * *

 **With a bit of manipulation and puppet-string pulling, Mephiles has finally got both Blaze and Shard on his team and all seems to be going according to plan for him, but little does he know Rosy has begun slowly slipping from his reach.**

 **While comforting Wave, Cobar realizes his prosecution of Sally instead of the degenerates in the video is wrong, and starts to become more self-aware after the tender heart-to-heart.**

 **Unlike Tails, Sonic is actually taking the high road with his feelings and being honest about it-yes that's right, I said SONIC! He knows he has feelings for both girls, and instead of keeping both of them on a string like our favorite mess of a kitsune-he decides to be honest and tell Sally what's on his mind. The first step toward becoming a decent guy? Or the only step before he backtracks all the way to being an asshole?**

 **Shard's cynicism and sarcastic nature come from the harsh childhood he grew up with all alone in a city of people who despised him. His cold outer-shell is his means of protecting himself, but after meeting Nicole-a kind-natured girl with a heart of gold-all he aspires to be is good enough for her. Then someone better and much more deserving (Espio) came along and obstructed the only path to happiness he's ever seen for himself-the path to Nicole. Without her acceptance and encouragement, he's got no where to go but the dark path he came from. At this point could anyone save him? Or will he be a casualty in Mephiles' little games?**

 **I'm sure we've ALL met a girl like Blaze. Nice in nature, but insecure with self-esteem low enough to persuade her into making wrong decisions. She can never take blame, or truly see the faults within her actions. Always expecting forgiveness, but never really learning from the mistake. She's by no means a bad person, just a girl who struggles with several insecurities. Will she ever overcome them? Or will she drown in them thanks to Mephiles?**

 **C'mon guys, did you really think I'd give up Scourge and Manic's history that easily? Pshh, naw, but we're getting VERY close. So stay tuned.**

 **After getting nothing out of Manic, Tikal and Zonic decide to lay off Scourge for a while and look at other suspects. Will they ever catch Jet and his friends? Will Shadow and Amy finally speak up? Or worse, will Eclipse make another devastating move to ensure the safety of his secret and potentially get away with it all?**


	55. Chapter 55

**WARNING: Implied intentions of assault, mentions of pornography, and bullying**

* * *

 **Chapter 55: Heart Complications**

 _' "Nice tutu, you ugly brat!"_

 _"Chaos, you look like a boy with quills that short, not to mention flat as a board."_

 _"Why'd you move here anyway? Nobody in Mobotropolis liked you either?!"_

 _"I heard her mommy tried to kill her with a hammer."_

 _"Why, because she's so damn ugly?"_

 _Bullies, bullies everywhere. All the time, with worse and worse things to say with each encounter. I loved being with Rob and Mari-An, but_ _ **I HATED**_ _Mercia, especially going to school._

 _"_ _ **JUST SHUT UP!**_ _" I'd scream at them through angry tears before storming off from the cafeteria._

 _Back then I wasn't so popular, or an internet sensation. I was the loser of Mercia, the ugly girl with psycho parents. Shunned by everyone, and often reduced to eating my lunch in one of the bathroom stalls._

 _I'd put the seat-cover down and sit on the dingy white toilet, crying and snacking on the bag lunch Mari-An always prepared for me. Every time I heard footsteps and saw feet underneath the stall door I held my breath until they passed, but sometimes they'd hear my whimpers and rattle the door as they laughed at me some more._

 _"Is that the new girl? Ugly Amy, is that you?"_

 _"It is, look! I can see those Chaos-awful tennis shoes." I picked up my feet, closing my eyes tightly as I prayed for them to go away._

 _"Hey! Leave her alone!" A new voice shouted, directing the bullies' attention away from me. I lifted my ears to listen closely, watching through peered open eyes as their feet walked away._

 _"What did you just say to us?"_

 _"I said leave her alone! You're being like, totally mean!"_

 _"Awe, how cute! The losers want to band together."_

 _"Whatever, let's just go. I'm sick of looking at this bird bitch."_

 _I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard them walk away, obviously shoving whoever had come to my rescue on the way out. A few moments later I saw two black sneakers step up to my stall, and I panicked thinking one of them might have returned._

 _I braced myself for the worst, but when the stall door creaked open I was met with the kindest, most sincere blue eyes I had ever seen before. A canary girl, bob-haircut with gold hoop earrings wearing a black shirt with red stripes, and blue shorts._

 _"Are you okay?" She asked me, and to my surprise it didn't sound like a taunt._

 _"Mhm." I nodded, rubbing my tears away on the backs of my hands. So grateful for the compassion someone was showing me. "Th-Thank you so much."_

 _"My name's Tekno the Canary." She greeted me kindly._

 _"I'm Amy, Amy Rose."_

 _"Well Amy Rose, you shouldn't be eating in a gross bathroom stall." She smiled, "How about you and I go have lunch outside together?"_

 _That was the first time I encountered her, my very first friend in Merica, and the only person who stood up for me in my time of need—when Sonic wasn't there, when my parents weren't there, when no one was there._

 _So what do I do for her in her time of need?'_

"Yo! Angel Face!" Manic called out to the pink girl just stepping out of her history class.

Her gloomy mood caught him a bit off guard as he strolled up to her, sparking concern out of him with her monotone and down-casted gaze.

"Not now, Manic." She mumbled coldly, tightening her grip on the book she held at her side.

"What's wrong?" He asked, "Don't tell me my brother's being a brat still?"

"I just want to be alone." The pink girl shook her head before walking off, concerning the green hedgehog even more, knowing that Amy Rose was not one who enjoyed isolation whatsoever.

He rose a curious eyebrow, watching the gloomy girl journey toward her locker.

"What's her problem?" A familiar, alluring voice called out from behind him.

He turned to see Rouge strolling up beside him. Both hands at her swaying hips, purse settled on her left shoulder, and a very obvious bruise unsuccessfully hidden by the extra caked-on makeup.

"Dunno." He sighed, shoulders slumping down as a sad frown emerged on his face. "Feels like everyone's keeping the distance lately."

"Tell me about it." The bat rolled her eyes as they began to walk around together. "Blaze and Sonic have been completely A-wall from the gang, Red is off in fucking lala land, and Shadow hasn't said a fucking word to me since—"

"Since he kissed you?"

" **HE TOLD YOU?!** " Rouge shrieked, blushing in embarrassment as he smirked her way.

"Not exactly. Kinda forced it out of him, unintentionally." Manic waved with a chuckle.

The bat eyed him skeptically, expecting the boy who'd been openly crushing on her since they first met to be furious that such a thing happened with their mutual best friend, but to her surprise he seemed so unfazed.

"You aren't upset?"

"Why would I be? Because I've been crushing on you for centuries?" He joked light-heartedly before his smile fell with his gaze. "To be honest, over the past few weeks I feel like I've become completely desensitized to the whole romance thing."

"Wow…" The bat murmured sorrowfully, eyeing the hedgehog beside her with such sympathy. "Mina really did a number on you, huh?"

"You don't know the half of it."

"Of course I don't. You've never talked about it—"

 **SLAM!**

Manic's eyes widened in horror as out of nowhere he witnessed a light-orange echidna girl purposely use her shoulder to slam his beloved bat friend face-first into the set of lockers beside them.

Rouge shrieked, cupping her already pained nose before looking up to shoot a lethal glare at the echidna who had already made her way passed them, looking back at them with malicious, violet eyes.

"Oops." She mouthed, offering the angry bat a dainty yet taunting wave before turning down a corner.

"Damn…" Manic winced, helping Rouge to stand upright as they both watched the echidna disappear. "Somebody fuckin' hates you."

* * *

 _"I'm really, really,_ _ **REALLY**_ _sorry, Mina."_ Mach the Rabbit, drummer of the mongoose's rising-to-stardom band apologized intensely over the phone. _"My mom just liked DigItaly so much when we went for vacation last October that she decided to move us out there—"_

 _"_ _ **ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?**_ _"_ The lavender-haired girl shrieked _, "You decide to abandon ship the second our band starts to gain some fucking leverage?!"_

 _"I tried to convince her into letting me stay with my dad, but that was a no go."_ He whimpered dramatically, _"Please don't hate me, Mina."_

 _"Whatever, like seriously!"_ Mina huffed, dabbing her fingertips at her misty eyes as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other while standing at her locker. _"How could I not see this coming? Everything's going wrong for me lately. Everything I've worked so fucking hard for…"_

 _"Mina…"_

 _"Have a wonderful life in DigItaly, Mach."_ The mongoose bid him a bitter, angry farewell before ending the call to toss her phone carelessly to her purse.

She dropped her head into her hands, inhaling deeply in an attempt to calm herself. Life had been throwing the heaviest of punches her way lately, and it seemed as though this final blow would have her down for the count.

 _'What the hell am I gonna do? We've got so many gigs… My music career is all I fucking have. What can I do? What can I do? Where the fuck is that slut, Honey when you really fucking need her?!'_ Her thoughts panicked.

The mongoose then picked up her head to see a familiar green hedgehog just down the hall a few feet away. She rolled her lips over each other, debating with herself on whether to approach him or run away as far as possible.

Mina then took a few steps toward him, recognizing his innocent baby-blues, those shaggy quills, and that smile she used to adore so much.

Before she could make it to him, she stopped in her tracks upon seeing the gorgeous yet very intimidating Rouge, who shot her a warning look.

That's what brought her back to reality, and she immediately turned heel and headed toward the only place she felt okay these days, her safe haven. The music room.

She darted out of the main building, and around back toward the electives building, braving the cold and snow until she got to her special place. She stopped for no one like she usually did, nor did she offer greetings of any kind.

She just bursted through the doors to the music room, crying. To her relief, she was seemingly alone, allowing herself to cave into frustrated tears after tossing her expensive green purse to the floor.

"Mina?" She heard someone call out to her. A deep, male voice full of the utmost concern.

She quickly whipped her head around to see a tall mongoose with black hair and tiny glasses approach her. He wore khaki pants, a white button-up shirt, and black shoes. The lavender-haired girl quickly wiped her tears away, doing her best to compose herself before addressing the man.

"Mr. Ash." She greeted weakly, "I'm sorry. I didn't know anyone else was in here…"

"That's alright." He assured her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Now, what's got my best student a mess of tears?"

Normally, she'd laugh it all off as nothing, but lately she'd been so vulnerable with no one to really confide in. That's what made it so easy for him to get the truth out of her, all of it.

* * *

In the boy's dorm, Scourge and Mephiles stood toe-to-toe in the middle of the dorm room they shared, glaring intensely at one another as an argument ensued between them.

"You can't kick me out of **MY** fucking room!" The green hedgehog scolded the other boy, who wore an all too amused smile as he crossed his arms calmly.

"I need a bit of privacy with Rosy—"

"So do it somewhere else." Scourge shot back in annoyance, "She's the kind of slut that'd go for that exhibition shit. I did fuck her over the railing of a balcony after all."

"It's nothing like that." The dark hedgehog waved in dismissal, clearly disgruntled by the new bit of information.

"Whatever." Scourge rolled his eyes in defeat, grabbing his bag from the foot of his bed before making his way out. "I'm not in the mood to deal with anyone's shit."

Mephiles smiled victoriously as he watched the green hedgehog open the door and vanish, just as the pink girl he had been waiting for appeared in the doorway. She narrowed her brown eyes at him through her jagged fringe, fists shaking as she reluctantly walked toward him while he leered at her with such coldness in his beady eyes.

"There you are…" He mused darkly with a hint of playfulness as he cradled her cheek and forced her gaze to meet his. "I wanted to let you know that Blaze has delivered her envelope successfully, and she's coming along nicely. Once she opens those legs she might even rival you for my side, but who am I kidding? You'll always be my favorite conquest, my easiest, and most satisfying."

He leaned down to plant his lips on hers, but she turned her head just in time to dispel the action. He rose an eyebrow, pulling back to study the gothic girl. A long silence went on as she cringed under his analyzing snake-like eyes.

Instead of calling her out on the out-of-character action, he simply carried the conversation back toward its original subject.

"Did you deliver the other envelope as I requested?" He asked calmly, voice never changing.

"I was busy…" She mumbled, dropping her eyes to her black boots.

"Getting fucked by my brother?"

"No." She shot her head back up to shoot him an angry glare. "And he's your step brother…"

"I see." Mephiles nodded, clasping his hands behind his back. "Well then, deliver it now, and since you want go stray from my side with other men so badly… I've texted Nack the Weasel for a favor. Once you're done delivering the envelope, I expect you to head up to his room and exchange whatever orifice of you he'd like in return."

"I'm not doing that!" Rosy scolded him, having more than her fill of the vial hedgehog.

"It's nothing you haven't done before." He shrugged, "I wonder if my _'step'_ brother knows any of that?" He added, making the pink girl pale in the face.

"I hate you…" She shook her head before stomping toward the door. Just when she gripped the knob, his voice rang in her ears again, sending chills down her spine.

"And Rose…" He hissed before his voice became even more menacing, "Don't forget who you belong to."

* * *

"That's not fair, Eclipse!" Tekno scolded the darkling looming over her as she backed up against one of the walls in his dorm—which he forcefully dragged her into. "Your brother knows too."

"Yeah, but he wouldn't sell me out for anything, and I know that for a fact." The darkling retorted aggressively, slamming both his hands on the wall either side of her head. "But there's no guarantee your friend wouldn't talk."

"She wouldn't!" The canary assured him, "She's my best friend."

"Best friend? Then where was she when Jet was ordering you around like a damn slave?"

Tekno put her head down in defeat, nothing to really counteract the all too true statement. He exhaled through his nose, citrus eyes falling down on her like a spotlight. She shuddered, bracing herself for one of his hands to pull off the wall and meet her face, but it never happened. Instead something much worse did.

"Amy Rose. Fifteen year old tenth grader, and your average stupid skank on the internet. She posts her whole damn life online. The fact that she hasn't said anything yet is a fucking miracle." Eclipse remarked before a wicked grin crossed his face. "I'll just have to make sure she stays shut…"

"Wha-What does that mean?" The green girl cowered, chest rising with panicked breaths as he chuckled.

"Maybe I'll have to send her a little message like I did that fag." He commented, making the canary's eyes bulge out of her skull in horror. "Good thing she's cute too. I won't need a hockey-stick this time—"

" **NO!** " Tekno screamed, mustering up all the strength she had to shove him to the floor before running at top speed out of his dorm room.

She ran down the hall as fast as she could, terrified by his bold statement, and the possibility that he might be right on her tail chasing after her. Her heart raced beyond normality, chest feeling incredibly tight, so much so that she could barely breathe. The restriction in her chest obstructed oxygen flow, and no matter how deep she gasped for air it never felt like it hit her lungs.

Barely a few feet away from his dorm, she felt that she could no longer run or even stand on her feet. She rested a hand on the wall beside her for support, but it wasn't enough. Her body shook violently before she finally collapsed, alerting a few passing students who quickly rushed to her aid—one of which being Sonic the Hedgehog.

He recognized her as one of Amy's friends, immediately pulling her up off the floor.

"Hey!" He called out to her nervously, her body trembling in his arms. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"I…He…Help…Breathe…Can't breathe…Please help…Amy…Needs help…Help!" She stammered between desperate gasps for breath.

Soon two more familiar students emerged onto the scene, the newly formed echidna couple. Julie-Su instantly noted the symptoms, all too familiar with them thanks to her very toxic relationship with Thrash. She immediately got to her knees beside the girl and shoved Sonic to the side.

"Give her some space! She's having an extreme panic attack!" Julie-Su shouted, making the crowd take several steps back. "Help me get to the nurse you two!" She commanded both Sonic and Knuckles who hoisted the fainting canary up to carry her.

Once brought all the way across campus to the infirmary, Nurse Bernadette went right to work, doing her hardest to calm the canary girl and put her at ease. Not much of anything was helping, so the blonde hedgehog called an ambulance, and did everything she could for the hour it would take for the Metropolis Hospital ambulance to get there.

"What happened?!" She asked the three students who brought her in, all of which shaking their heads and shrugging their shoulders. Then she turned back to the shaking bird, stroking her sweaty forehead with sympathy. "Poor thing…"

An hour later, the ambulance pulled up in the parking lot, eliciting cellphones out of pockets and shocked gasps from students as two paramedics pulled out a stretcher, went into the main building, and came out with the shaking Tekno.

Among the bustling crowd of spectators was a horrified Amy, eyes widened with fear, and lip quivering at the sight. Only assuming that the others must have found out that she had let their little secret slip, and that the poor canary had paid a terrible price….meaning that she may be in trouble herself.

And right she was, because not far behind her was Eclipse, crossing his arms with an evil grin as he watched her through those malicious, orange eyes.

"What a dumb bitch." He grumbled to himself, "Of all the fucked up shit that's happened she chooses to freak out over a little comment like that? Well, at least she's out of my hair for a bit. Now, how to deal with Pink-Bitch? Hmm…"

* * *

 _'I'm supposed to be the smart one, the one who makes the right decisions every time. At least in the classroom, that is._

 _If you give me any sort of algebraic equation I could solve it with ease._

 _But if you asked me what to do if you have feelings for two girls at the same time…_

 _I'd be stumped. I wouldn't what to say or do. Kind of like how I feel at this very moment._

 _I have a girlfriend named Cosmo who I've been seeing for almost two months. I haven't known her very long, but in the short time that I have, I've come to know one of the most sincere, kind-hearted, and amazing girls I've ever met in my whole life._

 _Every time I was heartbroken, she was there to pick up the pieces, and I've found myself running to her ever since. She's so nice and understanding. I can't find a single bad quality about her. She's beautiful, positive, and really cares about me._

 _Then there's Cream. The girl who's always been there, the girl who's always had feelings for me, and the girl I kissed behind my girlfriend's back…_

 _At the time, the kiss was honestly just a way of consoling Cream. It was all I could think of to do, but in the moment, while our lips touched it felt like some sort of spark was lit. As if she awoke some sort of hidden flame that had always been there subconsciously._

 _I never in my waking life thought about her in that way, always writing her off as a sister figure, but now it's like somethings changed._

 _I can't stop thinking about her, and feel so drawn to her. Yet at the same time I really do love Cosmo, and feel an attraction just as strong._

 _I feel like a neutralized magnet._

 _I wish Sonic and I weren't fighting, because I could really use some help right now…'_

"Tails, is everything alright?"

The fox blinked twice before looking around to see where he was. He must have got lost in his thoughts again, because the last thing he remembered was being in science class. Now he was standing in the main office, hands stuffed in the pockets of his puffy, yellow jacket.

The room was a light brown, the tiled floors becoming wooden at the doorway, and the lights slightly dimmer than the ones in the hall. A large ficus plant sat in the corner beside the door, large pieces of artistic pictures lined all four walls identically, each of the images being scenery or famous pieces.

At the head of the room sat a large mahogany desk, shielding the large wooden door to the principal's office. The tabletop was littered with paperwork and office essentials such as staplers, paperclips, and a desk phone.

At the desk sat a light-brown fox woman, with sand-colored hair, and eyes as blue as his. She wore her typical suit; white button-up shirt, black blazer and pencil skirt with matching black heels. She set her pencil down and stood up to greet him with a mother's worried expression.

"I'm fine Mrs. Rosemary—I mean, Mom. I'm fine Mom." He corrected himself, still getting used to calling her that.

"You don't look fine." She shook off his weak attempt at dismissing her, getting out from behind her desk to walk over and cup his face gently. "What has you so troubled?"

"It's nothing, honest…"

"Tails…"

"Nothing I'd want to burden you with." He pouted, "Just some high school stuff. I'll figure it out."

"Burden me? Sweetheart, anything you have to say is absolutely precious to me no matter what it is. I've looked for you for years, just wanting to be your mother. I'm here to help you, and to guide you. It's all I've wanted to do."

He blushed, a sheepish smile crossing his face at such a heartwarming statement. Ever since her reclaim of him, she's been so attentive and encouraging. The fox had come to truly his adoptive mother, Aleena, but with Rosemary the love was instantaneous, and ran just a bit deeper.

She led him over to the empty seats in the waiting area, brushing his golden hair back as she waited for him to get comfortable enough to speak his mind.

"Well, I have a girlfriend…" He began, trailing off sorrowfully as he kicked his feet that didn't quite reach the floor.

"Cosmo." Rosemary nodded, "You've introduced us. She's very sweet."

"Yeah, but I've also got this best friend, Cream…"

The fox woman rose an interested eyebrow, sitting back slightly as she nodded, already aware of where this conversation was to go.

"Ms. Vanilla's daughter." She nodded, familiar with all the staff members and their children.

"Cosmo's been my rock all year, and she's made my life so much better in ways I can barely explain, but Cream has always liked me, and just recently after finding out…I think I might have always liked her too." The young boy explained, "I like them both a lot, and I don't want to hurt either of them, but I don't know who to choose or what to even do."

"Oh Tails." His mother chuckled, making him look up at her curiously.

"Why are you laughing?" He blushed in embarrassment under her sincere eyes.

"Because you remind me so much of your father."

"My father?" He repeated.

"Much like Alicia's son now, Amadeus was our school's _'prince'_. Such a dashing gentlemen with the kindest of hearts. Girl's fell at his feet like rain, but he always remained humble and innocent. He never wanted to hurt anyone, so much so that he vowed to stay single for the rest of his days as to not hurt any girl's feelings."

"If that's what he did, how did you two end up together?"

"His plan failed because he fell in love with me, just some girl who used to sit behind him in class." Rosemary smiled, recalling innocent memories of her late husband. "Hearts are complicated. Sometimes you think you know what you want when you really don't, and sometimes you want what you don't realize you already have. Step back from both girls, and give your heart a break until things become a little more clear."

"That sounds right." He nodded, looking back up to her with a smile before throwing his arms around her. "Thanks Mom, and I'm glad you found me... I love you."

"I love you too, Tails." She smiled into his shoulder, fighting back happy tears.

"Maybe this vacation you could take to me to see him?" Tails asked, pulling away from their hug. "To see my dad's grave…"

"Of course." His mother assured him.

* * *

 **INCOMING CALL**

With no pockets on this specific black-to-red ombre, white-collared Lolita dress, Honey had placed her phone between her thighs for security as she sat at her favorite table in the café to eat the fried fish on her tray.

It vibrated vigorously between her legs—not that she minded at all—that being the most attention she's gotten down there in the past few days. It surely showed in her somewhat irritable and depressed mood.

She sighed in annoyance, pulling the now very warm device back out to see a picture of her and Mina striking incredibly provocative poses in the mirror of the mongoose's bathroom back home light up on screen. She rolled her eyes and ignored the call before placing it right back in her thighs.

Across from her sat the ever so insecure, Sonia. She blushed, shifting her gaze to the scarce amount of food on her tray uncomfortably before mumbling out to the cat.

"You know, you could just put your phone on the table if you don't have pockets…"

"So some slimeball could just walk up and snatch it? No thanks." The cat laughed, before breaking out into a lewd smirk. "At least if they reached for it here I'd get something out of it."

Her comment only served to make the magenta girl's blush worsen, making the playful cat giggle in response.

"Oh, C'mon Sonia!" She huffed playfully, "You're what, sixteen? Either stop being such a prude, or get that stick out of your butt to make room for a—"

"Stop!" The hedgehog whined, waving her hands frantically in protest with her face as red as a tomato. "I get it. I should be more mature about that kinda stuff, especially being friends with you, but the thought of someone else looking at my body—let alone being inside it—makes me feel so awkward."

Honey frowned, painfully aware of the hedgehog's body issues, and insecurities. She eyed the green-eyed girl from across the table curiously, confused as to how such a pretty girl could be so ashamed of herself.

"You've never even tried to?"

"Just that one time with Knuckles. I felt ready, and at the time I didn't feel so bad about the way I looked, not until people started pointing it out and making the comparisons. I was too scared to do much of anything with Shadow, and I guess that drove him to you."

"Well, you definitely lucked out on that one. Shady was kinda my favorite—" The cat looked up from her food to be met with the jealous huff of her friend before giggling and waving in dismissal. "Just teasing!" She called out innocently, relieved to see the facial features of the magenta girl soften once more.

"Very funny, Slutty the Cat."

"Hey!" The raven-haired girl pouted. Sonia knew how badly the feline despised the term _'slut'_.

"Just teasing." The hedgehog giggled with a smirk.

 **INCOMING CALL**

"Ugh, **NO.** " Honey groaned, pulling her phone back out to hit the reject button once more. Sonia tilted her head in confusion before speaking her curiosity.

"Who keeps calling?"

"Just Mina." The cat sighed, setting her phone back down to lean her elbow against the table while she rested her hand at her face. "Probably to cry about how shitty her life is."

"Well, she is your best friend, and she did just get dumped." Sonia reminded her, "Shouldn't you be consoling her?"

"I should, but when you've known her as long as I have you just get tired of it, and to be frank, the breakup was all on her. You can't build any sort of relationship on a mountain of lies." Honey confessed, "I love her to death, she's my other half and all, but sometimes she just stresses me out, and I know I need a break."

"I see." The magenta girl nodded before the cat removed the hand obscuring her face to beam her a warm smile.

"That's why I like hanging around you just a tiny bit more." She mused sweetly, "You actually listen instead of babble on and on about yourself nonstop."

"Well, you've done a lot for me, and I'm very thankful to have a friend like you."

"Maybe even a…best friend?" The cat persuaded, batting her pretty eyelashes.

"Sorry, that spot's reserved."

"It won't be when he levels up to boyfriend status." Honey sang, wagging her finger at the blushing girl. "How's it been with him these days? Don't think I haven't noticed you skipping out on me!"

"It's been nice, the way it used to be." Sonia smiled down at her tray of food, thinking to the auburn-haired prince. "I never realized how big an impact he had on me until this mess of a year. The few months of absence have actually scared me in thinking about what it would be like to live without him."

"So me and the entire female and gay male population of the school have been meaning to ask you this; Have you known in your many years of friendship that he's been head over heels in love with you, or are you just really **THAT** clueless?"

"Of course I've known, you brat." The magenta girl admitted with a huff, crossing her arms before dropping her gaze back down sorrowfully. "I just…I didn't want to risk it with him. He's been my closest friend since grade school. Like you've said before, relationships **ALMOST** always end up failing. I'd rather keep him in my life as a best friend forever, than risk losing him after dating a few months. Then the principal and I had a very enlightening chat, and I realized I was looking everywhere for the right guy except right at him."

"Sonia…" Honey called out to her, snaking her hand across the table to reach out for the hedgehog's, ushering her jade eyes to meet her citrine ones. "I've come across tons and tons of guys who swear their love for girls, but I've never heard anyone be more serious than he was—and he was completely wasted! When he told me he loved you, he really meant it."

"I just don't want to lose him, like Knuckles and Shadow."

"He's not that kind of guy." The cat corrected her knowingly, "He's the kind of guy that'd spend the rest of his life with you, the kind of guy you'd be a complete idiot for missing out on. So you better go get that fucking fairytale prince!"

"You're such a goof, Honey."

"If that's code for _'super-duper awesome kitty cat friend'_ then yes, I'm a total goof."

"Yeah, that's exactly what I meant." They laughed before being interrupted yet again.

 **INCOMING CALL**

"Ugh…" The raven-haired girl pouted, pulling out her phone to see the same image light up on screen again.

"Maybe Mina could use her _'super-duper awesome kitty cat friend'_ right now too." Sonia persuaded, making the features of the cat's face soften tremendously, even coaxing a bit of a blush.

"I guess she could." Honey smiled at her before answering the call.

* * *

After bidding Fiona farewell, the shaking yellow squirrel known as Ray carried off down the hall toward his locker to retrieve study material. His little blue sneakers squeaked on the tiles beneath his feet with every step as he thought to himself about his next class project.

Just because his love life went downhill, didn't mean his grades had to do the same.

Just a few lockers away from his own, he stopped in his tracks to look at the two figures standing by his locker with a grimace.

It was Cream, digging her foot into the floor with hands clasped tightly over the books she held at her chest as she blushed madly at the kitsune leaning against the set of lockers. He beamed her a half-smile, rubbing the back of his neck somewhat nervously, clearly holding something back that he wanted to say.

They looked so happy just being next to each other, stirring such bitterness in the injured heart of poor Ray. Not only did he have incredibly strong feelings for Cream that never seemed to fade away no matter how much he tried to will them away for his own heart's sake, but the fact that he knew of Tails' seedrian girlfriend made the sight all the more intolerable.

Mighty had always taught him that girls' hearts are fragile, and that playing with them should be looked at like a crime of the worst kind.

He puffed his cheeks out in annoyance before walking over to the two, his presence disrupting their conversation.

"M-Move." The squirrel commanded boldly, pointing at the two students standing in front of his locker exchanging confused glances. "Y-You're in the way of my lo-locker." He added.

"Sure, but let me just talk to Cream about something first, Kid—" Tails waved him off before turning back to the rabbit, only to have his attention called back by somewhat of a surprising outburst.

"Kid? I'm t-t-two years older th-than you." Ray corrected him sharply, aware and annoyed that it might appear as otherwise based on their similar height. He then forcefully shoved Tails to the side to open his locker.

"Hey!" The kitsune whined angrily, glaring back at the squirrel.

"Go ta-talk to your gi-girlfriend." The older boy shot back, sending a wave of shame over Tails, whose face reddened in embarrassment.

He then stormed off angrily before he got the chance to break the news to Cream about stepping back from both her and Cosmo.

Cream was more than upset with her locker-buddy, grabbing a fist full of his blue denim jacket to pull him face-to-face with her to meet her angry light-brown eyes.

"Ray!" She scolded him in an upset tone she rarely used, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Ab-Absolutely nothing." He replied just as bitterly before tearing her arm off his jacket. "Y-You two are th-the ones with th-the problem."

"What are talking about?!" The rabbit shouted in confusion, "What? Are you mad because Tails— **THE GUY I ACTUALLY LIKE** —is finally taking an interest in me?! Look, I told you I didn't feel that way about you, and I'm sorry but—"

"Tha-That's not it at all!" He cut her off in a voice just a few octaves louder than her own, pointing out toward the hall Tails had left down. "It's Cosmo— **HIS AC-ACTUAL GIRLFRIEND** —It's not cool for h-him to be ou-out here flirting wi-with you like this, an-and if you honestly do-don't see a problem with it, then you clearly aren't the go-good girl I thought you were."

With that, he slammed his locker shut and stormed off. Not bothering to retrieve any of the material he had come to get in the first place. He was just too upset.

She watched him go with a pout that soon softened into a shameful look once he was out of sight.

* * *

Cosmo sighed to herself in disappointment that her boyfriend had yet again skipped out on their usual meetup in the library without an explanation of any kind once more. This distance was taking it's toll on her fragile little heart, feeling as though she'd been doing something wrong.

Being the shy fourteen year old with a family that tended to move around a lot, she'd never had a boyfriend before—let alone a group of friends like she had surrounded herself with at this new school.

The green-haired girl pushed open the door to the girl's bathroom and headed straight for the sinks, setting her little flower-shaped bag on the light-pink countertop before turning the nozzle to the faucet, realizing a stream of water from the pipe. She ran her hands under it once the temperature felt lukewarm.

Her parents had instilled the belief that hygiene reduced stress, therefore in times of sorrow she often found it relaxing to just do something as simple as wash her hands or face.

 _'What am I doing wrong?'_ She thought to herself, _'He's acting so different, and I don't know why. He's been spending so much time with her…No, no. Cream wouldn't do such a thing. She gave me her blessing, and isn't like that…right? Don't think like this about her, Cosmo! She's your friend, and Tails loves you. He said so… Still, I don't feel comfortable with how chummy they've been, and how neglected I feel…'_

As she stood by the sinks starring off into space and thinking to herself, the door she had entered from pushed open again. The seedrian was instantly snapped out of her thoughts by cheery laughter she recognized.

She glanced toward the door to confirm her thoughts, and right she was. It was Tiara Boobinski, popular girl and captain of the cheerleaders—which have been on hiatus since the principal had taken off-campus privileges, and sports away.

Behind her walked the physically talented and drop dead gorgeous, Shade the Echidna, captain and sole female member of the basketball team.

Cosmo quickly threw her head down and tried her best to be invisible—not that she had to, because neither upperclassmen girl associated themselves with lowerclassmen.

They walked by her and came to a halt a few sinks down, both of them checking their makeup and fixing their hair.

"I'm so, so, **SO** happy!" Tiara cheered, releasing the yellow ribbon that had been keeping her ponytail intact.

"So, you did it with him?"

"Yup, and everything worked out just like you said it would!" The mink exclaimed, stepping away from the sink to do a cheer routine around the pink bathroom. "He hasn't looked at that skank, Bunnie since we hooked up last night, and he's been all over me nonstop! Look at these texts." She added, whipping out her cellphone to hand the echidna girl.

"I told you. Boys are pathetically easy." Shade shrugged, pulling out a few cosmetics from her purple backpack. "Just keep him happy and he won't ever look at that bimbo rabbit-bitch again."

"Roger that!" Tiara cheered with such pep before gathering up her belongings. "We better head out before class starts."

"Ugh, I hate math." The echidna rolled her eyes after neatly lining them with a black eye-pencil.

"Me either, but Professor Charles is kinda cute."

"Ew, he's such a grandpa."

"He's not that old!"

"Tell it to the snow-white hair." Shade laughed, gathering her makeup to put away before hoisting her bag over her shoulder to walk out of the bathroom behind the cheerful mink.

Both of them had been completely oblivious to the seedrian who had been listening in, pretending to wash her hands for the last ten minutes of their conversing as she sunk it all in.

That night, Cosmo went back to her dorm room at eight o'clock for the new curfew. She waited for her roommates to fall asleep. In the dead of night she turned toward the other two beds in the room, making sure both Saffron Bee and Gold the Tenrec were definitely unconscious before she pulled the green covers littered in pink flower designs over her head and pulled out her phone.

She plugged in a pair of pink earbuds before scrolling to the internet app to type into the search bar.

 _How to have sex?_

Hoping to find some informative articles, she pressed the search button and found herself stumbling upon hundreds of X-rated porn sites as results. She gasped as she stared wide-eyed at the screen, the video previews displaying body parts on both sexes that she had never seen before, doing things she had never seen before.

 **PLAY VIDEO**

* * *

Far from Green Hill Academy, in the city of Metropolis was Casino Nights, a bar and lounge and notorious landmark of the center city. A great place for those in the neighboring cities and establishments to come and let off steam after a long, hard day's work.

Sitting at the lavish red velvet stools were two echidnas, both leaning over the bar with empty shot glasses in their hands.

"Grandparents." The female echidna shook her head with a chuckle before calling the bartender over to fill her glass once more. "What are grandparents doing at a bar?"

"Trying to drink away the shock and thought of my son having sex with the neighbor girl at age thirteen, then springing a granddaughter on us almost four years later."

"Sounds plausible." She agreed, raising her glass with him before they downed another shot together.

"I should have talked to him about safe sex, but I was so busy with work. I just…I'm a terrible father."

"Now, Locke." The woman beside him sighed, patting the now slumped over echidna's back. "We can't dwell on it now. Grandbaby's already here."

"I guess you're right." He sighed, looking down at his empty glass with a half-smile. "Hmph, Lara-Su. You know I always knew a Lara would steal my heart, but I never expected there to be two."

He looked back up to his ex-wife, smiling with a face so tinted red it matched his dreads.

"Okay Mr. Flirty, you've clearly had too many." She giggled, sliding his glass away from him while they kept eye contact. "I never stole your heart, because it was always with Alicia…even when you were supposed to be mine."

"You and I have always been so close, Lara-Le." Locke sighed, drunken mind wandering off to the past. "It might have not worked out, and it's true that I've always had feelings for Alicia, but with Knuckles walking around…you'll always the biggest piece of me."

She laughed, bringing a dainty hand to her lips, the ring on her finger bold and beautiful. He rose a confused eyebrow at her before she turned back to him with a smile.

"It's nothing, just…The Locke I remember wouldn't say such sweet things, let alone cut work to go have a casual drink."

"I guess I'm just not the Locke you remember." He shrugged innocently.

"No." Lara-Le agreed, staring dreamily at him through drunken eyes. "You're the Locke I've always wanted..."

"Look who's had too many now, Mrs. Flirty." He teased, pushing her glass away from her in the same manner she did to him.

"Maybe you're right." She giggled, checking the time on the screen of the cellphone she pulled from her purse. "And maybe it's time for Mrs. Flirty to get back home. You should do the same before your fiancé flips."

"Right you are." Locke nodded in agreement before standing up next to her. "I hope you have cab fare for two." He winked, eliciting a laugh out of her as she swatted his arm playfully.

* * *

Just a half-hour before curfew, Storm walked out into the snow-covered night and toward the center of campus. He stopped just a few feet before reaching the water fountain, the last place he ever saw Rotor Walrus happy and smiling.

Standing in front of the turned-off fountain was the purple swallow he had been worried sick about. He watched her for a while, her long pigtails picking up with the wind. She'd been in so much turmoil, and at this point he didn't know how to console her anymore.

He was surprised she even called him out here, under the impression that she wanted nothing to do with him.

After some time, he made his presence known to her by stepping up to her side, her gaze never leaving that spot on the fountain.

"Do you remember that big sleepover we had that night the officers were away?" She spoke aloud, making him nod in response. "We were all so happy….It was supposed to be that way…not like this…"

"I didn't know him nearly as well as you guys did, but in the little time I did, I met a truly amazing guy." Storm smiled, recalling how cheery and playful the walrus was.

"I'm sorry, Storm." She apologized, breaking her stare from the fountain to bring her eyes up to the albatross beside her. "I just felt so overwhelmed, like everything happened because of me in some sort of domino effect."

"You don't need to explain yourself to me." He assured her with a weak smile, "I know it's been hard on you."

"Thanks…"

"I just want to be here for you any way I can be, whether it's for you to throw tantrum or cry on my shoulder."

"You've always been the understanding one." Wave giggled, turning to face him completely with him doing the same. "The glue of the Babylon Rogues."

"That's me." He nodded with a slight chuckle, "I had to be to keep my two best friends in line if I wanted us to win any skate matches. You two have always been oil and water."

Before the swallow had a chance to reply, both of them turned upon hearing snow crunch under boots. Both of them were shocked to see the person approaching them was none other than the third member of their trio, Jet the Hawk.

"Jet…" Storm gasped, staring at the awful looking hawk wide-eyed.

No one had seen him in literally weeks, and he looked so pale he could be a ghost. The winter getup that used to fit him last year was barely hanging off his body like sheets, and his blue eyes looked so dead it was haunting.

His blue eyes found their way to the swallow's noting the pure hatred within them, and how violently her closed fists shook at the sight of him, disgusted by him. He dropped his gaze back down to the snow, doing his best to moisten his dry lips with his dry tongue before attempting to speak, his words coming out like a dry croak.

"I'm…sorry." He apologized weakly, "About…your friend."

"You're sorry?" The purple girl rose her voice.

"Wave, don't—" Storm warned.

" **YOU'RE FUCKING SORRY?!** " She screamed, stomping over to take Jet by the collar. He cowered, body too limp and weak for whatever she had planned. Just walking out of his room for the first time in weeks had him in agonizing physical pain.

Storm called out to her again, but she had tuned him out. All she could see was Jet the Hawk, the kid who used his popularity to convince people to hate and bash the LGBT kids for reasons unknown to her other than his ignorance.

"You were the one who started it all! You got everyone against him! Because of your influence, five of your demented followers drove him to kill himself! Then posted it online to what? Appease you homophobic pricks?!"

" **WAVE NO!** " Storm shouted again once he saw her shaking fist pull back into the air.

He quickly rushed over, taking hold of her wrist in one hand before pulling her back by the waist. She screamed and thrashed out in his hold, officers around campus grounds overhearing the ruckus and coming to aid.

Jet just watched as three officers came over to help Storm drag her away. She fought them off to no avail, and instead settled on verbally assaulting him as badly as she could.

" **I HATE YOU, I SWEAR TO CHAOS I HATE YOU!** " She screamed at the top of her lungs, breaking his heart to pieces with her final words. " **AND I WISH YOU WERE THE DEAD ONE…** "

"Me too…" He whispered before turning back toward the boy's dormitory.

Once he was gone, and after a bit of explanation to the officers, Storm had convinced them to release the swallow and allowed him to walk her back to the girl's dorm. She heaved angrily, too infuriated to speak, so they walked in silence until they got to the steps.

That's when he grabbed her wrist to prevent her from walking inside. She turned back to him with an eyebrow raised, surprised by his sorrowful expression.

"You don't know, he never wanted you to know." Storm explained, gaining her attention. "He's not the bad guy you think he is—"

" **ARE YOU REALLY TRYING TO DEFEND THAT SON OF A BITCH TO ME OF ALL PEOPLE?!** " She screamed.

"He wasn't always like this, Wave!" He shot back, tears brimming his coal-colored eyes.

"I don't fucking care. He's a bastard, and nothing you say could ever change my opinion on him, and Chaos knows I'd never want anything to do with him again. So get that out your head right now."

"That's fine." The albatross nodded, "But I'm gonna tell you anyway."

"Tell me what?"

"About his father, what his mother did to him, and what really happened to his brother…."

* * *

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Julie-Su has a run in with the echidna girl that's been giving Rouge a lot of trouble**

 **Tekno is back on campus from the hospital, frantically searching around campus, but she can't find Amy anywhere-or Eclipse...**

 **The weight of his heavy heart becomes to much to handle, and Shadow mentally snaps**

 **Everyone at Green Hill Academy gets the news of a life time...**

 **And so much more!**


	56. Chapter 56

**WARNING: Attempt at self-harm, stalking, implied intentions of rape/assault, and mentions of homophobia**

* * *

 **Chapter 56: Justice For Rotor**

Another snowy day had passed on, inching closer and closer to winter vacation, where students would be off for the holidays whether they chose to remain on campus or return to their families.

This time of year should be one of joy and familial bliss.

And that it was for the majority, but definitely not for everyone.

Somewhere at a church for Chaostianity was a heartbroken Sherman Walrus, praying hours on end for every god in existence to seek justice for his son, and outside by his final resting place at the flagpole were a handful of just as broken-hearted friends and fellow students paying respects with candles and flowers.

The Metropolis Police Force had practically called off their search before it even began, writing the walrus' death off as simply _'bullying gone wrong'_ instead of an extreme hate crime. Principal Acorn had put in place incredible restrictions ranging from bumping up curfew to eight, posting several more officers around outside, taking away sports games, to no off-campus privileges whatsoever until the suspects were apprehended. It was the best she herself could do with all the legal restrictions placed on her.

It seemed that everyone else had given up, had stopped caring entirely, but there was one faculty member not willing to put her search to bed. That woman was Dr. Tikal, the school counselor.

She stood up in front of the wall she had once plastered in five hundred photos of every student on campus, only now she and Officer Zonic had narrowed it down to about fifteen possible suspects.

The echidna stared intently at the wall, burning holes into each photo of a face as she tried to rack her brain for ideas. She'd hardly been home, often sleeping in her office here, and did not much else but search.

It had become personal for her, so very personal.

"Excuse me, Tikal?" A voice called out from behind her, making her jump in surprise.

She quickly turned around, her arm flailing outward to strike the clock that had been sitting on the desk beside her. Both her and the blue officer at the door jumped at the crash it made after contact with the floor.

Without even thinking, she kneeled down to pick it up, causing the officer to rush over and grab her wrists before she could do so.

"Don't!" He warned her, "You'll get cut on the glass." She didn't respond, but her expression rose his curiosity. He followed her gaze downward to watch the hands of the clock slowly come to a complete stop.

* * *

Back in Mercia, residing in one of the largest manors at the O'Hedge estates was the older cousin and legal guardian of Amy Rose, Rob O'Hedge.

He sat on a comfy red couch in the plentiful-sized living room of his lavish mansion, his son fast asleep in his lap and his loving wife cuddled up to his side. It was early morning, and after breakfast they decided to sit down and watch a movie together.

"He's asleep now, you know." Mari-An giggled, turning to give her husband a warm smile. "You can watch something less cartoony now."

"And miss out on finding out if Robin Hood saves Maiden Marian?" He scoffed with a roll of his eyes, taking the remote resting beside his free arm to turn the volume up on the large flat-screen. "No way!"

"It's hard to believe you're almost twenty-three." She laughed, swatting his shoulder playfully before slowly and carefully taking the sleeping echidna boy from his lap. She held him over her shoulder, standing up from her seat. "I guess I'll go put him in his crib then. I wouldn't want you to miss out on a movie you've seen over a hundred times."

He smirked at her before she leaned down to kiss him goodbye, vanishing from his view to leave him alone to watch the movie. His playful smirk then dropped into a frown, recalling how often he'd play this movie for Amy when she was a kid, and how much she adored it.

 **INCOMING CALL**

The teal hedgehog was snapped out of his thoughts at the sound and feel of vibrations coming from the couch. He looked out toward where Mari-An had been sitting to see she had left her cellphone behind. He picked it up in his hand, but was too late to answer the call.

He then went to her call log to see who it was.

"Ugh, her mother." He groaned with a roll of his eyes.

Just when he was ready to toss her phone to where it had been resting, his jade eyes caught sight of the interesting name of someone who had called her days ago.

Sometime later, the echidna came back downstairs. She walked into the living room expecting to see her husband watching TV from the couch, but instead the TV was off and he stood in the center of the room with an upset scowl.

"Robbin?" She rose a confused eyebrow, inching closer to him. "What's the matter?"

He then held up her cellphone, the name of his cousin and the time she had called visible on screen. Mari-An sighed in annoyance, raising her hand to pinch the bridge of her nose.

"She called, and you didn't think to tell me?" He barked at her.

"I didn't think it was necessary." She replied in an agitated tone.

"Not necessary?!" The teal hedgehog repeated, "I'm her guardian. I have a right to know when she calls. She could seriously need me—"

"She doesn't, but she knows you'd go either way." Mari-An cut him off, losing her cool as her voice got more aggressive. "I love her, but you baby that girl way too much. She needs room to grow, Robbin."

"Don't tell me what she needs." He shot back, pointing at himself. "I know what she needs, I give her **EVERYTHING** she needs."

"And that turned her into a spoiled brat who needs counseling because she doesn't know right from wrong, and expects you to pick up all her messes no matter how costly." She blurted out before softening her voice and strolling over to cup his face gently. "She'll be fine. Just going through what normal teenagers do."

"I just…I'm worried about her." He admitted sorrowfully, "I'm so afraid the second I stop watching over her something will actually happen…"

"That's your aunt putting things in your head, Robbin." His wife shook her head, "She's in the psych-ward for a reason."

"I know…."

There was a long silence between the couple standing in the center of the living room with sorrowful expressions before the sound of crying rang through the baby monitor sitting on the side table by the couch.

Mari-An sighed, pulling her hands away from his face to turn toward the staircase across the room. Before she could make her way toward it, Rob rested a hand at her shoulder, ushering her gaze back to him.

"I'm sorry." He apologized to her before crashing his lips sweetly onto hers. "I'll go rock him back to sleep."

* * *

Back in the boy's dorm of Green Hill Academy, pacing his room back and forth with cellphone pressed to his ear was, Shadow.

He gritted his teeth, sucking in air after being sent to voicemail for the tenth time. He pulled the phone back with a frustrated growl before redialing and trying yet again, desperate to hear something from the pink hedgehog named Rosy.

With his younger brother's horrible secret weighing heavily on his conscious, he found it incredibly difficult to breathe let alone speak to anyone. He'd been ignoring both his best friends, and almost everything in the world around him.

Yet when he encountered the self-harmer, he found it so easy to breathe, to joke around even. With her that day, it was the most normal he had ever felt, and he wanted to feel that way again…to talk to her again.

 **CALL REJECTED**

 **CALL REJECTED**

 **CALL REJECTED**

" **AUGHHH!** " The black hedgehog screamed chucking his phone to the wall across the room where it bounced off and thankfully landed on his bed completely undamaged.

He was enraged, lashing out, no longer able to control the angst and hurricane of negative emotions eating away at him. He ran over to his dresser and swiped everything resting on top of it to the floor, the more fragile things shattering to pieces. Then he took hold of the dresser itself and forced it to the floor, drawers of clothes and things falling out of their slots.

He ripped the sheets from his bed, tore the posters he had hung off the walls, and flung his arms around violently with long repressed tears of frustration flying off his cheeks.

Soon he became tired, and collapsed to the now tarnished half of the room that belonged to him, sure not to harm any of Manic's things on the other side out of respect.

That's when he noticed one of the larger pieces of glass that covered the floor, picking it up in his hand to look over with tempted eyes.

 _'If it takes her pain away…will it take mine? Even if just for a moment…'_ He thought to himself before rolling up his sleeve to press the shard of glass against the veiny area of his wrist.

He pressed forward with the sharpest end, but didn't get very far as his wrist was suddenly grabbed, forcing the piece of glass out of his hand.

" **SHADOW!** " The person grabbing his wrist screamed out through a shaky voice, " **WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!** "

His crimson eyes widened upon recognition, the dark fog of his mind becoming a bit more clear once he looked up into those frightened topaz eyes.

It was Rouge, mortified to have walked in to see him ready to mutilate himself.

She had planned on coming by, fed up with the two of them lacking communication. Down the hall she could hear screams and objects thrown coming from his room, making her sprint in her black heels, and she was thankful that she had.

He shook his head, steady streams of frustrated and now shamed tears falling off his face, breaking her heart to pieces.

"What the hell's gotten into you?" She whimpered, her own eyes brimming with tears at watching his suffering.

"I can't protect anyone…" He sobbed heavily, rocking back and forth as she kneeled beside him on the floor. "I want so desperately to save these fucking girls from the misery that took my best friend…the girl I loved…but there's no one to save me—"

"That's **NOT** true!" The bat scolded him, moving her hands from his wrist to his face to force his gaze at her. "I'm here… I'll always save you… You've always been safe with me, and whatever the fuck is going on with you, **YOU CAN** tell me."

Looking into her eyes, to the windows of her soul, he could tell she was sincere and knew better than to look away or shew her off. She was his safe place, the one person he could truly trust with himself.

"It's my brother…" He began, before relying to her the horrific secret he had been keeping for days.

"You have to tell." She said once he was finished, voice stern as ever.

"I can't." Shadow wailed, "He's my brother…I'm so supposed to protect him…"

" **THAT DOESN'T FUCKING MATTER!** " She scolded him, dropping her hands to his shoulders to shake him. "That Rotor kid probably had someone who loved him! How would you have felt if someone had protected Maria's rapist? If he had never seen justice?"

That's when his mouth dropped, and his eyes widened in realization.

He was finally ready to tell the truth…

* * *

 _'The doctors at Metropolis Hospital told me I had an extreme panic attack, and that they needed to sedate me to calm me down._

 _After a few hours of testing and making sure I was fine, they sent me off on a bus back to Green Hill Academy._

 _They asked me what was wrong, or what might have thrown me into such a severe panic, but I didn't tell them._

 _Too afraid…_

 _All I know is, I have to get to Amy as soon as possible.'_

The bus rose over several bumps on the shoveled-off dirt road, jolting the canary girl out of her nervous thoughts. She looked out the window beside her to see the bus pull up in the school parking lot.

She wasted no time rushing out, dashing across campus as she darted her eyes to every figure that passed her; looking for any sign of a pink hedgehog.

"Hey Tekno!" One of the girls she was familiar with waved happily, "Are you feeling alright? I saw them take you to the hospital yesterday—"

"I'm fine." The canary cut her friend off, her feet never ceasing movement as she walked on. "Have you seen Amy?!"

"Nope."

She then carried off, no time to spar on small talk. Her calves burned from the harsh incline of the snow, but she did her best not to let it slow her down.

Upon walking, she spotted two familiar figures walking out of the electives building and quickly rushed over to them. They weren't who she was looking for, but they were the two freshmen boys that had aided her in Jet's organized crime.

They paled at the sight of her, the two of them having cut ties completely with the older kids that had coerced them into lending their hands for the assault.

"Have either of you seen Eclipse?!" She asked them, both of them exchanging disgusted and traumatized expressions.

"No."

"Don't talk to us."

She sighed heavily, nodding in understanding before commencing with her frantic speed walking. As time went on and she traveled all of campus grounds, her fear grew to tremendous levels.

"Amy…" She whimpered, blue eyes brimming with worried tears. "Where are you?!"

* * *

Midday. The sky a dull grayish-white, any sign of greenery and flowers buried beneath over a foot of snow. The wind was like an ice whip, lashing out in no particular direction. Everyone had been geared up in their winter clothes and warmer attire, looking like penguins as the wobbled around in thick coats with mittens.

No one wanted to be outside, therefore everyone moved with purpose. Speedily rushing to and from buildings, not wasting any time in the freezing cold.

Everyone seemed to move quickly, except for the darkling in the black trench-coat, hunched over with both hands buried in his pockets as he crept behind his prey, Amy Rose.

She knew his secret, just like Shadow. However, unlike his older brother whom he was so certain wouldn't go against him, he saw the pink sophomore girl as a threat.

He'd beaten and belittled Tekno into secrecy, and he intended to instill that same fear in the pink girl to silence her just the same. Only she'd get much more…because she had such a pretty face…

He grinned excitedly, twisting the concealed knife in his right pocket with impatience. All he needed was time and opportunity.

Little did he know, poor Amy was already terrified. Her stress levels and depression had been on high ever since she discovered the secret, and after seeing Tekno get carried off in an ambulance yesterday, fear had shut down her conscious completely.

Normally she'd be so bold, and confident. She wouldn't fear a thing, only this time things were different…because she knew Rob wasn't there to come to her rescue, and that terrified her beyond anything Eclipse could ever do. For the first time since she'd been with her cousin, she felt scared and alone again.

She trudged through the snow dressed in her pink coat and black pants, the white fluff crunching under her knee-high, pink winter boots. In her hand was a small suitcase stuffed with the essentials.

Last night she couldn't sleep, paranoia and fear pushing her as she already dangled from an edge. In her time of insomnia she thought up the only solution she saw for herself.

She had to get the hell out of Green Hill Academy.

There was only one way out. The single dirt road that connected the campus grounds to the nearest city, which was Metropolis; and even that was about an hour away by car.

Seeing no other option, the pink hedgehog had packed a bag and snuck away on foot toward the shoveled pathway.

A terrible mistake, because she was unaware of the darkling creeping up behind her as she drifted further and further toward the road surrounded by a dense forest where no one would hear her cry for help.

She turned back toward the school one more time, the figure behind her ducking behind trees as she did so. She sighed deeply, cringing as her vacant green eyes caught sight of the flagpole. Then she turned around and continued onward, distancing herself from the premises.

After a good five minutes of walking, the school was barely viewable anymore, signaling to her stalker that the time was right to strike. Eclipse grinned, licking his lips as he sped up his walking.

Amy's ears picked up on the sound of snow crunching behind her, making her turn around to see nothing in sight but trees. Paranoia rose as she carried on, her own walking becoming a bit faster.

She heard footsteps again and repeated the action, looking back to see nothing before turning around to increase her speed even more. In the cold she began to sweat, fear rising as she felt a pair of eyes burn holes into her from behind.

Now too frightened to look back or even open her eyes, she sprinted for her life down the road.

The darkling chasing her took the opportunity to draw his weapon as he closed in on her, the sound of the heavy breathing forcing her eyes to shoot open before she slipped and fell face first on the dirt.

Eclipse was ecstatic that the chase was over, and finally walked up to her with his knife drawn.

" **AMY!** " A voice screamed from a distance, making the darkling turn back while the pink girl struggled to pull her face off the ground. " **AMY WAIT!** "

He squinted, taking notice of the blue blur approaching them at rapid speeds. He sucked his teeth, knowing better than to stick around. Then he darted back into the snow-covered trees just before Amy sat upright, only to turn and see Sonic coming to her aid.

"Amy." He repeated near breathlessly as he kneeled beside her, wiping the bit of dirt on her cheek with his thumb. "What the hell's going on with you?"

She looked around fearfully with mouth slightly ajar, almost certain that someone had been chasing her. With neither of them having seen Eclipse, she assumed it to be a mental projection of her fears due to the stress she was under.

She grabbed at the dirt with her fingernails, frustrated tears tipping over her eyes. Sonic frowned, astonished and hurt to see the usual fearsome girl so terrified. He pulled her to his chest as she began to cry heavily, her wails echoing through the air as they sat in the middle of nowhere on the wet, dirt road.

"Marine said she saw you pack a bag and leave." He whispered to her while stroking her quills, trying his best to calm her. "Where are you going, Ames?"

"I have to…to get out of here." The pink girl mumbled through sobs, clutching the back of his sweater.

"But why? You've been acting so weird…"

"I can't…I can't tell you."

"Hey, look at me." He commanded, pulling her back by the shoulders to lock their jade eyes, his much darker in hue than hers. "You can tell me anything."

"I really can't." She shook her head, "At least not this…"

He could only look at her with eyes full of concern and sorrow. This wasn't Amy. He knew her, and this wasn't her. She'd confide in him anything, from her love to her troubles. She'd never been so distant before, not with him.

Even with her right in his arms he felt like she was a million miles away, and he couldn't stand it.

"You've always been there for me, Amy. I could always count on you to take my side, even when I was completely wrong." He began, pulling her back in for a tight embrace. "I want to do that for you, because…I love you…"

She was so moved, so touched by the emotion and honesty coating his breaking voice, alerting her that he too must have been on the verge of tears. With those words, the biggest piece of her heart had been salvaged, and it was enough to put her at ease to speak the truth.

"I know who killed the walrus kid…" She finally admitted, eliciting a sharp gasp from the hedgehog holding her.

He quickly pulled her back again, this time he wore a mortified expression as he struggled with the information that almost refused to register.

"Wh-Who?" He breathed shakily.

"Do you remember…my friend, Tekno?" Amy stammered under his intense stare, dropping her ashamed gaze to the slushy dirt. Then she went on to tell him everything she knew, his face paling as white as the snow around them.

Once she had finished with her tale, he stood up from the ground and abruptly took hold of her wrist and began dragging her back toward the school without a word, not caring that her pink suitcase was left behind.

"What are you doing?!" She yelped, trying to pry his hand off her wrist.

"We're going back." He stated bluntly, his back to her as she stumbled to keep up with his movements. "We've gotta tell Zonic everything—"

" **NO!** " The pink hedgehog screamed, finally releasing herself. He then turned around to watch her take several steps back as she shook her head in refusal. "I can't go back there."

"I'll protect you." He assured her, stepping toward her with his hand out for her to take. "I promise."

"But Tekno's my friend—"

" **AND ROTOR WAS MINE!** " He screamed, losing his cool as warm tears began to stream rapidly down his cold face. "Please, Amy… He died before I could ever say sorry for the way I left them behind. At least help me make amends by throwing these fuckers in jail."

She looked at his pleading jade eyes, seeing the purest sincerity she'd ever seen in them, breaking her heart. Then her eyes fell to the hand he held out to her, coaxing her to take it and agree to go back and finally shed light on the truth.

* * *

 **KNOCK, KNOCK**

"Come in." Principal Acorn called out from her chair, setting down the file she had been looking over to be greeted by her son stepping into the room to shut the door behind him.

She smiled warmly at him as he casually strolled up to her desk with his signature charming smile.

"You wanted to see me?" He questioned, referencing the text message he had received from her earlier.

"Yes." She nodded, intertwining her fingers as she rested her elbows on the desk. "I'd like to ask you for a pretty huge favor."

"Huge favor?" The young prince repeated before waving his hand in dismissal with a chuckle, "Mother, there's no favor too huge for you. I'd try to move mountains if you'd simply ask."

"Well, as you know, Locke and I are getting married after the holidays." She began, "I've decided I want to get married here, on the prestigious school I built from the ground up. We've also decided on live music, and I couldn't think of any other voice I'd like to hear than yours—"

"You…You want me to sing at your wedding?" Elias blushed, scratching his cheek in a bashful manner.

"Don't be so modest, Elias." His mother giggled, "You have a voice as captivating as your smile. I was thinking you could ask Sonia to accompany you as a pianist. I've heard her play before and she's divine."

"Sonia?" He repeated, dropping his gaze to his feet. "I guess I could ask—"

"Wonderful!" She squealed excitedly, running around her desk to throw her arms around him for a hug. He chuckled, returning her hug before she pulled away to admire the features he had inherited from herself. "And you haven't made any plans for Christmas have you?"

"Of course not." He rolled his eyes, "Christmas is only for you. I know that."

"Good." She nodded, pinching his cheek lightly before stepping back around her desk to sit in her chair. "I tried to call Megan to invite her over, but her phone brings me straight to voicemail."

"You called, Megan?" The squirrel repeated, cheery mood right out the window to be replaced by sorrows.

"Of course. I haven't seen her or Alexis since the birth thanks to all the ruckus on campus." Alicia explained with a sigh, "I'm having grandchild withdraws."

Elias just stood in front of her desk with a heavy heart, biting his lip as he refused to utter a word or even entertain the thought of Megan or baby Alexis…

* * *

Although sports games had been canceled until further notice, that never stopped the basketball team from practicing, having total faith that everything would blow over before their season began.

And tonight just might be their lucky day…

After hours of rigorous training of formations and teamwork exercises, the group of boys—and their female captain—disbanded for a fifteen minute break. Most of them headed toward the bleachers to retrieve their stuff, while some went off for a bathroom break.

"Way to drag the team down with those clown feet." Storm rolled his eyes, elbowing Knuckles' side as he passed by the now flustered echidna.

"My fucking shoe was untied." He defended himself, face flushed with embarrassment at his unfortunate fall earlier during practice.

"Yeah, sure." The albatross waved in dismissal as he walked on, "Just make sure to wear velcro shoes like the little bitch you are when the season actually starts, idiot."

Although the muscular bird's back was turned to him, the echidna gave him the finger out of anger anyway before returning to the bench where his bag was.

Across the gym was team captain, Shade, watching their quarrel with amused violet eyes whilst chuckling into her hand. She was glad to see Storm back to his senses, enjoying the bird's relentless taunting of the echidna boy.

She watched Knuckles stand at the bleachers, digging through his bag for a bottled water he obviously was having trouble finding. In doing so, she noticed another female echidna approach him from out of nowhere, wiping the amused smile clean off her face to replace with an annoyed scowl.

"Hey ya' dummy." The pink echidna called out to him, strolling over with both hands behind her back withholding something from his view.

He ceased looking in his bag to turn and meet his best friend turned girlfriend with adoring eyes, and a less-than-pleased expression.

"C'mon, I can't still be _'Dummy'_. " He pouted playfully, "Shouldn't I be _'Babe'_ or _'Cutie'_?"

"Can you really picture me saying shit like that?" Julie-Su laughed.

"Point taken." He nodded in agreement before being met with a light punch on the arm.

"Hey, we talked about that!" He sang, leaning his cheek closer to her as he pointed toward it.

She blushed, rolling her eyes before kissing it. The pink girl then brought around one of her hands to wipe her mouth as a grossed-out look emerged on her face.

"Ew, sweaty." She mumbled, sticking out her tongue.

"Sorry." Knuckles snickered, rubbing the back of his neck as he beamed her another smile. "So, what'd you come to see me for? We usually meet up with the squad after my practice."

"I'm here to make a delivery actually." She informed him, pulling the paper she had from behind her back to show him.

"A delivery?" He rose an eyebrow, taking the paper in his hands to look over.

It was a drawing made by four year old, Lara-Su. A paper drowned in glitter, dried glue, and scribbles of all sorts of colors with letters of all sizes scribed at the top.

"Am I this bleeding scribble under the Christmas tree?" He asked her.

"You're not bleeding, you're actually dead." She corrected him, quickly noticing his upset frown. "She's still not grasping the whole _'you're her real dad'_ thing just yet, but this is the first time she's ever drawn you in a family picture, and look—Thrash isn't on here at all. It's just us three."

To her relief a smile soon crept its way back up onto his face once she had pointed out the positives, giving him yet another ounce of hope.

"You're right." He nodded, folding the paper back up to put in his pocket. "This is a start, not a great one, but a start. I just want her to accept me…"

"She will in time." Julie-Su assured him, ignoring his sweatiness as she draped her arms around him to pull him down to level for a kiss. "Maybe you two will hit it off this vacation. She loves the holidays."

"I hope so—" Knuckles mumbled before he jolted up at the feel of another hand fall at his shoulder.

He turned to see Shade with one hand on his shoulder and the other at her cocked hip, white tanktop so drenched in sweat it was practically see-through.

"Hate to cut in…" She mused in that taunting yet tempting tone, "But you and I have a date with the court."

"Right." He sighed, turning back to kiss Julie on the cheek before rushing toward the rest of the team already setting up on the court, Shade following slowly after him.

Just before she got too far, she turned back to grin wickedly at Julie-Su, who looked mortified.

* * *

"It's gonna be okay. I'm right here by your side." Rouge told Shadow as they traveled down the hall, offering his shaky hand an assuring squeeze as they inched closer and closer toward the office of the school counselor.

"It's gonna be okay. I'm right here by your side." Sonic told Amy as they traveled down the hall, offering her shaky hand an assuring squeeze as they inched closer and closer toward the office of the school counselor.

After about an hour or more of debate, Rouge and Sonic had finally convinced the black and pink hedgehogs to finally come forth with the secrets that had been eating them alive. Both pairs walked toward the same destination from opposite ends of the same hall, ironically at the same slow pacing.

Both distressed hedgehogs breathed heavily, doing their best to brush off the constricting feelings of betrayal to allow themselves to do the right thing. With every step forward it got harder to breathe, sweat dripping from their brows as they thought of the people they wanted to protect.

But for the sake of the ones standing beside them, they willed their feet forward until all four of them stood outside of the counselor's office, exchanging confused glances.

Just before any of them could get a chance to speak, or reach for the knob, the door they had stopped at swung open.

Out stepped a tall, purple, bandicoot woman wearing a police badge on the right side of her all-black suit. Officer Zonic stood at her side, and between them was none other than a cuffed, Jet the Hawk.

 _"This is Sargent Perci, do you copy?"_ The unfamiliar woman called out into the walkie-talkie she pulled from the strap on her belt.

 _"Loud and clear boss."_ The static voice on the other line assured her _. "What action do we take?"_

 _"We've got the full confession from one of the offenders on tape, and he's even provided us the masks and hockey-stick as evidence."_ She explained, making Sonic's anger flare. _"Round up the other four he told us about and bring them each to their own individual unit."_

" **JET YOU SON OF BITCH!** " The blue hedgehog bellowed, snatching his hand away from Amy to lunge at the frail hawk, but was quickly subdued by the much more powerful, Zonic.

"We've got him." Zonic whispered in Sonic's ear as he held the thrashing and crying hedgehog back. "It's all over…for all of them." He assured the boy in his arms, fighting back tears of his own as they watched Perci drag Jet away.

"Tekno…"

"Eclipse…"

Amy and Shadow whispered to themselves before making a break for the double-doors to the outside.

* * *

Outside were five squad cars sprawled out on the shoveled parking lot. Their colorful sirens had alerted everyone on campus of their presence, and soon the entire population of the school bursted from every building and gathered on the lawn to watch as police officers dragged five individuals toward squad cars.

"What's going on here?" Sally asked, once she and Ken had finally pushed their way over to Bunnie, Antoine, and Nicole.

"They caught them Sally-Girl!" Bunnie wept, throwing her arms around the chipmunk to pull her in for a hug. "They caught the bastards who drove our poor Rotor to the grave."

"Oh my Chaos…" The auburn-haired girl whispered over her friend's shoulder, tears pouring from her eyes as she returned the rabbit's embrace.

"Thank Chaos." The monkey beside her said aloud, rushing over to offer the sobbing lynx a comforting hug.

Everyone in the crowd either wept with joy, shouted obscenities at the five assailants being tossed in police cars, or hugged the person beside them. Once all five doors slammed on those squad cars, it felt as though a dark cloud had dissipated from atop the school.

Zonic walked over to his crying fellow officers, bringing in the chameleon and crocodile for a group hug. Principal Acorn stood with Tikal, holding her tightly as she thanked her for not letting go. Rosemary found her son amongst the crowd and pulled him into a hug as he sobbed frantically, knowing how much strain the situation had put on Tails' little heart.

The LGBT students wept as they basked in the justice served to their community. Silver held a weeping Gold, offering her his shoulder as they both looked out toward the criminals with satisfaction. Mighty stood behind Ray, ruffling his golden hair with one hand as he used the other one to pull Fiona close to his side.

The tearful celebration had only just began until Antoine found his way on top of one of the nearby picnic tables and rose his fist high to the air, starting a chant that everyone would soon follow.

" **JUSTICE FOR ROTOR, JUSTICE FOR ROTOR, JUSTICE FOR ROTOR!** "

It severed as both a tribute to the walrus, and a passive taunt of victory to the five students sitting in the back of those cars with cuffs on.

Soon everyone was chanting, even the staff members, and school principal.

Tekno cringed, ashamed as the chant rang in her ears, but among the sound was another—someone calling out to her. She looked up and out of the barred window beside her to see a sobbing Amy reaching out to her before the officer in the front seat turned on the engine and ordered her to keep her eyes forward.

In another car across the parking lot, Eclipse glared hard at his two brothers who happened to be standing within feet of each other, but most not noticing one another. Shadow wore a look of dread and sorrow, while Mephiles wore one of disinterest and wickedness.

"He betrayed me…" Eclipse growled angrily to himself as he glared at the red-striped hedgehog.

" **JUSTICE FOR ROTOR, JUSTICE FOR ROTOR, JUSTICE FOR ROTOR!** "

Wave and Storm shoved their way through the crowd in confusion until they discovered the light-orange echidna boy they had been looking for. He was a crying mess, red in the face as he held himself with several friends occasionally walking over to throw an arm over him or pat him on the back.

"Cobar!" The swallow called out, making him raise his head toward her. "What's happening?"

"Oh Wave." He cried out, reaching out to pull her in for a tight embrace as Storm stood behind them. "They caught them…Those murderers from the video…"

"What?!" Wave yelped in shock, Storm's eyes widening in disbelief upon hearing the words. "Who were they? Who were they, Cobar?!"

"Two freshmen boys, a sophomore boy named Eclipse, a junior girl named Tekno, and…and Jet."

" **JET!?** " Storm and Wave both repeated in horror, turning to each other before looking back to the crying echidna who nodded.

"He was the one who set the whole thing up, but for some reason he turned himself in along with the rest of them…"

Wave shook her head, recalling the terrible tale of his childhood that Storm had shared with her. Somewhere in her angry and sad heart finding a bit of empathy for the hawk she once called friend.

Without even thinking, she bolted toward the parking lot, Storm chasing after her as she screamed at toward the car the hawk was cuffed in.

" **JET!** " She screamed, tears rolling off her cheeks. " **JET!** "

The cars were already pulling out of the driveway and onto the dirt road, one leaving after another.

In the back windshield of the final car to pull onto the dirt road, was Jet looking back at his two old friends.

Tears streamed down his face as he waved them goodbye from the backseat with cuffs on his hands, mouthing the words, _'I really am sorry'_ before the car disappeared in the distance.

They both stared after him, Storm walking up beside her to rest a comforting hand on her shoulder before she threw herself into him for a hug.

" **JUSTICE FOR ROTOR, JUSTICE FOR ROTOR, JUSTICE FOR ROTOR!** "

* * *

Sometime later, the hype had died down, and everyone disbanded off to their usual tasks; all of them finally feeling at peace.

Outside, sitting at one of the picnic tables they had swept the snow off of were Ken and Sally. They sat beside each other, looking up to the flagpole with satisfied smiles.

"I told you it would all work out." He reminded her, throwing an arm over her shoulders.

"I almost didn't believe you." She admitted, swiping auburn fringe from out of her glasses. "But I'm so happy it did."

"I know its winter and all, but it seems a lot less cold around here now…"

"I just hope this peace we're feeling stays, at least for a little while."

"Don't get your hopes too high." The monkey nudged her lightly. "It is still high school after all."

"Right." She rolled her eyes, "Just what was I thinking?"

They both laughed, shoving each other playfully as they poked fun at one another.

"So in light of all that's been going on…how's it going with mystery guy?" Ken asked, immediately catching the somewhat disappointed look on her face.

"It's not." Sally admitted, thinking back to what Sonic had confessed at the frozen lake. "He's kind of in between feelings at the moment…"

"You know, with me there'd be no in between." He said in the most suave way possible, nearly on an Elias Acorn level of charm. "You're kind of the only girl I really notice around here to be honest."

"Ken…" She blushed, face turning as red as her hair.

"Sorry!" He rose his hands innocently with a chuckle, "I just want to blunt about it. You don't deserve the run around kind of thing, and I want to make sure you know exactly where I stand…unlike mystery guy."

"Well, you sure make it apparent." The chipmunk nodded.

"Give it time and you'll start to feel it too." The monkey smirked.

"Um, ex-excuse me." A voice called out to the pair, making them turn around.

Both of their eyes shot open in surprise at the sight.

They stood up from their seated position at the table to walk around and stand before the LGBT committee president, Cobar the Echidna, and the massive crowd standing behind him.

"Cobar…" Sally greeted with much more surprise than anything.

"I've come to apologize to you, Sally Acorn." The echidna bowed his head to her, "Not only for the way I treated you, but on behalf of everyone who misguided their hate and anger toward you. Please forgive us, for every tear you shed, for every taunt you heard, for every push you endured. We're truly sorry."

She looked on at the crowd, surprised to see a few faces she recognized, one of which belonging to Sonic's little friend, Tails Prower. Anxiety built up in her, having so many pairs of eyes locked onto her. She looked up at Ken who nodded to her in agreement with whatever she thought.

"There's nothing to forgive here." She stated loudly, addressing the shocked crowd as a whole. "In times of grief and sorrow our thoughts often get lost and we look for someone to blame. I can't fault you on something that is simply in our nature."

Everyone exchanged glances and nods, allowing her powerful words to sink into them just as they had before. With how bold she spoke, like such a leader, you'd hardly believe she had anxiety issues at all.

She looked down at Cobar who still bowed his head, making her mouth curve downward into a frown.

"Stand up." She commanded, making the echidna look back up at her with surprise. "Never bow to me or to anyone that way. I, nor anyone else here is any form of royalty. This is a high school, not a kingdom, and we're **ALL** equals."

"You're truly as kind as you are humble." Cobar admired her, outstretching his arms to pull her in for a hug. "I hope we can look past this…"

"It's already been forgotten." She assured him, returning his hug with a sincere smile.

Then the crowd swarmed around them, hands reaching out to take hold of the chipmunk and hoist her to the sky as they cheered.

At first she terrified with anxiety, but quickly let it go as she flew into a fit of laughter.

"She's really something, isn't she?" Cobar remarked toward the monkey standing beside him as they watched the crowd toss Sally into the air.

"Yeah…something I really want." Ken replied innocently, admiring the seemingly average-looking girl he'd grown to love over the past few months.

Alas, not everything was peaceful, because all the way across campus in the boy's dorm was an upset Mephiles staring right at the chipmunk girl through the window of his dorm room with his angry reptilian-eyes.

"Well, I certainly didn't anticipate this." He spoke to himself, "I may have to deal with her sooner rather than later."

* * *

 **Shadow and Amy had both come to their senses just as little too late, as shockingly Jet himself had confessed to the crime before either of them had the chance to tell their tales.**

 **Jet, Tekno, and Eclipse along with the two irrelevant boys who aided them in their crime have all been taken into custody...but will this be the last we hear of them? Or at least...one of them specifically...**

 **Although most people on campus stopped caring long ago, seeing the five suspects hauled away brought intense feelings out of everyone, and this chapter concludes Rotor's story officially. R.I.P.**

 **Now we move on to and look forward to more light-hearted situations...like Alicia's wedding! Christmas, New Years! And whatever drama comes of that.**

 **But of course, not everything will be rainbows and smiles these next few chapters...as you can see, Mephiles has slowly but surely been creeping his way up on the radar, with cruel intentions...**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Mighty finally makes a move on his crush!**

 **Sonic begins to rebuild the bridges between best buddy Tails, and his personal cheerleader, Amy**

 **We learn of Shade's vendetta against Rouge**

 **Rosy unwillingly opens up to Shadow about her past...Will it dive him away?**

 **We catch up with everyone's favorite stalker, Scourge!**

 **Shard vs. Mighty...**

 **And so much more!**

 **Fun Question: Does Jet turning himself and the others in change your opinion of him at all? (Not that it has to of course. )**


	57. Chapter 57

**WARNING: Blood, minor volence, mentions of pornography and teen pregnancy**

* * *

 **Chapter 57: Let Love Find You**

 _"I can't wait to see you guys next week."_ Matilda squealed excitedly over the phone. _"I've missed you and Ray so much! We'll be able to play in the snow like we used to, and with these mechanical arms I'll be sure to win that yearly snowball fight this time!"_

 _"I wouldn't count on it, Tilly!"_ Her older brother taunted, _"No one throws a snowball like, Mighty the Armadillo."_

 _"We'll see about that!"_ She challenged, _"When I'm through with you, your girlfriend will be nursing you through a very bad cold for the rest of vacation."_

 _"Girlfriend?"_ He paled in the face, stopping his movement as he stood still in the middle of the hallway. _"Um, right! Girlfriend, for sure she's coming!"_

 _"I can't wait to meet her!"_ Matilda cheered _, "It makes me so happy to know you're doing great, and living like a normal teenager."_

 _"Actually, Tilly I—"_ Just when he was going to confess his unsureness of whether or not he'd be able to bring someone, he heard someone calling out for her in the background.

 _"That's Aunt Lulumae!"_ She explained quickly before hanging up. _"She wants me to help shovel! I never thought anyone would ask something like that of me ever again after the accident… I've got to go Mighty! I love you, bye!"_

He slipped the phone away from his ear, smiling as he held it in his hand and thought of how good it felt to know she was happy again, and that he made the right decision in signing her away to Beauregard Rabbot. Still, it pained him slightly to not be with her always.

"Was that Matilda?"

The armadillo turned around to be greeted by a weak wave from his chameleon friend, his other arm occupied by the bashful lynx smiling his way.

"How'd you figure?" Mighty asked.

"Every time she mentions the girlfriend thing you freeze up and stare into space like what you were just doing." Espio shrugged knowingly, making the armadillo blush, and the lynx giggle.

"Well, aren't we observant?"

"So, is the hunt for a girlfriend still at a complete and total standstill?" The chameleon asked curiously, surprised to see the armadillo cross his arms and smirk confidently.

"Actually no. The romance pursuit is heavily underway!" Mighty exclaimed.

"Wait, really?! You finally talked to her!?" Espio gasped, hazel eyes widening in shock before narrowing at the now sheepish armadillo rubbing the back of his neck.

"Err, well…not exactly."

"What does that even mean?" He persisted, completely confused. "How can you pursue the girl without talking to her?"

"A simple method as old as time, my dear friend." Mighty chuckled, pulling out a piece of paper and pen from his pocket to hold out to the couple who tilted their heads. "I wrote all my feelings down on a paper and shoved it in her locker!"

Espio slapped his palm on his forehead, sighing in frustration.

"You're an idiot." He exhaled before his cheek was poked by the lynx beside him. He looked back out to her confused before she giggled and turned back to Mighty with a sincere smile.

"Don't listen to him." Nicole told the armadillo boy, "I think it's sweet."

* * *

In the boy's dorm, Tails had awoken to see Antoine had already made his bed and left for the morning, and Sonic was just ready to head out, pulling on his red and white tracksuit jacket.

He sat up in his bed, expecting to hear the hedgehog's typical good morning greeting until he remembered they still hadn't made amends. He frowned, finally realizing he was in the wrong on this one, and that his stubbornness was to blame for their lack of communication these past few days.

The kitsune looked down at the yellow blanket draped over him, clutching it tightly as he listened to the hedgehog pack his backpack and shuffle around the room in silence until he finally mustered up the courage to break it.

"Sonic…" He choked out, nervously glancing up to see the surprised looking hedgehog at the door he had slightly ajar.

"What?" Sonic asked, not quite sure if whatever the fox had to say would make or further strain things between them.

Tails got up, floorboards cold and creaking underneath his little feet as he walked over to the blue boy. He looked up to him, the way he used to, with nothing but pure sincerity in his baby-blues.

"I'm really sorry about how mean I was. I was just so upset… I wanted someone to blame when no one was there, and she was the only one. Rotor was our friend once and I—"

His apologetic ramblings turned into sobbing before Sonic threw his bag on the floor to kneel down to level and hug the little fox, relieved that there was no longer need for the animosity that had been plaguing both their hearts.

"It's okay Tails…I get it." He assured his little buddy, who nodded into his shoulder. "But it's all over now. The real ones to blame are gone…"

"I'm so happy they got caught…" The kitsune sniffled, both of them pulling away to look at the bare bed beside Antoine's that the purple walrus once occupied.

"Me too." Sonic nodded in agreement, smiling in the direction that used to be Rotor's half corner of the room.

"And I'm glad we're friends again…because I have so much I need to talk to you about."

"Same here, but can it wait? Mr. Ash kinda has a vendetta against me and if I'm late for his class he'll slap me with a detention for sure."

"I guess so, but I'd really rather talk about it now…" Tails murmured, casting his gaze down to the floor, "It's really got me a mess."

He didn't like to hear such a thing. Although no longer on record, in the hedgehog's mind the fox was still his baby brother, and would remain that way in his heart forever regardless of legality. He sighed, standing up to his feet to rub the back of his neck as he shot the kitsune his signature smile.

"I guess another detention wouldn't hurt." Sonic chuckled.

* * *

 _' "Rouge, are you sure this is gonna work?"_

 _"I'm telling you, it will." She snorted with such arrogance, crossing her arms as she smirked. "I saw him at the party stone drunk. He couldn't have possibly been even remotely lucid. He'll believe that baby's his."_

 _"Not if I try to tell him." I shook my head, both of us walking down the street toward the park we knew he always played basketball at. "I'm not a good liar at all…"_

 _"Duh, that's why I'm here." She huffed, using both hands to gesture toward herself. "Just wait here and keep your mouth shut."_

 _I nodded before she did the same and walked off toward the court where Thrash was playing some one-on-one with an orange echidna girl._

 _Even at thirteen the bat was curvaceous, hips swaying in that tight pink mini-dress that barely restrained her bouncy chest._

 _I remember looking at her with such envy, glancing down to my non-existent figure in a black T-shirt and basketball shorts with such disappointment. Placing a shaky hand over the ever-so-slightly protruding baby bump._

 _"Excuse me, Handsome!" Rouge called out in her naturally sultry voice._

 _Thrash held the ball, ceasing the match between him and the now furious echidna girl as they turned to look at Rouge._

 _Bold as usual, she walked right up to him with hands at her wide-set hips, raising a shoulder as she tilted her head with a smirk._

 _"You're Thrash, right?"_

 _"Ummm…" He blushed immensely, at a loss for words at how gorgeous she was. She's always had that effect on boys._

 _"You and I need to have a little chat about something." She mused, reaching for his hand to probably walk him over toward me._

 _But before she could, the echidna girl he had been playing with stepped in between them. I hadn't looked twice at her until she did, and was surprised at how beautiful she was; making Rouge seem so…small…_

 _It must have pissed her off too, because that sexy front she was putting on got real sour when the echidna girl stepped in._

 _"Then speak, and make it quick." The orange girl with the long ponytail commanded, narrowing her violet eyes. "We're busy."_

 _"It's kind of private, Hun." Rouge replied in a now slightly passive-aggressive tone, motioning with her hand for the other girl to scram. "Give us a minute—"_

 _"I said speak." The girl commanded once more, much more aggressive this time. "Or fuck off."_

 _"Whatever." The bat rolled her eyes, ignoring the echidna as she looked past her at the tall, handsome, muscular boy behind her. "Remember me, from Vector's party?"_

 _Thrash flushed red, gulping when the echidna girl turned to shoot him a skeptical glare. Suddenly he found his voice, quickly shaking his head._

 _"N-No." He stuttered, the tension being felt even from where I stood, watching them._

 _"Figures. You did get pretty wasted." Rouge giggled, "Probably your first time drinking, right?"_

 _"Yeah, actually." He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck nervously._

 _"Surely you remember my friend though, right?" She rose an eyebrow, stepping back to make sure I was in view as she gestured toward me standing a few feet away. "You know, the girl you fucked in the broom closet. The one you got pregnant…" She added, making his eyes widen in horror._

 _"_ _ **THAT'S BULLSHIT!**_ _" The echidna girl screamed, "_ _ **HE WOULDN'T DO THAT.**_ _"_

 _"Um, no one's talking to you, Ms. Nosy Ass." Rouge scoffed, holding her hand up to the orange girl. "I told you to leave in the first place."_

 _"Well now no one's talking to you." She shot back, stepping toe-to-toe with the bat. "You and your ugly ass friend get lost. Go hunt for a baby daddy somewhere else, whores."_

 _"Shade, relax." Thrash pleaded with the riled up echidna who just shook off his words and glared hard at Rouge._

 _"Tell her, Babe!" She directed her words toward him, putting him in a very uncomfortable position. "Tell this hoe to fuck off, tell her you didn't fuck anybody!"_

 _That's when he looked over to me and I blushed nervously, clutching my stomach tightly as his violet eyes studied me. Then they fell at his feet as he tried to think long and hard about the night he barely remembered._

 _"I…I don't know…" He spoke up, making the echidna's eyes bulge out of her head._

 _"I see you two have a lot to talk about." Rouge shrugged, the amusement in her voice so evident. "Guess I'll leave you to it." She added before turning to walk back toward me with a victorious smile._

 _"_ _ **HOW COULD YOU!**_ _" The echidna girl screamed, physically attacking the purple devil as tears began to stream down her face. "_ _ **YOU'RE MY FUCKING BOYFRIEND! AND YOU CHEAT ON ME WITH THAT?!**_ _" She added pointing toward me._

 _"Let's go." Rouge told me, taking my arm as she dragged me away._

 _"Rouge!" I scolded her, still in total shock as I looked back at the two. "He has a girlfriend!"_

 _"Not anymore." She told me as we distanced ourselves from the park._

 _A few days after that, he contacted Rouge through Facebook and she told him where I lived. He came to my house dressed up all nice, apologized about how little he recalled of Vector's party and told me that he broke up with his girlfriend and wanted us to be together._

 _I was apprehensive at first, and even almost told him the truth._

 _Then I looked past him out toward Knuckles' house across the street and saw him flirting with Sonia on the front steps._

 _"I want to move away." I told him, "Far away from everyone here…" '_

"So that's how she knows me." Rouge nodded, crossing her arms as she sat across from Julie-Su on the echidna's bed.

"How could you not remember someone you fucked over so badly?" Julie-Su rose an eyebrow.

"I fuck over a lot of people." The bat shrugged, "Just lost count is all."

"You should watch out for her." The echidna warned her, face serious as ever. "Judging by your busted nose, she's not the type to let you fuck her over and forget about it."

"Same goes for you. I might have been the one to set the whole shit up, but you're the one he left her for."

* * *

Cosmo walked down the hall by herself, sighing once again in disappointment at yet another failed meetup in the library with her so-called boyfriend, Tails.

Although his reason for skipping out this time was his seeking of advice from the brother-figure he had rekindled things with, the seedrian could only assume he and Cream were off together somewhere, all smiles and giggles.

She balled her fists tightly as the unfamiliar feelings of jealousy and insecurity whirled within her like a tornado, making her heart ache with each beat.

She loved him dearly, and hated the idea of Cream making him happier than she could, and absolutely loathed the possibility of him preferring the rabbit's company over her own.

After over hearing the older girls talk about how sex had solved the mink's distant boyfriend problem, the young and naïve seedrian concluded that the act may cure her own relationship of it's recent ailments, and to be honest, she was also quite curious herself.

Especially after the hours upon hours of research she had done on the subject, learning a lot of things they just don't teach in sex-ed.

She dug her right hand into the pocket of her green coat, squeezing her cellphone tightly as she blushed thinking about the dirty material she'd been studying on it.

 **BUMP!**

The poor girl had gotten too caught up in her steamy thoughts, colliding foreheads with another passing student who was just as distracted.

They both slammed hard on their backs to the tiled floor. She winced in pain before peering her innocent blue eyes open to be met with a concerned pair of the same color.

"I'm s-sorry." The shaky squirrel above her apologized, extending his arm out for her to take his hand. "I was a bit dis-distracted." He confessed as he pulled her back up to her feet.

"That's okay. So was I actually." She told him, reaching into her pocket for her phone, only to realize it was gone. "Ahh! My phone!" She yelped with fright.

"Oh, you dr-dropped it over he-here." Ray said, catching sight of the phone off to the side of them before kneeling down to pick it up. "Here, I'll ge-get it."

He reached down to pick it up, rising back upright to his feet. He smiled at her politely, intent on returning the device to her. Just when he went to hand it to her, his thumb accidently slid across the screen, unlocking it to reveal the last tab she had open.

She blushed, mortified as the boy a year ahead of her looked down at the device to be met with a series of pornographic images. His faced turned a deep red color, his mouth a thin line as he held out the phone to her.

" **IT WAS JUST RESEARCH!** " She cried out in nervous embarrassment, swiping it from his grasp to slide back into her pocket. "Nothing, weird. I mean, I'm not a pervert or anything!"

"Re-Research?" He repeated, "Like for sex-ed cl-class?"

"Well…not exactly." She admitted, gaze dropping to her feet. "I have this boyfriend and I…"

"T-Tails…" The squirrel nodded, thinking back to the fox he had never really been fond of.

"Yes." Cosmo nodded, "Do you know him?"

"N-Not personally." Ray shook his head, "I sa-saw him wi-with Cream yesterday."

"Oh…" The seedrian frowned again, bowing her head in sorrow. "Of course you did…"

"H-Hey." He called out to her, making her look back up to him to see his still blushing face wearing a sincere smile. "If h-he's making you feel sa-sad, or li-like you have to do th-that stuff you're researching…yo-you shouldn't be with him. Th-there are guys like me who'd kill for girls li-like you to just say hi to us…"

The blush on her face worsened as she returned his sheepish smile with one of her own.

"Ray, that's very kind of you to say." She replied, only wishing that Tails would be just like this with her again. Then suddenly, the obnoxious bell signaling class was beginning rang throughout the halls.

"Guess we should get to cl-class." He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck shyly.

"We have this one together right?" The seedrian asked as she recalled seeing him in there once before, "Art with Mr. Emu?"

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Would you umm…mind if I sat with you today?"

"Of cou-course not, bu-but do-don't you usually sit with Tails?"

"I'm not too worried about him." Cosmo sighed, "I doubt he'd even notice…"

"Well then…" He began, extending his arm out for her to take. Hoping that the gesture would wipe that devastating frown off her face. "We sh-should get moving."

* * *

A bulky, blue winter jacket with white trim on the cuffs and pulled-down hood, white sweatpants that hung loose and camouflaged with the white snow she walked by, and knee-high, blue boots with white soles.

Her shoulder-length hair rested comfortably beneath a blue beanie, and she constantly had to brush the fringe from out of her thick-rimmed glasses due to the winds. Her cheeks were a rosy pink from the cold, and even with all the winter getup she still shivered every now and again.

To the outside world, she was your average ugly, nerd chick. That's the façade she put on with those glasses and baggy clothes, but the green hedgehog eyeing her from the hood of his vehicle in the parking lot wasn't fooled.

She had a body he knew about, a petite hour-glass figure with exaggerated proportions that he'd spend hours delving in his memory to touch again.

A beautiful face hidden behind those stupid glasses, even with the nasty scars she'd been trying to cover up…

He sat up on his car, both hands placed on the hood for support as he leaned back on them and focused his fiery, blue eyes on the chipmunk strolling down the shoveled pathway toward the main building; completely ignoring the monkey boy beside her.

Yearning, deep regret, and frustrations were just a few of the many emotions looking at her stirred up in the pit of his stomach.

"At it again I see…" A heavily accented voice called out from his right, making the hedgehog turn to be met with the smug face of the skunk he once called friend back in Moebius. "Never pegged you to turn into some creep, Mate."

"Says the one who they caught skulking outside of the girl's dorm?" Scourge retorted, glaring harshly at the skunk before turning back toward the chipmunk.

"Hey, I'm an eighteen year old boy. It's natural for me to wanna see some tits and ass every once in a while." Geoffrey shrugged innocently before narrowing his eyes at the hedgehog sitting atop the rather large-sized vehicle. "But obsessively stalking one girl in particular? That's kind of illegal, and pretty damn creepy…especially because she—"

"Fuck off." The leather-clad hedgehog cut him off, accompanied by one hell of a furious look.

The skunk nodded, and knew better than to rile up the hedgehog too much, but oh how he loved to push his old friend's buttons, especially on the matter of a certain auburn-haired chipmunk.

"I woulda thought you'd get over it by now. It's been what? Three? Four years since?" Geoffrey sang as he turned heel back toward the buildings. "If it makes you feel any better, I never fucked her."

Then he vanished, leaving Scourge to look back out toward the chipmunk only to see that she had already gone, leaving him in the bitter cold with a leather jacket that did almost nothing to keep him warm.

* * *

Amy laid lifelessly in her bed, staring up to the ceiling as she thought about her canary friend. Although she was happy to no longer carry such a dark secret, she still felt so ashamed about harboring it in the first place, and couldn't help but worry about the girl she had tried to protect regardless of what she had done.

While everyone either celebrated the justice or carried on with normalcy, the pink girl found it difficult to get up the next morning, and had been lying in bed all morning. Her roommates had been long gone, leaving her to dwell in the misery that still ailed her.

 **KNOCK, KNOCK**

Someone knocked on the door, but she didn't acknowledge it, hoping whoever it was would think no one was home and go away.

Moments passed before the door opened without her giving permission for anyone to enter. She tilted her head toward it, eyes widening to see the blue hedgehog she adored so much enter and close the door behind himself.

"Sonic?" She murmured weakly, sitting up under her pink blanket as he walked over to stand beside her bed.

"Hey." He greeted her, taking a seat beside her on the bed as he rested his hand on hers. "I haven't seen you all morning, and got kinda worried. Marine said I'd find you here."

"Why would you be worried about me?" Amy mumbled, bringing her knees to her chest underneath the blanket to hug herself.

"Because I care about you, Brat." He joked light-heartedly, coaxing the disheartened girl to look back up at him.

"But I…I didn't tell the truth, even though I knew that kid was your friend. Shouldn't you hate me or something?"

"Me hate you? That's a laugh." He chuckled cutely, making her blush as he rose his hand to her cheek. "I know it must have been hard for you, and that you were just trying to be there for a friend in the only way you knew how."

"I'm sorry…" She mumbled, rubbing her face against her arm to rid her of tears. "I was kind of scared. If they could do that to him…who knows what they could have done to me if I said anything."

"Hey, it's okay now." He assured her, pulling her into a hug to stroke her quills soothingly. "It's all over, and everything's okay now, Ames. Now come on, it'll be my forth detention slip today if I'm late to Ms. Breezie's class."

"Ms. Breezie? Oh shit! Is that Secret Santa project due today?!" Amy yelped, springing back to normalcy in the blink of an eye.

"Nah, that's due the day before vacation." Sonic chuckled, "Not that I've even gotten started on it…"

"Oh thank Chaos." The pink hedgehog breathed a sigh of relief before turning to him with curiosity. "So um…whose name did you end up picking for the topic of your assignment?"

"Now, now." He wagged his finger at her, accompanied by a playful wink. "You know that's top secret stuff!"

"C'mon, you really believe she can tell if we're lying? She's just trying to scare us into secrecy."

"Then consider me terrified, because I'm not given this name out. I really need this grade, so get your butt out of bed and get ready so we can get to class on time! I'll be waiting outside."

He then exited the room, leaving the now happy Amy to giggle and stare after him with a blush before getting up to get dressed.

* * *

"Mighty!" Fiona squealed excitedly, getting up from the tiled floor of the hall she'd been sitting on by her locker to run over and leap into his arms with a giggle.

"Whoa, hey Fi!" He chuckled, setting her back down on her pretty, yellow shoes.

"I thought you had gym now. What are you doing in the main building?" The vixen asked curiously, raising an eyebrow as she watched him completely ignore her and stare somewhere else with a tint of red to his cheeks.

She tilted her head over his shoulder, following his gaze toward one of the many metal lockers, specifically to a top one with a corner of a yellow envelope sticking out of it.

"Guess she hasn't gotten to her locker yet…" He mumbled to himself before jolting up at the feel of fingers poking at his sides. He fought back the laughs that threatened to escape him before turning toward the fox girl beside him.

"Who are you talking about?"

"Me? Uhh..no one."

"You're such a crappy liar."

"I'm not lying!"

"Now you're lying about lying!" She pouted, crossing her arms to shoot him a victorious smile as he caved under such weak interrogation.

"Fine." Mighty cracked, rubbing his left arm shyly as he stared down at his shoes with a blush. "My sister is deadest on me bringing home a girlfriend, or at least some sort of potential girlfriend…and well, I've kinda had a crush on this girl for a while now, but I've been too afraid to tell her how I feel…so I wrote it down and put it in her locker."

The fox girl's smile fell instantly, a tsunami of envy and sadness causing disaster inside her as she put on her best poker face and reassured him with a nod.

"Well, whoever she is…she's a lucky a girl…"

"C'mon Fi, quit it." Mighty whined, "Don't ya' see I get enough teasing from the guys?"

"How cute are they?" Someone called out behind them, in a voice the vixen was all too familiar with.

They both turned to be met with the disgusting reptilian-eyes of Mephiles, and his maniacal grin as he strolled calmly over to them with hands clasped behind his back. In tow, right behind him were two more hedgehogs, one pink and one black with yellow stripes.

Fiona's jaw tightened as she stepped closer to the armadillo's side, instinctively grabbing his hand tightly as she glared at the three she knew were up to no good.

"What do you want?" She growled at them, her gaze drifting from Mephiles in the center, to the scowling Rosy at his left side.

"Is that really a way to greet old friends?" The gray-striped hedgehog chuckled.

"We were never friends." Fiona spat back.

"I suppose there's merit to that." He shrugged, disgusting eyes roaming to the confused armadillo who didn't seem to recognize him. "But we're not here to talk to you, or at all for that matter."

"Then what do you want, Kid?" Mighty spoke up.

"You." Mephiles replied with a snap of his fingers, signaling the DigItalian boy behind him to rush over and quickly apprehend the armadillo.

It happened so fast that it almost didn't register with Mighty until he realized his hand was no longer held by Fiona, and he was being forced into the nearby boy's bathroom. Both boys went crashing down on the blue tiled floor with a slam before breaking apart, both of them pulling back to scramble onto their feet with heaving chests.

" **MIGHTY!** " Fiona cried in a panic.

She started running toward the boy's bathroom, but was stopped in her tracks when Mephiles and Rosy stepped in front of the door.

"Sorry, Vixen." Mephiles apologized in that naturally sarcastic tone, "No girls allowed. You'll just have to sit out here. Maybe catch up with your best buddy, Rosy. You remember her, don't you?"

He then disappeared beyond the wooden door with a chuckle, slamming it shut as Fiona's glare found the pink hedgehog who stood before her.

In the bathroom, Mighty was backed into a corner, Shard standing in the center of the all-blue room as Mephiles strolled up to his side. The armadillo sweated, palms pressed to the wall as he looked at both boys with such confusion.

"What do you want from me?" He asked them.

"Don't you remember Mighty?" Mephiles questioned, pointing to his head. "I'm the kid you sent to the hospital with a concussion not too long ago. I needed twenty-seven stitches."

The armadillo suddenly remembered the other senior, a simple casualty of his rage when he sought out Scourge for hurting Ray. Suddenly, a wave of shame and remorse washed over him as he shook his head and pleaded.

"Dude, I'm so sorry." He apologized, "I didn't mean to. I just get really blinded by my anger sometimes. I'm getting help for it."

"Oh, are you? I had no idea. That apology has really touched me, and changed the intentions I came here with…but not really." Mephiles joked, adding a cynical laugh as he crossed his arms. "You see, apologies are bullshit, and forgiveness doesn't exist. It doesn't really change anything, or satisfy in the slightest."

"Then…what do you want?"

"Simple…" Mephiles leered, snapping his fingers once more. "To return the favor."

"You think you can take me?"

"Of course not. You're a total powerhouse." The gray-striped hedgehog replied, pulling Shard by the shoulders up to center. "But I'm sure my little friend here can take you. He's a murder machine…"

Mighty tilted his head in confusion at the young boy who appeared to be the same age as Ray, but of course much taller and a lot leaner. He wore sneakers, regular black pants, and an over-sized, gray sweatshirt with hands buried in the pockets.

"Tell him how old you are, Shard."

"Fifteen…"

"Tell him how many fights you've been in."

"Over six hundred…"

"Tell him how many scars you've got on your body."

"Zero."

"Tell him how many fights you've lost."

"Zero."

"Now tell him the chances of you losing now…"

"Zero."

"That's bullshit! He's just a kid!" Mighty bellowed angrily, pointing toward Mephiles. "If you want to get back at me, do it your damn self. Don't get kids to fight your fucking battles."

"Usually I wouldn't, but this is no ordinary kid. Don't think because you've got a few years on him that he's just some weakling."

"I'm not doing this." The armadillo shook his head in refusal, attempting to walk toward the door until Mephiles stepped in his way. "Get out of my—"

Just before he could say a thing, he felt the back of his shirt collar grabbed, forcing him on his back before an elbow pinned his throat. After wincing in agony at his back colliding with the cold tiles, he peered his virtuous blue eyes open to meet the hollow green ones of Shard.

"Get out of my way, Rosy." Fiona growled at the pink girl standing in the way of the door.

"Can't." She shook her head, voice almost void of all emotion as she stood her ground.

Suddenly they both shuddered at the agonizing screams coming from the bathroom. The vixen panicked, bringing her arms up to manually pull the pink hedgehog out of her way, who refused to budge.

"Let me in! He could be getting hurt!"

"No!" Rosy growled, both girls struggling against each other.

" **FUCK OFF!** " The vixen shrieked, her extra-long, painted yellow fingernails finding their way underneath the gothic girl's shirt sleeve concealing the freshly sewn up wound, ripping out the makeshift stitches.

Rosy caved to her knees with a scream as Fiona rushed passed her toward the door. Fearing that a security officer might have heard her cries, the pink hedgehog scrambled to her feet and dashed away.

Just before the vixen reached for the knob, the door opened up and out walked a very calm and satisfied Mephiles, lagging behind him the younger hedgehog with hood pulled up to conceal his face from view.

Mephiles smirked Fiona's way, and she offered a nasty glare back before finally rushing into the bathroom to see poor Mighty face down on the blue tiles spattered in blood.

"Hey! Hey! Are you okay? Talk to me!" She wailed, pulling him up off the floor and into her lap.

He look pulverized. So much blood on his face that she couldn't tell where it was coming from at all. He groaned a bit, gurgling before she sat him up and he spit up more of the crimson liquid.

"Can…Can you clean me up?" He asked weakly as he tried to steady himself upright on his feet. "Then help me to my room."

"What? No! You need the nurse."

"I'm fine." He assured her, "It's just… a few cuts."

"Mighty…"

"Please? If the principal finds out I was in another fight, I'll be expelled."

Against her better judgement, the fox reluctantly nodded in agreement before going over to the paper-towel dispenser to grab a few sheets to run under some water. She then gestured him over to the pearl white sinks of the blue countertop and begun to dab away blood from his face as he watched her do so through the cracked mirror.

"I can't believe that bastard…" She whimpered sorrowfully, eyes swelling with tears at seeing his perfect face so brutalized. "I'll get him back for this, I swear I'll—"

"No Fiona." He shook his head, using his hand to gently take hold of the hand she had at his cheek with a paper-towel. "Don't think like them…"

She nodded, adoring how even in times where one should be so furious and lustful for vengeance, the armadillo stayed calm and kind-hearted as usual. His anger management lessons with Dr. Tikal must have been really paying off.

* * *

"So, the last time I asked you to the concert and the officer dragged you off, you weren't in trouble—but they found contraband in your locker today, so you still can't come to the concert?" Silver moped, shoulders slumping as he sat at the desk he shared with Manic in English class.

"Sorry Bud." The green hedgehog apologized, "Really wish I could go. I fucking love that band."

"Met too. You and Gold are the only ones I know at this school who like them, and neither of you can make it…"

"Not entirely true." Manic raised his index finger before pointing it out toward the black hedgehog with red stripes sitting alone on the other side of the room. "My buddy, Shads secretly loves them too. Swears the song _'All Hail Shadow'_ is about him."

The amber-eyed boy cringed, gulping nervously as he turned back toward the green hedgehog shaking his head.

"Uhh, suddenly going by myself doesn't sound so bad." He stammered, recalling how cold and irritable that specific friend of Blaze's had been in his brief time of being in their circle. "Maybe I'll just sell the other ticket online."

The two had arrived early to class, and were one of the very few occupants of the room at the moment.

Manic sat with his head resting in his palm as he watched the rest of the class slowly make their way in, Silver digging in his bag for his notebook and pencils.

The green hedgehog's eyebrows rose slightly to see a now out-of-the-blue cheerful Amy stroll in with his much better looking brother, both of them all smiles and giggles.

"Guess my days of playing replacement boyfriend are over…" He grumbled to himself in a disheartened tone, the comment unknowingly picking up to the white hedgehog beside him.

"You like that girl?" Silver asked in astonishment, looking in between the two with a perplexed look.

"Eh, I used to… a lot actually." The green hedgehog chuckled away the negative feelings. "But when you've got a brother like mine...you learn not to dream so big, because you'll only ever be the runner up prize…"

"He's not that cool." The white hedgehog pouted, glaring at the back of the blue hedgehog's head in front of him before a familiar, purple feline plopped down into her seat and obstructed his view, forcing him to turn away with a grimace.

"Now that most of you are here." Ms. Breezie called out from the front of the room, getting up from her desk with a big binder. "I guess I'll start attendance before we get into a few things."

She then began walking around, occasionally calling out names to mark them off as present.

In the very front row, at the only desk occupying three sat Ken, Sally, and Sonic in that order. The blue hedgehog was leaned all the way back in his chair so that his upside-down face was beneath the blushing Amy sitting behind him.

"Sit up right." She told him, poking his nose with her index finger. "You're gonna end up falling."

"So? You'll catch me, right?" He shrugged, shooting her his signature smile. Even upside-down it still easily set her heart ablaze.

"You trust me like that?"

"Do I have a reason not to?"

"Of course not." Amy giggled in defeat, "I'll always catch you…"

Beside the pink hedgehog sat a very disinterested and depressed Blaze, who leered at the pair from the corner of her eye, jealous that she no longer got to smile like that, nor did she have anyone to make her smile like that.

"Yo, Kitten!" Sonic called out, making the cat's ears pick up as she turned to fully face him with very hollow eyes. She only hoped he could see through her mask, and just ask what was wrong. They had become close last summer, but close enough for him to notice? "You dropped your pen."

Her heart broke as she turned away to pick up the pen she had unknowingly dropped, drowning out any leftover hope within herself as she did so.

"She's been really quiet and distant." Amy whispered into his ear, "The breakup thing is probably still upsetting her."

"Still?" Sonic rose an eyebrow, "Dude, how depressed over a breakup with a complete loser can someone get? It's not like he was a prize or anything."

"Show some sensitivity." The pink girl swatted his shoulder lightly, "Ugly as sin or not, she liked him. Not sure why, but she did. I also heard he's been seeing someone new, so that's also probably weighing heavy on her conscious."

"Aside from her, who in their right mind would go out with him?!"

"Some nerd girl who transferred here this year."

"Nerd girl? You mean the one who always dresses up like an anime school girl?!"

"Mhm, I think her name is Platinum or Yellow, something like that…"

"Are you serious? Dude, she's wicked cute…"

"Okay, you're time at my desk is done." Envious Amy huffed, gripping the back of his chair to seat him upright. "Goodbye."

He whined protest, but she refused to let him lean back to face her again. Little did they know, the cat had been listening in, their talk of the golden tenrec only further plummeting her heart into the deep end.

Sonic finally gave up and opted to just fold his arms on his desk and rest his head on them, turning to the side to shoot the auburn-haired girl beside him a sly smile.

"Oh, is it time to flirt with me now?" She mocked him in a hush whisper as to not alert the monkey sitting on the other side of her. "Could have sworn she had a few more minutes."

"It's not even like that! She's just been through a lot lately and I'm trying to be there for her…as a friend." He explained himself before breaking out into a smirk. "Feeling threatened much?"

She set down her pencil to fiddle with her fingers as she narrowed her eyes away from him and down at the desk with her face tinted red.

"You two do have history…and she is **A LOT** prettier than I am, especially face wise…"

"Hey…" He called her back to him, making her sapphire eyes find him once more. "That's not what this is about, and to be fair your body is **MUCH** curvier and—"

"Pervert." She huffed with an even worse blush, cutting him off before he could finish whatever he was going to say. "I almost thought you were sweet."

"Sally?" Ken called out, making the chipmunk jump slightly before she turned to him with a nervous smile. "Is he bothering you again?"

"Uh, no it's just…he wanted to know when the Secret Santa project was do is all."

"Maybe if his ears worked as good as his yapping mouth does he wouldn't have to waste your time with such simple questions…" The monkey pouted, glaring at the now agitated hedgehog.

"Fuck you, Monkey Face." The hedgehog retorted,

"It's a wonder how anyone in this school, let alone this universe finds you even remotely likeable."

"You guys—" Sally tried to cut in, only to be cut off by both boys every time she tried.

"It's no wonder how anyone barely knows who you even are. Irrelevant bitch."

"A lot of people know who I am, actually." The monkey corrected him sharply, "I just don't obsess over it and feel the need to constantly remind people of who I am like you do. Attention seeking bitch."

 **SLAM!**

Both boys as well as everyone else in the classroom shot upright in their seats to look forward, and saw the teal hedgehog woman slam her binder back down firmly on her desk with a kind smile out to them all.

"Good, I have all of your attention now." She remarked, shooting both Ken and Sonic a rather upset look before walking back around her desk to pace back and forth in the front of the room. "Now, as I was saying… To accompany the large amount of students in this room, another classroom has donated a desk to solve this little problem." Breezie explained, waving her hand in a circle over the double-desk that seated three.

"Great, now we can get rid of the problem." Ken breathed a sigh of relief, side-eyeing Sonic.

"No kidding." He retorted, crossing his arms to glare back at the monkey through the corner of his eye.

"Sally." The teacher spoke up, crossing her arms. "Gather your things. You'll be moving to the single desk in the back of the room by the door."

"M-Me?" The chipmunk stammered in surprise, pointing to herself as both boys dropped their jaws.

"That's right." Breezie giggled, "These boys need some bonding time after all."

Sally nodded reluctantly as she gathered her things and made her way through one of the aisles created by the desks. As she did so, a pair of amber eyes caught sight of her and widened in surprise.

 _'It's her!'_ Silver thought to himself, recognizing the auburn-haired girl that briskly walked passed his desk. _'The girl with glasses from the auditorium… She has this class?'_

"And now that that's taken care of, let me remind you all once more that the Secret Santa project is due before vacation." The teal woman began once more, "I expect you all to have at least a paragraph written on whoever's name you chose from the hat, regardless of if you know them or not."

"What if we've already got our paper written?" Honey called out from her seat in the middle of the classroom, "Can we present now?"

"Unfortunately, no." Breezie shook her head, "You'll have to save it until Friday when the entire class is expected to get up from their seats one-by-one to individually read their respective pieces aloud."

After a few more questions on the project, Ms. Breezie got into another writing lesson, boring a majority of the students as others struggled to follow up with notes.

Mina was one of the one's having the most difficulty, her seat being at an angle that made the board up front almost impossible to read, but she did her best. The mongoose scribbled away like a madwoman, the tip of her pencil practically on fire as she ran it across the page. Too fast for her own hand, she lost grip on the pencil and it went crashing to the floor between her and the pink girl who only wore black that sat beside her.

"Ugh." She groaned, pulling out her chair to kneel down and grab the pencil.

When she did, she noticed something strange about it. She brought it up to her eyes for inspection, instantly flinging it across the room with a shriek that alerted the entire classroom.

"Oh my Chaos!" She yelped, looking down to see the pool of blood beneath the pink hedgehog who had her head at her desk. "You moron! You've got your fucking period! Wake up and go plug it up!" She screamed, shaking the pink girl until she rose her head to stare down at the blood pooling at her feet.

She blushed in embarrassment at the fit of laughter a majority of the classroom went into with the exception of a few respectable people. Then she got up and angrily made a march for the door.

Little did anyone know, her bleeding was not due to menstrual cycle, but from the sewn up wound Fiona had torn open earlier…Except Shadow, who had noticed the intense grip she had on her arm, and the wetness of her blood-soaked black sleeve.

He quickly got up and ran after her, dismissing Ms. Breezie's protest as he slammed the door shut behind himself and followed the tiny spatters of blood on the white tiles.

* * *

Rosy darted down the hall, feet dragging as she became light-headed and began to roam aimlessly, vision obstructed by painful tears. She clutched her arm tightly while she leaned into the wall and came to a complete stop…unsure of who to run to.

She'd developed a great distaste for medical facilities of any kind, too stubborn to go to the nurse and seek professional help.

Her breathing became deeper, until it turned into loud panting. A stinging pain shot up her arm and she fought back a horrid scream that threatened to rise from her throat. She lifted up her sleeve to inspect the wound, cringing at the broken threads that reopened the gaping gash.

"Rosy." A deep voice called out from behind her, making her pull down her soaked sleeve on instinct before she weakly peered over her shoulder to be met with crimson eyes.

Upon seeing it was the hedgehog she had been instructed to stay away from, she immediately turned back around to stomp away, leaving droplets of blood behind as she did so.

He tightened his fists angrily, charging after her at a brisk pace before taking her shoulder, forcing her to turn around and look at him once more.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He scolded her in a frustrated tone, "One minute you're saying you want to stay, and the next minute you vanish and want to pretend like I don't fucking exist!"

"Fuck off, and stop acting like we're fucking married." She shot back, wrenching her shoulder free of his hold. "I don't fucking like you! Now leave me alone—"

"No." He refused with a shake of his head, grabbing both her shoulders this time. "I know what happens if I do…"

" **THEN LET IT FUCKING HAPPEN!** "

"I won't." Shadow shook his head, staring deep into her tearful brown eyes for any source of enlightenment. "Why do you hate yourself that much? To do shit like this?" He asked, gently bringing up the bleeding arm she had masked beneath her sleeve.

"What do you care?" Rosy snarled, "Nobody cares, not even me…"

"Someone hurt you badly, didn't they?" The black hedgehog asked, making her eyes shoot open.

"I…I deserved it."

"I doubt that's true."

"It is." The pink girl snapped, "Stop acting like you fucking know me! Or that you fucking care."

"I do care."

"You wouldn't…if you know what I really am…"

"Try me."

She stood shut, their eyes locking as she debated with herself on what to say next, the blood steadily dripping from her arm in between them. There was a long silence before he gently put his hand to her cheek, caressing it in a way so unlike Mephiles, so affectionate and tender.

"You're so broken…and somehow so beautiful…Like an imperfect diamond." He whispered, coaxing a warm feeling within her that she had only ever felt once before, years ago… "I feel like I'm meant to be here, with you. When I was down, you were the one to somehow lift my spirits, and maybe that's what I'm meant to do for you. Just…Just let me in, Rosy…"

"Beautiful? You think I'm fucking beautiful?" She repeated with such malice, visibly shaking in his hold with anger as she glared hard at him and let out a very surprising truth. "I'm not a fucking virgin. I got pregnant when I was barely thirteen and had an abortion, then I went crazy and was forced into a mental institution where I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and your step brother **NEVER** lets me forget it. Is that still fucking beautiful to you?!"

He was astonished, mouth slightly agape as words dared to not escape him. How could he respond? What could he possibly say now?

She sucked her teeth before wrenching herself free from his hold again, and this time he didn't chase after her. He just stood there…

* * *

 ** _Julie-Su:_** _Emergency meetup? Mighty got KO'd and is in real bad shape._

 ** _Knuckles:_** _Can't. Practice isn't over for another hour._

 ** _Knuckles:_** _Wait, did you say Mighty? You mean like, Charmy or Espio, right?_

 ** _Julie-Su:_** _No. I was pretty surprised when I heard it too. I'm gonna stop at my locker for some books before heading over to see him._

 ** _Knuckles:_** _No fucking way. Who the hell could beat up Mighty? I've seen him punch through brick!_

 ** _Julie-Su:_** _Honestly have no clue. He won't give Vex a name._

 ** _Knuckles:_** _Damn, I can't believe that. I'll go head over after practice. Shade's here, gotta go. Love you._

The echidna girl huffed angrily upon reading Shade's name and the goodbye. She turned off the screen and jammed the phone back into the pocket of her gray sweats before walking toward her locker.

After her talk with Rouge this morning she was very on edge, not only for herself, but for her boyfriend as well. Unsure of what game the orange echidna girl was playing.

She entered her lock combo, then the large metal device unhooked, and the door opened; its contents neat and tidy except for the yellow envelope that fell at her feet.

"What the hell?" She spoke aloud to herself as she kneeled down to scoop it up in her hands, standing back upright to flip it over and inspect it for a name.

There was none, so she opened it and pulled out the piece of paper it had been concealing, scanning it over briefly before her eyes widened with surprise.

* * *

Hours had passed, and it was now close to midnight. Mighty hadn't been feeling very well, but was afraid to go to the nurse in fear that she might alert the principal of another brawl he'd been a part of—this time more forced on his end.

So instead he had his old foster sister help him to his room, where he had been resting on his bed. He'd fallen asleep hours ago, baby-blues just now fluttering open as he sat up to realize it was dark.

He brought a hand to his head to touch the nasty cut, cringing at the stinging pain behind it before looking around the room dimly lit by his little bee roommate's nightlight.

Charmy was fast asleep on his bed in the corner where the nightlight was plugged into a socket beside his bed, and Espio was under his comforter completely. The armadillo's then looked to his bedside where he heard a slow, steady noise.

It was Fiona, leaning over his bed with her head in her folded arms as she snored very lightly. He was surprised, assuming she had gone back to her dorm for the night.

"Fi?"

"She refused to leave your side." Espio's voice called out in the dark, making Mighty look back over to meet his groggy, hazel eyes. "She's been sitting there for hours."

"Won't they come look for her?" Mighty asked the tired chameleon who struggled to get comfortable.

"I doubt it." He shrugged, tossing and turning on his bed. "She went back for attendance, then snuck back here to sit with you."

He looked down at the sleeping vixen, smiling weakly although the bruises on his face made it hurt. He brought a hand over her head, stroking her rust-colored hair lightly as she stirred awake.

"M-Mighty?" She mumbled, rubbing her eyes as she tried to envision him through the dark while sitting upright in her chair.

"I'm fine, Fiona." He assured her with a quiet chuckle, taking her hand to pull her toward him. "C'mon, your back will hurt if you sleep like that."

Too tired to do much of anything else, she followed his gestured instruction and crawled onto his bed where he pulled up the blanket to allow her entrance. She nodded her thanks before laying back onto his pillow, him doing so as well.

She snuggled up to him for warmth in the cold winter's night, lifting one leg across his as she wrapped her arms around his chest and nuzzled cutely into his shoulder with a sleepy whisper.

"I love you…"

He smiled through the dark, resting his head on top of hers as he inhaled the heavenly scent of strawberries from her shampoo.

"I love you too." He replied in a whisper, naturally assuming her affections to be the same as his; ones of a brother-sister type nature.

Oh, if only he knew how wrong he was…

* * *

 **Thanks to Fiona and Rosy's squabbling in the hall we didn't get to see much of Shard vs. Mighty, but I promise the events in the bathroom will unravel eventually. For now, just know that Mighty has lost this fight. How you ask? That'll be answered soon enough.**

 **Rosy's bipolar disorder has only been subtly hinted at through her self-harm, aggressive tendencies, impulsiveness, and desire for sex. She's also expressed audio hallucinations which are a manifest of her negative thoughts. Both Julie-Su and Rosy got pregnant at age thirteen, but Rosy regretfully had an abortion and the event caused her to fall into an intense depression where she had to be hospitalized. This is the reason for her distaste for medical treatment.**

 **Shard and Blaze are both slowly slipping from grace, and it seems like everyone around them is finished trying to help them, and are too caught up in themselves to really see what's going on. Shard is already being utilized by Mephiles for his brawlic nature, but if Blaze sticks around, what could he use her for?**

 **Tails has realized his mistake and has made amends with Sonic. Now hopefully the blue hedgehog can talk him through his little love triangle, which might be turning into a love square with Ray's chivalry toward Cosmo.**

 **And now you know where Shade's animosity toward Rouge comes from. Recall that Rouge was the one who came up with the plan for Julie-Su to lie to Thrash so that she could have a better chance with Knuckles. Thus Rouge's selfish scheming not only ripped Knuckles away from his child, but destroyed the relationship of Shade and Thrash.**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Mighty struggles to shake off what happened to him in the boy's bathroom**

 **Fiona and Scourge have a very...unpleasant encounter**

 **A breakup?!**

 **Silver and Gold get bullied**

 **And so much more**

 **Fun Question: What pairings are you rooting for now?**


	58. Chapter 58

**WARNING: Bullying, and mentions of violence**

* * *

 **Chapter 58: Letting Go**

 _'I've never been knocked out, let alone hit back. Usually all my fights are immediate knock-outs, but this kid…_

 _He was otherworldly. I could hardly touch him, his speed and reflexes on supernatural levels._

 _Fifteen, and over six-hundred fights under his belt…_

 _I thought he was just bluffing, talking himself up for that other guy, but now I'm actually starting to wonder…_

 _I didn't want to fight him. He was just a kid my little brother's age…and it was obvious that Mephiles guy was manipulating him._

 _"Go on, Shard." He taunted from the corner of the bathroom he stood at with arms crossed as he watched us square up. "Show him what you really are."_

 _I was more on defense than offense, still reluctant to fight him after we'd already been at it for some time just dodging each other._

 _Principal Acorn said that my third offense would be my last, but this kid was not giving me any leeway._

 _So I swallowed my pride and took a shot at him, landing my fist right in his stomach before I twisted it and sent him flying back against the blue wall behind him. I cringed, watching him keel over and hold his stomach as he swallowed his vomit back down._

 _"Happy now?" I asked the gray-striped hedgehog leaning against the wall by the sinks. "This is over."_

 _"Over?" He rose an eyebrow, that disgusting smile growing wider as he pointed back toward the sophomore boy. "Take another look."_

 _When I turned my head to look back at him, my face met with his fist. His knuckles felt like daggers digging into my face as I fell flat on my back, blood pouring from my nose and the back of my head onto the blue tiles._

 _Once I felt his weight shift on top of me I braced myself for the series of jabs he took at my face, screaming through my clenched teeth under the weight of every punch. I thrashed my legs out violently beneath him, trying with all my might to grab at his hand to stop his punching, but I couldn't find my strength._

 _All I could do was take it, all while staring into those vacant green eyes._

 _Eyes of a killer…. This kid was like nothing I'd ever seen._

 _"Oh, I almost forgot to mention…" Mephiles called out, stepping over to us before dropping something that shined in the corner of my eye onto the floor beside us. "In Soleanna street fighting, weapons are permitted."_

 _He was testing me. He knew I was in a critical situation, and chose to deal out that information knowing full well that I was desperate. My parents were the criminals… I'd never pick up a weapon…. Even if it meant saving my life._

 _Blood began staining everything, from my shirt to my face, and even the tiles beneath me. I thought it would scare him off, seeing so much blood I mean, but this kid didn't even stop to blink. Like a soulless murder machine. He just kept hitting me, and hitting me._

 _"Mighty… Too kind-hearted to pick up a knife to just defend yourself?" Mephiles' voice rang in my ears, his next words making my eyes shoot open. "How do you expect to protect your siblings? Or that echidna girl if Thrash is ever released from the hospital…"_

 _A wave of adrenaline just hit me when he said that. My survival instincts kicked, and I had no control…_

 _I reached for the knife…and swung._

 ** _SLICE!_** _'_

 **INCOMING CALL**

With much protest, the armadillo had convinced Fiona to go to class, not wanting himself to be the reason for her academic failures.

His roommates were also long gone for classes, leaving him alone to sit up in his bed and think about what had conspired in the bathroom yesterday.

Then his phone went off, and he turned to see it vibrating violently on the wooden dresser beside him before he leaned over and scooped it up in his hand to look at the picture glowing on screen.

It was him, Julie-Su, and her little bundle of joy, Lara-Su. It was taken in the food court of the mall after one of their many movie escapades. They were all sitting on the ledge of the indoor fountain, Lara-Su in between them snacking on a giant pretzel while he and Julie-Su laughed straight at the camera.

He picked up the call just in time, bringing the cellphone to his ear before his best friend's voice called out to him on the other line with much distress.

 _"Mighty…"_ Julie-Su said, _"I need to talk to you about this letter I got. Is it okay if I stop by—"_

 _"Listen Julie, I'm not really feeling too good."_ The armadillo shook his head, _"I'll call you back when I'm alright."_

 _"Fine, but you better call."_

 _"I always do, don't I?"_

 _"Snarky."_ She pouted, _"Guess you're already starting to feel better."_

 _"Heh, maybe…"_

 _"Alright then."_ The echidna sighed, _"Talk to you later, I guess."_

 _"Later."_

He then ended the call. The semi-smile she had managed to put on his face quickly falling back to a depressed frown as his eyes caught sight of his hand…the hand he used to pick up that knife…

"How could I do that?" He muttered to himself in a melancholy whisper, so ashamed at playing into Mephiles' little game.

* * *

Tight, black leggings with yellow leg-warmers hanging over her black winter boots. Yellow jacket with white fur trim on the sleeve cuffs and hoodie. Rust-colored hair tied up in that usual high-ponytail with that signature yellow bow resting on the right side of her head.

Fiona stormed across the snow-covered lawns of campus toward the parking lot.

She spotted him instantly, expecting him to be there because that's where he usually was. She snarled in disgust at the sight of him, but continued to walk toward him anyway.

That very worn-out leather jacket with flames up the sleeves, black jeans with chains draped about the pockets, and his unfit-for-the-season red sunglasses resting firmly atop his head. He wasn't dressed for the weather at all, but he didn't seem to mind.

Scourge, her ex-boyfriend, and the person she naturally assumed to have gotten Mighty hurt.

The armadillo had made her promise not to retaliate, but she found it hard to just sit back and let something so horrible slide—mainly because it was him. If it were anyone else to be harmed, she probably wouldn't have been so angry.

She balled her fists tightly as she clenched her teeth and approached him.

Scourge leaned up against his black Hummer with one foot kicked back against it and his arms crossed as a cigarette poked out from his lips.

His gaze was down at his feet, carried off in deep thought until he felt the cancer-stick hanging out of his mouth get plucked out like a feather, thrown to the cement of the parking lot, and stomped out.

"What the fuck?!" He barked angrily, piercing blue eyes widening in surprise to be met with the two-toned ones of his past lover. "Fi?"

"What the fuck is your problem?" She shot back at him, shoving him back at his car out of anger as she glared hard at him. "Sending your little friends to beat up Mighty like that!"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Stop acting stupid!" The vixen exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger into his chest. "You sent Mephiles and Rosy after him, and for what? Because you're jealous—"

"Mephiles and Rosy? Number one; I'd hardly call those fuckers friends, and number two; I haven't talked to either of them in weeks, nor do I fucking care to."

The features of her face quickly softened before she stepped back and took her hands off his shoulders.

"Sorry." She apologized, turning heel back toward school before her wrist was grabbed.

She gasped in surprise as she was twirled back around and into his arms like a ballerina. He held her close, moving his grip from her wrist to placing both his hands on her waist.

"Wait a sec…" He whispered to her, leaning his forehead against hers as he reveled in the feel of having her—or more so any female in general—back in his deprived hands. "It's been a while, don't ya' think?"

"Not long enough." Fiona hissed in disgust, moving her face back while trapped in his grasp.

"C'mon Fi. This good girl shit has gone on long enough." The green hedgehog groaned, "I get it now. I should have appreciated you more and blah, blah, blah, will you just fuck me already?!"

"No!" She yelped, shoving him away from her. "I'm fucking done with you, remember?"

"You always say that, then you end up right back under me every damn time." He rolled his eyes, "Just save us some damn time!"

"Maybe when I was helpless and insecure…but I don't need a guy like you in my life anymore." The vixen snarled, "I've got Mighty…"

"Bet he can't give you dick like I can."

She just rolled her eyes, more than disgusted with her ex before turning to finally walk away.

"Go to hell, Scourge."

He got pissed once he was met with her back, and not in the way he would have liked. He glared harshly at her, burning holes into the back of her head as he found it harder and harder to contain his frustrations with her.

"You ruined **MY** life, remember? I had everything, and your scheming ass came and fucked it all up. I was in love too, and you ruined it. Then I got stuck with you the way you wanted. Now you get to ditch me to go off and live out your fairytale fucking fantasy life? How the fuck is that fair? Huh?"

Fiona's stomach twisted into knots, her pretty eyes falling to the snow as she forced herself to just stay calm and walk away…

* * *

Another snowy day, much to the delight of Gold the Tenrec, who adored the white sky-fluff to no end. Like every day since it had begun snowing, the petite tenrec rushed out after every class to play in the snow like a young child in a semi-secluded area by the electives building where anyone hardly ever walked by.

Her thick, tan poncho hung over her tiny body like a big blanket, providing all the warmth she needed to brave winter's force.

Where she was from, snow was a mere fairytale. She didn't grow up with white Christmases, or the cold in general.

The first time she ever saw snow was when she was eleven, and in Soleanna for her very first convention. Ironically it also being the first time she ever met Silver…or Blaze.

Unlike everyone who saw the snow as a horrible punishment from nature, she saw it as such a treat.

She stood outside, the giggles escaping her mouth exiting in a cold, visible cloud as she finished putting the final touches of a carrot-nose and twig-arms on yet another snowman. Then she stepped back to admire her work in silence before the sound of chuckling disrupted her.

She turned around to see Silver himself, walking up to her side as he chuckled into his hand.

"I knew I'd find you out here again." He jeered playfully, making her smile grow wider. "So…what's this one's name?"

"Hmm… I'm not sure." Gold sighed, "Henry the seventh?"

"Ever stop to think that name might be cursed, considering the other six Henrys kinda…melted?"

"Maybe." She laughed again, coaxing a blush out of him as she leaned against his side and encircled both her arms around his. "What would you name him?"

Silver looked out to the snowman with an inquisitive look before turning back to the tenrec to snap his fingers and beam her a bright smile.

"Jeff."

"Jeff?"

"What's wrong with Jeff?"

"Er, nothing." She waved, "Jeff it is." She agreed with a nod before they both looked out toward the snowman once more and flew into a fit of hysterical laughter.

A few feet away, two hedgehogs had emerged from the electives building together, and upon hearing their laughter the two decided to investigate. They walked around the corner of the building to see the bubbly tenrec and goofy-looking hedgehog clinging to each other as they laughed uncontrollably.

The pink and blue hedgehogs both grimaced in disgust at the sight, their mutual, purple, feline friend on their mind as they glared at the couple by the newly created snowman.

"Ugh, that guy." Sonic rolled his eyes before narrowing them right at the white hedgehog.

"The fucking nerve of him." Amy huffed at his side, crossing her arms as she glared at the tenrec. "Off over here getting all lovey-dovey with this nerd-slut while our poor Blaze will barely talk to anyone, and after all the shit he talked to her…"

"I know. What'd she even see in a loser like him?"

"I heard he was probably two-timing Blaze the entire time with this girl."

"Maybe that's why she's been so down…" Sonic concluded, "She probably sees them together and gets all torn up and shit."

"He has no fucking morals, and she clearly has no self-respect, fucking slut."

Without a second thought, the two hedgehogs stomped over toward the laughing pair, the crunching of snow under their shoes alerting the two who had ceased their laughter to look up at them in surprise.

"All that whiny bullshit and jealousy about Blaze having a little crush on me, and you decide to fuck with her heart instead of face me like a real man?" The blue hedgehog barked, stepping toe-to-toe with the cowering white hedgehog.

"Played with her heart?" Silver rose an eyebrow in confusion before letting it fall with his upset scowl. "If it wasn't for you, she and I would've been fine!"

"Silver… Let's just go, okay?" Gold piped up from behind him, tugging his sleeve.

"Oh Chaos, I hate girls like you." The pink hedgehog remarked coldly from beside Sonic, marching over to the snowman the tenrec worked so hard to build. "Pretending to be all sweet and innocent so you could steal other girls' boyfriends away."

"I didn't—"

"Bullshit." Amy snarled, pointing at both of them accusingly. "You're both pathetic losers, and I'm sorry Blaze ever even gave either of you the time of day!"

"Just leave us alone!" Silver shouted back at the two.

"C'mon, Ames." Sonic huffed, turning back toward the building. "They aren't worth our time—and he was clearly never worth Blaze's."

"Right." The pink girl agreed.

Just before following after the blue hedgehog, Amy noticed the snowman she had been standing beside and whipped her arm back, destroying it completely. She then briskly walked passed the upset, white hedgehog and the mortified tenrec.

Silver glared angrily at them until they faded from view. Then he turned back toward Gold, who had thrown herself to the pile of snow where the snowman she worked so hard to build used to stand. He frowned, watching the sensitive tenrec whimper as she picked out the carrot and twigs from the mass of snow.

* * *

 _'Sonic ended up giving me the same advice my mom did._

 _Maybe it is for the best if I step back from both of them, especially because what I want or at least think I want is so unclear right now._

 _If I had known high school would be this emotionally draining and dramatic I probably would have stayed in middle school for another year rather than taking up the offer of skipping right in._

 _Oh no…_

 _There she is, leaning against a random set of lockers all by herself. With her books clutched to her chest, and her innocent gaze down at her shoes as usual._

 _This is going to be so hard on her… She might even cry…_

 _C'mon Tails, no backing down now. This is for the best. Not only for you, but for them too…'_

Tails breathed in, doing away with the nervous thoughts that plagued his mind as he strolled over to the seedrian loitering the empty hall. He gulped nervously as he got closer, fiddling with his fingers before calling out to get her attention.

"H-Hey, Cosmo…" He stammered, legs feeling like jelly as he struggled with the topic on his mind.

Not only was it her first relationship, but his too, and it would also make this the first time he's ever broken up with anyone before.

"Oh, hi Tails…" She replied in a tone just as strained, feeling the same nervousness for the exact same reason he felt it.

"Listen…" They both blurted out after a long pause, "I want to talk to you about something."

They both blushed at the action, ushering the other to go first until Cosmo caved and spoke her mind. Her confession making his eyes widen with both surprise and a bit of sadness.

"I…I'd like to break up. Us I mean…"

"You what?!" Tails gasped, surprised although his intentions were of the same nature. "I mean…why?"

"Things between you and I haven't been the same recently. You seem so distant, and I've come to realize thanks to the help of a friend that it's been taking a toll on me emotionally. I almost made a few very…drastic decisions in the hopes that I could gain your interest back somehow, but the truth is I shouldn't have to feel this way."

"I didn't know I was making you feel so bad." He bowed his head in shame, "It's just, my mind's been kind of all over the place lately, and I—"

"Tails." She cut him off, resting an innocent hand on his shoulder. He looked up into her sincere blue eyes, those eyes he could drown in for hours. "I understand. Things have been rough for almost everyone lately. I don't blame you, or hold animosity in any way. I just feel that our time is up, and that I should stop putting more time in trying to fix it, when I could be spending time with someone who actually likes my company."

"Someone who…actually likes your company?" The fox questioned before the seedrian's gaze drifted toward the classroom door that opened up behind them, brightening in a way he used to remember being only for him.

"Oh, there he is" Cosmo squealed, removing her hand from his shoulder to wave out toward one of the students exiting the classroom. " **RAY!** "

"Ray?" Tails repeated as he turned around to see the shaky squirrel who had brutally reprimanded him a few days ago walk out of the class.

"I've gotta go Tails." The green-haired girl said her goodbyes before dashing off toward the squirrel, "I hope there aren't any hard feelings, and that you understand where I'm coming from. See you later."

Tails just stood there, blindsided by the shift in tides between him and the speech-impaired squirrel.

He watched them take off down the hall together, the seedrian smiling for the first time in weeks. A swarm of envy and distaste falling over his already confused heart.

* * *

 ** _Manic:_** _Hey, we never finished watching that movie, and I've got nothing better to do. You down?_

 ** _Amy:_** _Not really. Sonic and I are just heading to the café for some food. Come sit with us!_

 ** _Manic:_** _Nah. You go on and have fun. I know you missed him._

 ** _Amy:_** _I really did. Thanks for keeping me company the past few days. You're awesome at cheering a girl up!_

Manic just rolled his eyes at the last message before shoving his phone back into the pocket of his black jeans. Not really feeling much surprise or envy. With the pink hedgehog, he'd come to expect this kind of thing.

He continued walking through the halls as usual, drumsticks twirling in one of his hands while the other remained buried in his pocket. His shaggy quills bounced with each step he took, and his baby-blues occasionally glanced out to the other figures roaming the same hall.

That's when he noticed that familiar ivory bat standing at her open locker. He smirked to himself, snaking his way around people to sneak up behind her and tickle her hips.

She yelped in surprise, whipping her head around to see him innocently smile back as he draped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Ugh, don't sneak up on me like that." She pouted, upset glare falling into a more playful scowl as he batted his eyelashes innocently at her and offered her that goofy smile.

"Sorry, Baby." He apologized before he peered at the mass of pictures hanging from her open locker with interest. "Whatcha lookin' at?"

"Just some old pictures…" Rouge sighed, smile falling as she eyed the pictures of Shadow and Knuckles.

"Hey!" He poked her cheek, making her blush at the contact as she looked back at him resting on her shoulder. "I love all your curves, except this one." The hedgehog smirked, referencing how much he disliked seeing her frown.

"You're so cheesy." She rolled her eyes, mouth curving back up into a sheepish smile before she opened it to laugh out at the way he nuzzled his face into her neck.

"Whatever keeps you smiling." He mumbled into her skin.

"Stop!" The bat whined cutely, finally pulling away to turn around and face him, simultaneously breaking free from his hold.

She closed her locker by kicking back her white boot, then she crossed her arms and smirked at the green hedgehog standing across from her. He bobbed his head cutely, strolling closer to bring her in by the waist again.

PDA and flirtation second nature to their close friendship.

"Not until you tell me what's got you all gloom and doom?" He pouted, pressing his forehead against hers as he looked down at her.

"It's nothing." She held her tongue, gaze falling to her fabulous white boots. "Just thinking about how bad it's gonna suck spending the holidays alone."

"Alone?" Manic rose an eyebrow, "From what I understand, you and Shads had intentions of kicking me out of our little love triangle, did you not?"

She blushed, gaze kept down as she thought about the ebony hedgehog and all that he had been going through recently.

"I think Tikal got into my head about that, and made me misinterpret things more than what they are…" She mumbled.

"But have you talked to **HIM** about it, yet?"

"He's getting over some stuff right now." Rouge excused herself, "And it's just…bad timing."

"Aren't you the one always scolding us about not being pussies and going after what we want?"

"It's harder than it seems, Manic." The bat pouted, "I'm not even sure if what I feel for him is just a brother-sister kind of thing, or what I felt…. **FEEL** for Knuckles."

"You're just a mess right now, aren't ya' Girly?"

"You could say that again."

"Well, you're in luck." Manic smirked, cradling her cheek in his hand to pull her face back up to meet his goofball smile, "Because I've been told I'm pretty damn good at cheering a girl up."

* * *

Sitting in a very secluded area of the library, at a table separated by the bookshelves from the rest of the tables was Storm. He was hunched over the wooden table he had spread his textbooks about, a pencil eraser in between his teeth as he looked down at his semi-finished project for English class.

It seemed as though the whole school was at peace, even those who didn't care about Rotor's ordeal in the first place. Most people were just glad sports and off-campus privileges had been given back again.

Being on several sports teams himself, the albatross should have been thrilled that his teams would be able to compete with the others schools, but he couldn't find the heart to.

Although a bastard who had committed unspeakable acts of intolerance, he still couldn't find it in his heart to fully break away from that bond he had formed with the hawk.

Jet, Wave, and Storm, a trio since childhood. You couldn't find one without the others, and if you did they were sure to group up again soon. Of course they've had their fair share of arguments and bad blood—specifically the swallow and hawk—but he had always been there to pick up the pieces and serve as the foundation that bound them together.

He knew them both better than anyone else, especially Jet. With all the things he'd witnessed the hawk go through as a child, he just couldn't find it within himself to hate him, even after everything he'd done.

And that made him feel guilty and frustrated with himself.

He gripped his pencil tightly, finding it too difficult to focus on the paper in front of him with the thought of his friends occupying his mind.

This year had been a rollercoaster ride for each of them, pushing their friendship to waters the albatross wasn't sure he could pull them out of this time.

"Sugah, we should just be glad those monsters are outta here." Storm heard a southern-accented voice call out in somewhat of a whisper beyond the shelves to his right before another accented voice followed.

"I am, very glad, but I need to know what will become of zem." A dainty, somewhat masculine voice replied.

The albatross put his pencil down and listened in, recognizing the voices that belonged to Antoine and Bunnie, fellow seniors who happened to be friends with the deceased. Both of them known around school as the _'loser couple'_ no one really cared for.

"I'm sure they're all lookin' at life or something crazy like that." Bunnie assured him, "Chaos knows those bastards deserve it."

"My father works in ze law firm of Metropolis. He sayz they will be tried there because it iz the closest city to ze school." Antoine explained, "He promised to let me know as soon as ze are sentenced."

"Well, for the time bein', let's just enjoy the peace around here. C'mon, we've gotta get to music class."

Storm dropped his gaze to his paper once more as he listened to the two behind the bookshelf pack up, a disheartened expression on his face.

* * *

As soon as the bell rang students loitering the halls immediately started pouring into their classrooms, briskly walking toward their desks to set their bags down and take a seat.

Among the handful walking into the music room was the school's very own rising celebrity, Mina Mongoose.

She strutted in with one foot perfectly in front of the other in that natural model walk she had adapted as a result of her lavish lifestyle and upbringing.

The black pumps with purple, knitted leg-warms draped over them gave her an inch of extra height, and a bit more emphasis to her gorgeous figure. Despite the cold, she refused to give up her short, black skirt but made up for it with the over-sized, emerald-green sweater with sleeves that rolled over her hands.

As usual, her hair hung in magnificent, lavender curls down her back, and her bangs hung perfectly over her forehead with such volume.

Lately, life had been berating the poor mongoose with tremendous troubles ranging from her personal life to her career, and it surely had been showing in her mood and behavior.

That is, until a certain teacher stepped in and offered his ear to her.

She stopped in her tracks outside the door, gripping the strap of her purse tighter as her eyes fell upon him, Mr. Ash.

He stood up front, his back turned to the students walking in as he scribbled the names of famous musicians on the board for the day's lessons, completely oblivious to her ogling.

Their talk had made her feel somewhat better, relieved to have finally confided in someone about everything she had done and endured this school year, but now she was embarrassed more than anything.

She had told him everything, about her abortion, about her relationships; all of it. Now all she could think about was what he must have thought of the real her, and not the good-girl persona she put on for the world around her.

The bell then rang, forcing the lavender-haired girl to walk to the front of the room to take her seat beside an obnoxious raccoon girl.

Then Mr. Ash turned around and greeted the class with a smile.

"Good to see everyone in today." He exclaimed before turning toward the board. "Now we can get started."

As class went on, Mina couldn't help but feel worse and worse. He didn't look directly her way once, and never once called on her to answer a question the way he used to do so frequently. It broke her already cracked heart, feeling as though she had driven away the only person who was willing to listen.

She rested her forehead on her desk as she stared blankly at eraser bits, drowning in the misery that plagued her.

 **FLICK!**

Then, halfway through class she was jolted up by the sound of a folded paper making contact with her desk. She eyed it skeptically, as she did the same to the students around her who all had their noses buried in their textbooks.

She reached out for the note and unfolded it.

 _I can tell you're having a rough day, and I just wanted to let you know that if you ever need to talk again I'm always around. You've been through hard times, but I promise they'll pass. Just keep focused on your music and your studies. High school isn't forever, trust me. –Ash_

Mina then looked up from the note in her hands to see the teacher at his desk. To her surprise, he offered her a kind smile that made her blush.

* * *

Elias had been up and down campus a few times, searching for the magenta hedgehog all over the place for what felt like hours. He was relieved to finally find her sitting at the large piano on the stage of the empty auditorium.

He strolled down the aisle, eyes on her while she moved her fingers across the keys with her eyes closed and created the loveliest of tunes. His smile grew wider with each step, admiring and adoring the girl who held his heart.

The way her pretty, pink lips parted as she hummed along, the way her vibrant, pink quills swished with each bob of her head, and the way her dainty hands hovered and moved swiftly over the keys; he adored it all.

With his last step he was finally in front of the stage, and her ears picked up on it.

She ceased her playing to open her eyes and turn to him, the corners of her mouth instantly rising into a smile as she saw him standing there.

"Eli!" She exclaimed, standing up from the piano to leap off stage and into his arms. "How long have you been here?"

"A while." He shrugged.

"Why didn't you say anything?!"

"Didn't want to interrupt. You looked like you were having fun." The prince explained himself, setting her down on her feet although his hands lingered at her hips. "You know, I completely forgot you played piano until my mom brought it up yesterday."

"Why would she bring me up like that? Or my piano playing for that matter." Sonia rose a curious eyebrow, her hands still clasped together behind his neck as she looked up at him.

"She uhh…kinda wants us to play her sending-off song at her wedding."

"She what?!"

"I know." Elias rolled his eyes, "I know it's a silly request. I don't really want to—"

" **OF COURSE I'LL PLAY FOR HER WEDDING!** " The magenta girl squealed with excitement, jumping up and down delightedly.

"You...You will?"

"Your mother's amazing, and she deserves the best!" She replied with a nod before an intense blush coated her face. "Besides, it's been so long since I've heard your singing voice…"

"To be honest, I doubt I've still got it." Elias chuckled, "Singing wasn't really my passion, just something to do in the shower or while out on walks."

"Well, we'll just have to whip those vocal chords into shape, won't we?" The hedgehog girl smirked, taking hold of both his hands as he reluctantly followed her toward the steps leading up to the stage.

* * *

Slowly and weakly, Blaze had packed up all the books she needed from her locker into her thin-strapped, purple bag. She didn't look so good, and it wasn't just because of that sad cloud of sorrows that had been plaguing her almost all school year.

The cat seemed to have given up on herself, not just mentally, but also physically. She no longer stuck to her intense workout regimen, dropping it completely along with the sports teams she had been a part of.

As a result, her energy wasn't at all what it used to be, and she had lost a bit of tone to her slender body. She also lost the motivation to present herself well. Her hair had been tied in the same ratty-looking ponytail of unwashed, knotted hair. Her clothes weren't delicately chosen pre-day the way they used to be, now the cat settled for grabbing whatever didn't look too dirty; which usually consisted of a large, gray T-shirt, baggy black sweats, and muddy white sneakers.

She was no longer the prim-fashioned athlete she was wildly known to be, but instead just a depressed, quiet girl who dressed as though everyday was laundry day.

Her friends assumed she was struggling to come to terms with her breakup, and thought it best to leave her to it, but all she really wanted was someone to be there or at least talk her out of the depressing hole she had buried herself in.

But no one was there except a malicious senior with a twisted sense of humor. Mephiles seemed to be her only friend these days—or at the very least the only person who didn't look at her so pitifully and talked to her as if she weren't a ghost.

Although her judgement was clouded by a fog of depression, her mind was by no means impaired. She knew he was bad news. Hell, he used to bully her relentlessly as a young child, but at this point he was really all she had.

Unless someone would miraculously come to her rescue as she hoped…

"Blaze!" A voice shouted, making the cat turn away from the locker she had just closed shut.

Her hazel eyes widened in both surprise and hopefulness as she saw him walking toward her. The white hedgehog with amber eyes so beautiful.

"Si-Silver…" She stammered in disbelief, the aura of sadness dwindling to almost nothing as he got closer.

It wasn't until he was toe-to-toe with her did she realize his usual upbeat and joyous expression was a disgusted scowl. With his teeth grinding against each other, brows narrowed in anger, and his fists balled in an attempt to keep himself calm.

"I don't care if you sick your stupid friends on me, but leave Gold out of it. She has nothing to do with anything that happened between us!"

"What? I…I didn't—"

"I don't care." He cut her off in a fit of rage, "I'm finally okay, happy even… So just leave me alone alright? You and your friends."

He then turned his back to her and stormed off to the English class they shared without another word, leaving the feline to fight back tears as she watched him go.

After a few minutes of composing herself, she carried down the hall he did and to the same classroom. He was already seated by Manic. She was sure not to look his way as she took her seat next to Amy, who had Sonic leaning back on her desk as they talked some more.

Their conversation was cut short when the cat pulled out her chair and took a seat, mood worse than it had ever been in the past few weeks.

The pink girl beside her frowned, dearly missing the old Blaze, but said nothing in fear that she might say the wrong thing. She knew how delicate a girl's heart could be after breakup, and she didn't want to weigh down the cat more than she already was.

"Blaze, you're late." Ms. Breezie remarked, walking up to the purple cat to slap a red detention slip on her desk. "Don't let it happen again."

The purple girl just nodded, sliding the slip off her desk and into her pocket with a grimace.

"Now then, as I was saying…" The gorgeous teacher started up again, "As you know, tomorrow is Friday. So I expect all of you to have your papers ready to be read and graded."

* * *

Outside, leaning against the brick wall by the steps of the main building was Mephiles, grinning out into the snow-covered scenery as he watched students roam around. Beside him with a blood-stained, gray sweatshirt hood pulled over his face was Shard.

"I didn't think you'd win to be honest." Mephiles remarked, neither of them looking toward each other at all during their conversation. "You certainly live up to your name in Soleanna, Shard Metal."

"There's more to fighting than just getting angry and hitting someone." Shard replied in a deadpan tone, "He might be a heavy hitter with a bit of speed, but that's all he is. No coordination, poor reflex time, and incredibly predictable movements."

"Still, it was quite the spectacle." The gray-striped hedgehog smirked, "I certainly enjoyed myself."

"Of course you did."

"Come now, you can't say it wasn't all fun for you. After all, you did receive your first battle scar."

"I doubt it will scar." Shard rolled his eyes, "Nazo didn't choose me as his cage dog just for my fighting skill."

"Of course. I expect no less of my father."

"Father?"

"I doubt you're up for anymore fighting after that close call—"

"You call that a close call? I've had it much worse in the underground." The yellow-striped boy retorted, pulling down his hood for the first time since the bathroom cage match. "Just tell me whose next…"

Mephiles leaned over a bit, grinning delightfully at the sight of the younger boy's fresh knife wound that traveled from ear-to-ear on his neck. It wasn't deep enough to cause any real damage, but it sure as hell looked nasty and bled profusely all night.

"Have I ever mentioned my step-brother?" Mephiles mused, watching the very red-striped hedgehog from across campus. "The one who keeps trying to steal my favorite toy…" He added, narrowing his eyes as he realized his brother had been eyeing the rebellious pink hedgehog stomping off into the girl's dorm.

* * *

A train from Moebius had just pulled up into the station of Metropolis. Once its automatic doors clanked open, several suited-up military officials stepped out and onto the platform, most of them immediately heading off to the cars of loved ones or taxi cabs they had called to bring them home.

The last two to step out were commander Jules the Hedgehog, along with his partner and military field medic, Vigil the Chameleon.

"You didn't call Aleena yet?" The chameleon woman rose an eyebrow at the hedgehog beside her.

"She has no idea I'm back." He chuckled, the two of them walking off toward the sidewalk. "I thought it'd be a fun surprise for her and the kids when they get home."

"What? You can't walk from Metropolis to Mobotropolis!" Vigil scolded him, "That's about a three hour walk on foot!"

"C'mon, you act like we never walked days on end through deserts." The blue hedgehog jeered playfully, "Besides, I've got someone in town to see first."

"Like who?"

"Isabella Mongoose."

"Isabella?" The chameleon woman repeated with such distaste, knowing full well that the mongoose woman was one of the many side-lovers he'd acquired in the rocky years of his marriage. She immediately began to shake her head in disapproval, causing him to snicker and wave in dismissal.

"Not at all for what you're probably thinking." Jules assured her, "I'm leaving that lifestyle behind me. You know, the whole _'new year, new me'_ thing and all?"

"Then what are you visiting her for exactly?"

His playful smile soon fell, as did his eyes to the cement beneath them.

"Divorce papers…"

Vigil's hazel eyes widened in surprise, baffled to hear the words slip from his lips. He and Aleena had been together for almost twenty years. Although not perfect or happy on his end in the slightest, how could he do such a thing now? Why would he…

"This isn't about Alicia…is it?" She asked, disbelief evident in her voice. He said nothing, confirming her thoughts with his silence.

"…"

"Jules." She scolded him once more, this time in a much more serious fashion. "Divorcing Aleena won't stop her from marrying Locke. Her world doesn't revolve around you anymore, and you have to realize that."

"Then what do I do Vigil?!" He shot back, turning to fully face her with a conflicted expression. "I can't let her go… No matter what I do, I just can't…"

"Well you've got to find a way because she's already gone…" The chameleon replied before a yellow cab pulled up off to the side of them.

She looked at him with pity before strolling over to open the back door of the cab. Once she got in, she watched him press his palm to his forehead and look out to the empty train station.

* * *

 **Mephiles is a disgusting person who feeds off the misery of others, and its really sad to know there are actually people like that in the world. Hopefully none of you run or ran into this type of person in high school.**

 **As Shard explained, Mighty was easy to take down because all he really has is brute strength and a temper. That doesn't guarantee he knows how to use it as opposed to Shard who used to fight grown men in underground tournaments.**

 **And to clarify in case it went over your head, Shadow's mother died during birth and his father is 'Mr. Doom'...Mephiles has an unnamed mother who's described as a raging, gold-digging bitch, and his father was just revealed to be 'Nazo', explaining why Mephiles grew up in Soleanna while Shadow grew up in Mobotropolis. Shadow's father married Mephiles' mother and birthed their mutual half-brother, Eclipse, although they themselves have no blood relation.**

 **Amy and Sonic come off as total bullies for the way they reprimand Silver and Gold, but to their knowledge the two were sneaking around behind Blaze's back all along (obviously not true, but you know how rumors can get.) Whether you see them as straight up bullies or misinformed friends defending their friend's honor is entirely subjective to you.**

 **The kindness Ray had shown Cosmo reminded her that she shouldn't have to settle or try and save something when she could potentially be wanted elsewhere, resulting in her decision to break up with Tails-who is slightly upset, despite his intentions being the same as hers. Did the young love triangle just become a square? (Also, to clarify on their ages, Tails is thirteen and the youngest in the entire school, Cream and Cosmo are fourteen, and Ray is fifteen)**

 **Another cryptic mention of the past by Fiona and Scourge. It seems as though all of the kids from Moebius have quite the hidden past. (Kids from Moebius being, Sally, Scourge, Fiona, Rosy, and Geoffrey-who will eventually become relevant by the way)**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **The Secret Santa project for Ms. Breezie's entertainment is due!**

 **Things get more complicated between the youngsters...**

 **Mighty and Fiona share yet another sweet moment**

 **Silver is visited by the obnoxious duo of Relic and Marine, but what for?!**

 **A fated and eagerly anticipated kiss for Sonia**

 **Sonic finally chooses a girl!?**

 **Zonic gets a date?**

 **And... THRASH TO MAKE A RETURN?!**


	59. Chapter 59

**Chapter 59: Plot Twist?**

It was six in the morning, with the sun just peaking over the horizon of the pinkish-orange sky.

A few hours away from everyone's favorite high school, was the city of Mobotropolis where most of the students as well as a few teachers hailed from.

On the very top floor suite of a brick apartment building on the decent side of town is where couple and fellow co-workers, Breezie and Ash resided.

A far ways from campus, forcing them to get up with the rising sun if they were to make it to work on time. Of course they could have taken jobs in their city, but the pay and the name Green Hill Academy on a resume was an offer no one in their right mind would ever refuse.

The two were cuddled up in bed together, underneath warm velvet-red sheets. The mongoose laid on his back, longish raven hair a mess as his head fell lazily to his shoulder. Curled up to his side was the sexy hedgehog woman male students lusted after, nightwear nothing but a red thong. Her long quills everywhere in a wild mess of their own thanks to their steamy night.

 **RING, RING, RING**

Breezie's lids quickly fluttered open before she sat up to rub the sleepiness from her eyes. Unlike her boyfriend, she was quite the light sleeper, and the alarm he had set on the cellphone at his bedside table by his glasses had jolted her right back to reality.

"Ugh." She whined, leaning over her sleeping lover to snag the phone off the desk. She then sat up with it in her hand, looking down at him with a smirk. "You could sleep through an earthquake."

She then unlocked the device to do away with the irritating alarm, but in doing so, she happened to find something else. The teal woman continued to fiddle with buttons on the phone, scrolling through messages that made her raise an eyebrow every so often.

Finally the mongoose beside her stirred awake himself, turning to see her scrolling through his phone.

"Good morning, Nosy." He remarked, gaining her attention.

She turned her head and looked down to see him smirking her way, making her blush with such natural charm.

"Who's number is this?" She asked, disregarding his good morning greeting to hold up the phone to him. "And why are they texting you _'Good morning, I can't wait to see you'_ at six in the morning?"

Ash then took the phone from her hand to read over the number, dismissing the insecure hedgehog's interrogation with a chuckle before he sat up right, the blankets slipping to reveal his incredibly toned upper-body.

"It's just Mina."

"Mina?" Breezie inquired, "As in, Mina Mongoose, rising popstar?"

"Also my personal favorite student." He added, earning an upset scowl from the teal woman who crossed her arms. "She's got so much potential, but she's been having a rough year. I've been trying to talk her through it. You remember how shitty high school was."

"Favorite student, huh?" Breezie pouted.

"It's nothing like that, Breezie." Ash whined with an eye-roll before he leaned over to kiss her shoulder. "You're too sexy to be insecure, and the drive to work is too long for you to put up a fight right now. So let's get dressed, go get some coffee, and get goin'."

* * *

Cream traveled down the first floor hall of the boy's dorm, recognizing the number of her favorite kitsune's room almost immediately. She knocked twice before a muffled voice on the other side allowed her entrance.

She was thankful to see his other two roommates were gone, and that it was just him although he didn't appear to be his chipper self. He sat at the edge of the bed, shoulders slumped over as he watched her take a seat beside him with a bit of a pout.

"Tails?" She called out to him in that sweet, soft-spoken tone she was known for. "What's the matter?"

"Cosmo and I broke up yesterday…" He mumbled lowly, but just enough for her to pick up on. "Well, more like she dumped me…"

"Dumped you?!" The rabbit gasped in disbelief, "Wh-Why would she ever?!"

"I think she likes this other guy."

"That just sounds like nonsense." Cream shook her head, resting a hand on his thigh so he'd look back up to her brown eyes. "Who could be better than you?" She added with a blush.

"Apparently that Ray kid…"

"Ray?" Cream repeated him once more.

"Yeah, but I'm at least glad you'll be around to cheer me up." Tails smiled at the suddenly quiet rabbit.

She nodded in agreement, but something was wrong.

She loved Tails, didn't she? So why did it make her so jealous? Thinking of Cosmo and Ray….

* * *

Once again Sonia and Elias were back in the empty auditorium practicing the song his mother's fiancé had secretly requested of him.

She sat at the giant wooden piano, fingers flying across the keys after mere seconds of memorizing the music sheets, allowing her jade eyes the freedom to drift toward the squirrel leaning against the side of the piano singing in that heavenly voice of his.

Just one of the many gifts he had inherited from his mother, one he didn't really care for. Unlike his younger sister's secret wish of being a musician, music was something that didn't interest him in the slightest. His interests leaned more on politics and economics.

Even so, how could he deny his mother so close to her wedding day?

Sonia watched him as he closed his eyes and repeated the lyrics coming from the white headphones he had placed in his ears.

He was so charming, even when he did nothing to try.

"Sonia?"

"Huh?! What?" She blurted out, shaking her head in an attempt to dismiss the embarrassed hue of red off her cheeks at getting caught spacing out.

"The song is over." The auburn-haired boy chuckled, "You can stop playing now."

"Oh, right." Sonia chuckled nervously, pulling her hands away from the keys. "Sorry."

"You've been acting a little weird. Everything okay?"

"Of course!" She shot up from the matching wooden bench to meet him at level, his natural allure coaxing the red to return to her cheeks. "I feel…great."

"Great enough to treat me to some muffins and coffee before next class?" Elias inquired, beaming her that dashing smile he was known for. "I kinda forgot my wallet back in my room."

"Sure you did." She rolled her eyes, shoving his shoulder playfully as they made their way off stage and down the aisle toward the double-doors.

As Elias opened the doors to head out, he stopped after noticing the magenta girl was no longer at his side. Curious, he turned around to see her standing behind him with her head up. He followed her gaze, his own face going as red as hers when he caught side of the dreaded mistletoe hanging right overhead of them.

He turned around to look at her, their eyes locking as the awkward silence came into play. They both quickly broke eye contact. He looked up and rubbed his neck shyly, while she looked down and dug her shoe into the floor.

"Has…uhh, has that always been there?" Sonia giggled nervously.

"I've never…noticed it before…" The prince replied in a just as shy manner.

These growing feelings for her best friend were new to her and incredibly overwhelming, but when would she get another chance so perfect? All she could think about was her feline friend scolding her about going for it.

So she gulped away her nervousness, inhaling deeply before she straightened up and looked right ahead of her. She closed her eyes and puckered her lips, hoping he'd understand the gesture and meet her halfway.

He blushed madly as she did so, never in his wildest dreams imagining that she'd actually be willing to kiss him. Then he reminded himself that it was only the mistletoe's doing, disregarding the possibility of romantic feelings.

His usually calm mind imploded with a hundred thoughts, but he blew them all away with one exhale as he straightened himself out and closed his eyes the same as she. Then he leaned closer.

And closer

And closer

Until he felt the force of something behind him push him aside, causing him to stumble on his feet before turning back to be met with such an…interesting sight.

Apparently, the raven-haired cat had walked in just in time to push the prince out of the way to completely steal his kiss.

Sonia's eyes remained closed, her cheeks burning a painful red as she was totally oblivious to the lips on her own belonging to that of her feline friend. Honey had swooped in like a vulture, wrapping her arms around the hedgehog's waist as she held her in such a passionate kiss.

Elias was completely stumped, unsure of what to do, or if it was appropriate that he continued watching.

Finally, Sonia had fluttered her lids open, expecting to meet the sapphire eyes of her longtime best friend, but coming to find the hazel eyes of Honey the Cat. She quickly shoved the raven-haired girl away, mortified by the action.

" **HONEY!** " She scolded the cat, her face red with both embarrassment and rage. The cat just snickered in response, waving in dismissal as she offered the angry hedgehog her playful smile.

"Sorry! I just came to see if you two were still in, then I saw you wide open and I just couldn't resist!" Honey apologized in her cutesy voice, Sonia's temper settling somewhat. "So I heard coffee and muffins? I could use a snack before my presentation for English."

Elias and Sonia looked at each other before their gazes fell back to the joyful cat who grabbed at both their hands and dragged them off.

* * *

The staff lounge was located in the first floor hallway of the main building. It was just beside the office, completely off limits to anyone other than staff members.

It was a decent size, and served as a lounge area, lunch room, and occasionally bedroom to those staff members who didn't catch sleep enough as they should.

Like the hallways, the walls were a plain color that fell in between white and gray, and the floors were still that white tile. Once you stepped through the door, to the right would be a small kitchen-styled area, and to the left would be a lounge area made up of a black couch sectional, and television. In the far back of the room were a series of tables and chairs for those who were either eating or getting some paperwork done.

Officers Zector and Zespio were on break, snuggled up on one of the comfy couches together. The crocodile man held the remote to the TV that hung off the wall, flipping through channels as he grumbled about the lack of entertainment in media these days.

The clanging of glassware and sizzling of pans came from the kitchen area where Dr. Tikal the school counselor proceeded to whip herself up some lunch while talking on the phone to her loving wife who was on break at her own job.

Lastly, in the far back sitting at the tables by his lonesome was Officer Zonic. The tall, blue hedgehog had his arms crossed with his feet kicked up onto another chair beside him as he pouted, a bit envious of his colleagues in the room.

It was winter and the holidays were rapidly approaching. Everyone had someone to snuggle with, or talk to on the phone. Everyone except him.

He should have been used to it by now, not having dated anyone since high school. Although mostly desensitized to the topic of romance, he couldn't help but feel just a bit lonely around this time of year.

He dropped his jade eyes to the floor, averting his gaze from the cheerful people around him as he thought of what bar he'd be spending the night at alone…again.

"Excuse me." A voice called out, interrupting his thoughts as he looked up to be met with the kind smile of the school nurse.

"Nurse Bernadette." He greeted her with respect, "Is there something I can help you with?"

He stood up from his chair, rising just a couple inches above her in height. She smiled as she waved in dismissal.

"Oh no, it's nothing like that." She assured him, "I was just wondering if you had any plans tonight."

The officer blushed in embarrassment as he thought about the lonely bar night he had planned for himself.

"Uh, no. Not at all." He shook his head, doing his best to remain composed. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I thought maybe you and I could grab some dinner after work." The blonde replied in such confidence.

"Me? Well, I…um… Sure, I guess."

"Wonderful." Bernadette cheered before spinning back around in her white coat to head right back out the door she had entered from just a few moments prior, waving back to him as farewell. "See you tonight."

Zonic stared after her in a bit of confusion before his view of her was obstructed by the other three co-workers that had just witnessed his brief talk with the nurse. His eyes widened in surprise at their just as surprised expressions.

"Wh-What?" He stammered with a blush, uncomfortable under the skeptical gazes of the crocodile, chameleon, and echidna.

"Did Nurse Bernadette just ask you out to dinner tonight?!" Zector bellowed in his naturally loud tone.

"Uh, yeah I guess…"

"Like a…date?" Tikal and Zespio asked in unison, making the hedgehog even more uncomfortable.

He gently pushed them back to gain some space between them, his expression one of sternness although coated in a red blush.

"Of course not! She's just a friendly co-worker." He scolded them, "Not to mention that she's twice my age!"

"Co-workers go on dates too ya'know." Zector huffed, crossing his arms as he grinned at his younger fellow officer.

"She is single." Zespio added.

"And knows you're single." Tikal chimed in.

"Sounds like a date to me!" The crocodile laughed.

Zonic grumbled in absolute embarrassment as they all began to laugh before Zespio put a kind hand on his shoulder, forcing his jade eyes toward him.

"We're just teasing you, Zonic." The chameleon assured him, "Regardless of her age and employment status, we're genuinely happy to see you getting out there again…"

* * *

Although winter was heavily underway outside, that didn't stop Coach Sleuth from continuing his grueling training indoors. His gym classes were something to fear, something that even marines would cringe through. Like medieval torture, cruel and unusual punishment.

Locker rooms were usually something to be apprehensive on or reluctant to go to, but after his class it was one of the most reliving places in the world. A safe haven from his relentless cruelty.

After the crime had been solved, the boy's locker room was free to the public again, stripped of the yellow crime scene tape that had condemned it for quite some time.

Boys filed in, out, and around once again, as if nothing terrible had ever taken place.

Fully dressed, sitting on one of the wooden benches by the lockers was Shadow. He sat with his legs crossed, a notebook in his lap, and a pencil up to his mouth where he chewed the eraser while in thought.

Standing by him with white towels around their waists were Knuckles and Manic pulling their gym bags out of their lockers as they joked around.

Finally, Tails and Sonic had emerged from the shower area in towels as well, the young kitsune trudging over to his locker in silence. Sonic frowned at the young fox's blue demeanor, aware of the breakup he had gone through yesterday.

Then his jade eyes caught sight of the ebony hedgehog scribbling in a journal on the bench. A smirk soon crept its way back onto his face as he strolled over to the other hedgehog's side.

"Doing Breezie's assignment last minute I see?" Sonic inquired, leaning over to get a glimpse of his work. "I'd expect that from Manic, but you Shadow?"

"It's finished. I'm just adding a few details." The red-striped hedgehog grumbled, shielding his page from view by shutting the notebook closed.

"Not cool, Bro." Manic muttered from the other side of the bench. "I'll have you know I've been finished with my assignment!"

"Coming from the family slacker that's a bit hard to believe." The blue hedgehog jeered playfully.

"Oh yeah? Well, how's your assignment coming along then?"

"It's…coming…" Sonic's confidence drained, his paper barely even started.

"Let's hope it comes along in the next hour, because English class is just around the corner." Manic smirked triumphantly, "It'd be ashamed if you brought Ma another failed assignment for Christmas—"

"Hey! That stupid project Dr. Robotnik gave us last year was fucking impossible!"

"This is annoying." Shadow finally spoke up, getting up from the bench after gathering his things. He then walked off without another word, mind too focused on his assignment to deal with his irritating group of friends.

"That paper does sound really lame. Breezie's always coming up with some extravagant scheme to cause drama." Knuckles spoke up after slipping on his red T-shirt, "Thank Chaos my class was excused from it."

"What?" Sonic rose an eyebrow as he quickly dressed himself, "How the hell did you guys get excused?"

"Believe it or not, sometimes it's fuckin' rad to have Marine around." The echidna chuckled, slamming his locker shut and hoisting his bag over his shoulder. "She wrote something so amazing that Breezie didn't feel it necessary to give the assignment."

"No fucking way!" The blue hedgehog whined, mimicking the echidna's way of hoisting his bag over his shoulder as they made their way to the door.

Tails had fled long before the conversation had begun, and while he and Knuckles were walking out, Sonic noticed Manic lagging behind at his locker. He turned around to look at his brother who hadn't gotten dressed at all yet.

"Yo Manic, what's the hold up?"

"Just kinda sore." The green hedgehog replied with a dismissive wave, "You guys go on ahead. I'll catch up later."

The two just shrugged, walking out of the locker room to head off to class. Shortly thereafter, the green hedgehog found the population of the boy's locker room dwindling down until it was just him left.

He sighed in frustration as he sifted through his bag with his back aching in pain from doing so many tumbles and deadlifts.

He thought it best to wait out the pain, so he took a seat on the bench and took out his phone from his bag. He scrolled through Instagram, pictures of Sonic and Amy popping up left and right with tons of adoring comments. He stuck his tongue at his cheek as he shook his head and scrolled on…

* * *

Mighty sat outside on the front steps of the main building bundled up in a red winter jacket. His face and knuckles still hurt, but other than that he felt alright to be out of his room. He opened his palm and stared at it, reimaging the blade in his hand as he whipped it across the young boy's throat after the vial hedgehog's instigation.

The vixen beside him looked on at him with worry, noting that he had been depressed and distracted since the ordeal in the bathroom. She scooched closer to him before finally voicing her concern, coaxing him to break the gaze he had on his hand to meet her unique two-toned eyes of blue and gray.

"Mighty…" She called out in a hush whisper, "What happened in there?"

"I don't…I don't know." He sighed, looking out toward the snow-covered campus grounds only to see the two hedgehogs who had cornered him in the bathroom in the distance.

His eyes couldn't help but wonder to the DigItalian boy's throat, the mark from the blade less gruesome than before, but still visible. The armadillo cringed, quickly looking back down as a shudder went down his spine.

"Hey, you're okay." The fox girl beside him assured him as she wrapped her arm around his back.

"I'm not okay. I feel sick…"

"Then let me take you to the nurse—"

"I mean sick with myself." He corrected her, looking back up to meet her concerned eyes with teary ones. "I…I held a knife to that kid…and I cut him."

"Chaos…" Fiona breathed out in surprise, making the armadillo feel much more ashamed.

"That Mephiles guy just wouldn't shut up! And that kid…I thought he was gonna kill me."

"Mighty, it was self-defense. You're not at fault—"

"I shouldn't have picked up the knife. He's just a kid." Mighty rambled more so to himself than anything, "My parents are murderers, not me. I don't want to be like that."

"Then don't." Fiona stated sternly, cupping his face in her hands to cease his frantic rambling. "You told me once that we can chose our own paths, and that we don't have to be like our parents… And you're not like them. You're not bad, you're the kindest person I've ever known, Mighty."

He got a hold of himself once her kind words sank in. He breathed out before a smile came across his face. Not his usual big smile, but a small one more than what he'd shown in the past couple days.

"Thanks Fi…" He replied, pulling her in for a hug as he talked over her shoulder. "Honestly don't know where I'd be if you weren't here…"

"There's nowhere else I'd want to be." She remarked with a blush before he pulled away from their hug.

"Well, in spite of all the bullshit that's gone down these past few days….my crush got my note." He changed the subject, her spirits immediately dropping. "I walked by her locker and saw that it was gone."

"Oh…" Fiona replied half-heartedly, "That's wonderful…"

* * *

"Are you sure it's that serious?" A blue pika with a heavy British accent questioned.

"Of course I am!" The orange raccoon with a heavy Australian accent beside her exclaimed, throwing her arms up for emphasis. "Blazey is my big sista'! I know her better than any of her mates, and something's definitely wrong."

"Just because she refused to go back home for the holidays?"

"Not just that, although that is a **HUGE** red flag because she loves going home for the holidays." Marine explained, "I followed her once to see where she was sneaking off to so often, and saw her at Mephiles' dorm room! Mephiles! The boy who used to kick dirt in our faces and stomp on our toys!"

"So she's sneaking out to see a boy and being very secretive. Not to mention she just went through a breakup not too long ago." Relic listed the evidence before crossing her arms to speak her conclusion. "This is probably the new boyfriend—"

" **ABSOLUTELY NOT!** I won't let it happen!"

"Why not? Maybe they've gotten over the childhood bully thing."

"It doesn't matter! It's not supposed to turn out like this!" The raccoon bellowed in frustration as the two girls stomped down the corridor. "I didn't write it to be this way!"

"Write it?" Relic rose an eyebrow, stopping their walking to adjust her glasses and shoot the raccoon girl a skeptical look. "Marine, what the devil are you on about?"

Marine blushed, averting her ocean-blue eyes to the floor as she chuckled in embarrassment and rubbed her arm shyly.

"Who me? I didn't…say anything…"

"You can't worm your way past me." The pika huffed, "Now just what was that little outburst about?"

The raccoon did her best to keep up her charade, but found it difficult under the pika's knowing gaze. She reluctantly sighed in defeat before her confident, loud voice fell into shy, low mumbles.

"Promise you won't tell this to anyone ever?"

"Of course." Relic nodded, raising her hand to her forehead in solute. "Scout's honor."

Marine looked down both ends of the corridor to make sure no one was in ear shot before she finally spilled the beans.

"Remember when you told me you wanted to be an archeologist someday, and I told you I wanted to be a published author?" She asked her friend, who nodded. "Well…I…I write fanfiction."

"Fanfiction?"

"I know, it's embarrassing." The raccoon whined.

"Oh Marine! Lots of famous authors write fanfiction before they get into the real thing. It's nothing to be ashamed of! It's just practice!"

"Well, I kinda stalk my sista' and her friends around and base stories around their lives…"

"So you eavesdrop and stalk them?"

"Y-Yes, but only for research purposes!" The raccoon defended herself, "I submit my work to Ms. Breezie and she critiques them and does favors for me in return. She thinks I'm fantastic. Says I'm her best student."

"Really? I might have to give these fanfics a read myself sometime." Relic jeered playfully.

"Anyway, the point I was trying to make earlier is that her story isn't supposed to go off on a tangent like this! She's not supposed to be sleeping with the enemy! She's supposed to get back with Silver after they both can the side love interests and live happily ever after!"

"You can change your story all you want, but you can't change real life, Marine!"

"The hell if I can't!" The raccoon huffed, walking over to the door across from where they stood to knock loudly and call out obnoxiously to the person on the other side. "That's what I came to do here! Besides, my sista' needs help."

The two young girls ceased their babbling once the door opened up. The boy in the doorway looked mortified to see the raccoon girl greet him with a big smile.

"Chaos no…" He grumbled.

"Silver! Good to see ya'!"

The white hedgehog pinched the bridge of his nose and inhaled to compose himself, the raccoon's voice alone already driving him up a wall.

"What do you want Marine?" He sighed, "I'm kinda busy."

"I need to talk to you about Blazey! I'm really worried about her."

"Talk to someone else about her." The white hedgehog shook his head in dismissal, stepping back out of the doorway to slam it shut, only to have the young girl wedge her foot in between the frame and the door.

"Silver….It's serious. She doesn't want to come home to Soleanna for the holidays, and she's been very sad and quiet, and—"

"Listen, Marine." Silver finally cut her off in an irritated tone, already at witts-end with the feline he used to be so close with. "We broke up, and the last time I said I was done, I meant it. Now leave me alone."

"You know you didn't though." Marine pouted, "You love her! You always have since we were kids! And I doubt you'd stop now or for anyone else. Being in a place like this isn't easy for her and you know it! We know what she's like—"

"I don't care." The hedgehog shook the thoughts out of his head, "Just go."

"Don't care? So you don't care that she's been sneaking around with **MEPHILES!?** "

His amber eyes widened in surprise at the name, and his mouth fell open in shock. However, he was quick to shake off the surprise and reiterate his disinterest before she finally moved her foot out of the way and he was able to slam the door shut in her face.

He turned around to rest his back on the door before sliding down to the floor. He then listened to their footsteps leave earshot as he thought to himself…

 _'She's seeing…Mephiles?'_ Silver thought to himself, _'C'mon Silver, you don't care. You can't care…. You only ever end up hurt…But…'_

* * *

English class had finally rolled around for Sonic, and he had thankfully just got done scribbling the last of his paper during his lunch break. Although not edited in the slightest and written on a napkin, he strutted in confidently, absolutely sure that it would meet the gorgeous teacher's expectations regardless of how it was written.

The main goal of the project was to draw inspiration from another person, but mostly to entertain the hedgehog woman with juicy gossip material.

As soon as he walked through the door he noticed the single desk just beside it, and the auburn-haired girl adjusting her glasses as she sat at it and sifted through her blue bag for her journal.

Since it was still early and the class was mostly empty, he creeped up on her and tugged a strand of her red hair.

"Ouch!" She yelped, hand shooting up to her head where she rubbed the disturbed area.

She then looked up to see the blue hedgehog wink at her as he carried on to the front of the room, making her blush as her mouth curved up into a bit of a smile.

However, that weak smile quickly fell as she watched him stroll by the pink hedgehog's desk and do the same exact thing before he took his seat and turned around to strike up conversation with her.

She couldn't help but feel jealous. She strained her sapphire eyes behind the thick-rimmed glasses on her face as she stared daggers at the two and internally reprimanded herself on feeling so envious.

But who could blame her? Amy was as cute as a button and adored by nearly everyone no matter what she did. She wasn't insecure or anxiety-ridden, and she didn't have disgusting face scars…

"Um…Excuse me…" A shy voice called out to her, forcing her out of her depressing thoughts.

She turned to see a familiar, lanky, white hedgehog standing beside her with the most gorgeous amber eyes she'd ever seen. He offered her a bashful smile accompanied by a weak wave, but before she could get a word out to him he was rudely shoved away by the mass of students bursting through the door in an attempt to beat the bell.

"Move it!" A black hedgehog with red stripes grumbled aggressively, being the first of many to push Silver away like a wave of water in the ocean.

Once he was no longer pushed and standing in the middle of the room he could barely see over the crowd of students bustling to their chairs. He thought about walking back over, but before he could take another step the obnoxious bell rang and Ms. Breezie stood up from her chair.

"You know what that sound means…" She sang with a wide grin that fell somewhat flat as she scanned the room and caught a glimpse of the lavender-haired mongoose texting beneath her desk. "It's presentation day. So take your seats…and no texting." She added as she walked over to the mongoose's desk and whipped a long ruler down on it aggressively.

Mina shot up right in her chair, quickly doing away with her phone. Breezie then smiled and walked back to her desk, hopping up on it to cross one leg over the other in that short, red, mini-dress she loved wearing.

"Now then, who shall go first?" The teal seductress mused, scanning the room for a candidate. Then her eyes fell upon the monkey boy up front with his hand raised. "Ken." She called upon him, knowing that he preferred the nickname.

The tall, handsome monkey with the sand-colored hair and light-blue eyes then stood up at his desk, holding up his paper as he cleared his throat.

"Of course he'd volunteer to go first." The blue hedgehog sitting beside him rolled his eyes, "Total fucking tool."

"I met you on my first day here a few months ago…" Ken began, ignoring the mumbles of the idiot that sat beside him. "Upon seeing you I assumed you to be a freshmen or at the very least fourteen years of age. You were skipping down the hall, cheerful and bubbly as you greeted me. Imagine my surprise when you asked me to meet you in the janitor's closet for the _'real welcome gift'_. I was new, and not ready for that. Where I'm from, girls are a lot more discreet, but I was impressed by your forwardness to say the least."

Across the room, Honey did her best to stifle a snicker, recalling the exact day and moment he was talking about. She blushed as he went on about how interesting she was despite scaring him off in that first abrasive encounter.

Once he finished, he took his seat and everyone applauded him. The yellow cat being the one to clap the loudest.

"Very interesting, honest, and with such a charming delivery." Ms. Breezie nodded, marking the monkey off in her binder. "Congratulations Ken. You've earned yourself an _'A'_. Now then, how about you go next Storm?"

The albatross nodded before standing up with his own paper, stretching it out slightly to make sure the words were clear to him.

"Last year your name was one of the most recognizable at this school even though it was your first year being here. You were the saving grace of every sports team you joined, and you definitely earned your title of best female athlete that year. Safe to say, I'm a bit disappointed that you didn't sign up for any teams this season, and barely scraped by in track last semester. Everyone says you've gone downhill from what you came up here as. They say you've been a bitch and that you started hanging around a bad crowd. I want you to know that I don't think you're bitch. I actually feel sorry for you, and hope your rough journey of self-discovery or whatever's plaguing your mind blows over so you could save the sports division again, because we're kinda lackin' without ya'."

Blaze instantly dropped her gaze to the floor, immediately recognizing whom the albatross had written about. Instead of filling her heart with joy at the thought of someone wishing for her well-being, she felt ashamed at letting him and those he spoke of down.

"Excellent, but the delivery was a bit weak, don't you think?" The teacher called out to him.

He nodded in understanding before taking his seat.

"I'm sorry Ms. B." He apologized, "I've just been going through some personal stuff recently…"

"I understand, and you did well." She smiled at him as she marked him off with a letter grade. "You've earned at least a _'B-'_. Now then, Rosy please stand up."

Shadow instantly sat upright in his chair upon hearing her name, a piece of him hoping that she had written about him.

The girl clad in all black attire stood up with a pained grunt, using one hand to hold up her crumpled up paper while the other throbbed in pain at her side.

"I hate people like you." She stated bluntly, "So full of yourself, so privileged. You try to present yourself to the world as this charming kind of person when in actuality you're probably a piece of shit. This assignment is stupid, and I've got nothing to say about someone I don't give a shit about. Well, maybe just one thing. I saw you shooting up under the bleachers yesterday during the snowfall—"

"That'll do, Rosy." Breezie cut her off, repulsed by the vulgar hedgehog girl's statements as she scribbled an _'F'_ by her name inside the binder. "Very disappointed to say the least, but slightly intrigued. Not enough to earn you a decent grade however. Let's see what your desk-mate can do. Mina, please rise."

The mongoose girl then rose to her feet as the girl beside her sat down with a huff. Voices from all over the room cooed adoringly at the sight of the songstress as she brushed her vibrant hair from her face and picked up the paper off her desk.

"I don't know much about you, but everything I do know is pretty cringe-worthy." She began in her delicate voice, "Most of my knowledge comes from stories told by my sex-crazed friend, but some sources are what I read about in the school newspaper. A star on the basketball court who's impressive with the three pointers, but that stardom apparently doesn't follow you to the bedroom—"

Her presentation was cut off by a series of laughs that echoed throughout the room, the albatross she had been referencing blushing as he dipped down in his seat in embarrassment. Thankfully she wrapped up with a compliment before looking out to the teacher with an angelic smile.

Mina's delivery was perfect, an incredibly entertaining mix of humor and some kindness. Everyone was impressed, except for the teal hedgehog she needed approval from.

"Intriguing, but not enough for my standards." Breezie shook her head, " _'F'_."

" **WHAT?!** " The mongoose shrieked, "Ms. Breezie I—"

"Amy, would you please share?" The teacher cut her off, forcing her to sit back down angrily in her seat as Amy stood up to read her piece.

"I've never thought of you as anything more than my crush's brother before this year…" The pink girl began, making Manic sit up at attention. "It's been a bumby year for me, but I've learned a lot. Not just about myself, but about those around me. Including you. You were there for me in times of sorrow, now and even back then—I just didn't know it. You're like the hidden hero of my tale, and I can't wait for the day I'll be calling you…my brother too."

The green hedgehog's smile instantly dropped, a wave of disappointment flushing through him before he shook it off along with the false hope the beginning of her speech brought on.

"Sweet, but not elusive enough to not let on to who you were speaking of." Breezie sighed, marking a grade beside the pink hedgehog's name. "That earned you a _'D-'_. Manic, seeing as how you were just the topic of discussion, why not grace us with yours?"

Manic then nodded, standing up as he sifted through the mass of papers on his desk until he found the right one and held it up to his face.

"You stole my heart and have been running with it ever since." He began with a smirk, "Then again, I say that about a lot of girls, don't I? Except you're different, because unlike all the other girls, I actually had high hopes for us. Shit, I still do. You're a selfish, inconsiderate, fake bitch, and I should have known better; but I couldn't help myself. I guess I have a bad habit of believing in people like you. For everything you took from me, I want to hate you, but I can't because you gave me that one thing I really wanted back. You gave me my music…"

Everyone in the room was speechless. Astonished that Stoner Manic could have such a beautiful way with words, or that he'd even had romantic feelings—most of the class assuming him to be gay for the black hedgehog he often roamed the school with.

Shadow frowned, knowing full well who he was speaking of. He didn't know what most of it meant, but could tell that secretive relationship with Mina meant a lot more to his friend than he thought.

At first, Amy feared that he might be talking about her, but those thoughts soon faded as he went on. Then it became clear to the mongoose across the room whose name he had chosen from the hat. She paled in the face as she slumped down in her chair, immediately knowing he was referring to her the second he said those final words.

"Incredibly moving and quite entertaining." The teal woman at the head of the room breathed in admiration, "That's _'A'_ material there. Now let's see if your little friend can come up to par with that. Shadow, stand."

He had come to Rosy and shown her the name he had chosen before, so of course her gaze drifted toward the black hedgehog who stood up with some interest.

"A beautiful tragedy." He began in his usual monotone. "We've had this unspoken connection growing with each encounter we share. You hate yourself, you hate the world around you. I do too. I understand you. Life's been so cruel to you, and you just want the clock to stop. I want to save you, but you want to do everything to push me away. Fine then, but if you won't let me save you…let me drown with you. Just let me be with you. And to answer that question you asked me the last time we spoke… I do still think you are beautiful…"

Another presentation that had the girls in the class swooning with such hopeless romanticism, everyone except the cat who had the displeasure of being his desk-buddy.

"Quite moving, just the same. The potential for an _'A'_ , but unfortunately I'm well aware that you told your subject you'd be writing about her."

"How did you—"

"Like I said, I can just tell these things." Breezie giggled, failing the boy before she ushered the yellow cat beside him to stand up. "Honey, you're turn."

"Remember that time we fucked in the science room? Or that time we took ecstasy together?" The raven-haired girl blurted out aggressively, immediately capturing the attention of the teal woman up front as well as her classmates. "It was all fun and games, until you used me to hurt someone. Oh, did you forget already? That secret ex you had? The one you forgot to mention when you called me? You know her, the girl with severe self-esteem issues and the fragile heart you supposedly swore you'd do right by. I've already got a bad rep for being who I am, and you made it worse by giving truth to those rumors about me being so scandalous, but I'm not mad about that. I'm mad that you did it to her, you ruined that girl. Yet you're out here acting like you want to save _'beautiful tragedies'_? Fuck you, because you create them, and Sonia deserved better than you. Piece of shit!"

Honey couldn't take keeping up the eluding. She was just too mad to keep it together. She slammed the paper in the red-striped hedgehog's face before grabbing her bag to bolt out of the door with whispers and _'oooh'_ sounding behind her.

Shadow was livid, heaving angrily in his chair as an embarrassed glow of red stung to his cheeks. After he was sure she was long gone, he himself bolted out of the room, emitting a sigh from the frustrated teacher who did her best to settle everyone back down.

"Did…Did she say, Sonia?" Sonic stammered, turning around to look at the pink hedgehog who shrugged in response.

"Oh shit…" Manic murmured to himself from a few desks down, noting his brother's surprised demeanor. "This won't be good…"

Breezie just sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance as she waited for the chatter in the room to die down. Then she looked up at the purple cat in the second row.

"Blaze, if you could please go on with your presentation…."

"I…I didn't write one…"

"What?" The teal woman rose an eyebrow in surprise, "Blaze, this is worth a big portion of your grade."

"I know...Sorry…" Blaze mumbled before bowing her head back down.

"It's disappointing, coming from one of my best students." Breezie sighed, eyes falling over to the white hedgehog boy in the back. "Silver, you're up."

He perked up before scrambling to his feet, surprised that he was called upon next. Breezie watched with interest, as did the purple cat herself.

"I…I think you're a piece of shit." Silver stammered nervously as he stumbled over his words to find confidence. "All you do is brag and boast, yet people love you anyway, and I'm honestly not sure why. Why do I hate you? Because you have everything, yet took the one great thing I had anyway. I have no words for you, really. These are just forced for the assignment. Have fun being a shitty person for potentially the rest of your life, because I don't see you growing up from the spoiled brat you are now."

That's when people started to speculate on whether or not this was an actual assignment or if the extravagant teacher was just starting drama as a means of entertainment.

The tension in the air was at an all-time high, students exchanging glances as they whispered about who they assumed he was talking about.

"I bet I can take a guess at who he's talking about." Ken remarked with eyes narrowed at the blue hedgehog beside him.

Sonic just gritted his teeth in frustration as he closed his fist tightly.

"Little brat." He cursed the white hedgehog who took his seat after receiving a _'B'_.

"Talk about shots fired…" Manic whistled as his desk-companion took his seat.

"I was just doing the assignment." Silver defended himself with a blush as he felt the eyes of everyone in the room on him. He sunk in his chair before putting his head down to drown out the whispers and avoid the stares.

"Sally, you go next."

"Right." The auburn-haired girl at the far back of the room nodded as she stood up with her paper and began to read. "We've had brief encounters before, but other than that I don't have a clue about you. Not to say that I wouldn't like one. I'm sure we have the potential to be great friends, given our common interest… Hopefully we can make it happen someday."

No one seemed interested, seeing as how it was the only paper that didn't throw shade or humiliate another person. Even Breezie found it incredibly uninteresting.

"A bit lackluster, but not bad. _'C-'_." The English teacher graded her before she took her seat. Then the hedgehog woman called upon other occupants of the class until it came down to one last student. "Sonic—"

"I'm on it Ms. Breezie!" The blue hedgehog cheered as he stood up with his paper, "You've saved the best for last!"

"Let's hope so."

"I've felt stuck for a while now. Torn between something I know I want, and something I feel like I need. I thought I'd never figure it out, but I think I know now. This girl and I have had our fair share of ups and downs, but in the end it always comes down to one thing; how amazed she leaves me. I don't think I believe in fate, but if there ever was such a thing, the proof would be in the name I chose from the hat. It doesn't even matter that this project is anonymous, because she knows exactly who she is, and while I've got her listening… I want her to know that I want to be with her…Just her."

Girls in the room swooned, the blue hedgehog's social status skyrocketing again thanks to his impeccable charm and such a lovely letter.

Silver huffed in his chair as Manic rolled his eyes, both of them fully aware Sonic could do no wrong in the public eye, and he'd always rise again somehow. Hell, even the hard-to-please Breezie was astounded by his presentation.

"Sonic…That was…amazing!" She stammered in total disbelief, fumbling with her binder to write a passing grade beside his name in bold cursive. "That's _'A+'_ work! I could really feel your sense of longing, and it was so ambiguous that even I have no clue who you're referring to! And I'll have you know I'm an excellent judge of character."

"Well, I'm sure she's got a clue."

In the far back of the room, Sally bowed her down as tears threatened to emerge in the corners of her eyes. She did her best to will them back, clutching at her jeans tightly as she fought away the disheartened feeling in her chest.

Because during the entire duration of his monologue, he looked directly at the girl he spoke of.

And it wasn't her…

* * *

Mephiles felt too smart for this place. Always skipping class to do as he pleased around campus.

He stood by the window in the center of his room that oversaw the middle of campus, phone pressed to his ear as he conversed with the gentleman on the other line.

 _"Thrash."_ He greeted his hospital friend, _"I've been meaning to call you…"_

 _"Did you do it?"_ The purple devil asked, _"Did you give Julie the envelope?"_

 _"Of course. I had a little friend drop it off in her locker. I'm sure she's received it by now."_

 _"Thanks."_ The hospital-ridden boy on the other line nodded, _"Doc Ginger says I should be outta here soon… I'll owe you one."_

 _"You'll owe me two, actually."_ Mephiles corrected him with an amused chuckle, _"I made sure Mighty the Armadillo was taken care of the way he did us. He's quite shaken."_

 _"Good. It's about time someone taught that fucker he isn't all that."_ Thrash huffed, _"And that's just the start. When I get outta here, Julie, Mighty, and that bastard Knuckles…they better pray."_

 _"Can't wait…"_ The gray-striped boy laughed cynically.

* * *

 **Sorry for the way-late update you guys! Just been moving and stuff. I'll get back on it eventually! Hopefully this chapter left you with enough surprise twists and drama to suffice and leave you hungry for more! Let it show in those reviews!**

 **-Recall that Mephiles had two envelopes. He sent Blaze to deliver one-which turned out to be photographs of Shard's violent street fighting days to scare Nicole away from him. And he sent Rosy to deliver the other-which surprisingly turns out to be a letter from Thrash to Julie-Su.**

 **So...if the letter Julie-Su got was from Thrash...then WHO DID MIGHTY'S LOVE LETTER GO TO?! And what does the letter from Thrash say?!**

 **So much drama was created with just this one chapter, more so than any other chapter I'd go as far to say. Let me know what you think? What are your theories? Who do you love? Who do you hate? What couple are you rooting for? Who do you want to see more of? What characters do you want to see more interactions between?**

 **Right now, I could really use the feedback! Thank you all for the follows and favorites as well as the motivation to keep me going this far!**


	60. Chapter 60

**SPECIAL NOTE: I know, I usually save my notes until after the story, bur I just wanted to apologize on my ultra lateness! Big stuff going on, might even be picking up a second story maybe?! Anyways, in exchange for your patience with me, I made this chapter a bit longer than usual, and plan to upload again sometime this week hopefully! Enjoy.**

 **WARNING: Minor violence, subtly hints at self-harm and child abuse**

* * *

 **Chapter 60: You Needed Me**

All night Sally tossed and turned like the sea. No matter how she positioned herself in her tiny, blue-sheeted bed she just couldn't get comfortable enough to fall asleep.

Her heart ached with such misery, mind constantly reconfiguring the image of Sonic giving his presentation earlier that day, and how he stared right at Amy Rose when he said those words she longed to hear directed at herself.

 _'I want to be with her, just her.'_

She gripped her pillow tightly, clenching her teeth together in an attempt to suppress the devastated whimpers that threatened her throat as tears silently cascaded down her cheeks.

However, it didn't matter how silent she was, because her roommate wasn't getting much sleep anyway.

Across the room, Fiona laid on her side facing the wall. The vixen's heart in ruins just the same as the chipmunk. She cried silently to herself as well, with her hand clasped around her cellphone, and her mind wandering to the texts Mighty had sent.

 ** _Mighty:_** _I was worried when she didn't approach me at all after getting the note today._

 ** _Mighty:_** _So I slipped another note in her locker before the main building closed, telling her to meet me on the rooftop before heading home for vacation. I'm so frickin' nervous!_

 ** _Mighty:_** _I've had a crush on this girl all summer… If this works out, I'll be the happiest guy on the planet. On top of that, Tilly will be happy too._

Sally was so sure of herself.

Fiona was so hopeful.

Now here they are, both of them crying silently to themselves.

Just what will tomorrow bring the two?

* * *

The next day was one that had been long awaited by both staff and students alike. It was freezing cold, and the snow had built up to mid-calf level on some of the shorter students, but everyone was in good spirits anyway thanks to it being the first official day of vacation!

There were no classes to be held, giving the students who planned on going back home some time to pack their things, or a couple hours to hang with their friends.

As soon as daylight broke through, students sprung up from their bed like flowers in the spring and immediately went to work with packing or getting themselves ready.

In comparison, the girls' dorm was much busier than the boys'. Female students bustled through the halls, in and out of the communal bathroom, and down to the kitchen area where Ms. Vanilla offered a final breakfast before the holidays.

In the first floor bathroom, girls practically fought over the mirrors like savages trying to put on makeup, and lines for the showers filed all the way out the door.

Amy and Rouge were lucky enough to snag a pair of showers right next to each other. Their bodies were shielded by the white curtain that came up to shoulder, allowing the two to glance at each other and around the bathroom as they spoke.

"Ugh, you should have heard it Rouge! His words were so beautiful! Like right out from one of my favorite TV dramas, and he looked at me so intensely!" Amy squealed with such glee, both hands hard at work rubbing shampoo in her vibrant, pink quills. "It took everything in me not to jump up and kiss him."

"That's great, Hun." The bat rolled her eyes, a bit bitter at hearing yet another tale of romance rekindled while her romantic life had been so nonexistent.

"I know! I was so worried I lost him to her too…"

"Her?" Rouge rose an eyebrow with interest, "You mean, Blaze?"

"No, not Blaze, and I wish people would stop bringing up that they were ever a thing." Amy grumbled as she washed out her quills underneath the warm water. "I'm talking about that chipmunk girl."

"Uhh, the ugly one who kicked him in the face that one time?"

"Yeah I know. I was surprised when he told me he might have feelings for her too." The pink girl rolled her eyes. "But he's made it pretty damn clear that he's over that little…phase…and wants to work things out between us."

"Are you sure you can handle Blue again?" The older girl asked with a hint of doubt, "I mean, with what happened with Scourge and—"

"Ugh, please don't even say his name." Amy cut her off with a sickly look, "I was so naïve and dumb last semester, and I regret ever giving him the time of day. But me and Sonic have talked that over among other things that happened on his part, and we've both moved passed it."

"On his part? So there was more to it than just his secret summer affair with Blaze?" Rouge asked curiously, chills going down her spine as Amy shot her a nasty glare after bringing that fling back up. "Oh, sorry." She apologized.

"During our talk about Scourge…he admitted he kissed that girl while we were still together…"

"No…fucking…way…" The bat spoke slowly, "He actually kissed that…creature… Oh man, Manic and Shadow are gonna get a kick out of this—"

"No they will not!" Amy bellowed, throwing her hands to the wall separating their showers to grip as she glared harshly at the bat. "You better not tell a soul! People are actually starting to like him again, but if they hear about him liking someone like her they'll tease him back down the ladder real quick."

"Fine." The snow-haired girl pouted with an eye roll. "I won't tell a soul."

"Good!" The pink girl cheered, cold demeanor fading as quickly as it came. "So since we're on the topic of love lives, how's yours?"

"Er, it's…complicated…"

* * *

Wave was back in her dorm, standing by her bed where she just finished zipping up the tightly packed luggage. She stood taller than most girls, and had no real feminine qualities other than a pretty face.

Her scowl was cold as ever, underneath it what little remained of the tough badass she used to be. All had been wrong in her life, from a confusing case of sexuality to years of misunderstanding someone who she was so sure she had figured out.

She cringed as she thought of him, the image of his arrogant grin morphing into the fearful frown of a brainwashed child. Unlike Storm who lived right next door to the green hawk, she lived down the street. How could she have known what was going on behind closed doors? Where all his anger and hatred truly came from…

" **BLAZEY!** " A high pitched, and **VERY** annoying voice with the heaviest of Australian accents whined, "Please, you know how much Mum loves to see us on the holidays and Dad—"

"Fuck off, Marine! I said I'm not going home."

Curious at the angry voices of her two roommates shrieking like barbarians behind her, the swallow broke out of her sorrowful thoughts to look at the two from over her shoulder as she pretended to be obliviously packing up.

Wave couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the cat, surprised by the outburst from the usually calm and soft spoken girl.

She even wore a cold scowl so unfitting for the sweet features of her face, leading the swallow to wonder curiously about what had been ailing her.

"Why are you acting this way with me?" The raccoon whimpered, ocean-blue eyes glistening with upset tears that hadn't yet fallen. "I'm not your friends…I'm ya' little sista'…"

"You're adopted." Blaze corrected her, eliciting a silent gasp from the purple bird standing off to the side and coaxing the raccoon girl's tears to spill over widened eyes.

Marine was at a loss for words, lip trembling as whatever she tried to say came out in nothing but pained blubbering. Blaze's family had adopted her shortly after her birth, and the cat had never once said such a thing to her or ever once made her feel like an outsider…not until now.

"Blaze." Wave finally cut in, stepping between the two girls with a nasty scowl of her own. "That's not fucking cool. No matter how annoying she is, you don't say shit like that."

"I don't care." The cat shook her head in dismissal, turning her back to the two as she let her gaze wander out the window to the gray-striped hedgehog on the lawn outside seemingly looking right back at her with his evil smirk and hideous olive-green eyes. "Everyone thinks I'm a bitch…so I'll be a fucking bitch."

"Do whatever the hell you want then!" Marine wailed as she made a sprint for the door, "Go ruin your fucking life with that jerk!"

The crying girl then slammed the door shut, leaving the two purple girls alone. Wave was surprised once again by the last statement, turning from the closed door to the cat who had her back turned.

"This new attitude's about a fucking boy?" She snarled in disgust.

"What, disappointed it's not about a fucking girl?" The cat retorted bitterly, making the swallow tighten her jaw at the insensitive jab to her sexual identity crisis.

"You really have changed for the worst like people said." Wave shook her head, grabbed her luggage and followed Marine out the same door, but not before uttering some much needed advice to the scorned cat. "Get your shit together, Blaze."

With that and the slam of their room door once again, Blaze found herself all alone, and finally able to let the pained tears fall to the wooden floor beneath her…

* * *

Outside, Cream squeezed her way through tiny groups of students as she looked all around for any sign of her locker-buddy. After a sleepless night of nothing but curious and confused thoughts rummaging around in her teenage brain she finally decided to seek answers in the waking world.

"Ray!" She hollered at the first glance of yellow in a crowd of darker tones.

He turned around in his blue jacket, adjusting his blue cap as he watched the rabbit brush her way toward him with a surprised look.

"C-Cream?" He stammered in surprise.

She took a few breaths, exhausted from the pushing and apologizing she did in the crowd swarming the outdoors by the parking lot. Once she felt up to it, she looked up at him with a weak smile in greeting.

"Umm…Hi…" Ray began after an awkward silence, averting his gaze from the rabbit girl that only seemed to cause him so much misery.

"Hi…"

Another awkward wave of silence washed over them until Cream finally found the courage to speak the thoughts that had been raddling in her mind.

"Cosmo broke up with Tails…" She blurted out in an almost whisper, making his mouth curve into a slight frown.

"Gu-Guess that's go-good for you..."

"Tails has this crazy theory that it might be because she likes you…"

"Likes me?!" Ray's eyes widened in disbelief, "No, no way. I ju-just encouraged her to do be-better for herself. Despite how aw-awesome you think he is, what you two we-were doing was hurting her, and no gi-girl deserves that."

"No, no. I think you were right to call us out when you did." The rabbit nodded in agreement, gaze dropping to her yellow winter dress as she gripped it tightly in her hands. "I was acting like a total sleeze. I guess I'm really not the good girl you thought I was…"

"I di-didn't mean to be so harsh on you that day. I was just upset." Ray frowned at the way she threw his words back at him. "I gu-guess I just empathize wi-with Cosmo, because I kn-know what it's like to have so-someone steal the per-person you like away…"

"So you don't like her back…right?"

Cream caught his gaze once more, making him tilt his head in confusion as his brows slowly came together. It almost sounded like there was a double meaning to her question, but just before he could ask about it he heard the voice of Fiona calling out to him.

They turned to see the vixen a few feet away, waving him down eagerly. He then turned back to his locker-buddy to give her a goodbye wave.

"I've go-gotta go." Ray announced, getting the rabbit to stop glaring at the vixen to turn back to him. "Me and my bro-brother are going to Sand Blast City to sp-spend vacation with our sister."

"Oh, Matilda." Cream nodded with a smile, "Tell her I said hello."

"Sure thing." The squirrel boy nodded, turning heel toward Fiona.

"And Ray!"

"Yeah?" He asked, turning back over his shoulder to see her angelic smile.

"You can text me from time to time if you want to…"

He couldn't help but blush, and neither could she for some reason. Then he shuffled through the crowds and snow toward the fox girl who didn't look as though she got any sort of sleep.

"Y-You okay, Fi?"

"Pshh, are you okay?" The vixen turned his question around on him. "I know nothing good ever comes out of you talking to that girl."

"Actually…this time was…nice." Ray blushed once more, making his older sister figure smile warmly.

"And she better keep it that way unless she wants her teeth knocked out." Fiona joked with a raise of her closed fist, which Ray gently lured back down in dismissal with a chuckle. "I'm glad I caught you guys before you left. I was afraid I wouldn't make it in time to see you off with this annoying ass crowd flooding the place."

"Yo-You wouldn't have to wo-worry about go-goodbye if you just come wi-with us." The squirrel pouted, earning a ruffle of his golden hair from her.

"Believe me, I would if I could, but without a legal guardian I'm school property until schools out." She sighed bitterly, "I wish I was eighteen…"

"Me too…"

"Hell no! I want you to stay my little munchkin forever!" The red-head teased with a nudge of his shoulder. Then she started whipping her head side-to-side, peering into the crowds. "So where's Mighty? Shouldn't you two be off by now?"

Ray's playful smile and cheer quickly dropped into blankness, his heart breaking for the oblivious vixen.

"He's me-meeting up with so-someone…"

"Oh…" Fiona frowned, mind wandering back to his late night texts. "I forgot he was meeting up with his…crush…"

"I'm…I'm sorry, Fiona…"

"Ray?"

"Y-Yeah?"

"Do you…know who she is?"

"Yeah…" Ray nodded, dropping his gaze to the snow-covered ground. "She's our ne-neighbor back at our li-little cottage in Mercia. Her name is…"

* * *

Rosy's a bit more introverted than most, preferring to wait out the crowds scattered all over campus in her secret place. That quiet, unexplored terrain behind the electives building.

With the mountain of snow that had piled up she found it impossible to sit down like she usually did, so she opted to just lean up against the brick wall and stare out into the trees as she thought to herself.

Her jagged, short pink quills were buried in her favorite black beanie, her upper-body shielded in a black sweater with long sleeves to hide her healing cuts, and dark jeans accompanied by thigh-high, black combat boots to keep her legs somewhat warm although not much at all.

A half-finished cigarette burned brightly between her pretty, pink lips as she crossed her arms and let her mind wander.

It's no secret that Shadow had her rattled, self-doubting, and questioning herself.

After all that she'd gone through, everything that she'd done in her seventeen years of life it was such an impossible thought.

The thought of anyone caring about her ever again…

Everything he said just sent shockwaves through her body. Not ones of pain and cruelty like Mephiles, but more along the lines of compassionate and understanding like her first love did…

 **SLAM!**

The pink girl was quickly jolted out of her thoughts at the sound of hands slamming against the brick wall on either side of her head. Her light-brown eyes widened in fright, but quickly settled to fit with her unamused scowl.

"Forgive me for frightening you." The boy standing in front of her apologized in his typical humble tone, pulling his hands off the wall to place back at his sides. "But I think you and I should have a little chat about what you saw…"

"Really now?" Rosy grumbled, eyeing him up and down with a grimace.

A monkey boy a lot taller than herself, and a lot more physically fit than most of the guys around. Gorgeous blue eyes, wild brown hair that framed his chiseled face so perfectly, and one hell of a jawline. Like something straight out of Calvin Klein magazine.

"I don't think I've ever met you before." The monkey explained with his hand extended out to her, "I'm Ken. Just transferred in this year."

"Don't care." She replied, making him drop his hand back down with a nod. "Just what the hell do you want, Ken?"

"About your presentation yesterday—"

"You mean, about you shooting up under the bleachers and being a complete phony?"

"Yeah, actually." Ken nodded, finally understanding that there was no beating around the bush with this girl. "I want you to know that—"

"What? It totally wasn't what it looked like and you're such an honest and decent person?" She finished in a mocking tone and a wave of her hands.

"Exactly!" He nodded with that same smile, making her roll her eyes, but to her surprise he quickly leaned over and plucked the cigarette from her lips.

He threw it to the snow, and stomped on it for good measure.

"But that doesn't make me a push over." He glared at her, smile long gone. "I don't think Principal Acorn would take a self-harmer on her watch so lightly after what happened to Rotor Walrus… So as long as you forget what you saw…I'll forget what I saw…Sound good?"

He gestured with a nod toward her arm, which was bleeding once again. Rosy was quite surprised to say the least, grabbing her arm tightly before she looked up to see him taking off with a wave.

* * *

There were no classes being held, but as the boy's dorm adviser, Mr. Ash was called back to campus to stay overnight for vacation to see to those who were left behind. A tedious job, but one hell of a good pay, so he wasn't complaining much.

He figured in the time he wouldn't have his hands all over the lovely Ms. Breezie back at home, he'd be able to get some grading done while residing in the boy's dormitory.

The mongoose strolled down the hall nonchalantly, digging out his key ring from within his pocket to look for the key to his classroom while he made his way toward it. His eyes were down at the golden keys that clanged in his fingers, discarding the ones he deemed the incorrect key to the side in replacement of the potentially right one.

In mid-action, he suddenly stopped to look up at the sound of crying. His brows came together in confusion as he saw no one around the white corridor.

"Hello?" He called out, voice echoing down the empty hall as he continued to hear nothing but whimpering.

Curiously, he followed the sobs down the hall passed his classroom. He turned right, the crying becoming much more apparent. Then he turned left to finally see a figure on the opposite end of the empty hall.

His walking speed increased, making the figure become clearer. Soon enough, he recognized the lavender-haired girl sitting on the floor with her knees brought to her chest and her face down on them sobbing her heart out to be, Mina Mongoose.

"Mina!" He called out nervously, sprinting toward her.

She picked up her head just in time to see him slide on his knees to her side, scuffing up his khaki pants. He didn't seem bothered though, only concern for her well-being filling his eyes as her touched her shoulder gently.

"I'm sorry." The teen apologized, quickly wiping her tears away with her pink sleeve. "I thought I was alone…again."

"It's okay." He assured her with a chuckle as he recalled finding her in a similar state before. He then frowned at her sorrowful demeanor, nothing but empathy in his heart for her. "What's the matter, Mina?"

"Nothing, just some stupid stuff." She assured him.

"Hey, you can tell me." The teacher pried, jabbing her forehead lightly with his index finger. "Ya'know, I was a teenager myself not too long ago."

"Yeah right." She giggled, swatting him playfully in the shoulder. "Dr. Robotnik says the same thing."

"What?" Ash whined, "So not cool! You really think I'm as old as that guy? Hell, he was my science teacher when I went here!"

"Really?" Mina rose a curious eyebrow, her sorrows practically out the window with no effort at all from the older mongoose. "You went here?"

"Yep, good ole' Green Hill Academy." He smiled, "Home to some of the best athletes, scholars, and…musicians around!"

They both sat on the floor of the empty hallway together for a while, just talking and laughing until no hint of her sorrows remained, not until he brought them back up.

"Really? Part my hair like this?" He chuckled as the lavender-haired girl fished a comb from her expensive green purse and swiped his hair into more of a side-swept fashion.

"You don't want people thinking you're old anymore, right?"

"Ugh, who woulda thought the way a twenty-four year old styled his hair would have people believing he's forty?" The teacher joked, earning an angelic laugh out of the sweet girl.

He couldn't help but adore the way she laughed, voice almost as angelic as when she sings or simply speaks. In all his years he'd never come across someone with such potential, not even himself. She was destined for greatness, to shine like a true star in the music business.

"Since we're on the topic of beauty tips, you should keep that smile up. It suits you much better." He winked, causing her to blush immensely and look away out of shyness. "And now that you're in better spirits, how about you tell me what had you so down?"

She bit her lip in contemplation before she decided to let her guard down, feeling more than comfortable with the teacher who had been more than kind to her in her hour of need.

"It's just…I'm a little embarrassed to go home…and face my parents…"

"What? Why's that?"

"Because of **STUPID MS. BREEZIE!** " Mina raised her agitated voice, pouting as she thought of the unorthodox English teacher.

"Breezie?" Ash adjusted his glasses, look confused as ever.

"She gave this stupid assignment that I'm pretty damn sure was only to stir up drama! I didn't want any part of it thanks to my new resolution to keep it drama free until I graduate, but it was worth a huge portion of our second semester grade. So I did it, exactly the way she wanted it, and she **STILL** failed me."

"Oh…shit…" The raven-haired mongoose mumbled to himself as he thought of his notoriously jealous lover.

"Now I've gotta go home with a D- in English." Mina mumbled, "My parents are gonna be so disappointed. Ugh, I swear that woman is out to get me! She's been so weird with me lately."

"Maybe I should have a little chat with her then."

"Really?" The mongoose girl breathed, whipping her head up to face him with stars in her eyes. "You'd do that for me?!"

"Of course!" Ash chuckled, standing up to his feet before he helped her off the ground. "No one picks on my favorite student if I've got something to say about it. And don't worry about our parents. Who could stay mad at their kid when Christmas is two days away?"

"Oh thank you, thank you!" The teen shouted with glee, leaping on to him with arms outstretched to wrap him up in a hug.

She rested her head on his chest, inhaling his inviting cologne before her eyes shot open and a blush crept up on her face. She then pulled away with an awkward chuckle, making sure to keep her nervous gaze on the floor.

* * *

"You sure you're okay Sally-Girl?" Bunnie asked her chipmunk friend as she eyed her intensely.

Sally looked horrible. The bags under her eyes were amplified by the huge bifocal lenses, her sleeves clearly a wrinkled mess from the wetness of her late night tears, and worst of all was that horrid frown that hadn't left her face all morning.

"I'm fine…" Sally tried to assure her the best she could, but knew she was getting nowhere as she recognized that knowing look on her longtime friend's face. "I…I'm just gonna miss you guys."

"Awe, we'll miss you too." The rabbit sighed, buying the statement as she threw her arms around the chipmunk for a hug. "Don't worry, we'll be back soon!"

She stepped back, holding Sally's hands as she offered her that kind smile she always wore. Beside her, Antoine offered a smile of his own every so often as his gaze wandered out toward the parking lot where he expected to see his father's expensive car any moment.

"My Love, our rides have both arrived." The coyote alerted Bunnie, making both girls turn to see the cars of their respective guardians' parked side-by-side with both her uncle and his father getting out to shake hands.

"Guess you're right, Sugah-Twan." She giggled, offering Sally one last hug before Antoine gave her one of his own. "I'll call you!"

"Have happy holidays you two." Sally offered them a smile accompanied by a weak wave that seemed to drain most of her energy.

They waved back before locking hands and strolling off, the image of the joyful couple that never seemed to struggle in the slightest eliciting a spark of envy from the auburn-haired girl's broken heart.

In that moment as she watched them go she saw something else. A head full of vibrant blue quills briskly making its way through a minor crowd just close enough to peak in her peripheral vision.

Suddenly that spark of envy turned to one of hope as her blue snow-boots turned toward his direction. After a quick sprint and some shoving, she just barely caught up to him.

She gazed at him in confusion as she watched him stomp around and turn his head every so often as if he were looking for something.

"Sonic…" She called out, reaching at his forearm with her hand.

He turned to peer over his shoulder at her, clearly annoyed that she had ceased his movements with her hold on his arm.

"I want to talk—"

"It'll have to fucking wait." He replied coldly, yanking his arm from her grasp. "I'm looking for someone."

He then walked off without so much as a second glance at her.

Sally frowned, her hand still in the air as she fought back the tears rising.

* * *

Since almost everyone on campus was taking off, it was a bit of a slow day for staff and security.

In the staff room, Officer Zonic had just entered, his presence turning the expressions of his colleagues from typical to incredibly curious.

The blue hedgehog could feel their stares on his back the entire time as he walked to the kitchen area and fixed himself up some coffee in silence. He ignored them, an annoyed look on his face as he did his best to shake the feeling of their eyes on him off.

He sighed in frustration as he picked up the piping hot cup of coffee and turned to walk over to the tables where he usually sat alone. Once he did, he was met with the faces of curious and a bit over-excited Tikal, Zespio, and Zector.

"Ahh!" He shrieked, startled by their sudden closeness as he dropped the cup that shattered on the floor. The hot liquid splattering on all their legs, but no one seemed to mind so much but him. "What the hell is your problem!?" He scolded them all.

"So…" Zespio began shyly.

"About your…" Tikal went on.

"Date with the cougar nurse!" Zector bellowed a little more abrasively, "How was it?!"

"None of your business." Zonic growled at the three, walking passed them in an attempt to avoid them. Only to have them follow him all over the room with irritating questions.

"Did you go somewhere nice?" Tikal asked curiously.

"Did she mention anything about a serious relationship?" Zespio added.

" **DID YOU SEAL THE DEAL, IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN?!** " Zector practically screamed in his ear.

The officer very quickly had enough, and turned heel to spin back toward the three with a face redder than a tomato.

"There's no way I'll get you three off my back about this, is there?" He grumbled.

"Not until we get the scoop." The echidna woman giggled, "C'mon Zonic, we're all friends here."

"Yeah!" Zector nodded, "We totally won't judge you for banging someone twice our age."

"It wasn't like that!" The hedgehog corrected him sharply.

"What do you mean?" Zespio asked in confusion, "This was a date, wasn't it?"

"I wouldn't call it that…"

"Well, what happened?" Tikal questioned.

"Nothing." Zonic sighed, "All she did was stare…"

"At like…your dick?" Zector tilted his head.

"No, you moron!" The hedgehog slapped his palm against his forehead, "My face! She just sat across the table staring at me for like an hour. We barely ate or talked."

Suddenly the excited demeanor of the three fell, with each of their faces a fresh frown.

"Why would she do that?" Tikal asked.

"How the fuck should I know?" Zonic snapped, too annoyed and embarrassed to deal with them.

He quickly left with an aggravated slam of the door. Zespio, Zonic, and Tikal exchanged guilty glances, feeling sorry for the hedgehog who'd spend holidays alone while they'd have someone to go home to.

* * *

"That's everything, right?" Knuckles asked, although he proceeded to slam the trunk of his car shut anyway.

"I think so." The pink echidna behind him nodded, walking up behind him to wrap her arms around his torso as she leaned up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

He then turned around so that he was facing her completely. Then he gave her a much more romantically fulfilling kiss on the lips. She couldn't help but laugh, the whole romantic aspect of their relationship still quite new to both of them.

"At least you and your grandpa live in Mobotropolois, so it's kinda somewhat less of a drive, and we'll be able to drop Espio off at Rainbow Valley on the way." Knuckles smiled, both of them turning to watch their chameleon friend give his goodbyes to the raven-haired lynx.

"You know, for a long time I really believed he was gay." Julie-Su commented.

"Same."

"I'm happy he's made an effort to come out of his shell. Being an introvert isn't the best personality trait for a boarding school." The pink girl leaned her head against his chest as they both gazed in the direction of Espio and Nicole.

 **INCOMING CALL**

Their peaceful moment of onlooking was quickly interrupted by the chime of her cellphone, causing both of them to jump up after being startled by the sudden sound.

Julie-Su smiled at their fearfulness over a stupid ringtone before she fished her phone from her pocket to see a picture of her daughter's first school photo glow brightly on screen.

 _"Hi Baby!"_ The pink echidna squealed once she answered the call in her now very motherly tone.

 _"Hi Mommy!"_ Lara-Su cheered on the other line in her adorable kid voice, _"Where are you? I want you to come home now and see my new dress!"_

 _"Oh Sweetie, I can't wait to see your new dress. I should be there in two or three hours."_

 _"And Mommy, I did all my homework and went to bed on time all week! So you don't have to bring Mr. Knuckles anymore."_

 _"Sweetheart, I'm not bringing him home as punishment."_ Julie-Su sighed, looking over at the frowning echidna standing across from her. _"He's gonna spend the holidays with us."_

 _"No. I don't want him to."_

 _"Lara—"_

 _"I want Daddy."_

 _"We've talked about this. He is your—"_

The line went dead before she even had the chance to finish.

Julie-Su pulled the cellphone away from her ear and back into her pocket before she turned her attention back over to the disheartened Knuckles.

"Hey," She called out to him, taking his hands in hers as she peered up at his face. "She'll come around. She's just stubborn like her mommy."

"No kidding." Knuckles chuckled, his sad frown rising into a bit of a grin. "I just want to be in her life Julie. I'm doing everything I can…"

"And you're doing great." She assured him with another kiss, "C'mon, we should get going."

"Right." He nodded before looking out toward the parking lot to holler at the chameleon standing off to the side with his girlfriend. "Es! We're taking off!"

Espio nodded in understanding before turning back to the lynx girl in front of him, their hands clasped together.

"I guess you'll be going then." Nicole commented as she saw the echidnas hop into the black car.

"You could always come with me…" He remarked, pulling her closer to unlink their hands in favor of placing them on her waist.

"You know I can't."

"I know, I know." The chameleon chuckled, bringing his lips closer to hers ever so slowly. "But you can't blame me for wanting to try. I'll miss you, Nicole."

"I'll miss you too." She blushed before their lips finally met.

Their kiss was brief, as they immediately pulled apart in fright at the sound of Knuckles slamming on the car horn.

"I'll call you." He assured her before finally releasing his hold on her.

"Tell your mother I said hello."

She waved him off until he disappeared into the car that's back lights flashed in signal that they were pulling out of their spot.

Nicole then breathed a disappointed sigh, this being the first time they'd ever be apart since their very first encounter, but the lynx girl knew how precious Christmas was to her mother and wouldn't feel right spending it any other way than with her.

She then turned to head back inside where it was much warmer, only to open her jade eyes and be met with the sight of a familiar figure. They widened in surprise as that old familiar feel of worry washed over her.

It was Shard, only he didn't look like the Shard she knew. He looked colder, less lively, and incredibly bitter. His playful smirk replaced by a cold scowl, his light-green eyes so void, and the nastiest cut she had ever seen running from ear-to-ear on his throat.

Her heart told her to call out to him, chase him down even, but her brain forced her feet in the opposite direction as it reminded her of the horrible photographs and what he had done to Espio.

Her moment of confliction rose a bit of hope in him, but once she turned to walk away…she took any hint of hope he'd ever had with her.

* * *

Rouge had strolled out to the parking lot just in time to catch her roommate and her ex caught up in a very romantic kiss. She grimaced at the two echidnas, jealousy clawing at her heart.

She turned away, her inner thoughts screaming at her to carry on with her walking like nothing. This was the universe's way of punishing her for so many selfish antics.

Although she and Julie-Su had no real quarrels, she found herself despising the echidna girl anyway.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" A voice sneered her way, making her lift her head up to shoot a disgruntled look at the sole-female member of the basketball team leaning on a snow-covered lamppost off to the side of her. "Seeing the guy you know you fuckin' love with some bitch. Like everything you went through together didn't ever mean shit."

"It probably would if I was a bitter bitch like you." The bat remarked coldly, although the violet-eyed girl's words did resonate with her on some level.

"Yeah, whatever. Go ahead and act that way." Shade huffed, eyeing the bat who casually strolled by her without even looking her way. "Bet you two don't even talk anymore. I bet he doesn't even remember your name, even though you hang out in the same crowd."

Rouge simply replied with a raise of her middle finger before finally adding some much needed distance between her and Shade.

She couldn't stand the bitch, but she also couldn't let the echidna see how much words like that affected her.

It's true, Knuckles no longer gave her the time of day, and she couldn't stand it in the slightest. For years they'd been so enthralled with one another, and for a brief time it felt like there was more than just lust between them. They were in love…and he seemed to have forgotten, unlike her.

On top of these mixed feelings were the confusing ones for her longtime best friend, Shadow.

Dr. Tikal had planted the seed of doubt within her about her feelings just being platonic, but his kiss and the way he clung to her for security had her second-guessing everything she thought of them.

They'd been avoiding each other a lot lately, the awkwardness too much for either of them to handle, but the more time they had a part the more confused she felt.

That's what her life has been like these last few weeks, just a whirlwind of hormones and conflicting feelings. She just wanted some form of clarity.

She ceased her thoughts once a familiar flash of black and red flew by her, immediately catching her eye as she turned her head to see the back of the black hedgehog she had just been thinking of.

All she could think of was Manic teasing her about being a pussy, and not taking her own advice. If she wanted clarity, she'd have to get it herself.

"Hey!" She called out, snow crunching underneath her white-heeled boots as she stormed after him. "Shadow!"

He must not have heard her over the crowds of bustling teens and luggage. In chasing him, she noticed his gaze turn left-to-right as if he were looking for something…or someone.

"Shadow! Hold on!" She called out once more, this time wrapping her hand around his forearm to pull him back.

He stumbled a bit, then turned to her with an annoyed scowl. Her irritated features quickly softened at the sight of him, but he seemed more irritated with her interruption than happy to see her.

"We need to talk—"

"I don't have time for your whiny bullshit." He cut off whatever she was going to say, ripping his arm out of her hold. "I've gotta look for Rosy."

Rouge's face practically boiled red with anger at being brushed off like nothing, and she immediately snatched his arm again. His annoyed gaze returning to her once more.

"You don't get to do that." She scolded him, any sort of calmness she had out the window. "Don't fucking brush me off like **I'M** the needy one who's always dependent on you!"

"Rouge, I'm busy." He replied in a harsher than usual tone.

"The psycho bitch can wait!" The bat retorted, making his jaw tighten.

"You've got no right to talk about her like that. You don't know her."

"And neither do you! You don't know anything about any of these girls other than their faults. You can't fix shit that's already broken, especially if you can't even hold yourself together."

"My mother's dead. I don't need another one." The ebony hedgehog stated bluntly after snatching his arm away from her to storm off again.

She'd gotten under his skin, but she wasn't finished yet. There was just so much anguish and frustration built inside her. She didn't mean for it to go like this, but her breaking point with everything in her life was far beyond reached.

"You don't **KISS** someone for no reason!" She screamed after him, a few eyes from the crowd falling over them.

Shadow stopped in his tracks just a few feet away, turning his head over his shoulder to look back at the bat with makeup running down her face mixed with tears.

He opened his mouth to say something as a sympathetic look crossed his face, only to have a fist randomly slam into his jaw and knock him down.

The red-striped hedgehog quickly sat up with red eyes full of fury as he glared at the blue hedgehog standing over him with fists raised.

"You snuck around with my fucking sister behind my back!" The blue hedgehog screeched in the angriest of tones as he dove on the black hedgehog.

The random crowds here and there quickly formed one giant circle around the bickering boys, excluding the crying bat who stood off to the side wiping her face on her white sleeve.

In the midst of her crying, she felt the weight of something settle on her shoulder, and arms snake around her slim waist. She gasped at the touch and quickly brought her teary, teal eyes up to see Manic resting his chin on her shoulder.

He offered her a kind smile, his quills sticking out like spider legs over his baby-blue eyes.

"That didn't go at all like how I thought it would." He chuckled, bringing up one of his hands to wipe the remaining black tears off her face. "But pretty girls shouldn't cry, remember?"

She giggled slightly, a small smiling creeping up on her thanks to the emotional rescue of her good friend.

"Wh-Who told Blue about Sonia?" She asked through light sobs as he lured her back over to the girl's dorm so she could get cleaned up.

"A very invasive English project." Manic chuckled, "Don't worry though. Ma's picking us up soon so they shouldn't be fighting for much longer."

* * *

In the main office, receptionist Rosemary had just got done clearing off her station for the two week vacation and was now in the center of the room kneeling in front of her son as she helped him tie his scarf better.

It warmed her heart to do even small things like this for him, the son she had longed to mother for so long.

She smiled warmly at him, his face resembling so much of his late father who perished in the DigItation terrorist attack that left her in a coma for years.

"There you are. This should keep you much warmer." The tan fox smiled, standing back up to her feet after adjusting her son's little white scarf.

"Thanks Mom." He nodded, bringing such joy to her.

"It's what I'm here for, Tails." She told him in the sweetest voice, "Are you reading to go home?"

"Umm, almost." Tails explained as his eyes caught sight of a familiar seedrian walking by the office they were standing in. "Mom, I'll be right back!"

He then ran to where his packed bag was and scooped out a box wrapped in yellow paper with a green bow. Rosemary watched him with interest as he dashed out of the office and down the hall after the green-haired girl.

"Cosmo!" The kitsune shouted out, "Wait up!"

Upon hearing her name, the seedrian quickly ceased her walking to turn around. She was surprised to see him of all people chasing after her.

He soon caught up to her, and upon closer inspection he could tell she had been crying before.

"Tails…" She greeted him, "Hi…"

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Yes. I'm fine." Cosmo smiled weakly, clutching one of her arms as she dropped her gaze to the floor. "I just really miss my parents around the holidays, but home is just too far away for me to go back…"

"Yeah, I remember." He nodded with a frown before extending his arms to hold the gift out to her. "I'm sorry you can't spend the holidays with your family, Cosmo."

"What's this?" She asked, taking his gift in her hands.

"It's a Christmas present, and sort of an apology present for how bad I made you feel these past few weeks. I'm really sorry about how things turned out…"

"Me too…" She blushed, a sheepish smile crossing her face. "Thank you Tails…"

"Well, I've gotta get going. My mom's waiting."

He then turned heel and headed back toward where his mother stood outside of the office holding both their bags, and took one before they walked out into the cold.

Cosmo smiled after him before looking down at the present, deciding that she'd wait until Christmas day to open it.

* * *

Back in Mobotropolis, Aleena rummaged through the kitchen looking for her keys. The lavender-haired woman sang happily to herself, practically dancing her way ever so lovely around until she spotted her keys hanging off the island countertop.

"There you are." She squealed cutely as she picked them up.

She then walked out of the kitchen and into the living room, her black-heeled boots clicking on the wooden floors as she strolled up to the big sectional couch where her husband sat watching television.

She leaned over to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him sweetly. He chuckled at her playfulness, kissing her back lightly with a smile.

"I've gotta go pick up the kids, but I don't want to." The purple hedgehog pouted, batting the lashes hanging over her gorgeous jade eyes. "It's been so nice just having you all to myself these past few days."

"Sharing is caring." Jules chuckled.

These past few days had been a dream come true for her. In all their years of marriage he had never shown such romanticism, caring, and attention like this. She almost didn't want to give it up to pick up the triplets.

"I'm sure I could get away with another half hour…" She purred seductively in his ear before leaping over the back of the couch to fall in his lap. "I could always say traffic held me up."

"As fun as what you're insinuating sounds…" The blue hedgehog smirked, leaning over to kiss her on her collarbone, "I really want my kids home."

"I do too." She sighed with a giggle before sitting up. Aleena then turned to him, biting her bottom lip as she looked him up and down. "But we will pick this up later tonight…and I do expect a…white Christmas." She winked before finally getting up to head out.

He shook off all the sexual tension she'd been tossing around as soon as the door shut. The blue hedgehog then breathed a sigh of relief at finally being alone.

Sure, these last few days had been a dream for her, but they were far from it for him. All he'd been doing was nodding yes to whatever she wanted, acting as more of a robot than a partner with freewill.

He just didn't want to rock the boat when he was about to drop such a bombshell on her…

He pulled out his phone and scrolled to his calendar app where he had a countdown clock set up.

"Ten days…" He mumbled to himself.

Ten days until Alicia's wedding.

Jules then turned off his phone and shoved it back in his pocket before he rested his hand on the bag next to him.

A messenger bag he got from his visit with Isabella Mongoose.

A bag full of divorce papers.

* * *

Back at Green Hill Academy, Sonia and Honey were well dressed to brave the winter's cold as they dragged their luggage out toward the parking lot where they expected their mothers to be. Unfortunately both of their parents were running late, at least giving them time for some going away words.

"I'm really sorry I let the whole _'you and Shadow'_ thing slip." Honey apologized, "I just get so mad when I think about what you had to go through because of well…me."

"Hey," Sonia cooed sympathetically, resting a hand on the cat's shoulder to make her look back up. Her hazel eyes meeting the hedgehog's green ones. "You couldn't have known unless he told you…"

"But he didn't." The cat shook her head, "If he had, I would have never went after him the way I did, and you'd probably be okay."

"Well, I'm okay now, and at least your pressuring showed me we weren't as stable as he wanted me to believe and I got a good friend out of it all." The magenta girl smiled, pulling the cat into a tight hug. "Thanks for standing up for me like that, Honey. Even though it costed you a whole letter grade."

Honey returned the hug joyfully, glad although the rumors and misconceptions people had of her were realized by Shadow's inability to be faithful, that she at least had the understanding and friendship of the girl she never intended to get hurt.

"Eh, I'll deal with my mom when she gets here." The cat giggled, pulling away to smile at her friend. "And Elias is totally cuter than him anyway."

"Hey, if it wasn't you…chances are he probably woulda left me for Manic anyway." Sonia joked.

" **SONIA!** " A voice from the parking lot called out.

Both girls turned to see the magenta girl's mother pull into the lot, waving her down as she shouted her name as loudly as she could with a big smile.

Sonia quickly said her goodbyes to Honey and promised to keep in touch before she grabbed her luggage and pulled the heavy thing out toward her mother's van with ease. She loaded it into the back, noticing her brothers' bags weren't inside yet.

She shrugged it off before walking around the vehicle toward the front seat where she reached out for the handle. Just before she could open it, she was jolted back by the sight of her brother slamming his shoulder into it to keep it shut.

"Manic? What the hell!" She scolded the panting hedgehog who carried nothing but a beaten up backpack.

"If…you…think…I'm sitting in the back…to deal with… **THAT!** " He pointed out toward their blue brother, who looked more beaten up than the green hedgehog's backpack storming up to them. "You're…crazy!"

"Ugh…" The pink-quilled girl groaned as Manic quickly opened the front door and seated himself.

"Are you fucking kidding me Sonia?" Sonic bellowed as he hoisted his bag lazily into the back and shut the trunk.

"Shut up." She rolled her eyes, climbing into the backseat where he quickly followed after her and closed the door.

"What's going on?" Aleena asked Manic, who sunk in his seat.

"Please tell me the radio isn't still busted in this thing, Ma?"

"I've been meaning to get that fixed." She chuckled awkwardly, breaking the green boy's heart.

"Do you have to sleep with **ALL** my friends?!" Sonic's angry voice bellowed from the backseat.

"I didn't **SLEEP** with anyone." His sister corrected him, "And who I date is none of your business."

"Oh my…" Aleena cringed, her and Manic exchanging sour looks as she started the engine.

"Of course it is when they're **MY** friends! And you're **MY** sister!"

"Stop acting like you're older than me!" Sonia scolded him, "We're all the same fucking age! And if you wanna get technical…I came out first!"

"Knuckles, Shadow, who's next? You gonna fuck my enemies too?"

"Please, you're girlfriend already covered those bases, remember?"

"Ugh…" Manic whined, fishing out his drumsticks to twirl around as he looked out the window. "It's gonna be a long ride home…"

* * *

Silver and Gold sat on the curb together as they waited for the bus heading to Soleanna, where Gold's parents had booked the hotel they'd be staying at for the convention coming up.

They were both excited for their first con of the year, but the white hedgehog was more so taken by relief. Relived that the tenrec wasn't scared off or disheartened in any way by his ex's immature friends.

"I can't wait to meet the comic artists!" Gold cheered excitedly, turning to him with that adorable smile. "Maybe we can get new matching boots! Or even jackets."

"Totally." He agreed as he nudged her with a smirk, "They'll go great with our signed Crush 40 CDs."

"Really? So you'll still go?" She asked with stars in her eyes as she clasped her hands together.

"Yeah. Since you gave me the tickets, the least I could do is go pick you up a signed CD. Even if I have to be that awkward guy who came alone to a concert." Silver explained, "Maybe I'll find friends there, who knows."

"Oh yay!" Gold cheered, wrapping her arms around him as she rested her head on his shoulder, making him blush immensely at her touch.

He just let her hang there for as long as she would stay, but he did find himself a bit disappointed when she pulled away to stand up and point out toward the parking lot.

"013! That's our bus number!" The tenrec called out, turning around to extend her hand out for him to pull himself off the curb.

Kids quickly started pooling on to the bus, worrying them that they might not be able to sit together. The two quickly grabbed their bags and scrambled toward the bus.

"C'mon, we better hurry so we could sit together!" Gold yelped as she ran off.

He followed after her, but his sprinting soon slowed as he caught sight of a familiar girl heading on to the bus.

"Marine?" He whispered to himself as he watched the teary-eyed raccoon girl drag her suitcase up the steps of the bus.

Crying and an upset demeanor of the slightest kind was not her style at all, and it didn't suit the usually bubbly and talkative girl he'd always known. Something was wrong, really wrong.

That's when he noticed Blaze wasn't with her…

"Silver!" Gold called out, snapping him out of his thoughts as he absentmindedly walked onto the bus and lost the tenrec. "Over here." She waved him down.

He nodded, turning his amber eyes away from the raccoon sobbing lightly to herself alone in the front seat as he squeezed his way down the aisle to sit with Gold. He took the window seat, breathing out as he tried to collect his thoughts.

He turned his head toward the window, gazing out to the snow-covered campus and the people crowding the parking lot to distract himself, but what his amber eyes caught in the massive crowds were everything he'd been trying to avoid.

Sitting at one of the picnic tables by the fountain in the center of campus was the gray-striped hedgehog himself, and sitting on his lap with his hand securely around her waist was a bitter-looking Blaze…who seemed to be staring straight at him.

He was infuriated, eyes widening as a hurt expression crossed his face.

Silver then turned away, teeth and fists clenched tightly as he pushed his negative feelings away.

"Silver?" Gold called out, taking one of his balled fists in her gentle hand as he looked back up to her worried expression. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." He assured her with the realest fake smile he could muster before he regretfully turned his gaze back out the window where the cat and hedgehog were long lost in the crowd.

 _'I don't care…'_ He thought to himself, _'I don't want to care…'_

* * *

After a special plea to the principal's son, Mighty had managed to convince Elias into stealing the keys to the roof of the main building for him. The squirrel's only request was that he didn't make a habit out of asking him to do such risky things, and that he get the girl.

He assured the prince that he would, but now that he was alone on the roof pacing back and forth with nothing but his thoughts…he started to doubt himself… **A LOT**.

He kept checking the time on his phone, nervous that he wouldn't be on schedule to see his sister, or that the girl he'd been slipping notes might get freaked out and never come.

Dating and romance have never really been his thing. At first it was just Matilda pushing him into seeking normal teenage boy things like a girlfriend, but now he found himself more and more hopeful and invested in the idea.

"C'mon Mighty! You can punch through brick! I'm sure you can talk to a girl just fine!" He tried to reassure himself, fixing up his red sweater as he continued to pace around. "She'll come! She'll love you! You're a fucking stud, dude!"

 **CLICK!**

His heart nearly ripped out from his chest and ran away at the sound of the door clicking, and scraping across the floor as someone pushed it. The armadillo shook violently, making Ray's anxiety look like child's play with how badly he was sweating and shivering.

First, her red boot came into view, then the other, and finally she came all the way through the door.

She was just as beautiful as he remembered seeing her on the first day he moved into that little cottage in Mercia with Ray and Matilda last summer.

Her petite frame complimented by the knitted winter-dress that hugged her torso tightly and flared out at her waist, her pink quills pulled back by that red headband she almost never seemed to take off, and those jade eyes sparkling light real gems as she looked around the roof for any sign of life.

It was Amy Rose! The girl he'd spend hours watching dance outside of her cousin's lavish manor, and in turn burning the breakfast he'd try to prepare his younger siblings.

"Hello?" She called out, looking in all the wrong directions as Mighty stood off to her left.

He almost stood silent and waited for her to leave, too nervous to finally approach her formally, but he found the courage to call out to her amongst all odds.

"Over here!" He waved in her peripheral vision, causing her to turn his way.

His smile quickly fell as she replied, but not in the way he had hoped.

"Sonic!" She squealed cutely, "I got your note…wait, you aren't…"

She started walking before she looked, something she's always been prone to doing, but quickly stopped right in front of him with a confused look.

That's when he realized he had forgotten to put his name on the notes. His nervousness grew as she looked more and more disappointed with each passing second.

"Oh…I forgot to put my name on the note, didn't I?" Mighty chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh no." The pink girl groaned, face flush with embarrassment as she brought up her hands to shield herself. "You…You wrote those?"

"I…Well, umm…yeah." The armadillo nodded, confidence quickly fading as he turned to mush around the hedgehog.

Amy pouted, dropping her gaze to the rooftop they stood on as she sighed heavily.

"I thought…I thought those were from Sonic…"

"Sonic?" Mighty questioned, "I thought you guys were broken up…"

"We were…but we are working things out." She shot back up right with a cheery smile that seemed forced, "Well, we were supposed to be, but I accidentally ended up here. He kind of wrote something really nice for me in class, and I thought these notes were his way of luring me away to talk about it."

"Oh…" He frowned, "I…I'm sorry. I heard you guys were finished, and thought I…I'm sorry."

"I should go." Amy spoke up, the awkwardness too great, even for her. "I'm sorry to let you down like this, but I don't even know you…"

"I'm actually your neighbor, back in Mercia." He corrected her, hoping she'd remember the times he brought her the mail, or the other time he helped her put her sprinkler together. "You live in O'Hedge manor, and I live in the tiny cottage right next door…"

"I didn't know we had neighbors." She shrugged, further bringing him down. "Well, sorry about this little misunderstanding. I've gotta go, Sonic might've not left yet!"

She then hastily scurried off, unfazed or moved at all by the armadillo although his notes were the cause of most of her joy these past few days…

* * *

" **HER?!** " Fiona screamed at the top of her lungs as she shut her room door behind her and proceeded to wreak havoc on the room. " **HOW COULD HE WANT HER!? OF ALL PEOPLE, WHY HER?!** "

Ray had told her the truth. That it was Amy Rose who had outbested her for the affections of Mighty, and she just couldn't stand it. Of all the people at the school, it had to be the one girl that was a constant thorn in her side, the spoiled brat who had left her last relationship in ruins just the same.

The vixen wailed and screamed, pulling at her own hair before releasing her rage out on the room.

Swiping both hers and Sally's things off the dressers, kicking the drawers in before tipping them over into a frenzy of broken pieces and clothes. Posters were clawed off the walls, beds were tossed, and curtains were shredded.

"I hate her!" She screamed as she tore up everything she could get her hands on, "I hate that spoiled little bitch! I fucking hate her!"

Thankfully everyone was either gone, outside, or somewhere else. No one around to hear the fox's meltdown as she proceeded to destroy everything in her shared room.

She couldn't help it, so much pent up aggression just coming full circle.

She tried so hard to better herself, to prove something not only to herself, but to him. That she was worth a chance. Then here comes Amy, his very own rich, _'girl next door'_ type with her pretty little face and cheery nature. Stealing his heart without even acknowledging that he existed.

"It was all for nothing….cause bitches like her always get what they want…and not what they deserve…" She grumbled to herself as she finally settled down in a corner.

 **INCOMING CALL**

One of the only things she hadn't destroyed was her cellphone, which sat on the turned over mattress that now rested on the floor by the broken dressers. Curiously, she crawled to it and picked it up, peering at the screen through blurry tears.

It was a picture of her and Mighty. She had her arms draped around his neck, and his at her waist as they posed jokingly in front of some stupid _'Cute Couples Get Food Free'_ sign outside of a burger place where they hoped to score some food once.

It worked, but clearly not in reality…

 **REJECTED.**

 **INCOMING CALL.**

 **REJECTED**

 **INCOMING CALL.**

 **REJECTED.**

Instead of tossing the phone away, she scrolled to her contacts and proceeded to make a call of her own. One that would surely shift a change in alignments.

 _"Yo."_ The hedgehog on the other line greeted in his typical confident tone.

 _"Kick Mephiles out."_ She stated as she stood up from the floor, _"I'm coming over."_

 _"Is this a booty call?"_ He asked, his smirk practically visible to her.

 _"I want you back, Scourge…"_ The vixen whimpered, gripping the phone tightly. _"I need you…"_

 _"What about your ever so perfect, Mitten or whatever the fuck his name is."_

 _"Fuck him."_ Fiona growled, making the green hedgehog on the other line smile.

 _"Then come on down."_ He said before hanging up on her.

He then crossed his arms triumphantly behind his head as he turned to peer at the hedgehog sitting on the bed opposite of his.

"You better high tail it outta here, Mephy." Scourge smirked at his bewildered roommate, "Fiona's on her way, and I'm pretty sure it's not just to say hello…"

"How did you manage that?" The gray-striped boy asked, incredibly surprised by the vixen's abrupt plea to return.

"Like I said before, they always come back to me sooner or later…"

* * *

 **And there you have it! The start of a very dramatic winter vacation. With next chapter being Christmas Eve, and the following finally being Christmas! So expect the unexpected and the expected drama...if that makes any sense.**

 **To clarify timewise, these chapters are usual day-to-day, but sometimes there might be a time skip, but not most of the time. Silver's concert feels like it's been talked about forever, but it's only been like two weeks for him. The concert will take place mid-January, so it's not too far off.**

 **So let's talk Mighty's crush! So many awesome theories were born from this, and to be honest I've genuinely been shipping Mighty x Julie-Su since like, chapter five, but my biases had to be put away for obvious reasons. His crush was already set, and had been very subtly hinted at by Matilda and the flashback he had in chapter seven I believe where Ray and Matilda tease him about being distracted by the neighbor girl. Recall that Mighty had moved his siblings out to a small cottage in Mercia...and there were only two other students in the story from Mercia other than them. Antoine, and AMY.**

 **Not that it matters now, seeing as how she left him hanging the way she did. And poor Fiona, doesn't seem like she'll be playing for the good guys anymore...**

 **Still, I had a blast reading your theories on that one, but now that that's laid to rest there's still so much more to go! And with how long this story has gotten you've probably forgot some things.**

 **Fun Question: Hints are littered through the story on a number of these unanswered questions. Do you have any clue or suspicions on any of these-some very soon to be answered-questions?**

 **-What's with Manic and Scourge?**

 **-Who is Tails' mysterious biological older brother?**

 **-Who is the fourth Acorn child?**

 **-What caused the scars on Sally's face?**

 **-Why was Scourge so obsessed with Sally before? And why isn't he so much anymore?**

 **-How much punishment did Jet, Tekno, and Eclipse get?**

 **-What was in the envelope Thrash had delivered to Julie-Su?**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Knuckles struggles to win over Lara-Su**

 **Tails runs into someone very unexpected at his father's grave...**

 **Gold and Silver run into a bit of an awkward bind when they get to the hotel**

 **Things are very strained at home for the Hedgehog family...**

 **And so much more!**


	61. Chapter 61

**WARNING: Child abuse, mentions of domestic violence, child neglect, drug use, and attempt at drugging/rape**

* * *

 **Chapter 61: Christmas Eve**

 _'You shouldn't be able to recall shit from when you were three, but no one forgets an ass beating like the one my mom gave me all those years ago on this very day…_

 _She had just gotten off the phone with my dad, and I was sitting in my stupid booster seat at the table while she paced angrily and shouted. I remember watching her run her hands through her hair after chucking the phone to the wall._

 _I don't know what he said to her, but she was pissed, and needed an outlet._

 _That's when she turned to me, fiddling with my plastic spoon in my mouth. She didn't have her usual smile on either._

 _"This is your fault." She screamed as she stomped over and flipped my booster seat over with me in it. "You weren't good enough to make him stay! He's gone because of you! I hate you!"_

 _I fell flat on my face, cut from my shattered baby food jar. A stream of blood ran off my forehead and down my nose as I screamed my head off crying._

 _I think that was the first time I'd ever been hurt before, both physically and emotionally…_

 _Instead of realizing her mistake and scooping me back up into her arms like a decent mother, she got on her knees and started punching me._

 _I was three, a fucking baby…and she was pounding on my ribs, and my barely developed skull._

 _"A mistake! That's what you are." She told me as she took hold of a bigger glass shard resting by us. "One I just…want to erase…"_

 _Then she cut me._

 _Twice, across the chest._

 _She wanted to kill me…to erase me…_

 _I wish she had sometimes._

 _Christmas Eve._

 _Mothers were kissing their babies, loving them, but she was leaving me a bloody mess to die out on the kitchen floor._

 _I remember watching the ceiling fan spin above me like that thing that used to hang above my crib with the spaceships attached, and the music…_

 _She loved to cook with the radio on, and when she left she forgot to shut it off. Always on that girly station she loved so much._

 _Surprisingly, I recovered all by myself, and lived off roaches and murky bathtub water until my dad randomly showed up one day._

 _Without proper care…my chest scarred nastily._

 _A constant reminder of what I am…_

 _Unwanted._

 _Unloved._

 _A mistake._

 _Something that should be…erased.'_

"Scourge?" Fiona asked, pulling his bed covers off her face as she shuffled closer to his side and snuggled in. He looked troubled as he propped his head up with his arms and stared up at the ceiling with a disgruntled expression.

The same way he knew of her parental issues, she knew of his too, and she knew how hard Christmas time was for him.

"I'm fine." He assured her, looking back at her with a sly smirk. "A little horny, but fine…"

"Well, I could probably help with that." The vixen smirked, pulling her hair tie out to let her rust-colored locks loose the way he loved, even opting to remove the yellow bow he despised so much.

She then hopped over on top of him underneath the sheets, already naked from the night prior. He grinned, somewhat happy to finally have some intimacy from anyone after so long.

"I missed you." She purred as she kissed his neck.

Then she pulled up to shoot him her seductive smile, her messy hair falling over half her face in a way that reminded him of…someone else.

Someone with auburn hair and blue eyes. He touched at her cheek with his fingertips, his voice low and husk, but sincere and honest.

"I miss you too…"

* * *

Once Aleena had pulled up into the parking lot of their home in Mobotropolis, she and Manic wasted no time in getting out of the car and speedily walking toward the front door. They both were completely drained with sore ears thanks to the nonstop three hour bickering between Sonic and Sonia in the backseat.

The lavender woman fumbled with the keys, the searing headache she had making it difficult to clearly determine which key was right, all while Sonia and Sonic **STILL** bickered behind her.

"C'mon Ma…" Manic whined, palm against his forehead. "I need an icepack."

"You and me both." She grumbled, finally unlocking the door.

She stepped in first, Manic following behind her, but quickly stopping in his tracks at the sight of his father standing by the door. His eyes widened in surprise before the features of his face settled into a very annoyed expression.

"Welcome home, Manic." His father forced a smile, not fooling the green hedgehog in the slightest.

"Two holidays in one year…" Manic remarked sarcastically as he immediately made a break for the stairs, loathing being in the older blue hedgehog's presence. "That's a new record for you, huh?" He jabbed at his father's notorious absence before he disappeared up the stairs.

Jules sighed heavily, just as irritated with his son, but his frustrations quickly faded at the voices of his real pride and joy. He turned to see Sonia and Sonic coming in together, scolding each other and practically at one another's throat.

It would have probably gone on like that forever if he hadn't interrupted.

"Hey now, you two." He scolded them, his voice silencing them as they turned toward him with stars in their eyes, excited to see him stretch out his arms for a hug. "Can you spare a breath for hello my way?"

"Dad!"

"Daddy!"

The two cheered in unison as the leapt into his arms. He hugged them tightly, kissing the tops of both their heads before setting them free.

"You know I can't stand when you two fight." He scolded them with a playful smile, both of them averted their gazes from one another.

"Sorry…" They both said, more so directed at him than each other.

After a bit more chatter, they both set off to their rooms, leaving the military man to stare after them from the staircase. He frowned once more at both their fading figures, and the green hedgehog's closed door that happened to be right up the stairs.

The next day was Christmas Eve, and the three siblings woke up extra early thanks to all the rattling downstairs. First Sonia came down the steps in her frilly, pink nightgown, followed by Sonic in his gray sweats, and Manic in his same outfit from yesterday.

They all were exhausted. Sonic yawning as he arched his back, Sonia rubbing the sleepiness from her eyes, and Manic's quills a lot messier than usual.

"What's going on down here?" Sonia whined in annoyance as she took that first cold step onto the wooden floor of the living room.

"Just got done setting up the tree." Jules chuckled as he pointed toward the tall tree behind him with his thumb. "Sorry if I woke you three, but you're just in time to start decorating."

Sonia rushed over to the cardboard box full of decorations with excitement, fishing out ornaments as Sonic strolled over to his dad.

"You coulda called me down to help you, ya'know?" The blue youngster teased, nudging his father's shoulder.

"I'm not old enough to start asking for your help." The taller hedgehog replied with a smirk practically identical to Sonic's.

"Oh wow, puts up a tree and he's suddenly Father of The Year…even though he's missed about 99% of it." Manic remarked bitterly as he walked right passed the three and in to the kitchen where he could hear his mother humming.

Sonic and Sonia just rolled their eyes as Jules stared after the troublesome teen with a somewhat disheartened look.

Manic could care less, walking nonchalantly into the kitchen where he watched his mother hard at work making breakfast. She felt his eyes on her back, and immediately turned around to greet him with a smile.

"Oh Sweetie, I didn't expect any of you to be up so soon." She greeted before turning back to her mixing bowl, "Breakfast will be ready in a jiffy!"

"Sure." The green hedgehog nodded, his mind wandering as he turned his attention toward the radio on the counter.

He frowned at it before turning off back toward his room in silence.

* * *

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 ** _Mephiles_** _: You've been quite dodgy these days, Rose. I expect to see you at the party tonight._

Rosy sucked her teeth before tossing her phone carelessly toward the dresser beside her bed where it missed and landed face down on the floor. She'd been avoiding her tormentor friend in her time of self-evaluation and didn't miss him in the slightest.

She crossed her arms behind her head as she stared at the ceiling of her dorm room, envious of all the kids who had families to go back to while she was one of the many forgotten children who resided on school grounds.

Another unloved child from Moebius. The pink hedgehog's father had split before her birth. Her mother was young and had more interest in the party scene rather than her own child.

Because of this, she found herself being left alone quite often as a child, and was all too used to the feeling of isolation.

 **CREAK…**

Upon hearing the creaking of wood, the hedgehog immediately sprung up in her bed, eyes shooting instantly toward the door of her room.

"Who's there?" She called out, half-expecting to hear Mephiles' annoying laughter.

There was no reply, only the sound of the door creaking open until in walked a black hedgehog, the one with crimson eyes.

She glared at him coldly as he shut the door behind himself and slowly made his way toward her.

"No one invited you in." She remarked as he took a seat at the edge of her bed.

"I'm not a vampire." He retorted in his usual crude tone, "I don't need an invitation."

"Yeah, whatever." She huffed, crossing her arms as she turned away from his smirking face. "Shouldn't you be off to Lala Land with that bat slut?"

"Rouge's mom can't risk picking us up when so many people are out here." The ebony hedgehog chuckled as he thought of his friend's overzealous mother. "Her license has been suspended for the last three years…"

The statement got a bit of a laugh out of the goth-styled girl, and even had her turning back toward him. That's when she noticed the bruise on his jawline, but it didn't take away at all from the allure he had.

"So, why the hell are you here?" She asked, trying to end the silence that threatened to ensue if she didn't speak up.

"Just to be here." He shrugged, vague as ever. "I'm not usually one for company, but I like yours…"

She blushed as his smirk turned more into a kind smile.

He and Mephiles were on an entirely different spectrum, and she found herself definitely leaning more his way.

Mephiles was manipulative, abusive in the way of words, but Shadow was honest and poetic even. Still, as always, she'd keep her guard up.

"What about her?" Rosy piped up again, arms still folded as she sat cross-legged on the black-sheeted bed.

"Who?"

"Hoe the Bat."

Shadow blinked twice at her before he turned his head to look down at his white shoes on the wooden floor, thinking about the snow-haired girl he was so cruel to yesterday. A small smile came to his face at the thought of her, and he even let out a low laugh.

"Although quite tiresome and even annoying sometimes…she's everything I'll ever need."

"So she's what? Like, your…girlfriend?" The pink girl mumbled, a bit disheartened by the possibility. That is, until he threw his head back with laughter.

"We're close, but not like that." He waved in dismissal, "Rouge is more like…my rock. The one thing I can hold on to for support in any situation. She's seen me through so much in my life. Even on my worst days she'll still put up with me…"

The more he thought about her, the worse he felt about his cruelty and avoidance of the bat. It was nothing against her, the month had just taken all of his emotions for one hell of a ride. Old memories of Maria's suicide, Eclipse's arrest, it was all just tangling up his heartstrings and pushing her away was just his way of lashing out.

Rosy's gaze soon fell to her lap, her quills casting a shadow over her face as she gripped the sheets at her sides tightly.

"I had a special bond with someone like that once…" She said in an almost whisper.

Shadow just stared at her as she kept her head down, sympathy in his crimson eyes as he leaned over to cradle her face and pick up her head to meet her teary eyes.

"Back then…I never had to be alone…"

"You don't have to now." He replied in a whisper to match hers as he leaned closer to plant a soft kiss on her lips.

* * *

Black pants with pink legwarmers falling over white snow boots, a black sweatshirt with a giant, pink heart design in the center accompanied by pink armwarmers, and a pink, knitted beanie that fell over her white curls; Rouge sat on her over-stuffed white luggage outside in the parking lot.

Beside her stood the adorable Cream, bundled up in yellow pants and an over-sized orange sweater that fell at her knees. She hugged herself, the wind brushing her short hair to the side as she looked out toward the only road leading off campus.

"Wh-Why didn't your mom pick you guys up yesterday like everyone else?" Cream shivered, looking toward the bat who scrolled through her phone.

"Because she's a dumb bitch." Rouge huffed, clearly irritated. "Says she'll be here by three, doesn't show up til eight or something."

"Seems pretty forgetful, huh?"

"Well, that's what booze do to some people." The older girl shrugged, putting her phone back to her ear as she attempted to call Shadow again.

Like the first twelve times, her call was ignored. She groaned in frustration as she redialed, only to get the voicemail box once more. After three more calls she just gave up trying, opting to shove her phone back in her pocket so she could lean over and run her hands over her face.

"Why do all the guys in my life have to be assholes?" She whined.

"That's not true." Cream assured her, coming closer to rest a hand on her shoulder. "Knuc…Soni…Er, uh… Manic's nice, and so is Tails."

Rouge couldn't help but laugh as the rabbit fumbled over her words just to try and help. Cream blushed in embarrassment before the bat rested her hand gently atop the rabbit's head.

"Oh Cream, I knew your sunshine would come in handy on days like this." Rouge smiled, pulling her younger friend into a kind hug. "Screw Shadow! How about you just come home with me?"

"Only if I can bring my mama!" The rabbit winked, getting another rise of laughter out of the bat.

"C'mon, you know our moms are mortal enemies." Rouge waved.

"Just teasing." Cream giggled, "At least you and I are best friends."

"Forever and always, Cupcake." The older girl added, poking her friend's nose gently. "And here I was all gloom and doom without even thinking about you. I heard Tails and Cosmo broke up not too long ago…"

Cream's smile immediately fell into more of a conflicted expression, peaking the bat's curiosity.

"That's…not a good thing?" Rouge rose an eyebrow, the rabbit's face glowing red as she shot her head down.

"I…I don't know…" The rabbit admitted.

"What do you mean you don't know? You've liked him since you were practically babies!"

"I know, and I still do! But…"

"But what?" The bat whined, "I'm sure that little Cosmo girl will understand."

"It's not Cosmo." Cream corrected, looking back up so they're eyes met. "It's Ray…"

"Ray? That kid with the locker under yours?"

"Yeah…." She nodded, "I don't know what changed, but I think I might...like him too."

Rouge frowned at her, finding it pretty ironic that her little friend was in the same situation she was in herself.

"Maybe nothing changed, maybe you've liked him this whole time and just didn't realize it until he started showing someone else a little interest." The bat suggested, mind drifting toward the echidna she missed dearly. "Or maybe you just can't see yourself with anyone other than the one you've cared for always." She added, mind wandering to the black hedgehog.

"That doesn't really…help."

"I'm honestly not in any condition to give you advice on this one." Rouge sighed, pulling out her phone after feeling it vibrate in her pocket. "All I know is, you should hurry up and pick before they both end up fucking you over."

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 ** _Shadow:_** _Not coming home for the holidays. Sorry._

"Of-fucking-course." She huffed angrily.

Just as she did so, her mother's car just pulled up into the parking lot. The older bat waved and called out to her, forcing her to get off the luggage and drag it toward her vehicle.

"Bye Creamy." She hollered over her shoulder, "Stay out of trouble, Merry Christmas Eve, and let me know how things work out for you."

"I will!" Cream cheered, waving after her friend until the car made a U-turn and drove off.

Then she stood outside by herself, thinking about what the bat told her to do. That's when she pulled out her own cellphone.

* * *

The drive to Sand Blast City was awkward. Mighty was quiet for once, his usual pep gone for the day as he gripped the steering wheel in both hands and looked out onto the road with a disheartened frown in silence. Heart in ruins at Amy's insensitive rejection, but more so at how he'd have to explain to his little sister why he hadn't brought anyone as he promised.

In the passenger seat sat Ray, head cradled in his palm as he rested his forehead against the window and looked out at the moving scenery with an expression just as disheartened as his older brother figure.

No words were spoken the entire way. Sometime later they finally arrived at the ranch belonging to Beauregard Rabbot, who had just gotten out of his car in the driveway, his niece hopping out of the passenger side.

Once the boys got out of Mighty's car, the two rabbits walked over to greet and welcome them into their home.

"You two alright?" Bunnie questioned, eyeing them up and down after noticing their dreary mood.

Neither of them had time to answer, as both of their attention was stolen by the familiar voice that called out to them with such glee.

" **MIGHTY! RAY!** "

They turned toward the front door of the snow-covered ranch, eyes widening in a mixture of shock and joy at the sight of Matilda the Armadillo.

"Tilly…" The two breathed in shock as the green-shelled armadillo girl ran to them with new prosthetic arms outstretched for an embrace.

They ran to her, the three of them colliding into a blissful group hug just the way they used to. Mighty loomed over them both, overjoyed at having both of them in his reach again. Bunnie and her uncle just smiled, happy they could help the three reunite for the holidays.

"We've all missed you so much." Mighty told her, kissing the top of her head before she pulled away from their hug to look around.

"I've missed you too!" She smiled at him, eyes still scanning the area with interest. "So, where is she?"

"Who?"

"Your girlfriend!"

"Oh…I—"

"Now, now Matilda." Beauregard strolled up, waving in dismissal before throwing an arm over Mighty's and Ray's shoulders. "Your brothers had a long ride, so did Bunnie and I. How about we save all the chatter for tomorrow? It's kinda late."

"That sounds fair, Uncle Beau." The armadillo girl nodded, clasping her new hands around both of her brothers' wrists to pull them along inside. "C'mon! I'll show you to your rooms. Lulumae and I made them up already!"

After a quick tour, a much needed shower, and some goodnight hugs, everyone set out to their rooms and fell asleep quickly. Everyone except Ray.

He stood in his bed, tan blanket draped over him as the moon's light illuminated the otherwise dark room. He just couldn't shake the image of Fiona's hurt expression after he confessed the name of the girl whom his brother had feelings for, and the way she ran off in what looked like tears.

Pure empathy for the ever so misunderstood vixen radiated from his person, the sorrows he felt for her keeping him awake almost all night.

 _'How could Mighty not know…'_ He thought to himself as he finally began to doze off.

The sun soon came up not a second after the squirrel finally closed his eyes, causing him to sit upright in his bed and rub his tired eyes. He looked around, remembering where he was as he inhaled the aroma of what smelt like breakfast.

He quickly tore the sheets off himself and planted one foot on the cold floor before getting up to fish in his bag for his toothbrush and clothes. As he looked through the bag he had rested up against the pale green wall, he noticed a silly keychain attached to the zipper.

A tiny red fox, something Fiona had won for him at Twinkle Park one day.

 **INCOMING CALL**

He sprung up in fright before realizing the noise was only his phone vibrating on the dresser. Then he scrambled to his feet quickly, a bit of hope that it might be the red fox. Only to discover a picture of Cream's beautiful smile on his screen.

Normally he would've been excited, the rabbit being his high school crush and all, but he was too concerned with how he left Fiona.

He waited for the ringing to stop before he discarded the missed call. That's when the crazy idea of calling the fox popped into his mind, and without thinking he dialed her number right away.

Straight to voicemail.

 _"Fi-Fiona, its Ray…"_ He called out to her voicemail, hoping she'd get the message soon. _"I'm wo-worried about you, and I'm…I'm sorry… Please call me… It's Ch-Christmas Eve…"_

Then he hit the end call button and tossed his phone to the bed, a single tear of frustration falling down his face before he picked up his things and stormed off to the bathroom.

After freshening up, he came out of the bathroom dressed and ready for the day. The squirrel walked down the long hallway before he heard the melancholy voice of his sister come from the room he had just walked by. He backtracked quickly, peering into the crack of the ajar door to see Matilda sitting on the bed looking down at her lap in sorrow, and Mighty standing in front of her as he kept his gaze to the floor.

"So there is no girlfriend…" She murmured sadly.

"I'm sorry Tilly. I tried…but she wasn't interested…at all." Mighty confessed, heart aching as he thought of the pink hedgehog. "I should have just told you, but I thought I could save it somehow. To make you happy…"

"Mighty, you big goof!" She pouted, standing up to throw her arms around his torso for a hug. "I'm happy just having you here, both of you." She turned toward Ray standing at the door before looking back up to the armadillo boy. "But I am sad that you lied to me…"

"I'm sorry." The red-shelled boy sighed, "Technically, it wouldn't have been lying if I had brought Fiona because she's a friend and a girl—"

"Th-That's **NOT** funny." Ray barked from where he stood, making both of his siblings turn their heads.

"It's not a joke. I called a billion times before we left yesterday to invite her, but she ignored them all!" Mighty explained obliviously, "Don't know what her problem is though."

"I-If you really do-don't know why she's upset, you're an idiot." The squirrel remarked coldly.

"Ray…" Matilda gasped.

"What the hell is your problem?"

"Just leave me alone!" Ray shouted angrily before storming out of the room and down the hall he came from, only to bump into the much taller rabbit girl.

Bunnie tilted her head in confusion before concern washed over her as he peered up to her through teary eyes. She quickly kneeled down to eye-level with him, gripping his shoulders in both hands as he threw his head down in shame.

"Hey now, Sugah." She cooed sweetly, cradling his cheek in a motherly fashion that reminded him of the red vixen. He couldn't help but lift up his head to face her, the smile she wore so tender. "Tilly's been waiting awful long to see you two, and it's Christmas Eve. No time to be fightin'."

"I…I'm sorry..."

* * *

Manic strolled casually back through the living room, the rest of his family still at the table dining on breakfast. He finished quickly on purpose, loathing being in the vicinity of his father while his mother and siblings gushed over him like some savior.

The green hedgehog couldn't help bet grumble in disgust at the family pictures on the wall he passed by.

A picture of his parents kissing at their wedding, one of Jules fishing with Tails and Sonic, another of him and Aleena sitting at a piano with a young Sonia just learning how to play.

So many pictures of a man and woman loving their children…

None of him though.

He carried on, brushing off the unwanted feeling in his heart as the only picture there was of him was covered up by a picture of Aleena holding Tails pinned into the frame.

* * *

The bus ride to Soleanna was long, especially for Silver as his mind constantly wandered to the purple feline he'd been doing such a good job of avoiding until now.

Thankfully, the tenrec was around to keep him grounded. The bus had dropped them off at Station Square, where the hotel Gold's parents had booked a room was located.

The building was tall and gorgeous! Much more divine than either of them was expecting.

"Wow, you're parents really went all out, huh?" Silver whistled.

"I guess this is their way of compensating for us not being together this Christmas…" The tenrec muttered sorrowfully before her pep returned and they took off inside. "Well, it's kinda late. We should get checked in."

"Yeah, I'm kinda tired out from that bus ride." He nodded, stretching his free arm. "A shower and comfy bed sound real nice right now."

They then walked through the doors, only to find that it was just as nice on the inside. Velvet carpeting, white walls with gold crown molding, and a water fountain placed in between two large, white spiral staircases.

Gold did all of the talking at the desk, only to learn that they'd have free room service and a mini fridge in their room as well. She happily took the keys and the two ventured off up the stairs with such excitement.

Outside was beautiful, inside was beautiful, and their room…absolutely…breathtaking.

A large flat screen TV hung on the pearl white wall, a golden chandelier as the central light source, a mini fridge just as promised, and a master bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub.

It was perfect…except for one tiny detail that had both of them flustered…

In front of the flat screen TV, settled in between two mahogany nightstands with silk white sheets was a gigantic bed.

"There's…only one bed…" Silver mumbled shyly, pale face flushed a deep red.

"Oh Chaos!" Gold yelped in embarrassment, shielding her face with her hands. "I forgot to tell them you were coming along to the convention with me when they made the reservation."

"Uh, don't worry!" The white hedgehog shrieked, rushing over to pick up the hotel phone on one of the nightstands. "I'll just call downstairs and ask for a cot! No biggie!"

After a bit of chatter with the receptionist downstairs, the hedgehog hung up the phone. He had his back toward her, not uttering a word which made her very uneasy.

"Well, what'd they say? Do we have to pay extra?"

"…Yeah…Five hundred dollars…" He turned to her with a pained expression. "This hotel is…really fancy."

"We can't afford that!" The tenrec wailed, "We'd have no many left for the convention."

"Look, how about I just sleep on the floor?" Silver offered, gesturing toward the ground. "It's carpeted…"

"I'm not cruel! There's no way I'd let you sleep on the floor if I had to be in a comfy bed like that." She protested before a deep blush coated her face again. "It's…big enough for the two of us and then some. Why don't we just…both sleep on it?"

"That…That's not weird at all, right?" He fumbled, rubbing his neck shyly as they both avoided eye contact.

"Of course not! You and I are like siblings!" She cheered awkwardly.

"Right... Why would this be weird?"

"Exactly!"

After much back and forth on how _'totally not weird'_ their sharing a bed was, the two took turns showering. He went first, claiming his spot on the right side of the bed. He exhaled nervously, mentally reminding himself that absolutely nothing was weird about this before the sound of the bathroom door opening up caught his attention.

He looked up to see the golden tenrec walk out of the bathroom in her pajamas. A white tanktop with one of it's spaghetti straps falling lazily to the side, black shorts that were a little too short to wear out in public, and white slippers with cat ears. Her quills were damp, falling a ways over her waistline.

The white hedgehog couldn't help but turn away in fear of coming off weird, staring because he'd never seen her in anything that didn't fall over her knees or rise above her collarbone.

She smiled, finding his black T-shirt and pajama bottoms with spaceships patterned over them to be quite cute.

She preferred the right side of the bed too, but with no other option, she slid out of her slippers and climbed into bed on the left side, quick to escape the cold by slipping underneath the warm blankets. Silver did the same, both of them staring straight at the ceiling with blushes clear on their face.

"I can't wait for the convention…" Gold whispered.

"Me either." Silver replied, "It's been so long since I've been to one. Thanks for bringing me."

"Of course." She nodded, "Con Buddies for life."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Silver."

She then reached over and flipped the switch that would turn out the lights.

The tenrec was quick to fall asleep, but not her companion. He stilled himself, nervous that if he moved he might invade her space. She snored lightly in the dark, making him chuckle a bit at how cute she seemed even in her dream state.

He then felt a hand creep up on him, sending chills down his spine as it snaked across his torso and another came around underneath him. Then he suddenly felt the weight of a leg drape over his waist, and the warmth of another body push up against his side.

"Gold?" He turned his head to face her direction, straining his eyes to see in the dark.

He could barely just make out the outline of her figure, his face burning red as he felt her breath on his neck in rhythmic breaths.

That's when he realized…she was the type of person who liked to cuddle in their sleep.

Unsure of what to do, he stood as still as a statue. Heart racing as he felt her chest at his side, her warm breath on his neck, and her leg in between his…

Miraculously, he fell asleep like that.

Once he awoke, he fluttered his lids open to be met with her light-blue eyes. She was no longer snuggled up to him, a good few inches between them as they both were turned on their sides facing each other.

"Merry Christmas Eve." She smiled.

"People don't actually say that, ya'know. It's not really a holiday until tomorrow."

"Well I just did." She giggled, "And…sorry about last night. I forgot to mention I'm a cuddler. Hope I didn't bother you."

"No…Not at all, heh."

* * *

Knuckles and Julie-Su dropped Espio off at his home in Rainbow Valley before heading to the pink girl's grandfather's house in Mobotropolis where their little girl was waiting for them. Well…waiting for Julie at least.

The pink echidna leaned on the armrest of her chair, yawning with eyes half-lidded as the sky's light got darker. All she wanted was to doze off, just a little bit, but there was this repetitive tapping that persisted to jolt her back into alertness.

It was Knuckles, sitting in the driver's seat with both hands on the wheel as his thumbs tapped nervously against it.

Julie-Su sat up, accepting the fact that she wouldn't be getting any sleep until they got home. She eyed him from the side, taking note of how sweaty his brow was, and how his teeth grinded together from anxiousness.

"You okay, Dummy?" She asked curiously.

"Yeah." He nodded, voice full of anxiety. "Just a little nervous…"

"Knux, she's four years old." The pink girl smirked, "I promise it won't be that hard to win her over."

"We'll see about that. Especially if she's anything like her mom."

"Hey!" Julie-Su whined, punching him lightly in the shoulder.

"I feel like she liked me better when neither of us knew I was her dad." He professed after a bit of laughter, the mood dulling immensely. "I just want to make up for lost time, and be the dad I'm supposed to be, but I can't do that if she hates my guts…"

"I know." The pink girl sighed, leaning over to kiss his cheek. "And you've got two weeks to show her what an awesome daddy you'll be."

An hour or so later they finally pulled up into the driveway of her grandfather's two story home. A mint-colored house with white accents. Julie-Su got out of the car first, and strolled up the shoveled pathway to meet her grandfather at the door.

Dimitri, an elder echidna with dreads as white as snow and very tired-looking eyes. He hugged her, the two of them chattering a bit as Knuckles went to the trunk of his car to unload their bags.

"Grandfather, it's good to see you." She told the old man, who smiled at her. "Where's Lara?"

"Her school bus should be arriving shortly. The stop is right there at the corner." He pointed out with a bony finger to the corner of the street. "And I see you've brought Locke's boy."

"Her father." Julie-Su corrected him with a blush, "Her real father…"

"That's not how she tells it." Dimitri chuckled.

"She'll learn…"

"And it will be a touching moment indeed, but alas, I won't be around to see it." He sighed, fishing the house keys from his pocket to hand her. "I've got a conference in Moebius. I'm taking my leave now and I won't be back for a few days."

"You mean, you aren't staying for the holidays?"

"When you've got a job as demanding as mine, holidays practically don't exist." The elder echidna laughed, planting a kiss on her cheek before walking passed her. "I expect you to keep the house afloat while I'm gone." He added with a wave, sure to nod at Knuckles as both greeting and farewell.

 _'Hmph, the old man just needs to retire already.'_ She thought to herself angrily although she smiled and waved goodbye.

"What was that about?" Knuckles asked, once he walked up the steps with their bags in his hands.

"Oh nothing, we just get the house to ourselves for vacation." She smirked, turning around to open the door to help him take everything inside. "You wanted that family experience, right?"

"Absolutely!" He cheered excitedly, setting their bags by the staircase before making his way to the center of the living room. "So…where is she?"

"At school, but Grandfather said she'd be home any minute now." Julie-Su explained, turning around to see he was staring at the door anxiously. "Still nervous?"

"Sort of…"

"Stop!" She whined, throwing her arms over his shoulders to pull him into a kiss. "She's gonna love you, just you wait."

Seconds later, the door swung open and a joyful Lara-Su ran inside.

" **MOMMY!** " She exclaimed instantly upon seeing her mother.

"Hi Sweetheart." Julie-Su greeted, picking the little girl up in her arms to plant a sweet kiss on her forehead.

Knuckles just stood frozen, unsure of what to say or do around the toddler. Lara-Su adjusted her glasses, catching a glimpse of him through the corner of her eye before she turned to shoot him a nasty glare, obviously unhappy with his presence.

"Aren't you gonna say hello to your daddy?" The pink echidna urged, looking between her boyfriend and daughter.

"He's **NOT** daddy!" The little girl huffed angrily.

She then wiggled free over her mother's grasp and got to her feet, stomping away in her cute, pink snow boots up to her room, soon followed by the loud slam of her door.

Knuckles frowned, heart breaking as he found it harder and harder to believe she'd ever accept him.

The rest of the night went terribly, just as the negative thoughts in the red echidna's mind told him that it would go.

Lara-Su refused to come out of her room, wailing and screaming for Thrash to come home for hours. Even after being calmed down, and Julie-Su enticing her out of her room for a bit, she still remained very bitter toward the red echidna she felt was intruding on her family more so than a part of it.

While putting up the tree, she snatched things from him coldly and barely spoke a word to him unless it was a rude remark telling him to go home.

It broke Julie's heart, watching from the sidelines as Knuckles tried everything in the book to get the little girl on his side, only to be shut out completely no matter how hard he tried. She could see the hurt written on his face, and the confusion written on her daughter's.

That night, Knuckles and Lara-Su both turned in early, leaving Julie-Su to clean up a few things before she headed off to bed herself.

Out of respect for her grandfather, they slept in the guest room. When she got upstairs and into the room, Knuckles was already in bed, facing the wall.

"I'm sorry…" The pink echidna whispered as she slipped into the covers behind him, scooting over to wrap her arms around him.

"Everyone keeps saying she'll come around in time, but I've got a feeling that time won't ever come." He sighed, turning around to lock their violet eyes. "She loves him too much…"

"I'll have another talk with her…" Julie-Su sighed, kissing him on the cheek. "She's just confused and way too young to understand. It will get better though Knuckles."

"Sure…"

The next day wasn't much different, even after Julie-Su's promised talk with the little girl, she still treated him as though he were the enemy. Moving away from him every time he got too close, glaring at him in disgust, and constantly asking about the man she thought to be her true father.

It seemed to Knuckles as if he was getting nowhere, that nothing would ever change between them. He couldn't blame her either, knowing full well that regardless of what kind of man Thrash was toward Julie-Su…he was a good father to his daughter…

After sending his father a few texts, Knuckles decided to put away his cellphone and walk into the living room where Lara-Su sat on the floor watching TV, and Julie-Su laid on the couch underneath a blanket.

He strolled in casually and quietly, not to disturb the little girl who was so engrossed with the colorful characters dancing on the TV screen.

With Julie-Su laying on the longer couch like a bed that only left one seat in the room open, and that was the comfy looking armchair in the corner. So he took a seat on it, creating a noise that jolted the little girl up as he sunk into the leather fabric.

Lara-Su quickly whipped her head around toward him, fire in her eyes behind those tiny wire-frame glasses as she stood up and screamed at him, forcing Julie-Su to spring up from the couch herself.

" **YOU DON'T SIT THERE!** " She screamed angrily, " **THAT'S MY DADDY'S CHAIR!** Nobody sits there but him!"

"Lara!" Her mother scolded her, but Knuckles simply rose from the chair anyway.

"No, that's…that's okay Julie." The red echidna assured the angry mother who turned to him with an apologetic look. "I'm just…I'm gonna catch some air." He added before quickly storming out of the house.

"Knuckles—" Julie-Su tried to call out to him, only to have him shut the door.

He took off down the walkway and onto the sidewalk where he journeyed off into the neighborhood, stressed out beyond belief and hurt beyond words could say.

His feet carried him seemingly nowhere, allowing his mind to wander and find potential release from the depression he was in.

So far, Christmas Eve was going quite lousy, and Chaos knows what Christmas day would bring him tomorrow.

 _'Maybe I should just…stop. Just leave it alone. Go home and let her enjoy Christmas at least…'_ He thought to himself, until the sound of a struggling woman rang in his ears, jolting him into alertness.

He looked up to realize he was in an entirely different neighborhood now, and saw a familiar girl struggling to pull a heavy suitcase from a car.

"Rouge?" He rose an eyebrow, crossing the slushy street to come to her aid.

She looked just as surprised to see him, confused as he came and took hold of the luggage, pulling it out of the car with ease.

"Red…" She breathed in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

"Just in the neighborhood." He shrugged, hoisting the bag up onto the sidewalk. He then looked at her face, noticing the runny makeup and teary eyes instantly. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." She snapped, walls instantly going up as she tried to pull back the suitcase, only to topple it over on the dirty, wet, road. "Shit."

"Here, I got it." Knuckles assured her, picking it up again.

"Isn't Shadow usually around to help you with this kinda thing? Where's he?"

"How the fuck should I know?" The bat huffed, an edge to her voice. "Can't rely on any guys cause they always wanna fuck me over—"

"Hey…" The echidna cut her off, clearly offended. He set down the luggage to grip her wrist, ushering her teal eyes to his violet ones. "We might not be dating, but I'm here for you—"

" **THEN WHY DON'T WE TALK ANYMORE?!** " She screamed, tears instantly pouring from her eyes.

"Rouge…I…."

"You talk to Sonia! But on any given day you'd barely look in my fucking direction—"

" **BECAUSE ROUGE!** " Knuckles shouted, raising his voice over hers to gain her attention. Then he settled back to a normal volume. "It's different with you…"

"How? What's so damn different? Why can't we be friends?"

"Because I know if I even try to give you the time of day again…I'll fall right back in love with you…" He admitted, making her eyes widen with shock. "And I just can't let that happen… I hope you understand, and I'm sorry." He added, backing up before he turned to sprint off.

* * *

It being the holidays, Alicia didn't want her kids to have to reside on campus just for her, so instead of staying in the dorms like last vacation she decided to take the three back to her condo in Mobotropolis. The drive was fun, talking and laughing the whole way as they reminisced on Christmases past. All except for Sally, who hadn't been around those years.

She stood quiet in the backseat beside Nicole, her gaze out the window at the snow-covered scenery that rushed by them in the moving car. Back in Moebius with her father, holidays didn't really exist. There were no celebrations, no presents. He'd be at work, while she and her sister would do normal tasks to pass the time.

That's what should have made this a joyful trip. Being reunited with her loving mother, older brother, and little sister. About to spend her first Christmas in years with them, in a happy home the way she'd dream as a child.

But it was hard to be happy when she felt so heartbroken. All she could think about was the blue hedgehog she'd reluctantly fallen for, only to have him crush her indirectly through an English assignment.

As hurt as she was, she did her best to hold up a smile and carry on, intent on not ruining her family's good time.

With no spare room, the chipmunk was condemned to sleeping on the couch. Which she didn't mind too much, the cream-colored couch being comfortable anyway.

The next day was Christmas Eve, just twenty-four hours before the big holiday her mother adored so much. Nicole and Elias woke up early, finding their sleeping sister passed out on the couch with her glasses on. They found it quite adorable, but knew that's how glasses got broken.

"I should take them off of her." Elias whispered to the lynx before taking a step toward the sleeping Sally.

"No." Nicole replied quickly, grabbing his hand in protest. He looked back at her in confusion. "She'd get mad."

"She'd be more mad if she broke them by accident."

"Just let her be. Those things are too thick to break." Nicole laughed, hoping to deter him.

"I guess you're right." The prince chuckled, opting to walk toward the kitchen where his mother was instead. "I should be useful and help Mother before she sets the house on fire trying to cook breakfast."

"Now that is surely a disaster waiting to happen." The raven-haired girl giggled, watching her older brother stroll off into the kitchen.

Once he was out of view, she walked over to the sleeping girl on the couch and took a seat by her. She stared at the glasses on her sister's face, frowning as she recalled the hideous scars she had seen when Cobar knocked them off her face once.

 _'Sally…'_ She thought to herself, _'What happened to you?'_

* * *

"Where are we going exactly?" Shard asked as he followed the gray-striped hedgehog down the stairwell toward the basement of the main building they'd just broken into.

"A place for people like us." Mephiles smirked, the metal staircase rattling beneath their feet as they made their way toward another metal door. "You saw them leave yesterday. All of the ones with loving parents who couldn't wait to take their little babies home. Haven't you ever wondered where the ones like us go? The ones with no parents to coddle them, the abandoned, the unloved?"

"Never really cared." The DigItalian boy shrugged, "I just figured everyone stood in their dorms like I do."

"Oh no my friend, far from it." The cynical hedgehog chuckled, pulling open the heavy door as he spoke. "It's Christmas Eve. Just because we don't have families doesn't mean we can't celebrate."

Once that door opened, the aroma of alcohol and weed flooded out along with the sound of blaring rock music and the feel of a loud bass. He squinted, the neon lights flashing so brightly, almost too much for his eyes. He could make out bodies moving in the dark, dancing and moving to the beat of the music.

"What the hell is this?" He whispered aloud in awe, close enough for Mephiles to hear.

"This…is the underworld." The boy beside him smirked, gesturing for him to continue following as he walked in through the door. "Come, I've gotta go find my missing cat."

Shard didn't pay much attention to Mephiles, although he continued to ramble on, people stopping him as they greeted him with hollers and waves.

The DigItalian boy's eyes were too fixed on everything going on around him, reminding him so much of the sketchy places he used to go with Nazo in Soleanna.

There were teens practically fornicating on the dance floor, some sitting crates as they snorted white substances up their noses, and others walking around with red faces and alcohol bottles in hand.

After some time of moving through the crowd, the two boys found themselves at a makeshift bar. Beside it, a little ways away from the bustling crowd was a nervous purple cat in a tight black dress. Mephiles leered at her with such delight. Shard on the other hand looked at her with eyes full of surprise, instantly recognizing her to be Blaze the Cat, the girl his roommate was madly in love with…

"There she is…" Mephiles mused delightfully, "My work in progress."

"What happened to the hedgehog girl?"

"She's…defective." He grumbled bitterly before turning around to wave the younger boy away in dismissal. "I've seen a few girls in here eyeing you down like savages. Why don't you go have some fun?"

"Sure…" Shard nodded before disappearing into the crowd of drugged up and intoxicated rebel teens.

With him away, the reptilian-eyed hedgehog strolled over to the shaky cat, wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her close and whisper in her ear.

"Having fun?"

"Not really…" She mumbled, hazel eyes drifting nervously around at the crowd. "This place isn't my scene…"

"And what is?" He purred in his cold voice, trailing a finger up her arm. "A bedroom maybe?"

"No." She replied sternly, flare to her voice that really made him smile.

"Darn, I wish I would have came across you when you weren't such a prude."

"Hey!" A voice called out, redirecting their attention as they watched a large, white wolf emerge from the crowd. "Mephiles!"

The hedgehog smirked at the sight of the muscular wolf. It was Drago, fellow asshole of the school with a rap sheet for not being too kind to the girls around campus, most notably his ex-girlfriend.

"Go get drunk Fire Woman, maybe then you'll start enjoying yourself." He stated, handing the cat some money for the makeshift bar.

With no other option, she took the money and strolled off as told. Leaving the two boys alone. Drago watched her with such lust as she strolled off, hungry to know what she was wearing underneath that black, strapless dress.

"Beautiful isn't she?" Mephiles called out, gaining the wolf's attention back. "Too bad she's a little stubborn with some self-worth underneath all that anxiety and insecurity."

"I just saw you roll up in here with her, and I just…Yo…I really, really wanna hit that." The wolf exclaimed anxiously, tail wagging and tongue out as he stared hard at the feline sitting at the bar. "Just give me the green light. **PLEASE** bro! You know I've got a thing for cats…"

"Oh I know." The hedgehog chuckled, "And if I recall correctly, you left the last cat girl you got with a bloody mess. I heard she needed reconstructive surgery for her nose and jaw…"

"Hey! Hershey was a lying bitch who deserved what she got. You don't tell a guy yes, then change your mind halfway through." Drago corrected him in a harsh tone before settling back down.

"Well, I've gotta warn you…she's the resistant type."

"Not after a few of these." The wolf smirked, pulling out a baggy of blue pills from his vest pocket.

"Roophies, huh?" Mephiles smirked, "Well in that case, have fun. Just text me where you leave her body so I can pick her up." He added before taking off.

"Yes!" Drago cheered excitedly, rushing over to the cat who'd taken quite a few shots during their chatter.

He slid up beside her casually, nodding as he greeted her with his façade of a charming smile. She was tipsy, and feeling pretty damn vulnerable despite her drinks containing what was supposed to be some liquid courage.

"Mephiles. What an asshole, huh? Ditching a pretty girl like you in a place like this." He talked smoothly, her hazel eyes falling over him with curiosity peaked. "There are some pretty shady characters in here ya'know."

"You don't have to tell me." Blaze giggled, "On my way in here I saw Fiona dry-humping Scourge in the corner, Nack doing cocaine off a dirty crate, and some lynx girl in a straw hat fighting some dudes at the bar."

"Wow, someone's a little observant."

"I guess." She hiccupped, "Is that bad?"

"Oh no, Baby." He assured her with a chuckle, "In a place like this, you have to be. You never know what scumbag could be preying on you." He added ironically in the moment that he slipped the pills into her shot glass.

"Well, it's good to have a strong looking guy like you next to me to scare those lo-losers away right?"

"Right." Drago nodded, staring at her hand wrap around the glass. "I could drink to that."

He held up the flask of whiskey he had in his hand, ushering her to pick up her own shot glass and clang it with his. His mouth spread out into a smile so wide his teeth flashed, excited to see the glass inch closer and closer to her mouth.

Just before she could down the liquid, the glass was abruptly taken from her hand and smashed to pieces on the fold-out table they sat at. Drago was infuriated, standing up to glare at the person who had thwarted his cunning scheme.

He found himself looming over a foreign hedgehog boy who stood several inches shorter than him, but had green eyes so cold he felt a lot smaller than he should.

"The fuck is your problem?!" Drago barked at the hedgehog's face.

"You are." The Digitalian boy retorted, pulling a switchblade from his pocket to point into the wolf's chest. "And if you don't back the fuck off you'll be a mortician's problem."

The wolf immediately stepped back with hands raised upon the blade being drawn, not risky enough to deal with a weapon. He just shook his head in anger before storming off into the crowd, leaving the hedgehog to see to the confused cat.

"What's wrong with you?" Blaze scolded him, standing up to her feet to reprimand him with slurred words. "Sc-Scaring off my new friend like that!"

"Your new friend was about three seconds from drugging and raping your dumb ass." Shard scolded her, picking up a few blue pills from the table to show her.

"Wh-Wh-Where am I again?" She hiccupped, making him roll his eyes before he reached out for her hand.

"Just c'mon. We've gotta get you outta here and sobered the hell up."

He grabbed her wrist and lured her out of hardcore party in the basement, back up the stairwell, and out of the building.

* * *

"Are you ready Tails?" Rosemary asked her son as she turned off the ignition of her car.

She sat in the driver's seat, staring at the little fox who looked out at the snow-covered Metropolis Cemetery grounds with a sorrowful expression, wishing he had met the man who was his father.

The cemetery would be closed Christmas day, so the two figured they'd stop by to visit today instead.

"Yeah. I'm ready, Mom." Tails nodded, opening his door before stepping out onto the shoveled parking lot.

She did the same, coming around the car to stand at his side. The sand-colored woman took his hand in hers before they both set off toward the open gate.

It was an eerie walk, zig-zagging through tombstones of the deceased.

It was his first time being there, so Rosemary acted as his guide. After some time of walking she abruptly ceased their movements, confusing her son.

"Mom?" He rose an eyebrow, looking up at her curiously.

She stared off into the distance, wide-eyed with mouth slightly ajar. Tails followed her gaze, his eyes coming to a stop on two figures standing a few feet away.

They were wearing long, black cloaks with hoods pulled over them. One was standing in front of the tombstone while the other stood off to the side with arms crossed beneath the black fabric.

The one in front of the grave was where Rosemary's eyes lay, the same figure Tails' eyes wandered to as well. They felt their hearts skip a beat when the strange figure suddenly turned to face them, face obscured by the hood.

"Wh-Who is that, Mom?" Tails asked the woman standing beside him whose eyes never left that specific cloaked figure.

"He's…your older brother…"

The yellow fox's eyes suddenly widened in shock before he looked out toward the cloaked figure again, this time able to make out the eyes.

Eyes the same blue as his, only much, much colder…

"Let's go." The other figure called out in a feminine voice before turning around to walk away.

His supposed brother stood his ground, locking eyes with Tails before finally breaking contact to follow behind his companion.

* * *

 **So much going on... So much built up for some potentially horrible and potentially amazing things to happen.**

 **A bit more on Scourge, we now know what caused the scars on his chest-that being his mother's psychotic breakdown on Christmas Eve where she literally left him for dead-but what about Sally's facial scars? And what's the connection between the two? You've also learned why Scourge has been shown to have a very 'feminine' taste in music, having grown up with that same radio his mother left playing on that same girly station.**

 **Every family has that one black sheep, and Manic the Hedgehog just so happens to be it. Holidays are cringey, especially when it means getting together with the ones who've ignored you practically all your life, although he seems much more content with his mother than father. Makes you wonder what happened to make him hate the guy so much, when his mother ignores him just the same.**

 **Rosy a loner type, Shadow a loner type, but together? The perfect two or the perfect disaster waiting to happen?**

 **Oh Knuckles. Can we all just take a moment to feel sorry as hell for the guy? And hate on me for not making this one of the stories where the little girl accepts him willingly and without question as her true father? Well, that's just plain not realistic. Lara-Su is four, but consciously aware enough to know her father figure has always been Thrash. Coming into a child's life and changing everything they've ever known is by no means a walk in the park, no matter how much you love them or want to be in their lives. It takes serious work.**

 **Will Lara-Su ever come to accept Knuckles as her father? That's yet to be known...**

 **Oh Blaze. She's a sad and very complicated case. Her insecurities and need of validity from others makes her a follower more so than a leader. This has costed her that one true friend/love interest, and even her group of friends have long forgotten her, leaving her to look for that validation in a negative crowd. With negative emotions already rooted inside her, she was easy prey for Mephiles, just as Shard had been.**

 **Will the two see their way out of the darkness and on the road to recovery? Another story yet to unfold...**

 **Also, Amy's rejection of Mighty was more so meant to be obnoxiously oblivious rather than cruel, she has no ill will toward him.**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **CHRISTMAS!**

 **Amy and Cosmo receive very amazing Christmas presents**

 **With the help of Shard, Blaze sets off home to make things right...**

 **A new couple makes it official**

 **Aleena vs Manic**

 **And so much more!**


	62. Chapter 62

**WARNING:** **Slightly sexual scene, mentions of several crimes, and self-harm.**

* * *

 **Chapter 62: Merry Christmas**

As soon as daylight flooded through the blinds leading into Blaze's dorm room her lids fluttered open and she sat upright in her bed. She used the back of her hand to wipe her eyes, surprised to see black smudging on her hand.

She then pulled her covers back, even more surprised to see she was in a strapless, black dress that fell at a very risqué length so unlike her modest style.

Her heart began to race, palms shaking as she struggled to remember what happened that Christmas Eve night, or how she ended up back in her dorm. Then an immense pain shot through her forehead like a lightning bolt, eliciting a pained gasp from her as she cupped it and clenched her teeth tightly.

 _'Wh-What happened?'_ The purple girl thought to herself, bits and pieces of the night unraveling in her mind. _'I remember…Mephiles. Giving me this slutty dress he borrowed from Rosy to wear. Going to that scary party… Him leaving me by myself… Getting drunk… Some random guy… Pills… Shattered glass…'_

Her chest suddenly began to heave up and down, panic taking hold of her as she struggled to remember the events that led her back here.

Suddenly, she heard the creak of a wooden floorboard, alarming her as her gaze flew across the room. Hazel eyes widened in shock as she noticed a dark hedgehog sitting on the floor by the door.

"You're awake…" The yellow-striped boy spoke, lifting his lids to unveil his light-green eyes. "You okay?"

"Who are you?!" Blaze gasped, startled by his presence. She eyed him skeptically, the healing cut on his throat sending a shudder down her spine. "Are you…Are you that guy who spiked me drink?!"

"No." Shard snorted, getting up to his feet to dust himself off. "I'm that guy who saved you from that guy who spiked your drink."

"Saved me?"

"What the hell were you doing there anyway?" He questioned, walking over to her bedside. "What the hell are you doing with Mephiles?"

Blaze looked back down at her lap, clutching her blanket as a sorrowful expression crossed her face. The first question was simple, Mephiles had ordered her to go with him, but the second question left her almost speechless, because it was something not even she understood completely.

"He's…He's the only one who gets me."

"Ha, gets you?" Shard remarked sarcastically, "I know Silver's not the smartest tool in the shed when it comes to girls, but—"

"He's not my boyfriend." The cat was quick to correct him, bringing her knees to her chest. "Not even my friend anymore…"

The hedgehog's brows rose in surprise as he took a seat on the edge of her bed, back facing her as he listened to her sniffle and wipe her newly forming tears.

"What happened?"

"Haven't you heard? I'm the new school bitch." She wailed, "Silver's cut me out of his life, my sister hates me now, and the friends I did everything to impress don't even care enough to ask me how I'm doing!"

"You, a bitch?" The hedgehog snickered, "Sorry, just kinda funny. Anything I ever heard about you was more along the lines of _'perfect waifu'_ , then again, they were the ramblings of a love sick nerd…"

"But you don't hear anything like that anymore." Blaze shook her head, "I am a bitch. I was so mean to my sister yesterday. All she wanted was for me to come home, but I stood here to go to some stupid party with that asshole…. I'm the worst person in the world…"

Shard finally looked over his shoulder at her, empathy for the purple cat with makeup stained cheeks. Just a remorseful girl so unsure of how to redeem herself. In a way, she reminded him of himself. Maybe that's why he had such a soft spot for her, and didn't just shrug off seeing her at the basement party.

Just two lost souls standing in purgatory, unsure of they belonged up in the heavens, or below in the underworld.

"Get dressed." He finally spoke, getting up from her bed after a long, awkward silence. "I'll wait outside…"

"What? Why?" She questioned, confused by his sudden demand. "Where are we going?"

"I'm taking you home." The DigItalian boy replied, turning around to shoot her a sincere smile. "You live in Soleanna too, right?"

"Really? But the buses aren't running today. It's Christmas!" The cat reminded him, "Do you have a car?"

"No." He replied, pulling a set of keys from his pocket. "But I lifted these off some loser at the party. Now hurry up."

He then opened the door to step out, only to be stopped in his tracks by her voice once more.

"Wait." She called out, forcing him to look back at her from over his shoulder. "What's your name?"

"It's Shard."

"Thank you…Shard…"

* * *

Like every Christmas morning since she was a little girl, Amy leapt out of her bed at first light, the anticipation and eagerness to see what this year would bring her jolting her awake and alive. She didn't even shudder as her bare feet hit the cold floor.

She immediately went to work getting ready for the day, scattering about the room for the right outfit, makeup essentials, and hair products. She twirled and hummed sweetly to herself as she do so, overjoyed at how right everything in her life was.

Sonic's confession, her return to O'Hedge manor with her family, and all the stress Tekno had unintentionally caused finally off her shoulders. Nothing could possibly bring her down, especially not on her favorite holiday—Well, next to her birthday of course.

"I guess Amy's up." Rob chuckled as he stood by his wife in the kitchen downstairs, looking up to the ceiling where they could hear the teen girl dancing around her room.

"Right you are." Mari-An giggled, cradling the overjoyed echidna baby in her arms as she side-eyed her husband. "And you remember the talk we had about spoiling her, don't you?"

"Yes, yes." The teal hedgehog snickered, kissing her cheek as he led her out into the living room where their tall Christmas tree stood. "I kept the maximum at three gifts." He assured her, leaving out the information that in total those gifts costed him over ten thousand dollars each.

The echidna woman smiled, leaning over to kiss his cheek before taking off to sit on the couch and set their young son in his bouncer seat.

Moments later, Amy rushed down the stairs, dolled up and more than ready to open up gifts. She walked over and greeted each of them with a hug and kiss, sure to give the baby an extra one before crawling her way over to the tree.

"Wow, scarce on presents this year." She whistled, picking up one of only three gifts for her.

"Not scarce, Sweetheart." Mari-An corrected her, "Just more realistic."

The pink girl pouted slightly, but was grateful for what she was given regardless, wasting no time tearing into the gifts. The first was a gorgeous wine-colored dress, one she remembered pointing out in a very expensive catalog to her older cousin. The second was a just as expensive purse from the same catalog. The last…completely took her breath away.

"Oh my Chaos…" She gasped, pulling the item out of the secure white box.

"I figured you'd like it." Rob smirked, watching the astonished hedgehog pull the necklace up to her neck.

It was a thin silver chain that shimmered in light, and attached to it was a gorgeous red emerald that costed the teal businessman a small fortune.

"I got it from the Master Emerald jewelry store." Her cousin explained, "Only seven in the world were made just like it, all of them different colors. I thought you'd like the red one, it being the closest color to pink."

"Oh Rob!" Amy squealed, tears in her eyes as she leapt up and threw herself at the chuckling hedgehog. "I love it so much! Thank you, thank you!"

"You're welcome, Amy." He smiled, returning her tight embrace. "Love you, Kiddo." He whispered in her ear, the security of having her in his protective hands pushing his crazy aunt's ramblings far from his mind.

* * *

Unlike most kids around the world on this peaceful holiday, Marine the Raccoon woke up with such dread in her heart, and a sad frown on her face.

She hadn't come out of her room since she'd been home, too distraught and heartbroken by the cruelty Blaze had shown her the last time they spoke.

Although the smell of morning pancakes and Christmas cookies enticed her to go downstairs and greet her loving adoptive parents with open arms, she couldn't bear the thought of seeing their disheartened frowns once they remembered Blaze hadn't come along home.

Family gatherings and holidays were huge for the Cats, especially their father…

The raccoon looked to her bedside table, noticing the flashing blue light on her cellphone, but choosing to ignore it as her gaze drifted to the notebook she'd written her fanfiction in.

She grabbed it along with the pen beside it, pulling them to her lap before she opened the orange spiral book to an empty page in the back. Then she picked up the pen and scribbled in it.

All she wanted for Christmas was her pen to be magical, and make the words she wrote into reality.

 _Princess Blaze will find a miracle to ignite a flame in her heart that will see her through the darkness, dispelling the demons threatening to drag her down into the depths of the nightmarish underworld. She'll rise above her troubles, above the clouds themselves to find her way home on Christmas day as the loving, tender girl she used to be…_

* * *

Cosmo sighed to herself, sitting alone on the floor of her empty dorm room with the present Tails had given her resting in her lap. She ran her hand over it gently, blue eyes half-lidded as she thought about her parents, how much she missed them and wished she could be home with them instead of all alone in her campus dorm room.

When making the choice to leave her first boyfriend, she didn't take into account lonely nights like the ones she'd had recently. No late night calls, no one to really hangout with.

Sitting across from her, leaned up against the adjacent wall was the little stuffed-Chao he'd given her dubbed Chocola.

"Well, it's as good a time as any. Right?" She asked the toy that served as her companion on this lonely holiday. She imagined his head nodding agreement before she delicately pulled the ribbon bow apart and unfolded the flaps of the gift box.

Inside was ironically another box, a lot smaller, and of a fuzzy black material. Curiously, she picked it up in her left palm, pulling the time open to reveal something almost blinding!

Her eyes lit up as they widened in surprise, mouth dropping as she plucked the glorious artifact from its protective sanctuary.

A golden bracelet that glittered even in the dimness of her room with the curtains drawn. Incrusted with several tiny diamonds, but most breathtaking of all being the sparkly yellow emerald.

She couldn't believe her eyes, turning it over in her hand before she noticed a piece of paper inside the box. She gently placed the bracelet down to take the note in hand, eyes tearing up as she scanned over every word.

 _Dear Cosmo,_

 _I know I wasn't the best boyfriend to you in my last days, and I don't blame you for wanting to abandon ship. I just wanted to let you know the time we spent together before everything got so complicated was the best time of my life, and I'm so thankful for it regardless of what you may think of me now… I hope you like this bracelet I had custom made at Knuckles' dad's jewelry shop. There's only seven emeralds in the world like this, a rare gem just like you… Merry Christmas Cosmo. –Tails_

Soon the paper was pelted with tears that fell from her eyes, her shocked agape mouth closing and curving up into the loveliest smile.

In that moment, she felt that she had a mistake in leaving him, in ever thinking of herself with anyone else. She loved him, and begun feeling that things between them could be salvaged as she admired the bracelet sitting beside her.

* * *

 **78 MISSED CALLS**

 **22 NEW MESSAGES**

Fiona grimaced, scrolling through all of the calls she'd missed from the squirrel boy who so desperately wanted to hear her voice.

She dismissed them all, opting to even turn off her phone before she fell back into the bed belonging to her new-but-not-really boyfriend, Scourge. He was on his side, facing the wall while she stared straight up to the ceiling, thinking that she might have jumped the gun in getting back with the green hedgehog.

Then she thought of Mighty, his little sister running up to the door to greet the pink hedgehog she hated so much, and the armadillo boy kissing her, loving her…

"That was one hell of a party." A raspy voice called out, making her turn to be greeted by Scourge's cocky smirk. "Surprised you're up."

"I could say the same to you." She smirked back, "You drank **A LOT** more than I did, and did enough drugs to put you in a damn coma."

"Yeah, well nothing's ever strong enough to keep me down." He sighed, seemingly disappointed. "Did I at least show you a good time?"

"A few times actually." She winked, scooting over to kiss him through laughter.

"Good." Scourge smirked, hopping out of the bed definitely not built for two before walking over to the dresser where he pulled out some fresh clothes. "I'm starving. Let's go into town and grab a bite. I'm fuckin' sick of cafeteria bullshit."

"Sounds good to me." Fiona shrugged, getting up to begin picking up the trail of clothing she'd discarded piece by piece at the door last night.

She got dressed and brushed her hair out with her fingers before tying it back in a ponytail like usual. While doing so, she watched the hedgehog fumbling in his pockets, around the dresser, then back over to flip the covers off the bed.

"Where the fuck are my keys?" He grumbled in annoyance.

* * *

Back at Alicia's condo in Mobotropolis, the Acorns were having a wondrous time together. Sally had put all her negative feelings away for the day, intent on living out her dream of celebrating holidays like a real family. Something her father had denied her and sister for years while in his care.

They all sat scattered about the living room. Nicole sitting on the floor, legs crossed as she leaned back on her hands. She wore a simple purple dress, nothing too fancy. Her hair had grown back out since the incident with Mina at the beginning of the school year, and she was now able to tie it off in two very small low-pigtails.

Sally sat on the couch. She wore an over-sized blue turtleneck, and her gray pajama bottoms. Her hair down and messy, being the last of them to wake up with no time to ready herself for their little get together.

Beside her, with arm draped over her shoulders was her mother. The principal was arguably the most dolled-up and festive, wearing a long red dress with sleeves that ended in white cuffs and a white collar. Her chestnut hair fell in waves to her waist, with a cute Santa hat atop her head.

Across from them, sitting in the armchair adjacent to the couch was Elias. He sat normally, leaning over slightly as he listened intently to the girls in the room. He wore a navy-blue jacket, open over a white T-Shirt and a simple pair of dark jeans. His auburn hair was glorious, even when it was a morning mess.

After opening and exchanging presents, the four just sat around the living room reminiscing and talking about whatever came to them. With campus life, there had been little time for them to sit down like this. So moments like this were especially cherished to each of them.

Alicia blushed, scratching her cheek innocently as her children teased her about her upcoming wedding to family friend, Locke the Echidna.

"I can't believe you're getting married, Mother." Nicole sang from her spot on the floor, "You must be very excited."

"I'd say a bit more nervous than excited." She giggled, "I haven't had the best of luck in my life when it comes to men, so naturally I'm a bit apprehensive…"

"It'll all work out." Elias waved in dismissal.

"I'm sure it will." The chipmunk woman spoke with slight doubt. "Since we're on the topic of marriage and romance…how's Espio?" She smirked, blue eyes falling over the bashful lynx as Sally and Elias snickered.

"I…Well…He…" Nicole stammered, overcome with embarrassment at such a bold question.

"Oh they're fine." The prince laughed, "I heard them getting all mushy over the phone last night."

"Eli!" The lynx whined, face beat red as she glared at her older brother. "You're embarrassing me!"

"Sorry." He apologized through his laughter, raising his hands innocently.

"Oh? And what about you, Elias?" His mother turned the tables, suddenly making him the center of attention.

"Me?"

"You've been spending quite a bit of time with Sonia recently." She said in a knowing tone that made him blush, "You should be careful. Girls can get quite jealous, and I'm sure Megan wouldn't appreciate you spending more time with your best friend than your future wife…'

His heart suddenly dropped at the mention of the squirrel girl's name, his gaze dropping to his feet along with it as he prayed someone would change the subject quickly.

"Ye-Yeah…" He nodded, not wanting to ruin her day with the news he'd been withholding from all of them.

"Where is she anyway?" Alicia persisted, unaware of the agonizing feeling it brought him to think of the deceitful girl and the child that wasn't his. "I invited her over."

"I…I told her to stay home with her father." Elias sprung up, thinking up a lie quickly. "I didn't want to steal her from him when Christmas is all about families being together."

"So selfless." The chipmunk smiled adoringly at her son. "You sure didn't get that from your father. I do expect to see Alexis sometime soon though…"

"Of course…" He lied.

"And what about you, Ms. Quiet One?" The chestnut-haired woman quickly turned her attention over to Sally, who looked back up at her with surprise. "Have you met anyone special at Green Hill Academy yet?"

Sally immediately dropped her gaze back down to her feet, heart throbbing with pain as she looked out the window beside them and out toward the falling snow outside.

"No…" She lied to her mother, "No one at all…"

* * *

 _' "I never had to be alone back then…"_

 _"You don't have to be now." He whispered to me, leaning his face closer to mine until I felt his lips envelope mine in a sensual kiss._

 _It wasn't like Mephiles' cold, cynical kiss at all._

 _It was unlike anything I'd ever felt before, with anyone. I always thought movies or girls that described kisses as 'magical' were so fucking stupid._

 _But then he kissed me._

 _It wasn't magical. It was more than that. There wasn't a spark. It was fucking lightning bolt. So warm, so inviting, so intoxicating. The sweetest drug I've ever taken._

 _I couldn't stop myself from pulling him toward me, demanding more and more from him as I laid back on my bed and practically forced him on top of me._

 _Obviously, I've done it before. Tons of times, with tons of people, but it's never been like that._

 _I was timid, nervous, and shy. As if it were my first time…_

 _He planted kisses from my lips to my neck to my chest, sending my mind into a frenzy when hands explored my body._

 _I didn't want it over with so fast. I wanted to take my time, I just wanted to stay like that with him for as long as possible._

 _So close, so intimate…_

 _I took off his shirt and chucked it to the side, admiring his strong upper-body. A breath of fresh air from the pathetically scrawny step brother._

 _Then he pulled me up gently, edging my shirt up…_

 _"_ _ **OUCH!**_ _" I screeched in pain, causing him to jump up in fright after he managed to get my shirt off and to the floor._

 _"I'm sorry." He apologized quickly, his eyes dropping to my wrist as I clutched it._

 _My sleeve had rubbed against my sore wrist. A sudden wave of insecurity washed over me with him seeing my cuts._

 _"Ugly aren't they?" I snarled, trying to hide them beneath my hand in embarrassment._

 _To my surprise, he gently tugged my hand away to bring them to view before he lowered his head to kiss them._

 _"No…They're beautiful." He corrected me, bringing his face back up to mine for another mind-blowing kiss. "You're beautiful, Rosy…"_

 _I had never wanted anyone more than I did at that moment, and not just for the night either…_

 _He makes me feel so sane, like I'm not crazy._

 _I don't care who he is, what he's done, or who he's been with…_

 _I want him…forever…'_

"Merry Christmas." Shadow's voice called out, snapping the pink girl out of her thoughts to realize they were face-to-face in her bed, and that she'd been lost in thought while staring at him.

She blushed, something quite out of character for the usually rough and rowdy girl.

"Merry Christmas." She replied, letting her mouth fall into a genuine smile before leaning over to kiss him.

* * *

"Is something wrong, Tails?" Rosemary called out to her distracted son curiously.

They were in the living area of her two bedroom apartment in Metropolis, both of them sitting on a mint-colored couch next to their decent-sized Christmas tree with warm cups of hot chocolate in hand.

The yellow fox had his gaze toward the fireplace, more so at the facedown framed picture of his family that rested on the mantle as the imaged of the cloaked figure they encountered at the cemetery came to his mind.

He then looked back to his mother upon speaking.

"No, no! Everything's great, Mom." He assured her before his forced smile dropped into a bit of a frown. "It's just…I didn't get much sleep. I keep…thinking about him."

"About who, Sweetheart?"

"That boy at the cemetery." He replied, those blue eyes flashing in his head. "The one you said was my brother…"

"…" The sand-colored fox said nothing, opting to drop her gaze to the cup of brown liquid in her hand instead.

"Why don't you talk about him?" Tails spoke up again.

"It's not a subject I'm particularly fond of…"

"Haven't you been looking for him too? The both of us were separated from you…"

"I found him first, years ago." She confessed, an edge to her voice as she thought of her first born. "And what I found was no child of mine…"

"Who…is he?"

"I can't tell you that." She shook her head, "If I did, you'd go searching for him. I understand your curiosity, but he isn't worth searching for..."

Tails just stared down at his cup, fighting the sad feeling that poked at his heart.

* * *

Mighty stood in the doorway of the living room, watching his little sister as she hugged the rabbit pair that had taken her in and breathed new life into her as promised. He had his arms crossed, smiling at the way she laughed and looked so happy again, a far ways from how she had been right after the crash.

He was so thankful, happy that she was herself again, and no longer plagued by depression or hopelessness.

Her prosthetics were incredibly well made, appearing as normal arms, and even functioning just the same. She still needed a bit of rehab, struggling with their heaviness and not having a full grasp on their functionality just yet. So she wouldn't be returning to school until next year.

Even so, she was happy, and that's all that really mattered to him.

He suddenly jolted up from his relaxed position on the door frame, a shudder gliding down his spine at the feel of cold fingers poking at his side. He quickly turned to see Bunnie all geared up in a somewhat provocative reindeer costume.

"Sorry Sugah." She giggled in that cute voice, bringing her hand to her lips. "I forget this arm isn't all warm and fleshy sometimes." She explained, reminding him that a few of her limbs were prosthetics as well.

"It's fine." He chuckled, rubbing his neck. "Just a little cold."

"How ya'll doin' here?" The rabbit asked, tilting her head to look passed him and at the little armadillo girl. "Aunt Lulumae and Uncle Beau can get a little overbearing during the holidays…"

"Oh no, they're awesome." Mighty waved in dismissal, "It's actually kinda nice... Being taken care of rather than the care giver for once…" He added, thinking back to all the parentless Christmases he'd endured all his life.

"Well, not to put a damper on your good time, but…your brother could use a nice talk up there." Bunnie explained, voice trailing off into a bit of a sorrowful tone. "I think it might be girl troubles. He's been trynna call someone all night…"

Mighty just sighed, assuming his little brother to be struggling with that girl he'd had a crush on all year. Things had been tense between them since his little outburst yesterday, but his parental instincts told him he should try to figure it out.

"Maybe you're right." The armadillo sighed, "I'll go talk to him." He added before thanking her and walking off upstairs.

He knocked twice on the squirrel's door before walking in, the first thing he saw being the depressed squirrel lying facedown on his bed with face buried into a pillow.

"Ray…" Mighty called in sadness, making the young teen sit upright to reveal his puffy, red eyes. He looked like he'd been up all night crying. "What's going on?" He asked, finally coming to the squirrel's bedside.

Ray just turned away, refusing to meet the armadillo's sorrowful gaze.

"Just go…"

"C'mon Bud. It's Christmas…and you haven't opened any of your presents…"

"…"

"Is this about that Cream girl? Look Ray, crushes are called crushes for a reason and—"

"It's not a-about Cream!" The squirrel retorted angrily, losing his cool as he turned around to stand up and poke a finger in the much taller armadillo's chest. "Th-This is about you being so st-stupid!"

"What the hell did I do?!"

" **FI-FIONA SHOULD HA-HAVE BEEN HERE WI-WITH US!** " He screamed, "Fi-Fiona sh-should have been the one you we-were looking for…not th-that Amy girl."

"I tried to call her after I met up with Amy, but she didn't answer." Mighty explained, still completely clueless as to what the squirrel was getting at.

"Yo-You just don't get it!"

"Get what Ray?!" The armadillo whined, "I want to understand…"

"Fiona was in lo-love with you!" He finally exclaimed before pulling out his phone to open up Instagram and show Mighty the picture he pulled up on screen. "And yo-you crushed her…"

Mighty's mouth dropped at the image on screen. Fiona, back in her black attire, chugging a bottle of Vodka while seated on the lap of her toxic ex-boyfriend, Scourge the Hedgehog.

* * *

Rouge laid on the queen-sized bed of her room, limbs sprawled out as she sighed heavily and watched the ceiling fan above her spin around.

Her very promiscuous mother had gone out to prowl around the bars for lonely and potentially rich men, leaving her daughter all alone for Christmas.

She didn't get any gifts, only a couple hundred dollars left on the kitchen counter by her mom, but that was practically routine and compensation for being absent so often.

It usually didn't bother her, but Shadow wasn't climbing through her window to spend the day with her like when they were kids.

"Maria probably would have pulled his ear and dragged him back here if she knew he was ditching me on Christmas." The bat chuckled lightly to herself, smiling at the image of the golden-haired girl that came to her mind. "She always had a much easier time in handling him than me…"

 **2 NEW MESSAGES**

Her thoughts were quickly dispelled at the sound of her girly ringtone. She sat up and found the device in between her pillows, grabbing it to bring it closer.

 ** _Knuckles:_** _Sorry I hit you so hard with all that bullshit yesterday then ran off._

 ** _Knuckles:_** _Hope you're having a good Christmas…_

She smiled, delighted to read his name on her phone screen again.

"Maybe he's right." She spoke aloud to herself, setting her phone back down before getting up to leave her room with butterflies fluttering about in the pit of her stomach. "We probably shouldn't talk…"

Because the more she thought about him….the more she missed him.

* * *

Back in their lavish hotel room, Gold sat upright on the gigantic bed with legs crossed, and right before her on the opposite end Silver had been in the same position. Both of them had smiles plastered on their face, as in between them sat several warm dishes of food ranging from a roasted chicken to Christmas cookies.

"This…looks…amazing…" Silver breathed, tongue out as he panted over the delectable foods laid out before him.

"I figured since neither of us could be home for some yummy home-cooked meals for Christmas, the free hotel food could be the next best thing."

"And right you were!" He laughed, "My parents kinda suck at cooking anyway."

"Mine too actually." She admitted.

They both shared another laugh together before they picked up their forks and looked at each other one more time, amber meeting such a pure blue.

"Merry Christmas, Silver."

"Merry Christmas, Gold."

* * *

Instead of being at home, next to a warm fire or enjoying family time, Wave found herself out in the cold, knocking on the door of a nearby neighbor. She waited for a moment, her breath escaping in a light fog as she shivered beneath her large white sweater.

The door opened moments later, stepping into view the albatross boy she had a more than confusing relationship with. He was geared up to, carrying a set of keys as he closed the door behind himself and walked out onto the snow-covered porch with her.

She hugged him tightly, basking in his body heat before pulling away quickly. Her gaze resting at their feet same as his.

"Are you sure you wanna do this?" He asked her in a doubtful tone.

"Yeah." She nodded.

He then walked passed her and down the steps of his house. She followed after him, the two coming to a stop at his mother's vehicle before he unlocked it and got in the driver's seat.

They drove in silence for the longest time before the swallow finally spoke up on a topic long overdue.

"Storm…"

"Yeah?" He replied, eyes fixed on the road as he lowered the volume on the radio.

"We've been best friends forever…and I don't think that should change." She confessed after days upon days of thinking things through, "I'm at a very confusing point in my life where I don't feel like I actually know anything…not even about myself."

"That's fine, Wave." He assured her, "I understand. I'm not even sure if it's something I really want. It's high school. Feelings get complicated."

"You don't have to tell me." She giggled.

"But you'll always be my ride or die, right?"

"Oh come on!" She waved her hand, "You and I will always be like peanut butter and jelly."

"Good, cause you know in every perfect _'Storm'_ there's always perfect _'Waves'_."

"Stop." The swallow laughed, swatting his shoulder playfully. "That was so cheesy."

"And a perfect time for _'Jet'_ skis…" He added before the happy mood of the car died down into yet another awkward silence.

After some time of conversation here and there, they finally arrived at their destination.

Metropolis Correctional Facility…

They parked and got out of the car, a bit startled by the massive wire-framed fencing, and the dingy looking building. It was gray, dull, and so lifeless. The perfect place for criminals…but not their friend.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" He asked her once more as they walked up the stone steps.

"Yeah…" She nodded, taking his hand in hers. "But I'm not sure you are…"

"He's our friend before anything." The albatross reminded himself with an inhaled breath, "And…it's Christmas…."

She squeezed his hand tightly before they finally made it inside and up to the reception desk, which shielded the person on the other side with bulletproof glass.

"Hello, how can I help you?" The seemingly kind, but at the same time very intimidating woman on the other side of the glass asked.

"My name's Wave the Swallow and this is Storm the Albatross." The swallow introduced herself and her friend, "We were wondering if we could visit our friend today."

"Yes, visiting hours are permitted today." She exclaimed, "And who is it that you'd like to visit?"

"Jet the Hawk."

"Jet…" The woman whispered to herself as she begun sifting through files on her desk, then typing on her computer.

It took several grueling minutes before something interesting popped up on her computer screen, something that made her eyebrows raise and expression tense greatly.

"I'm sorry." She apologized, "You can't visit him."

"What? Why?" Wave bellowed, nervousness rising as terrible thoughts raced in her mind. "Did something happen to him in here?!"

"That's the thing… He's not here."

* * *

"Really, Mom?" Sonic and Sonia both whined as they dumped out the contents of their stockings on the living room floor, "Coal?!"

"With how cruel you were toward each other in the car, I'd say you deserve it." The lavender woman huffed, crossing her arms as she smirked at the two peeved teenagers.

"That's not even fair!" The two huffed, still speaking in unison as they stole glances at each other.

Jules and Aleena were seated on the couch, her snuggled up to his side as he draped an arm around her. Sitting on the floor in front of them with a pile of presents sitting in between them were Sonia and Sonic.

Manic hadn't yet awoke when they started unwrapping gifts, not that there was anything for him anyway.

Sometime as they were in the middle of present time, the shaggy-quilled boy walked downstairs with half-lidded eyes, scowling at the family scene unfolding without him from the staircase with a grimace.

He muttered something under his breath before he fully descended from the steps and out onto the living room floor. He was like a ghost among the living, all of them too engrossed in each other to even notice he had arrived.

The green hedgehog just sighed, disheartened at what was supposed to be family life.

He moved around them, destination being the kitchen and the chocolate chip cookies that would be resting on the countertop.

On his way out, he noticed the tree his father had set up, and his siblings had decorated. So thick with pins, colorful fairy lights wrapped around it, and several ornaments pinned every which way. Most dazzling of all was the bright blue star that shined brightly at the top.

In the midst of looking at the gorgeous tree, his baby-blue eyes caught sight of something beneath it.

It was a present. A yellow box wrapped in a white ribbon. With his curiosity peaked, he kneeled down and pulled the lone present out from underneath it and stood back up to his feet with it. He looked it over, inspecting it for a name card.

He quickly found it underneath the tight bow at the top, reading it over before a bone-rattling scream made him jump back in terror.

" **DON'T TOUCH THAT!** " Aleena screamed, suddenly appearing beside him to snatch it coldly from his hands.

Manic stumbled back, startled at her sudden action and appearance. Suddenly, all the eyes in the room were on them, but that's not what bothered him…

"That's for…Tails?" He questioned, his mother standing before him with the box tightly in her hands.

"Yes…" She confessed, eyes tearing up at the mention of her lost child.

"Why?" The green hedgehog asked in a strained tone.

"I always get him a present." Aleena replied, cradling the gift as she casted her gaze downward. "He's my little boy—"

" **NO HE ISN'T!** " Manic screamed angrily, heart pounding against his chest as scolded her ruthlessly. No longer able to hold in his discontent toward her neglect.

Before he, his father, or even his siblings knew it, the lavender woman had whipped her hand painfully hard across his face with enough force to have his head bounce off the nearby wall. Everyone was shocked, even herself.

A wave of guilt instantly washed over her as she reached out to him. His lip was bleeding, cut by her wedding ring.

"Oh Manic…I…"

"Don't." He shook his head before taking off up the stairs, followed by the loud slam of his room door.

Aleena stood there, holding the present as she tried to register what just happened. Sonia and Sonic looked at each other, unsure of who to go comfort.

Jules on the other hand knew exactly where he was needed. He got up from the couch and silently walked upstairs toward the upset hedgehog's room….

* * *

Things hadn't gotten any better between Knuckles and Lara-Su since yesterday, the little girl still weary of his presence and treating him like an intruder.

She sat by the Christmas tree with her mother, the two of them laughing and looking over little trinkets the toddler had gotten this year. Knuckles watched them from his spot across the room on the couch, admiring how sweet the little girl was…when she wasn't talking to him.

He wanted so desperately to go sit with them, to be a part of the happiness they were displaying.

All in the same room, but he felt so far away from them, like they were just out of reach.

This vacation was supposed to bring them closer together as a family, but he couldn't feel more a part from them, given how terribly these last two days together had gone.

"Knux." Julie-Su called out, pulling the red echidna out of his disheartened thoughts and back into reality.

She smiled at him, tossing him a Santa hat that he caught with ease. He looked back at her in confusion before she gestured with her hand out the door and mouthed the _words 'Your gifts…The ones you said were in the trunk.'_

"Ohh." He nodded, standing up from the couch to walk out the front door and shut it behind him.

Once he did so, Lara-Su's eyes lit up like the lights on the tree beside them, a happy smile coming to her face as she looked up to her mother.

"Is Mr. Knuckles going away?!" She asked eagerly. "Did Santa get my note?!" She added in a hopeful tone, making her mother pinch the bridge of her nose.

"No, Sweetheart." Julie-Su sighed before a big smile crept up on her face. "Knuckles got you a few presents too—"

She was cut off by the red echidna kicking the front door open, making both girls jump before turning around to see him staggering in with presents stacked so high they grazed the ceiling.

Lara-Su's mouth dropped, having never seen so many presents at once before.

With so many presents in hand, and vision obstructed by the colorfully-wrapped boxes, Knuckles couldn't keep balance and ended up topping over, presents scattering all over the floor.

Knuckles sat back upright, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment as he beamed them a big smile.

"Merry Christmas, Lara-Su." He cheered, placing the Santa hat the pink echidna had given him on his head.

"Dummy!" Julie-Su scolded him, marching over to help him up off the ground. "You said a few presents!" She exclaimed, gesturing to all the boxes. "This is crazy!"

"I wasn't sure what she liked." He confessed, "So I got her everything I could think of for a little girl."

"You're such an—"

"Mr. Knuckles?" The little girl called out, drawing both of their attention downward to see her standing in between them with one of the many presents in her hand.

He exchanged a hopeful glance with his girlfriend before kneeling down to eye-level with toddler. Her gaze remained down at the gift in her hand, and her cheeks were tinted red a bit.

"Y-Yes?" He stammered out of nervousness.

"Are these really all for me?"

"Yes." Knuckles nodded with a smile, "I got all of them just for you."

"How come?"

"Well, because that's what daddys do… They spoil their little girls." He explained in the best way he could, not much experience in the ways of parenting.

"Daddy never bought me this many presents before…" She mumbled, spiking a bit of hurt in his heart as she still referred to Thrash as her father.

Then she completely took that pain away by throwing her arms around him as far as they would go over his broad shoulders, enveloping him in a gentle hug that had his eyes shoot open with surprise.

"Thank you…" She whispered to him, his heart doing backflips as she allowed him to hug her back.

* * *

A small two bedroom apartment in Mercia served as home to both Antoine, and his father.

The coyote boy had just finished the final touches of Christmas dinner, pulling a bun cake out of the oven that looked to die for. Being a culinary chef in training, the prim and proper boy sure knew his way around a kitchen.

Growing up, he had to if he were to keep himself and his busy father afloat.

His father, Armand D'Coolette was a renowned lawyer who was forced to spend most of his time at the law firm he worked for in Metropolis.

Antoine sang to himself as he scurried about the house, setting the table before finally discarding his apron for the evening. He then went to the bathroom to fix himself up after making a mess of himself in the kitchen.

Just as he exited the washroom, he heard the click of the front door, and was quick to rush over. A smile stretched out across his face as soon as he saw the older coyote come through the door.

"Father, you are home!" He exclaimed with such joy, taking his father by the arm to pull into the dining area. "Come! I've prepared our dinner."

Normally, his father would complement his hard work, or greet him with a bubbly reply, but today he didn't. Something was quite off, and Antoine could feel it almost instantaneously.

He turned around to look up at his father curiously, noticing the pained expression on his face.

"Are you alright, Father?" He asked worriedly.

"Antoine my boy…we need to talk."

"What iz the going on?" His son asked, following his father toward the two chairs at the dinner table he spent hours setting up.

They sat across from one another, the table of delectable foods in between them as his father took a deep breath.

"I sat in on your friend Rotor's trial as you requested." Armand professed, Antoine shooting up from his chair immediately.

"How did it go? How long will zey be jailed?!" The teen sputtered questions faster than his broken English would let him.

"As you know, they were all minors. So sentencing was a difficult decision."

"But what they did to Rotor is grounds for adult sentenzing." Antoine remarked, having spent hours on line researching the subject.

"That it is." His father nodded before continuing. "The two freshmen boys the older ones had coerced were mainly spectators, only able to be charged with physical assault and conspiring to commit a crime. They were charged with five years in a juvenile correctional facility each."

"Lez than what they deserve, but itz something…" Antoine shook his head, palms gripping the white table cloth as he stood up and stared back at his father. "And what of the other three?"

"Tekno the Canary was charged with not only aiding in a crime, but also for distributing footage and filming a rape with failure to report a crime. She's looking at ten years in a juvenile correctional facility with the possibility of parole."

"I still zee that video when I close my eyes sometimes… I have no empathy for her, any of them…"

"Eclipse the Darkling was charged with assault, sodomy, and rape. He's been sentenced to fifteen years in a juvenile facility with no possibility of parole."

"And their leader? What of that bastard?!"

"Jet the Hawk was charged with organizing a hate crime, second degree rape, and assault. He was sentenced to life in jail with no possibility of parole."

Antoine became so overwhelmed with joy, tears threatening the corners of his eyes as he soaked in the information. Finally feeling as though Rotor had gotten some true justice…until his father dropped a bombshell that would rattle his entire world.

"But then his case was reopened for evaluation today…" Armand spoke back up, voice strained as ever. "Apparently, his mother had pulled some strings under the table and got his case revisited, this time his defense lawyer being Isabella Mongoose herself…"

"Wh-What does zat mean?"

"…I'm sorry Antoine…" His father apologized, tears threatening even his eyes. "I did everything I could to stop the revisit…"

" **WHAT ARE YOU TELLING ME?!** " The teen screamed out, voice cracking with such pain.

"For being the one to come forth and providing evidence as well as a few other technicalities, one of which physically not harming Rotor directly… Jet the Hawk's life conviction was overturned. He will see no jail time, and Isabella has pulled strings to get him back into Green Hill Academy…"

* * *

"Whoever's truck this is…they're total pigs." Blaze huffed from the passenger side, picking up a pair of red panties that had been occupying the armrest of her chair to chuck to the floor before quickly pulling out hand sanitizer from the backpack she had in her lap.

It smelled horrible. There were cigarette buds almost everywhere, and wherever there weren't cigarette buds, there was empty bottles of alcohol.

"First of all, it's a Hummer, and this is no time to be picky about what chariot's taking you home Cinderella." Shard remarked sarcastically from the seat beside her, both hands on the wheel as he focused hard on the road ahead.

She was another girl not too fond of his sarcastic nature, side-eyeing him with an annoyed look before her gaze fell to the healing gash on his neck and softened. She then turned to look back out the window, the two of them sitting in silence for a while.

"Why are you helping me when you hardly know me?" She finally asked, the question being one that had been sitting on her brain all morning.

He simply shrugged, "Dunno. Good guy I guess?"

"If that's the case than what were you doing at a party exclusively for assholes and bitches?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

She frowned, regret flooding her body at even attending that stupid party with Mephiles, and ditching her family to do it. Silence soon ensued again between them, all the way until they got to Soleanna hours later.

Once in the city, she directed him toward her home, both of them basking in nostalgia at the sights they passed.

"You grew up here too?" She asked him.

"Born and raised, unfortunately." He chuckled.

"What part?" The cat asked curiously, not recognizing him at all from her youth.

"Uptown with all the rich, snobby, human douchebags." The hedgehog rolled his eyes.

"Well that explains why we never ran into you growing up." Blaze remarked pointing him toward a side street. "Silver, Mephiles and I grew up downtown."

Through some more chatter and directing, the Hummer eventually pulled up in front of a cute teal-colored house in the suburbs. Shard turned off the engine before raising both arms to arch his back, a laugh escaping him as he did so.

"Phew, finally here!" He exclaimed, "Maybe I should go for my permit after all."

"What?!" The cat yelped in horror, "You drove me all the way to Soleanna without a license?!"

"I got ya' here, didn't I?"

She wanted nothing more than to scold him on the dangers of his actions, but settled for just breathing out and letting go because he did get her there after all as he promised.

Blaze looked out toward her home nervously, recalling the poor way she'd left things off with Marine, and how upset her parents must be with her.

Shard noticed the apprehension, quick to call her out on it.

"Well, aren't you gonna go inside?" The yellow-striped hedgehog asked, "Or do I have to walk you to the door or something."

"I…I'm just...nervous." She confessed, dropping her gaze to her lap. "I was so cruel to my sister…"

"Just apologize." He urged her, "It's not that hard."

"It is for me." The cat whined, "And who's to say she'd even accept it."

"Just have a little faith in yourself, KitKat."

That was enough encouragement to help her open the car door and hop out.

Inside the house, Marine and her parents were sitting around the living room in silence, the car door being shut clear as day in the house. The raccoon perked in her seat before getting up to peek out the window beside the front door.

"Marine, who is it?" Her mother called out from behind her, the raccoon's eyes lighting up like stars as she watched the purple cat stroll up to the door.

" **IT'S BLAZEY!** " Marine cried out happily, "She came!"

"Blaze?" The obese purple cat sitting beside her mother asked, tilting his head with a glint of hope in his eyes.

Marine quickly scrambled to the door, pulling it open to lunge at the cat who was just inches away from knocking. She instantly engulfed Blaze in a hug, happy tears slipping down her face at her Christmas wish being realized.

Blaze had come home for Christmas.

"Marine…" Blaze breathed as she pulled the raccoon girl away to look at her, cradling her cheek gently before continuing. "I'm so sorry about how I treated you the other day. You are my little sister, and I should treat you much better. Can you ever forgive me?"

"I already have, Blazey." Marine nodded, wiping a tear from her eye. "I'm just glad you're really here. Come on now! Mum and Dad are waiting on you!"

"Sure thing." The purple cat nodded before she looked back at the boy sitting in the Hummer. "Just give me one second." She asked before handing the raccoon her bag and jogging back toward the DigItalian boy.

"How'd it go?" He asked, his arm hanging out the window.

"Okay." Blaze nodded, "I really appreciate what you did for me. Now and at the party last night…"

"Don't mention it." He smiled, making her blush slightly.

"So are you off to see your family?"

"Don't have one…" He frowned, "Besides, I should probably head back to campus and return the sorta stolen vehicle before the owner has a panic attack or something."

"Oh…That's probably a good idea…" She cringed, almost forgetting that he had pick-pocketed those car keys off someone at the party. "I guess I'll see you back on campus in a few days then."

"Fair enough." Shard chuckled, starting the engine. "See ya' round, KitKat."

He then took off, allowing the cat to turn back and rush inside to meet up with her family.

He didn't head out of the city right away of course. He figured while he had the car, he'd make use of it. The hedgehog cruised for a bit before taking a detour toward the nearby cemetery his father was buried at.

* * *

After slamming the door to his room shut, Manic immediately walked up to the stereo and turned the volume up as high as it would go, the music drowning out his wails as he sat on his bed and cupped his bleeding lip.

Tears unconsciously fell from his eyes, the stinging sensation of the cut lip drawing them out. It was nothing compared to the stinging feeling he had in his heart.

It angered him, how his mother clung with all her life to Tails whom was long gone, while he was right there. A small part of him hoping that she'd show him the tiniest bit of attention now that the fox had a mother of his own.

But she didn't, opting to hold on to hope for his return instead.

Leaving Manic in the shadows the same as his father always had.

Unwanted.

Unseen.

Unloved.

His chest heaved with such pain, his heart pounding angrily against his ribs as his mind wandered back to memories past.

Suddenly his music had shut off entirely, alerting him to another presence in the room.

From his bed, he quickly whipped his head around to see his father standing by the now shut off stereo. The features of his bloodied face quickly scrunched up into an angry scowl, glaring harshly at the tall blue hedgehog standing across the room.

"Manic…" His father whispered, stepping closer. "I came to talk to you."

"You and I have nothing to talk about." He stated coldly, turning away.

"Forgive your mother…" Jules pleaded, "Losing Tails is still a fresh wound to her."

"He should have never been in our lives in the first place." The green hedgehog huffed, "You already had sons…"

Jules frowned, this being the first time Manic has ever directly opened up to him about anything, especially his distaste toward the yellow fox.

For years these two had been so cold toward each other, evading one another for what felt like forever for reasons only they knew.

"We just felt that we had enough room in our hearts for one more…"

"Enough room?" Manic snarled, standing up from his bed to glare at his dad with angry blue eyes. "That's a fucking laugh."

"Manic—"

"You love Sonia, you love Sonic, and you guys fucking adore Tails. Clearly there was only ever room for three in your fucking hearts. So where does that leave me, huh?" The teen barked, standing toe-to-toe with his father, angry blue eyes meeting sorrowful ones of the same hue. "On your fucking blacklist, right next to...you-know-who."

Jules couldn't say a word, silenced by his son's angry scolding. He didn't know what to say, or how to make things better.

Manic just shook his head, unmoved by the sincerity in the blue hedgehog's eyes, and frustrated with the silence. He quickly scrambled around his room for a jacket.

"Where are you going?" Jules called out after him as he made a break for the door.

"Who the fuck in this house really cares?" Manic retorted, "Merry-fucking-Christmas."

* * *

 **As you can see...Some Christmases went A LOT better for some than others.**

 **What's the fastest way to a little kid's heart? Presents obviously! Has this act of kindness begun the start of the gap slowly bridging between Knuckles and Lara-Su? Or are there just too many forces working against them? Like Thrash, Shade, and Rouge's returning feelings...**

 **Neither Shadow nor Rosy have the best of records when it comes to relationships, but their committed in taking a chance on each other again. Will it work out or blow up in their faces? How will their friends take to it?**

 **Given it being a Sonic fanfic...what is Sonic without the chaos emeralds? I figure using them as typical jewelry, much like the inclusion of Knuckles' master emerald would be quite fun! Amy has the red one and Cosmo has the yellow one, meaning there are five more you'll see pop up in the story eventually.**

 **Shard's shown he's still got the potential to be the good guy he's always wanted to be, but at the same time he's still that rebel we hate to love. Do we consider auto theft to bring a girl home on Christmas to be heroic or a crime? He's a literal paradox.(And yes, he did steal Scourge's car lol)**

 **Manic's relationship with his family has always been strained, but now it's become too much for him to bear, and I bet you're all wondering why. Why do Aleena and Jules treat him the way they do? Why does he loath his father so much? What does he know? Well, FINALLY next chapter for sure...you'll get answers you've long awaited.**

 **More importantly, JET THE HAWK TO MAKE A RETURN?! No jail time at all while his accomplices look at 5-15 years in prison?! I really want to know how ya'll feel about that...because even I'm a little salty about it and I wrote it!**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **An entire chapter dedicated to Manic and Scourge called 'The Story of Us'**

 **What did they do in Moebius?**

 **How'd they get arrested?**

 **What's between them?**

 **Why don't they talk anymore?**

 **How did the fight between Sonic and Scourge really go down**

 **All of these questions FINALLY ANSWERED.**


	63. Chapter 63

**WARNING: A slew of crimes committed and a bit of physical violence**

* * *

 **Chapter 63: Manic & Scourge: The Story Of Us**

It was about two years ago around Thanksgiving vacation. Jules had been stationed in DigItaly, and managed to afford airplane tickets to fly out his wife and children.

All except for family troublemaker, Manic.

He claimed there wasn't enough funds on his card to pay for another ticket, but the green hedgehog knew better than to believe that.

The rebellious teen just wasn't wanted…

As an alternative, he was to stay home all vacation taking care of the house.

Manic sat on the cold, stone front steps of his home watching his two siblings shove each other and pull at one another's quills in an attempt to snag the front seat for themselves.

A small smile of amusement crept up on him as he watched them bicker.

Then his eyes wandered toward the other scene unfolding by the open trunk of the van.

He watched as eleven year old Tails used all of his strength to help the lavender woman load the last heavy luggage into the trunk. The smile immediately fell on Manic's face, washed away by bitterness and jealousy.

"Thank you so much, Sweetheart." Aleena cooed, leaning over to wrap her arms around the little fox and kiss his head. "My strong boy."

He absolutely hated Tails, and how much everyone else adored him.

"Manic, Sweetheart?" A voice cooed, snapping the green hedgehog out of his thoughts.

"Huh?" He blinked, looking up to see his mother standing over him with a warm smile.

"I said we'll be back home in a few days. Remember, you're not allowed to leave this house, and I'll be calling every so often to check in."

"Sure, Ma." Manic nodded, standing up to give her a hug goodbye.

"Oh, I wish you could come along." She sighed, "I'm sorry, Sweetheart."

"Yeah…"

"Well, we've gotta get going." His mother pulled away, turning heel toward the car.

"Bye…' He mumbled sorrowfully as he watched her make it to the car door and hop in.

He watched as they pulled out of the driveway, Sonia and Sonic waving him goodbye. Then the window rolled down in the back as they drove off, the yellow kitsune popping out his head and arm to smile and give a wave of his own.

"Bye Manic!" Tails called out, the sound of his voice only serving to upset the green hedgehog who refused to acknowledge the act.

Once they were gone he let out a heavy sigh, leaning back to pull a loose cigarette from the orange belt bag resting at his side. He lit it before taking a drag and starred out toward the orange-pinkish sky where the sun was just rising.

He suddenly flew into a fit of coughing, the concept of smoking still somewhat new to him although Scourge had taught him a few months earlier.

"Yo!" He heard a gruff voice call out, breaking his gaze from the beautiful sky to look out toward the pathway leading up to his house.

It was his good friend, Scourge. The one his mother didn't allow into their home, the one his siblings couldn't stand, and ironically the only person who's ever paid any real attention to him in his entire life.

His quills were long and razor sharp, just like the jagged teeth in his wicked grin. Black boots, dark jeans, and a black leather jacket with flame patterns up the sleeves draped over a white T-shirt. The medallion he had given the older boy hanging around his neck.

"Scourge!" Manic greeted with such glee, quickly discarding the cigarette and standing up to his feet.

"The fam gone yet?" The older boy asked, eyeing the empty driveway as he adjusted the duffle bag he had hoisted over his left shoulder.

"Yep!" Manic replied, stepping back to open up the front door and pull out a bag he had secretly stowed away by the door as his family was departing.

"Cool. You got your stuff?" Scourge asked.

"Right here." He nodded, holding up the stuffed backpack.

"Good, we'd better get going then."

"Alright!" Manic cheered excitedly, running up to the hedgehog walking away as he looked out toward the vacant street in confusion. "Uh, where's the getaway car?"

"Couldn't risk bringing it here." Scourge shrugged, "Fiona woulda got all suspicious."

"What? So how are we supposed to get to the other side of the fucking country?!"

"Don't worry about that." The older boy waved in dismissal as they took off down the sidewalk, "I've got it all figured out…but we're gonna have to pick up the pace."

"You got another ride?"

"Sort of…"

* * *

About an hour and a half later, the sun had finally began to peak over the horizon. The temperature had dropped some as well, and a cool breeze had picked up in the dawn.

All was peaceful, except for the two frantic hedgehogs running for dear life beside the train tracks.

Drenched in sweat with hearts pounding agonizingly against their ribs, Scourge and Manic ran as fast as their feet would allow them to go, the older boy a ways ahead. Behind them and rapidly approaching, a freight train was coming up on their left.

"Are you ou-out of your mind?!" Manic cried out in a panic, doing his best to keep up with the other green boy. "This is fucking crazy!"

"Quit whining and focus!" Scourge hollered back at him over his shoulder, squinting at the bright headlights of the oncoming train.

"This is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy—" Manic repeated to himself as an immense pain shot up his calves.

"Alright!" The boy in front of him bellowed, "Here we go!"

Suddenly, the ground beneath them rumbled, and the train flew by them with a gust of forceful wind. After locating the perfect opening, Manic watched in amazement as Scourge lunged aboard.

It was a rough landing, but he was quick to shake off the pain in his shoulder so he could crawl to the opening and hold out his hand for the other hedgehog to take.

"C'mon Manic!" He called out to the younger boy who was struggling to keep up with the train, "You've gotta jump."

"Hell no!" The shaggy-quilled hedgehog shook his head vigorously, "I can't…"

"Yes you can!" Scourge assured him the best he could, distance growing between them. "Hurry up! Just trust me!"

With seemingly no other option, Manic held his breath and forced his fears away as he shut his eyes tightly and leapt up, wrist grabbed just in time to be pulled onto the train.

The two rolled across the cold, metal floor until they landed flat on their backs. Scourge couldn't help but sit up and burst out into a fit of laughter, holding his sides as he threw his head back with glee.

"That was fucking awesome!" He cheered before the hedgehog beside him sat up, and shoved him angrily.

"No! That was fucking stupid and crazy!"

"Quit playing." He rolled his eyes, "You know that was fun."

"Maybe just a little…"

"And now…" The older boy said as he pulled his bag closer to pull out a bottle of alcohol that was surprisingly undamaged. "We kick back, relax, and hitch a free ride all the way to Moebius." He smirked, popping the top off the bottle before taking a swig.

He then handed it to Manic, who wasted no time throwing his head back to pour the liquid down his throat, anything to help ease the anxiety he had.

"Jeez, Kid." Scourge chuckled, taking the bottle back. "Save a little for the rest of the trip, will ya? It's a long ride…"

* * *

Sometime into their illegal train ride, both boys laid across the floor with red faces and limbs sprawled out. The winds that blew through the open side doors brushed their quills, chilling, but they were warm with alcohol in their systems. The bottle was empty, and had rolled to their feet.

They stared up to the ceiling of the metal shuttle, doing their best to speak through slurred words.

"Why couldn't Fi know about this again?" Manic hiccupped.

"Then she woulda made me bring her, obviously."

"So? She's your girlfriend, isn't she?"

"I'd hardly call her that." Scourge chuckled, a look of anger crossing his face at the memory of how he ended up with the vixen. "Because that would imply that I actually care about her."

"Whoa." Manic whistled, "Take it down a notch."

"My bad. Drinking and thinking about shitty things kinda pisses me off."

Manic just rose his eyebrows in surprise, this being the first time his friend had ever expressed his distaste toward his girlfriend, Fiona Fox.

The two had been dating for a bit over a year, long before the two green hedgehogs ever met. To everyone who wasn't as close to the two as Manic, the bad boy and fiery vixen seemed to be a match made in heaven—or hell to be more accurate.

Both rebellious with the same mean streak and disregard for the feelings of others. Always together, always causing mayhem.

"If she's so shitty why don't you just break up with her?" The shaggy-quilled boy suggested, side-eyeing the hedgehog next to him to view his expression. As always, unreadable.

"Because now I don't really have a choice." Scourge remarked bitterly.

"No choice? Dude, you've got people falling all over you at school!" They sat up, Manic flailing his arms in exaggeration as Scourge's mouth morphed into a smirk. "You could have anyone you want…"

"True, but when you can't have the one you want…you just gotta settle for that runner up." The older hedgehog sighed before he looked back up to his friend with a cocked brow. "Ya'know…if I didn't know any better it feels like you're comin' onto me."

" **WHAT?!** " Manic yelped in embarrassment. " **NO WAY, DUDE!** "

"Lots of gay rumors about you flying around campus." Scourge chuckled, amused by the younger boy's flushed face and frantic protesting. "Sure you're not trynna take advantage of me? I am pretty drunk—"

" **I'M NOT GAY!** "

"Relax." He waved in dismissal after riling his friend up so much with embarrassment. "I'm just messing with you."

"Good, because I'm not…and if I was, I could tots do better than you, Hun." Manic retorted in a mocking tone along with the snap of his fingers before they both flew into another fit of laughter.

"So if you actually like girls, how come you've never had a girlfriend?"

"Can we talk about something else?" Manic whined, eyes wandering to his backpack where he had another bottle of liquor tucked away inside, "How about we drink some more?"

"Well, you know how to shut me up." The older boy laughed, watching Manic as he pulled another bottle out of his own bag. "We're gonna be so wasted by the time we get there…"

* * *

By the time the train had come to a full stop, it was nightfall. Stars littered the sky, the moon shinning the brightest among them.

The two green hedgehogs hopped out of the train, struggling to keep their balance as they bolted from the station as stealthily as they could to not be caught by the security. Once far enough from the station, the two through their arms to the air and let out a victory howl.

" **WHOA!** " Manic bellowed with such glee, beyond drunk as he looked to the city welcome sign with double-vision. "He-Hello Moebius Moebius!"

"Home sweet home…but not really. This place is a shithole."

"Dude, it's like eleven at night. We really sat on that train **ALL** day!"

"Yep." Scourge nodded, arching his back before a satisfying pop noise was heard.

In a moment of sobriety, Manic began to scan the city around him with a bit more clarity. It was dark, the street lights flickering here and there. The buildings were all dark, tall, and grim looking. Graffiti everywhere, unreadable because it overlapped on more graffiti. Sidewalks, building, even some cars were tagged in the bubble lettering. The streets were so dirty, and it smelt like piss.

Moebius is notoriously known to be the worst city in the country. Known to harbor the most convicts in one area, to be the most dangerous place in Mobius, and had the highest crime rate in the country.

Prostitution rings, gang violence, and most notably the infamous drug trafficking.

They say if grow up in Moebius…nothing scares you, because this city throws all your worst nightmares into one place.

Perverts waiting to pull you into white vans, gang members ready to pounce on you as soon as you're walking by an alleyway, and drug dealers ready to blow your cheek out with a gun if you happen to look in the wrong direction at the wrong time.

Manic suddenly felt a sense of fear wash over him, and he began to cower as he nervously darted his eyes to the darker corners of the city. The older hedgehog being quick to notice his trembling.

"You okay?" Scourge asked as his sharp blue eyes fell over the cowering hedgehog.

"Y-Yeah…" Manic nodded, doing his best to put on a brave face, although he clutched his arm tightly. "But…it's kinda…dark. Maybe we should turn in for the night."

"Turn in for the night?" His friend repeated with such distaste before he threw his arm across his shoulders. "C'mon Manic, we're drunk, and the night is young! Stop thinking like you're back in your widdle cradle."

"I…"

"Hey." Scourge called out once more, making the younger hedgehog lift his head up to have their blue eyes meet. The older boy's a much more vibrant shade of blue. "You're with me. You don't have to worry about anything…"

A smile soon emerged on the nervous hedgehog's face. Then he nodded, and the two turned toward the sidewalk.

"So where's that apartment we're staying at?" Manic spoke up again after the two had done a bit of walking.

"We'll get to that." The older hedgehog shrugged, pulling out two cigarettes. "Right after we get a ride." He handed one to Manic, who took it before shaking his head and crossing his arms into an ' _X_ ' shape.

"I am **NOT** jumping on another moving train."

"Chill out." Scourge chuckled, tossing his lighter to the younger hedgehog after he was done with it.

As they walked down the sidewalk, Scourge's eyes scanned each window of every store they passed by until he finally caught sight of a familiar sports store. He stopped in front of it without alerting his companion, who continued to walk and ramble about the dangers of train hopping until he realized he was walking alone.

Manic jumped in fright before he turned around to see Scourge on his knees scavenging the dirty sidewalk for something. He walked back quickly, eyeing the older hedgehog in confusion.

"What are doing?" He asked as Scourge stood back up to his feet with a large, misplaced brick in his hand.

"You don't wanna train hop, right?" The older hedgehog remarked before slamming the brick to the glass window, shattering it to pieces.

Manic's eyes widened in horror as the high-pitched security alarm rang in his ears. Scourge moved quickly, ignoring the glass that cut his leather sleeves and arms as he reached into the shattered window and pulled out two displayed skateboards, tossing one to Manic quickly before taking off on the other.

"Di-Did you just…"

"C'mon Kid!" Scourge hollered back over his shoulder at the frozen boy, "You don't wanna be here when the cops come…or the rapists."

His comment sent a chill down the shaggy-quilled boy's spine before he hastily hopped on the red skateboard, taking off after his older friend as police sirens became clearer in the distance.

"Did…Did we just burglarize some sports store for skateboards?!" Manic squeaked in a high-pitched voice.

"Well, I did the burglarizing." The leather-clad hedgehog chuckled, "You were….just present."

"Does…Does that make me a criminal?"

"Kinda."

"Train hopping…robbing sports stores…What the hell am I doing?!" He grabbed at his quills.

"You're living." Scourge smirked, making Manic's eyes widen in realization.

* * *

Another hour of seemingly aimless roaming around the hellish streets of Moebius, the two drunken hedgehogs found themselves in a much more pleasant side of town.

The uptown, where the wealthier families lived. The gated communities, large mansions, and spacious green lawns.

"Uhh, is this where the apartment is?" Manic piped up, eyes constantly drifting toward the beautiful manors they passed.

There was a long silence, Scourge not uttering a word in response as they carried on down the sidewalk. Manic tilted his head in confusion, kicking up for speed so that he'd be side-by-side with the older boy, hoping to get a glimpse at his face.

For the first time ever, it was a readable expression. Pure anguish…

"Scourge?" Manic called out, this time finally earning a reply.

"I wanna show you something…"

"What?"

"Just follow me." Scourge commanded, finally hopping off the black skateboard. He dropped his bag on it before darting off into nearby shrubs.

Confusion mixed with curiosity whirled around inside Manic as he stepped off his skateboard and set down his own bag. He looked out past the shrubs Scourge had crawled into. Turns out they were perimetering a fenced in mansion. It was three stories high, white with French doors and large windows. He squinted his eyes as he caught sight of the golden plaque on the mailbox, struggling to read it in the dark.

 _Acorn Residence_

"Manic!" The green hedgehog jumped upon hearing his name whispered in the dark, eyes quickly breaking from the mailbox to come into contact with Scourge's who gestured him into the shrub. "C'mon!"

He nodded before rushing over to crawl into the bush. Once inside, he noticed the broken bars of the fence that created a hole just big enough for them to fit through.

"A hole?"

"Made it years ago…" Scourge smiled, running his hand across the broken bars. "Surprised they didn't find it or patch it up…"

Scourge crawled through first, emerging on the other side to quickly dive into a rose bush around back. Moments afterward, Manic did the same, just not as gracefully.

"Shit!" He yelped in agony, tripping over a tree root to smash face first into the bush.

The older boy quickly pulled him out of view, clamping his hand on the younger hedgehog's mouth as his eyes caught sight of the third floor lights going on.

Being drunk, Scourge hadn't realized how tightly he'd been holding the shaggy-quilled boy's mouth and nose until Manic was finally able to wrench himself free and take quiet yet large inhales of oxygen.

"Dude!" Manic scolded him in a harsh whisper, "You nearly suffocated me! What the hell are we doing here? Look, I'm not letting you rob anymore places. Let's just go home okay? Scourge?"

Within his rambling, he hadn't noticed Scourge wasn't paying any attention to him in the slightest. Instead he had his back turned to him and his gaze out toward the third story balcony in the backyard of the Acorn's home.

Manic crawled over to his side, brushing away obscuring leaves so that he could look out to what had his friend so hypnotized only to find his own eyes widening in the same manner.

The two boys watched in awe as a chipmunk slipped out of the sliding glass door and into the night, strolling up to the rail of the balcony. Long auburn hair blowing with the winds, eyes as blue as the night sky itself.

Manic's breath hitched in his throat, her beauty literally taking his breath away as his eyes trailed over her.

Gorgeous legs that seemed to go on forever, a tiny waist complimented greatly by such wide hips, and so many curves.

A silk nightgown that rested just about mid-thigh, the spaghetti straps sliding off both shoulders as she leaned over the railing, exposing a vast amount of cleavage that had both boys foaming at the mouth.

Such full lips on a face so flawless, framed by the side-swept auburn fringe that shielded almost half of it.

"Who…is…that…" Manic whispered, a mass of butterflies swarming his stomach as a deep shade of red coated his face at the sight of the mystery girl.

"Hot, huh?" Scourge smiled, eyes never fleeing from the auburn-haired girl for a second.

"Hot? Dude, she's fucking gorgeous. Like on a whole other level…."

"I know." The older teen nodded, "She used to be my girlfriend…"

" **WHAT?!** " Manic yelped before covering his mouth in realization that the chipmunk might have heard him. After a few moments he let go of his mouth and settled for a much lower volume. "You left **THAT** for Fiona?!"

"Not by choice." Scourge frowned, dropping his gaze to the grass as a painful memory flashed in his mind. "She left me…"

Manic could only frown at the sight of his older friend's sour demeanor, so unused to seeing him so blue or showing any real emotion for that matter.

"She meant everything to me…" He went on, basking in the more delightful memories that came to mind. "I learned Spanish to get her attention. Followed her around like a sick puppy. Then when we got together, everything just made sense in the world. She was my queen, and I was her king. We even gave each other matching tattoos…" He chuckled, rolling up his sleeve to reveal the poorly tatted ' _K_ ' on his wrist.

"Is that why you and Fiona—"

"There's no me and Fiona." He corrected Manic sharply, alcohol sending his emotions a bit overboard. "There's never been anyone else but her… I fucking loved her, with everything I am, but I…It…It didn't matter."

Tears, actual tears started pouring down the usually rough and tough bad boy's face like waterworks, further breaking Manic's heart.

"I'm sorry…" He whispered, placing his hand on Scourge's shoulder in a comforting manner. So unsure of what else to possibly say.

"I'm supposed to be the asshole, the one who doesn't give a fuck, but she…she got the best of me." He confessed through angry tears, "I want her back, Manic. I want her so bad..."

"Then just go out there and—"

"Geoffrey!" An angelic, feminine voice echoed in the dark, making Scourge's vibrant blue eyes shoot open.

Both boys then peered out of the bush again and up at the balcony where the chipmunk girl was no longer alone.

Emerging from the door behind her was a smirking skunk in nothing but plaid pajama bottoms. He strolled up behind her, leaning over her while resting his hands comfortably at her waist as he planted soft kisses on her neck, eliciting a fit of giggles from her before she pushed him away in protest.

Manic's gaze quickly shot back to Scourge, who's mouth dropped and eyes widened in horror. He had heard rumors of his estranged friend putting the moves on his ex while he was away at Green Hill Academy, but to see it in person…

"C'mon Love." The skunk whined, pulling the chipmunk by the waist over to the door. "It's too cold out here for ya'."

"Perhaps." The auburn-haired girl nodded in agreement before she turned back out to the yard, oblivious to the two hedgehogs hiding in the bushes below. "But the stars look so beautiful tonight. They remind me of my little sister, Nicole. We used to love watching the stars together on nights it was hard for her to fall asleep."

"Cute memory, but I'd feel lousy if I let you stay out here and get sick. Plus, I think your dad is up and making the rounds."

She sighed reluctantly before turning away with him, shattering Scourge's heart to pieces as the sliding glass door shut behind them. He couldn't take it. The thought of them together, seeing them together, it was all too much for his drunken heart to process rationally.

He leapt from the bush like a madman, much to Manic's protest. He marched to the side of the house where he begun to climb the pillar by the porch and make his way up to the top. However, before he could get very far, Manic had grabbed his ankles and pulled him back down.

"Dude! Are you crazy?!"

"What the fuck is he doing there? With her… Like that…No, **NO**! Fuck that!" Scourge wailed in a drunken rage, trying to wiggle free of the younger hedgehog's grasp. "I'll fucking kill him! Mother fucker!"

"Scourge! You can't—"

" **WHO'S OUT THERE?!** " A much deeper and masculine voice called out as the first floor lights went on, making both boys gasp in fright.

"Shit." Manic cursed, tightening the grip he had on Scourge's ankles before yanking him down with all his might. They both tumbled to the grass with a thud before Manic finally sat upright and reached out to the other hedgehog. "C'mon Scourge. We gotta get outta here."

"But I…" Scourge trailed off, staring blankly at the third floor balcony where the lights upstairs had shut off.

 **CLICK**

Manic's gaze flew from Scourge to the back porch where the sliding glass door was open and a man stood before them. His blue eyes widened in horror as the alcohol fled his system to be replaced by adrenaline.

The man in front of them was a very scrawny squirrel man with snow white hair and dark blue eyes. He wore a coral-colored robe with matching slippers. He wouldn't have been intimidating in the slightest…if it weren't for the twelve gauge shotgun he had pointed at them.

"Oh shit." Manic choked out, edging himself away on his elbows.

"Whoever you hooligans are, you've got less than three seconds to get the hell off my property." The man commanded, resting his finger gently against the trigger as he squinted his eyes at the figures in the dark.

"Scourge..." Manic whispered, shaking the boy beside him once he was close enough to touch him.

 **THREE**

Scourge, c'mon!" He whispered harshly, sweat beading on his forehead as he eyed the barrel of the gun. "I think this guy's serious."

 **TWO**

"Please, get the hell up and run with me Chaos dammit!"

 **ONE**

 **BANG!**

The gun went off, the sound shattering the eardrums of both hedgehogs while also serving to bring Scourge out of his trance. Once reality struck him again, he realized the squirrel had actually shot at them, but Manic had rolled over with him just in time to avoid the bullet.

Suddenly panic took over him as he realized what was going on, quickly scrambling to his feet along with the younger hedgehog. He grabbed his forearm and practically dragged him back toward the fence hole they entered from, the squirrel chasing them down in the night.

"Oh shit." He cursed as shoved Manic out of the hole before doing the same. They then darted toward their bags and skateboards, wasting no time in hopping on and flying down the sidewalk. "I forgot how fucked in the head Maxi s."

"Let's just fucking go!" Manic cried out, chest tight with fear as he propelled his skateboard forward for dear life. "Where the hell is the apartment?!"

"Downtown." The older hedgehog sighed, rubbing his temple with his free hand while the other held his bag tightly. "Maybe it is time to call it a night…"

* * *

"Hey…" Manic spoke up after a very long, silent skateboard ride through the city. Both hedgehogs long over their drunken state at this point.

"Yeah?"

"What was that…back there?" He asked curiously, casting his gaze downward as he listened for an answer.

Scourge simply sighed, feeling as though he had no real choice but to answer. Truth is, his emotions had gotten the better of him thanks to the alcohol, and seeing her had a way of tearing him down to nothing.

"A long overdue meltdown." He admitted before his cocky tone returned, "And if you tell anyone about anything that happened back there…I'll tell everyone you pissed yourself when Ole' Maxi-Pad put a shotgun to your face."

" **I DIDN'T PISS MYSELF.** " Manic defended himself, face red with embarrassment as he glared at the other hedgehog harshly.

"Sure. Let's just pretend that smell is lemonade." The older boy laughed, making Manic's face redder. "Listen, I'm sorry about all that. I didn't mean to get you in that kinda trouble."

"This whole night has been nothing but trouble."

"Then I guess your fam's right about me, huh?"

"Are you kidding me? Of course they are! When I'm with you I'm in nothing but trouble." Manic exclaimed before the features of his face softened tremendously along with his now sincere tone, "But when I'm with you…It's the most fun I've ever had."

"Wow…" Scourge breathed in a bit of surprised before totally ruining the atmosphere, "You sure you're not gay for me or something?"

"Ugh." The shaggy-quilled hedgehog groaned, slapping his forehead in annoyance. "Just tell me how long until we get to that apartment."

"Another few blocks and-"

 **SLAM!**

Before Scourge could finish his sentence, he was sent flying off his board by the swing of a metal pipe to his chest, causing him to roll off into the middle of the road. He ended up flat on his face a few feet away from a horrified Manic.

"Scourge!" He called out in terror, stepping off his board to rush to his friend's aid, but was quickly halted by the same metal pipe being brought to his face. "Oh shit."

He then looked up to see a hooded figure pointing the pipe toward him.

"You new here, huh?" The deep, raspy tone of the man practically towering over him asked rhetorically, poking the pipe to the shaggy-quilled hedgehog's chest. "I can tell by the fear in your eyes, and the smell of piss on you."

"I…I'm…I…" Manic stammered, raising his hands defenselessly as the man dragged the pipe down his torso.

"Nice skateboards…" The man commented, eyeing the boards resting beside them, quick to notice their bags. "What's in the bags?"

"Jus-Just some clothes." The green hedgehog whimpered, terrified by the intimidating thug. "You can have them."

"How generous." He mused, turning to see the unconscious Scourge laying in the middle of the road. "I could tell your little boyfriend wasn't gonna be so nice. That's way I laid him out first. Guess that makes you a single lady, huh Princess?"

"Not quite…" Manic choked out, confusing the man before he finally got the idea to turn around.

His eyes widened to see Scourge up and awake, swinging one of the skateboards he had stealthily gotten a hold of within a matter of seconds. There was a loud crunch noise as it made contact with the man's skull, his body going limp and falling to the ground quickly.

Manic took the moment to sigh in relief before his baby-blues caught sight of his companion kneeling beside the unconscious man.

"What are you doing?!" He asked curiously as he watched Scourge dig through the man's pockets.

"What's it look like?" The leather-clad hedgehog replied, "I'm robbing him."

"No! You can't do that!"

"Why not? He was about rob us…and I'm pretty sure he was gonna rape ya' too."

"What?!" Manic yelped in fright.

"And who could blame him? You're so damn cute when you're terrified and covered in piss." Scourge teased, standing up to go retrieve his things. "Now c'mon. We better get going."

They then hopped back on their boards and took off, leaving the thug unconscious on the sidewalk without a care. Manic eyed his companion skeptically, brows drawn together in a confused look that Scourge soon felt and turned to face with one of his own.

"What?" The older boy remarked upon noticing his friend's hard stare.

"What do you mean what?" Manic replied in a strained tone, "We hopped on a moving train, got shot at by your ex's crazy dad, and almost got robbed!"

"Yeah, so?"

"So?!" He exploded, " **HOW CAN YOU BE SO FUCKING CALM ABOUT ALL THIS SHIT!** "

"Dunno." Scourge shrugged, "Guess I'm just used to that kinda stuff. I grew up here after all. All by myself in a ratty apartment with the occasional prostitute nannies my dad sent to check on me every now and again… Must be vastly different from your lavish upbringing. You probably had a meal schedule, real toys, and someone to tuck you in at night—"

" **HA.** " Manic scoffed, making his companion raise an eyebrow. "That's a fucking laugh. That might be true if I were Tails, Sonia, or Sonic. But I'm Manic the Hedgehog. The one Ma constantly forgot to pick up after drum lessons, the one who's only ever living in Tails' stupid shadow, and the one Dad can't stand to look at."

Scourge frowned, recalling a few instances he'd found the younger boy in turmoil over his neglectful family, but never really though much of it until now.

"So you're the black sheep, huh?" He asked.

"Exactly." Manic sighed, "The one everyone forgets. The one no one sees…"

"Well, I see you Manic…"

The comment although quite short and simple, was everything the green hedgehog had ever wanted to hear from anyone. He looked up Scourge with such a joyful expression, the older boy he had met last year surpassing everyone in his life with just that one act of acknowledgement.

* * *

Around three or four in the morning, they finally came to the building Scourge claimed to be the place they'd be able to stay in. It was a tall, red brick building with a few windows boarded up, and a broken buzzer.

Manic cringed at the sight of it, wondering how someone could ever stay in such a place—in such a horrible city no less.

The older hedgehog wrenched open the heavy metal door with a bit of force, the bottom of it dragging across the sidewalk to make a horrid noise that had both of them grinding their teeth. Inside was just as bad looking. A dark-green stairwell with the occasional ratty apartment door on every floor, puddles of questionable substances here and there, cobwebs that stretched out across the ceiling, and dim lights that flickered every so often.

They stepped inside and made their way up three floors before coming to a stop at a dingy door with the number ' _17_ ' marked across it in bold, black lettering. Manic stood off to the side with his bag and stolen skateboard in hand, watching as the older hedgehog set his things down on the disgusting floor before winding his foot back to send it straight to the door beneath the knob with such a force, blowing the lock off and busting it wide open with a loud slam.

"Forgot your keys?" Manic winced at the sound, following his devious friend as he got his stuff and walked inside.

"Don't have 'em anymore." Scourge shrugged, tossing his bag onto the sliced-up red couch before he took off to hit the nearby light switch. "Threw them down the sewer after I got that Green Hill Academy acceptance letter. Never thought I'd come back, and judging by the new lock…he must have wanted it that way…"

While Scourge went off to the couch, Manic set down his things by the door gently before standing up to scan the small apartment over.

It looked just as he expected, a complete disaster. In the living area was a red couch, sliced and bleeding cotton from several slashes. In front of it, a wooden table with a broken TV. Adjacent to where he stood was a bookshelf full of dust and webs, but no books.

The kitchen was connected by an open doorway, and it didn't look any better. Appliances covered in dust, broken cupboards, and a disastrous mess of old dishes and murky water in the double-sink.

Everything was either filthy or broken except for one thing.

"What is that?" The shaggy-quilled hedgehog called out upon hearing the static disrupted melody.

"It's my mom's radio…" Scourge replied, walking over to the kitchen counter where he looked upon the little red radio with such sorrow.

"It's been on since you've been gone?"

"It's been on since I was three…" He corrected, turning away to walk back toward his friend. "I've never turned it off since the day she left, and I scared away anyone who tried."

"Wh-Why?"

"Dunno." He shrugged, averting his eyes from the other hedgehog. "Sentimental value? It's the only thing I've really got to remember her…not that I remember her at all. I've got no pictures of us or anything like that. I can't even remember what she looks like."

"Dude, that's fucking sad…"

"Yeah, well that's just how it goes." Scourge replied bitterly before bringing his head back up with that arrogant smirk again, "I think I've had enough of the sentimental garbage for tonight. How about I give you the tour? Specifically the directions to the bathroom because this apartment smells bad enough without your pissed pants."

"Oh my Chaos! Just drop it, you asshole." Manic replied with a blush as he picked up his backpack and followed the older teen down a narrow hallway.

He then walked into the bathroom and shut the door in the laughing older boy's face, sliding up against it as he forced away the embarrassed glow of red and begun sifting for new clothes through his backpack.

The younger boy shivered, no heat flowing whatsoever through the small apartment. He changed quickly, the bathroom being the scariest place in the apartment he'd seen so far. Toilet nearly over-flown with dark water, yellow-stained white tiles on the floor, and a bathtub half-filled with that same dark water. On top of it all, cockroaches crawled about everywhere.

He wasted no time in opening the door and walking back out to the dimly light hallway, shutting the bathroom door behind him as he listened to the radio in the kitchen as a guide. As his feet carried him in that direction, he couldn't help but notice the three other doors of the hallway.

Two of them were open. Just two typical bedrooms in ruins with dirty mattresses and trash everywhere, but the third door is what really caught Manic's attention. It was at the very end of the hall, closed with about eight locks lining its edge.

He tilted his head as he eyed the locks curiously, wondering what room that could be.

Then he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder and jumped in fright before looking back to see Scourge's smug face.

"Whoa, relax. You were taking so long I figured the roaches carried you away or some shit." He explained his sudden appearance before looking between the other hedgehog and the door he'd been gazing at. "What are you doing?"

"That door…" Manic replied, pointing toward the secured door. "What is that?"

"Oh that." The older boy narrowed his eyes, "That's my dad's study or some shit."

"Why's there so many locks?"

"He's always been pretty secretive. Doesn't like anyone in his business. Something my mom couldn't really stand. Those locks were meant to keep her out mostly."

"What's in there?"

"Dunno." Scourge admitted, "Never been able to get inside, and I've tried hundreds of times."

Manic turned back toward the door, and upon further inspection he noticed the several scratches and feeble attempts to undo the many locks. Then he turned back to Scourge with a confident smirk of his own as he pulled a random hair pin from the orange bag situated around his waist.

"Do you want to?"

"What?"

"Do you wanna see what's inside?"

"It's useless." Scourge remarked as Manic went to work on the locks without waiting for his actual reply. "I've already tried that—"

 **CLICK**

 **CLICK**

 **CLICK**

 **CLICK**

 **CLICK**

The sound of each lock coming undone with little to no effort at all sent Scourge's ears perking up before he turned to see his younger friend pushing the door open, making his blue eyes widen with astonishment.

"H-How did you—"

"It's a talent." Manic cut him off with a confident shrug, "Probably my only one to be honest. Well, besides my kick ass drum skills."

Without another word, Scourge followed Manic inside, both of them peering around for a light switch until the younger boy finally found the string to a lamp resting on a large, mahogany desk.

It was dim, but just enough for them to make out the room around them. Pale teal walls with the paint peeling off. Two large bookshelves on either side of the door stacked with books, and the large desk in the center of the room.

On the table were several papers, and office supplies. Nothing of real interest.

Scourge couldn't help but look over everything with such wonder, recalling memories of his father coming home after being gone for months at a time only to rush off straight into this room, locking him and his mother out. She'd pound on the door screaming his name, but he'd give no answer. Just locked away in here.

While Manic was off picking the locks on the drawers beneath the desk, he stumbled upon a turned over picture frame inside the first drawer. Without thinking, he picked it up, turning it upright to see the photo behind the broken glass.

A tall blue hedgehog with brunette hair swept over long blue quills, eyes a blue completely identical to his own, and a half-smile that almost mirrored his own. He was in a tuxedo, arms linked around the waist of a female hedgehog in a wedding gown.

She was of average height, petite with a mass of long, lavish purple quills that fell almost at her waist. She looked so dainty, so delicate, and had the loveliest smile he'd ever seen. Such innocent jade eyes so full of love.

"That's my dad…" Scourge called out over his shoulder after catching sight of the picture Manic held in his hands. "And I guess that makes her…my mom." He added, narrowing his eyes at the purple hedgehog woman in the picture.

"No…" Manic mumbled, gripping the picture tighter as he turned around to face his older friend with a bewildered expression.

"What is it?"

"…"

"Manic? Yo?" He called out, placing his hands on the younger boy's shoulders to shake him out of his trance. "Hey? What the hell's wrong with you?"

"These…These can't be your parents."

"What?"

"Dude, these are my parents." Manic shrieked, raising the picture to shake for emphasis. "You're…You're our…older brother?"

Suddenly they both began piecing it together in their minds. Scourge had only met Aleena one time, when Manic brought him over for dinner once, and she was quite quick to throw him out of her home. He'd never met Manic's father, always away on missions for the military.

Even as they looked at each other now, it started to make more sense. The same green quills, blue eyes, and even an identical birthmark on their lower left cheek. They even had same peanut allergy, something neither Sonia nor Sonic had.

"Did you know?!" Manic shouted, stepping away from his friend after dropping the picture to the floor.

"What?"

" **WHEN YOU CAME UP TO ME IN THAT ALLEYWAY!** " He cried out angrily, " **DID YOU KNOW?** "

" **OF COURSE NOT! THIS IS NEWS TO ME TOO, ASSHOLE.** " Scourge retorted just as angrily, "But..."

"But what?"

"I had a feeling…" He mumbled, a great pain taking over his voice. "Because your eyes were like mine… Like his…"

The two just stared each other down, not sure what to think of one another anymore. The picture on the floor face up with their parents' lovely smiles behind cracked glass.

* * *

Betrayal, confusion, hurt. These were just a few of the emotions that had plagued the two boys all vacation.

The distaste Manic had toward his parents only grew to enormous heights.

 _'How could they throw him away? And never tell us about him? How could they just move on, and worst of all…why the fuck is Tails so damn special? Why did they adopt another one, when they threw one away?'_

"Hey." Scourge called out, disrupting his thoughts and causing him to sit up on the couch.

It was morning the next day, and neither of them had found very much sleep on the uncomfortable couch.

"Get your stuff…"

"What? Why?" Manic questioned.

"Thanks to yesterday, I kinda realize how dangerous this place is…and your parents want you home…"

"Is that supposed to be funny?"

"I'm serious, Manic." Scourge stated bluntly, turning to lock their blue eyes once more, allowing the hedgehog to see the distain in his. "When you're with me, you're in nothing but trouble…"

"But when I'm with you…it really is the most fun I've ever had." The younger boy replied, "You're the only person in my life who's ever treated me like I'm somebody, somebody important. Tails can fucking have Sonic…because I've got my own brother now…. I've got you."

Scourge let out a light chuckle. "Guess we can put that _'you're gay for me'_ theory to bed, huh?"

"You're such a dick." He huffed, chucking his backpack at the older teen in annoyance.

"Still, it probably was a bad idea to bring you here, and you should go home."

"No way!" Manic shook his head in refusal, "You wanted a vacation from Fi, and Chaos knows there's no point in me going home. Not like there'd be anyone there waiting for me anyway… We're staying right here in Moebius like we planned. Nothing changes…"

"Fine." Scourge smirked, masking the joyful feeling in his heart at the younger boy's proclamation. "Then we're gonna need some more alcohol."

"Do we have enough money to get us through the rest of vacation?"

"Nope." The older teen shrugged, "We'll have to steal some."

"Fine with me." Manic nodded, standing up beside the other hedgehog to exchange devious smiles.

* * *

For the next two weeks the boys ran amuck around Moebius. Stealing, vandalizing property, and a whole bunch of other wild antics that had Moebius police looking out for them.

This particular day it was around three in the afternoon, and the two hedgehogs were staggering beneath the city bridge and being quite obnoxious. They drank their conflicting emotions away, leaving no room for rational thought. They were lost together in their own little world, where nothing could hurt them.

Not the teachers who swore neither of them would amount to anything, not the harsh reality of their struggling love lives, or the deceitful parents that refused to acknowledge either of them for reasons unknown.

 **372 MISSED CALLS**

 **568 NEW MESSAGES**

 ** _Mom:_** _Manic? Where are you? Please call me. I'm so worried about you._

 ** _Mom:_** _Sweetheart please answer!_

 ** _Sonia:_** _Manic, please come home. Whatever's going on just come home and we'll talk about it._

 ** _Sonic:_** _Of all the stupid things your idiot head could possibly think up. It's been two weeks since anyone's heard from you. Way to ruin our vacation. Get your ass home and stop being a brat. Mom's worried sick about you. Hell, even Dad's here._

 ** _Sonia:_** _Please Manic. Mom's called the police. They're looking for you._

 ** _Dad:_** _Do you enjoy torturing your mother like this? I'm not playing into these games, Manic. Get your ass home._

 ** _Tails:_** _Please come home…_

"Damn, someone's popular." Scourge whistled, staggering over toward Manic to peer at all the incoming messages on his phone that never seemed to stop.

"Pretty ironic." He snarled, shutting the screen off without a care in the world. "Right when I stop giving a fuck about all of them they suddenly want to start paying attention my way? Fuck that."

In a fit of rage, the shaggy-quilled boy walked closer toward the water that flowed in a river under the vandalized bridge they had just tagged their names across in dark-green spray paint, and threw his phone into the murky waters.

"Dude…I'm sure they care. Just in their own fucked up way—"

"No they don't." Manic shook his head, turning around to walk back to his side. "The only time they see me is when I'm doing something wrong, then they wonder why I'm such a fuck up."

"Manic…"

" **HEY!** " A demanding voice boomed, making both boys jump in fright before they turned to see three armed policeman charging at them with weapons drawn. " **YOU TWO, ON THE GROUND.** "

"Oh shit." Scourge cursed, both of them raising their hands in unison as they dropped to their knees in front of the officers.

"You idiots look not a day older than ten." One of the officers snarled as the other two came up behind the hedgehogs and hoisted them up to their feet. "Good to see ya' again, Scourge."

"Fuck you, Pig."

"Who's your little friend?"

"My name's Ma—"

"Don't." Scourge cut the younger boy off in a warning tone, "Don't tell anyone **ANYTHING**."

"I'm sure you'll both be in a talking mood down at the station." The cop retorted before signaling the other officers to haul them off to the patrol car.

* * *

Sometime later, they were escorted and separated at the police station. The Moebius department have had too many run-in's with Scourge the Hedgehog to not know who he was. Thus their treatment of him was practically routine at this point.

Knowing he'd never talk or admit to anything, they took him to the back room and roughed him up a bit before they threw him into a holding cell, knowing he'd have to wait out the hold because no one ever came for him. Being a minor at only fifteen, there wasn't much else they could do with him.

But Manic was a whole other story. He was new to this, having never been in trouble as serious as this before. He looked innocent enough, something the detectives could easily break.

After retrieving his jacket and the discarded phone they believed to be involved with illegal antics, the police had learned of his name, and were surprised to discover he had been reported missing in Mobotropolis.

Manic sat alone in a dark room with nothing but two chairs and a table as furnishings. On the wall behind him was a two-way mirror where detectives analyzed the teen and speculated on his involvement in the crimes listed.

He shivered, holding himself as his breath escaped him in cold clouds. The temperature was low, and the room was lit dimly, serving to intimidate him.

They had called his family, and they were on their way, leaving the officers time to interrogate the green hedgehog.

After some time of being left alone in silence, the door creaked open, and Manic lifted his head to see an overweight pig dressed in casual attire approaching, on his chest a policeman badge.

"Hello Manic, I'm Detective Hamlet." The pig introduced himself in a formal fashion, voice quite stern and intimidating. He then took a seat across from Manic, towering over him like a building.

"…"

"I know this might all seem scary to you, hell it should be, but you don't have to worry. All you have to do is cooperate with us and nothing bad will happen."

"I won't talk."

"I promise it'll be okay." He assured the boy with a wink before getting serious again, "All I need are answers to a few questions."

"…"

"Trespassing, breaking and entering, theft, vandalizing. You're lookin' at a lot of trouble if you don't help me out here." Hamlet warned, taking a deep breath before continuing.

It went on for hours, the interrogation was going nowhere because Manic had been more than resilient to questioning. Even when faced with the harshest of comments and warnings, he stood true to his word, and didn't say a thing. Not even when jail time was brought up.

Soon, Aleena and her other three children arrived on seen, causing a ruckus in the station while searching for him.

"Manic?" She called out, rushing to the office area where a few officers stood up to address her concerns. "My son! They told me he was here somewhere. Manic?"

"Ma'am, we're gonna have to ask you to calm down." One of the officers warned, pulling out a nearby chair for her. "How 'bout you take a seat for now."

The hyperventilating hedgehog nodded in agreement before taking a seat, doing everything in her power to control herself.

"My husband's outside… I'm looking for my son. He's been missing for two weeks."

Sonia, Sonic, and Tails stood at her side, worried expressions on their faces as they watched her do her best to explain the situation. A few minutes later, Jules had come through the door, quick to slide his cellphone away before rushing over to his family.

Aleena quickly sat up from the chair and threw herself into his arms, his children gathering at his side as another officer approached them.

"You must be the Hedgehog family." The pig announced, extending his hand for Jules to shake. "I'm Detective Hamlet."

"You're the one who called about our son. Where is he? Is he alright?"

"He's doing fine, but he's not cooperating in the slightest."

"Oh, what happened to my baby? Why is he here?" Aleena cried out.

"Apparently he and another teen made their way down here and have been causing a ruckus among the city." The detective explained, "They stole from several places, vandalized several buildings, trespassed beneath a bridge under construction, and broke into a man's home."

"That doesn't sound like my son at all." The lavender woman shook her head in disbelief, "He'd never do those things!"

"Thankfully we've called the owner of the apartment just now, and he's refused to press charges of any kind. So he's not looking at anything serious. If you two will just sign a few release forms, he'll be free to go."

* * *

After his release, Jules announced his leave back to base, and took off without so much as a glance at Manic.

The drive home was long, his mother and siblings scolding him until he finally asleep in the car. Eventually Sonia and Tails fell asleep as well, leaving Aleena and Sonic to be the only ones awake, sitting in the front seats.

"Sonic…"

"Yeah, Mom?"

"I need you to promise me something."

"What is it?"

"Promise me, you'll **NEVER** let Manic near that boy again…" She demanded, "I knew from the moment I first saw him that he'd be trouble. A vial one, he is."

"I hate Scourge…" Sonic grumbled, disgusted that his brother would even give that guy the time of day. "He's a jerk, and I can't stand him."

"Please my little hero, he'll only drag your brother down with him."

"I promise Mom. I'll never let him near Manic again."

* * *

After almost half a day of driving, the white van finally pulled up into the lot of their home, everyone still asleep with the exception of Sonic. It was early morning, the sun half-way risen.

She turned off the car, but made no attempt to get out so soon, not after seeing the figure standing on her doorstep.

"Oh no…" She whispered, eyeing the teen standing outside her house with such rage.

It was Scourge, hands in the pockets of his leather jacket as he came down the steps and looked right back at her. He'd come to check on Manic, surprised that he had made it back to Mobotropolis before them.

Sonic too noticed the green hedgehog standing outside, just as angry as his mother. He knew what he had to do, and wasted no time in opening his door and hopping out.

"I'll take care of him." The blue hedgehog told his mother before shutting the car door behind him and stomping toward the boy standing outside of his house.

He marched up to Scourge with fists balled, pure hate in his jade eyes before he swung his fist, knocking the green boy hard in the jaw. Scourge staggered back, lifting his head in time to receive another devastating blow. Nothing he wasn't used to already.

From the car, Aleena watched on in satisfaction as her son got the other boy on the ground and continued his assault. Then she finally broke her stare and rolled up her window to cancel out the shrieks of pain.

"Are you done yet?" Scourge asked as blood spurted through his teeth, seemingly resistant to any punch the blue hedgehog had thrown.

"No." Sonic shook his head, continuing to pound his fist against the green hedgehog's face like a meat mallet before finally pulling him up by the shirt so they were nose-to-nose. "Stay the fuck away from my brother."

"Oh, so now he's your brother?"

"Cut the shit, Scourge! I fucking mean it. You better stay away from."

"Why? Because you'll start throwing baby punches at me like this?" Scourge replied, linking his hands around Sonic's wrists. "You don't scare me, Blue. Nothing scares me…"

"If you cared about Manic at all you'd fucking stay the hell away!" Sonic shouted, making the green hedgehog's eyes widen in realization with his next words. "Because you'll ruin his fucking life, and you know it!"

That's when Scourge finally shoved the blue hedgehog off him with ease, and scrambled to his feet. His brows came together as he thought about his words, allowing them to sink in and take hold of his mind.

He was right.

If Scourge had stuck around, there's no telling what kind of trouble Manic would find himself in.

That's when Scourge finally turned heel and walked away. Sure to not let the blue hedgehog see the silent tears that cascaded down his face.

 _'I'm sorry…'_ He thought, tearing himself up inside after coming to a painful decision.

He'd stay out of Manic's life forever, because he didn't want to bring him down. He did care…

* * *

In the present day, Manic had finally awoke and sat up. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, looking around to realize he wasn't at home in his bed. He was in a lavender-colored room, resting on a fluffy white couch. His eyes scanned the familiar room, but couldn't quite put a name to the destination.

"You're awake." A sultry voice called out, making him whip his head around to see the familiar bat girl stroll up to him.

"Rouge?" He questioned in utter confusion, "How the hell did I end up here?"

"My mom was coming home from the bar and saw you passed out in the snow at the bus station. She and one of her boyfriends picked you up and brought you here."

"Oh…" Manic muttered, looking down at his tattered orange jacket in sorrow as he thought of where he'd been in his dream state.

"You tossed and turned all night. Must've been one hell of a nightmare, huh?" The snow-haired girl remarked, walking around the couch to sit beside him. "Guess you didn't have a very merry Christmas either, huh?"

"Not at all…" He sighed, before he felt her arms wrap around him and her weight shift onto him until they were laying on the couch with her on top of him.

"That's okay, Babe. Because now you're here with your favorite girl in the world, and we've got all day to mope around together."

Manic just let a smile emerge on his face, wrapping his arms around her to pull her close. He let go of his upset thoughts, opting to just live in the present with the beautiful bat resting comfortably on his chest.

* * *

 **And there you have it! The long awaited history behind Manic and Scourge finally revealed! Take this as a prime example as 'everything is not as it seems'. We've seen Manic care and yearn desperately for Scourge's acknowledgement, and we've seen the usually cruel Scourge go beyond the calling for Manic. A display of true love…but not the kind most of you were thinking.**

 **Their past relationship was not of a romantic kind, but of a familial one! But I purposely made it appear as such to throw you a curve ball.**

 **What didn't Scourge want Fiona to know about Moebius? That he was visiting the Acorn residence of course!**

 **What happened between Scourge and Manic in Moebius? They found out they are biological brothers!**

 **Why does Scourge stay away from Manic now a days? Because Sonic had convinced him that he'd only ruin Manic's life if he stayed, and he cared too much to let that happen…**

 **Although this chapter shed so much light on the history of Manic and Scourge, it certainly opens up a slew of brand new questions about other characters now doesn't it? I'm so horrible lol.**

 **Is Sally really as innocent as she seems?**

 **What's the story behind Aleena and Jules when it comes to Scourge?**

 **How did Fiona and Scourge end up together?**

 **Hmmm, maybe this chapter wasn't as informative as I thought it would be. Oops. You'll just have to stay tuned to see these newer questions answered I guess.**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Tails learns more about his mysterious older brother**

 **Amy shows her softer side**

 **Jules gets a second chance?!**

 **Relationships are repaired**

 **And so much more!**


	64. Chapter 64

**WARNING: Eh, just brief nudity.**

* * *

 **Chapter 64: "I Choose You, Stupid."**

It was early morning, the sun fully risen in the sky, melting the snow off the earth little by little with it's warmth. The flickys and rickys had long dispersed for the winter, leaving the mornings quiet and bleak.

Sally had gotten up bright and early, her first task of the day being a warm shower.

She stood behind the glass door as warm water rained down on her from above, the purple curtain drawn to keep the heat in, fogging up the glass box.

Her clothes were set down on the closed lid of the porcelain toilet, neatly folded into squares. Resting on top, her thick-rimmed glasses.

She hummed sweetly to herself, scrubbing shampoo in her auburn hair as she closed her eyes in bliss.

It felt nice, not having to shield herself behind such large clothes, or those heavy glasses. The bathroom was her safe place, the only place she felt she could be her natural self without fear or shame.

After finishing up with her hair, the chipmunk turned the nozzle of the shower off, and took hold of the sliding glass door. She wrenched it open, giving out a relaxed sigh as she did so. She then stepped out onto the pink shower mat, the smell of her favorite lavender shampoo intoxicating the little room.

She began making her way over to the towel rack, but stopped once she caught sight of herself in the large mirror hanging over the bathroom sink.

Curiously, she walked over to it, examining her reflection.

She trailed her hands up her thick thighs, smiling at the acorn-shaped birthmark located high on her inner left thigh. Then her hands moved up to her hips, tracing her dramatic hourglass frame before cupping her bare breasts.

Such a glorious body, one any girl would kill to have and want to flaunt to the world, but not this girl.

She shuddered, thinking back to the lustful, hungry stares men would give her back on the streets of Moebius, and all the unwanted attention brought on by wearing fitting clothes.

Then her hands traveled up further, until she was touching at her face with her fingertips. Specifically the area covered in a series of hideous scars.

A once just as beautiful face ruined… So disgusting that she cringed at herself, the memory of how they came to be forever burned into her brain.

 _'You're beautiful…'_ She could hear Sonic's voice echo in her mind, suddenly getting a rise out of her.

"Liar…" The auburn-haired girl spoke aloud in a pained tone before she covered herself up and walked over to the towel rack.

* * *

 **INCOMING CALL**

 _"Ray!"_ Cream exclaimed joyfully after answering her phone, sitting up in her dorm bed with a big smile. _"You finally called me back. I was worried about you."_

 _"H-Hi Cream…"_ The squirrel on the other line greeted, _"S-Sorry about that. I-I've just been…busy…wi-with Christmas a-and stuff."_

 _"No worries. I'm just glad you called."_ She blushed, getting up to begin her day. _"Did you have a good Christmas?"_

 _"Y-You could say that…"_ He mumbled, _"So…um, are you st-still on campus?"_

 _"Yeah. My mom's dorm adviser, so I'm stuck here every vacation."_

 _"By any ch-chance, have you se-seen Fiona around?"_

 _"Fiona?"_ Cream repeated in confusion as she dropped the white dress she had just plucked from her dresser _, "Umm, no. I haven't seen her at all this vacation."_

 _"Oh."_ He sighed disappointedly _, "Well, if by an-any chance you see her a-around, could you te-tell her to call me. Please?"_

 _"Sure, Ray…"_ The rabbit girl nodded, curious about his desire to seek out the notoriously cruel fox girl.

 _"Thanks Cream."_

 _"Of course. So umm…I was thinking…maybe when you come back we could hangout like—"_

 _"So-Sorry."_ The squirrel cut her off, _"My si-sister wants me to go do-downstairs. I'll talk to yo-you some other time. Bye."_

 _"Oh, okay. By—"_

Once again she was cut off, this time by the silence of the other line. She pouted, setting the phone down on the dresser before she took off to sit on the edge of her bed, staring down at the dress she had in her hands as she thought to herself.

 _'Fiona? What would he ever want to do with a cruel girl like her?'_

After mulling over the thought a bit, Cream decided to just shake it off and get dressed for the day. She slipped out of her cute, pink nightgown and settled for the snow-white dress with long sleeves. Then she pulled up warm, white stockings on her thin legs, and slipped into black flats.

Then she brushed out her short brown hair, letting it fall naturally at the nape of her neck. Finally, she grabbed her yellow backpack and set out for the café across campus.

* * *

 **INCOMING CALL**

 _"Hello?"_ Tails' voice called out through the speaker of the green-haired seedrian's phone, sending butterflies off in her stomach. _"Cosmo?"_

 _"Hi Tails…"_ She greeted shyly, a blush to her cheeks as she rose the hand she had placed his bracelet on, the yellow emerald shining brightly in its center.

 _"How are you?"_ He asked with such glee, his own heart racing at the sound of her voice. _"I didn't expect you to call."_

 _"I'm good. I just wanted to know…how your vacation is going."_

 _"It's been fun. My mom took me to the movies yesterday."_ The fox replied with a big smile before an immense blush began coating his own face _. "So umm, did you like your present?"_

 _"I love it, Tails."_ The seedrian smiled, _"Especially the letter…"_

 _"Good."_ He sighed in relief _, "I'm glad you did."_

 _"Maybe when you get on campus, we could hangout like we used to."_

 _"Really?"_ Tails yelped with excitement, _"I mean, I'd love to!"_

 _"Wonderful."_ Cosmo replied, _"I guess I'll see you soon."_

They then said their bashful farewells before hanging up, the seedrian throwing herself back on her bed with a big smile.

With that out of the way, she thought it would be best to get dressed and head out to the café for some food.

She got off her bed, discarding her pajamas as she made her way to the dresser and pulled out some clothes for the day. A pair of comfy white pants and a long-sleeved green sweater. She threw them on quickly before stepping into matching green slippers.

Then she pinned her favorite pink rose barrettes into her shoulder-length green hair, and grabbed her flower-shaped bag. She then turned out the lights and headed off toward the café.

* * *

Mina laid lifelessly on the circular bed of her bedroom back home, frowning at the wall in distress as she gripped the silk, yellow sheets beneath her. Her long, gorgeous, purple hair was freed from its typical black headband prison, falling in large locks behind her. The straps of her black, midriff tanktop fell lazily off her shoulders, and her purple shorts didn't do much to protect her legs from the winter's cold.

So far her vacation had been a nightmare, and she didn't find herself leaving her room very often.

Contrary to what Mr. Ash had her believe, her parents were livid at her English grade. Even with the holiday vacation they didn't ease up on their scolding in the slightest. On top of that, thanks to the departure of the drummer to her band, she had to cancel all of her upcoming gigs.

Things were going so horrible in both her career and personal life, leaving her in what felt like a permanent state of depression. Her parents were so disappointed in her, Shard had left her heart in ruins, and her best friend seemed nowhere to be found these days.

The only thing keeping her afloat in the river of sorrows was the attention and encouragement of her music teacher, Ash Mongoose.

He was the only one around when she needed someone, offering both an ear and advice whenever she called for it.

 **CLICK!**

Suddenly, a noise struck her ear and she sat up abruptly, jade eyes flying toward the large window across the room just in time to see a pair of hands pull it open, and a figure hop into her room.

Her curious gaze soon turned to a more sour demeanor as she eyed the raven-haired girl dusting the snow off her black ruffle dress.

It was the MIA best friend, Honey the Cat. After shaking off the snow from herself, she looked up to the mongoose with that cheery smile and offered a cute wave.

"Hiya, Beautiful." She greeted in that peppy tone, walking over to her bedside. "Haven't seen you at all this vacation!"

The mongoose girl just crossed her arms and pouted, averting her gaze from the cat who took a close seat beside her and snaked her arms around her in a loving hug.

"Surprised you actually noticed." Mina grumbled, earning a guilty expression from the yellow cat. "Shouldn't you be with your new best friend Sonia right now?"

Honey frowned slightly, well aware of how she'd been giving the mongoose the cold shoulder recently. The truth is, she just didn't want to listen to the mongoose whine about her life falling apart anymore, but looking at her right now…she realized how selfish it seemed.

The raven-haired girl rested her head sweetly on the mongoose's shoulder, keeping the mongoose in her arms although she didn't return the hug at all.

"She blew me off for the school prince." The cat explained.

"So I'm just your last resort now?"

"Oh, C'mon Mina!" Honey groaned, cuddling up to the mongoose even more. "You know you'll always be my main chick!"

"Then why have you been treating me like a side hoe lately?"

"I just didn't want to bring you down any more than you are. I thought giving you some distance would give you time to feel better, but now I realize that's probably the worst thing I could have done for you. Plus, I miss you too much to stay away too long."

Soon the features of Mina's face softened, and it had become overtaken by a small smile that had the cat yelping with glee.

"I missed you too…" The mongoose admitted, finally returning the cat's endearing hug. "I've just been going through so much lately while you've been gone, and if it wasn't for him I'd be going through it all by myself—"

"Him?" Honey cut her off, pulling away from their hug to shoot her a skeptical gaze.

"Uh…"

"Who's him?"

"No one." Mina shook her head, "Just a friend…"

"Someone I know?"

"Sort of."

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

The mongoose's cellphone suddenly began buzzing hard on the nightstand beside them, making both of their heads turn with interest. Mina's face flushed red as the cat tore away from her to speedily snatch up the phone with a teasing smile.

"Ohh, is this the mystery boy?"

"Honey!" She whined, standing up to stomp over to the feline. "Give me my phone!"

After glancing at the message through hazel eyes, Honey turned back to Mina with a very confused look, holding up the phone to reveal the message on screen.

 ** _Ash:_** _Hey, just wanted to make sure you were alright. How's it going with your parents?_

"Why is our music teacher texting you?"

"He's been helping me get through some stuff."

"What stuff?"

"You'd know if you were around." Mina retorted aggressively, snatching her phone back.

"I guess that's true. I'm really sorry, Mina." The cat sighed, a guilty expression crossing her face before her smile returned. "Well, Mr. Ash is a cool guy like that so it doesn't really surprise me that he's been so nice to you."

"Yeah…he's wonderful…"

"And hella handsome!" The cat winked, a very steamy memory of a certain encounter she had with the music teacher in the back of her mind.

Mina just blushed, looking down at her feet with a sheepish smile as she thought of the attractive, older mongoose.

"Too bad he's back to dating our bitch of an English teacher." Honey remarked, making Mina's jade eyes widen in surprise before she looked up to the cat.

"He's dating Ms. Breezie?!"

"Mhm. They've been on and off for like, forever now." She shrugged, walking over to the window she had snuck in through. "Anyways, I've gotta get going. My parents and I are going to Soleanna to spend the rest of vacation there until the ball drops on New Years."

After her goodbye, the cat took off, leaping out of the window to graceful land on the snow below and sprint off to her house right next door. Leaving a very upset looking Mina to stare down at the text on her cellphone.

* * *

In Soleanna, Station Square was littered to the brim with people. Traffic was at a complete standstill, and crosswalks were flooded with pedestrians.

Among the crowd were sisters, Marine and Blaze, coming back from the pharmacy with their father's medications.

The purple cat held the hand of the chattering raccoon girl, zoning out of the younger girl's ramblings as she looked around at the people surrounding them.

It was normal for Station Square to be a bustling area with tons of people walking around, but this was a lot more than what she was used to seeing. On top of that, a few people here and there were in costumes. Aliens, robots, and all sorts of other characters she only recognized thanks to the white hedgehog who forced her to sit through so many SyFy movies with him.

Then she noticed everyone was heading off in one direction, opposite of where she and her younger sister were off to. Blaze turned her head that way curiously, watching the people file into a tall building mostly made up of glass windows.

She ceased their walking, startling the raccoon girl who looked back at her in confusion.

"Blazey?" Marine called out to the cat whose stare remained on the building she vaguely remembered.

"What's going on there?" The cat asked, staring at the cosplayers entering the building.

"Don't you rememba'?" The raccoon remarked in her heavy accent, "That's the SyFy con Silver used to take ya' every year."

Suddenly, the memories hit her like a freight train. The cons he used to drag her to that she had zero interest in at all. How he begged her to cosplay with him and she refused every time. The way he'd try so hard and fail miserably at cracking science jokes with her. It broke her heart, but not nearly as much as what she saw.

Coincidently, in the direction of her staring came into a view a white hedgehog with recognizable amber eyes, and on his arm a golden tenrec with an excited expression. They were in matching cosplay, and seemed to be laughing off a funny joke together as they took off inside.

Blaze stared after them, that hopeless, depressed feeling rising within her.

 **INCOMING CALL**

Her cold stare was only broken by the chime of her cellphone going off in her jacket pocket. She immediately pulled it out, staring at the screen in contemplation of whether or not she should answer.

There was no picture saved, but she knew that number like the back of her hand.

It was Mephiles, and he'd conveniently called at a time she felt so…weak.

Her thumb hovered over the answer button, before she was brought back to reality by the call of her worried sister.

"Blazey?" Marine's voice snapped her out of it, making her turn to see the worried look on the raccoon's face. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Marine." Blaze smiled, quickly swiping the reject button before doing away with her phone. "Let's just go home, and I'll make us some hot chocolate."

* * *

 _' "Good morning, Alicia…" She greeted, her taunting tone irking me although I kept my calm composure._

 _"Isabella." I greeted in response, holding the phone to my ear as I sipped my morning coffee. "To what do I owe this displeasure?"_

 _"Strictly business." I could just imagine the smug look on her face, "Believe me, you're the last person I'd want to waste any of my time on."_

 _"Likewise. So stop wasting my time and get to it already."_

 _"Well, I personally took it upon myself to make this call to inform you that Jet the Hawk will be returning to Green Hill Academy next week—"_

 _"Absolutely not." I corrected her sharply, slamming my mug so hard on the counter that it shattered to pieces, spilling everywhere. "I shall not house nor allow that boy to ever walk the grounds of my school again. Not after the pain he caused."_

 _"That's not up to you." She mused, basking in the negative reaction I'd shown. A grave mistake on my end. "I've already confirmed it with the school district."_

 _"How could you? After all that he did! You must have to read that case file over a thousand times. You know what he put Rotor Walrus through and you still pressed for this—"_

 _"I don't care what he did." The bitch cut in, only fueling my angered flames. "I won the case. That's all I care about. Getting him back in your school was just icing on the cake."_

 _"You're scum of the worst kind, Isabella. You always have been."_

 _"Pretty ironic, coming from yourself."_

 _"Is this all you called for? To piss me off…"_

 _"Yes." She giggled, "Well, there is actually one more bit of information I wanted to rely to you."_

 _"And what's that?"_

 _"Jules stopped by my office a couple days ago…" She said, making my eyes widen in surprise._

 _"I'm sure he did." I replied in a passive aggressive tone, recalling the mongoose to be on the list of his many, many, many mistresses._

 _"Not for what you may be thinking either."_

 _"Then what for? And why tell me? He has a wife, remember?"_

 _"Not for long."_

 _"What are talking about?"_

 _"Aleena." She explained, my mouth falling open in shock. "He's divorcing her. He stopped by for the paperwork—"_

 _I hung up the phone and dropped it to the floor, over taken by shock and confusion, so unsure of what to think or do in the moment._

 _Jules divorcing Aleena? Why? Why now?_

 _No. I can't think about that...'_

"Mother?" Nicole called out to the older chipmunk scavenging the key rack by the front door for the keys to her car. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Sweetheart." Alicia replied with a smile, locating the right key before snagging it off the hook.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to visit Locke." Her mother explained, Sally coming down the stairs as Elias walked in through the kitchen. "I'll be back in a few hours, alright?"

"I'm actually heading out too." The squirrel boy spoke up, pulling on his navy-blue jacket. "If I don't want to make a fool of myself at your wedding next week I better get all the practice in that I can."

"My wedding…of course." The older chipmunk repeated to herself before linking her hand around the doorknob. "Well, do you want a lift to Sonia's?"

"No that's okay." Elias waved in dismissal, "It's only a few blocks down. I should be fine."

"Really?" Sally spoke up in surprise, "She lives that close to this place?"

"Yeah. About five streets over." He explained as he waved his sisters goodbye, "I'll be back soon. Love you guys."

"Love you too." Nicole and Sally waved their mother and brother goodbye before the door was shut behind them.

Sally then walked over to the window, watching the auburn-haired boy take off down the road until he was out of view.

* * *

Sonia sat at the edge of her bed, staring down at her feet after giving Elias the okay to come over and tossing her phone to the side. She should be happy that the squirrel boy was on his way, but found herself to be the opposite.

This vacation hadn't been much of one at all. With all the family drama it didn't quite feel like a good time to relax.

 **KNOCK, KNOCK**

She jumped at the sound coming from beyond her closed door, not expecting Elias to arrive so soon. She shifted her weight to her feet, readying herself to get up and open it until she heard the person on the other side call out to her.

"Sis, it's me." The voice of her arrogant blue brother sang, earning an annoyed grumble out of her. She sat right back down, crossing her arms and turning her face away from the door with no intention of letting him in. Not that it mattered. "I'm coming in."

The magenta girl sighed in annoyance as the blue boy opened the door and eased his way into her room. She side-eyed him as he took a seat beside her on the edge of the bed and leaned back on his hands, looking around her room.

"It's been a long time since I've been in here." Sonic whistled, eyeing the vanity table in the corner. "Wonder if your diary is still taped underneath that thing." He added jokingly, turning to see she wasn't amused in the slightest.

"What do you want, Sonic?" She huffed.

"I thought you'd like to know my eye is doing much better after Shadow rammed his knuckle into it." The blue hedgehog replied sarcastically before settling into a more sincere tone, "And maybe I wanted to say…sorry."

"Excuse me?" The magenta girl rose her eyebrow, cupping her hand against her ear in mockery. "What was that?"

"I said sorry."

"Why? You never apologize for anything you do…"

"Correction: I never used to." Sonic wagged his finger, a sincere smile crossing his face as he locked their identical jade eyes. "I'm sorry Sonia. With everyone at each other's throats here, I figure you and I could at least make up. So how 'bout it? Forgive me?"

He batted eyelashes at her, accompanied by his renowned smile. The features of her face soon softened, and she opened her arms to invite him into a loving hug.

Apologies never used to be so easy from him, so it was quite the feet to her, and he was right. With the rest of their family in peril, this wasn't the time for them to squabble over something so trivial.

"I'm sorry too." Sonia apologized over his shoulder.

"I know we're the same age, but you're still my sister ya'know, and it's kinda my job to keep you away from losers like Knux and Shads."

"Well, I promise I won't date any of your friends anymore."

"Because there are no friends left for you to date?" He rolled his eyes before they fell to the phone sitting between them on the bed. "Or because you've got a friend of your own to date?"

"Huh?"

"I heard you talkin' to Eli." The blue hedgehog winked, making her blush.

"Oh, shut up."

She chucked one of her fluffy, pink pillows at him, before he grabbed another to defend himself with. They laughed hysterically as she pelted him with pillows until he rolled off the bed and onto the floor.

Eventually, they both got tired and she ended up rolling onto the wooden floor next to him, both of them staring up at her ceiling fan. Sonia frowned, thinking of their rebellious brother and how horrible Christmas had gone.

"Do you think Manic is okay?" She asked the blue hedgehog, "He hasn't come home…"

"He's fine." Sonic rolled his eyes, "He's just out there to get a rise out of Mom and Dad. You know how he is."

"I guess you're right." The magenta girl sighed, "I just don't understand why he's always so mad at them."

"Who ever really knows what he's thinking."

"I've tried talking to him, but he always just shuts me out."

"I know. Me too…"

 **INCOMING CALL**

They both sat upright on the floor, Sonia quickly crawling over to her bed to answer her cellphone. After some quick small talk, she hung up, and got to her feet, turning around to extend her hand out for Sonic to take.

"Elias is waiting outside." She explained while helping him to his feet.

"Guess brother-sister time is over, huh?" He pouted, a bit disheartened by the fact.

"We're taking a bus to the mall." The magenta girl replied as she walked over to the door with him following close behind. "You can come along if you want."

"Nah." Sonic waved in dismissal, both of them stepping out in the hall to give their goodbyes. "You go have fun."

* * *

 _"Knuckles stopped by my hotel earlier."_ Lara-Le's voice called out through the speaker of Locke's phone, _"Looks like he's made a breakthrough with our grandchild."_

 _"After maxing out his debt card on Christmas gifts."_ Locke smirked, listening to his ex-wife giggle over the speaker as he sat at the desk in his study flipping through finance papers.

 _"You know what they say, the fastest way to a child's heart is with toys, toys, toys."_

 _"I guess I can't really argue with that logic."_ The echidna man chuckled _, "I'm happy for him. He's becoming quite the man."_

 _"No thanks to us."_ Lara-Le snorted, _"It's all her doing. That precious little girl is the push he's always needed in the right direction."_

 _"You say that like we're terrible parents."_

 _"Weren't we?"_ She retorted in a sad tone, _"So caught up in our own mess that we couldn't be there to guide him in the right direction ourselves."_

Locke set down his pen to look at the phone resting on the edge of his desk with a disheartened expression. He then took of his glasses and let out a heavy sigh, feeling as though there was some truth to that.

 _"Lara…"_ He spoke in a somber tone upon hearing her light whimpers.

 _"Forgive me, Locke."_ The woman on the phone apologized, _"It's just hard for me, being back here. I haven't seen my son in years. I expected to find the little boy I left behind, but he's all grown up. And I expected to find the bitter bastard I left, but…you're everything now that I wish you woulda been back then."_

 _"It's not easy for me either, Lara-Le."_ Locke shot up from his chair, a conflicted expression on his face as he confessed his inner most thoughts. _"I didn't expect to ever speak to you like this. Honestly, openly, and be so happy around you. I've hated you for so long, but then you can back…and…I'm about to marry Alicia, the girl I've wanted since high school, but—"_

"Locke!" A voice called out from the front door, making him jump. "Are you home?"

He turned around, recognizing the voice that belonged to the chestnut-haired chipmunk he was betrothed to.

"Alicia?" He called out, making the echidna on the phone cringe.

 _"I guess I should let you go."_ Lara-Le said over the phone, making Locke turn back to his desk. _"Wynmacher should be back from his meeting soon. Goodbye, Locke."_

 _"Lara, wait I—"_

Then the line went dead, just as Alicia came through the open door. She tilted her head in confusion upon finding the frustrated echidna leaned over his desk staring painfully at the black screen of his phone.

"Locke? Is everything alright?" She called out, stepping to his side to rest a hand on his shoulder.

He then lifted himself upright, turning to her with a sigh before speaking.

"No." He confessed, his sapphire eyes meeting hers, "We need to talk…about getting married."

Alicia's mouth suddenly fell into a frown upon the word _'marriage'_ , her mind wandering to the information Isabella had planted in her brain about Jules.

"I know…" She mumbled before both of them took off toward the couch in the living room.

They took a seat beside one another, both of their hearts in the right place, but their minds on their respective exes and the conflicting feelings they brought into the mix. Reading all the letters Jules had written, spending so much time with Lara-Le, it had both of them in a bit of a bind.

Torn between going forward and stepping back.

They sat in silence together for a while, struggling to choose their words wisely as to not offend the other. Without warning, they both took a deep breath, looked up to one another, and blurted out in unison.

" **I DON'T THINK I CAN DO THIS.** "

"What?! Why?"

"Jules…"

"Lara-Le…"

They both blinked twice, in total shock as they stared at one another after such a wild confession. Shortly after, they flew into a fit of hysterical laughter, keeling over to hold their sides, and throwing their heads back.

Strange, but both of them caught a bad case of déjà vu.

"Wow." Locke laughed, straightening himself out. "Are we both really thinking of making the same mistakes all over again?"

"I guess nothing really has changed since high school." The chipmunk woman smirked, blushing lightly at her foolishness as she looked up at him again.

"Lara-Le wasn't my ideal choice, but I did grow to love her greatly over time. She was my best friend after all, and she gave me my son." The echidna sighed, thinking back to the tragic tale of his last marriage. "But I never could give my all to her, because a piece of me always wanted you."

"I love Jules, and I still love him, because a love that real just doesn't fade. But he had other objectives higher than me on his list." Alicia admitted, eyes falling to their feet. "But you've always been there to catch me whenever he's thrown me off. The only kid in school who didn't fear me, and back then you were my only true friend…"

"Well…" Locke nodded, throwing an arm over her shoulders to pull her closer. "I guess we've both got some baggage."

"I want to marry you, Locke."

"And I want to marry you too." He assured her, leaning over to kiss her lips gently. "How about we make a deal?"

"And what would that be?"

"Let's have the wedding. Then, when the pastor asks us if we want to be together we make our decision then and there. Whatever we decide by then, neither of us will hold it against the other. Or maybe we'll actually ride off into the sunset together."

"I guess it's a deal then." She smiled warmly, thankful that he was so considerate and understanding.

* * *

After picking up Mace from his mother's hotel, Knuckles drove the two toddlers and his girlfriend to an ice ring.

Lara-Le and Mace hopped out of the car the second Knuckles put it in park, wasting no time in rushing up to the entry way with their skates in hand, hopping up and down with excitement. Knuckles just smiled at them, stepping out of the car to walk over to them.

Since Christmas, Lara-Su's demeanor toward him had drastically changed. It wasn't exactly what he wanted their relationship to be, but he was at least grateful she wasn't so standoffish anymore.

She didn't call him dad the way he wished, but she didn't beg for him to go away. So it seemed he was making process.

"Hurry up, Julie!" He called back out toward his car as he made his way to the kids, Julie-Su still in the front seat.

The pink echidna just rolled her eyes at his taunting before leaning over to grab her skates off the floor. In doing so, she felt a moment of weakness, dropping the skates to cup her mouth with both hands, coughing painfully.

She hadn't been well these past few days, but did her best to shake it off and enjoy her time with her daughter and boyfriend. She picked the skates back up, and set off for the ice ring.

When she walked into the gated ring, she quickly spotted Knuckles helping Lara-Su put on her skates. The pink echidna smiled warmly at the two, adoring how identical their faces were, and how far they'd come since his arrival.

"Mommy, Mommy!" Lara squealed excitedly upon noticing her mother standing by the gate. She hopped off the bench she was seated on while Knuckles laced her skates, wobbling here and there as she did her best to make it over to her mom. "Knuckles is gonna teach me and Mace how to twirl!"

"That's nice, Hun." Julie-Su replied, patting the little girl on the head. "I'm gonna sit on the bench and watch, okay?"

"You're not gonna skate with us?"

"Mommy's not feeling very well." She confessed, clutching her aching stomach. "But when I feel better I'll go twirl with you guys."

"Okay." Lara nodded before turning off to Knuckles and Mace on the ice.

Julie-Su then took a seat on the bench by herself, watching as Knuckles held the hands of both toddlers and attempted to twirl with them on the ice. She couldn't help but chuckle at the times they slipped and fell on their butts, or when they'd cling to him for support when frightened.

It was so peaceful, everything she ever wanted was right in front of her. She was finally happy, with the boy she loved since childhood, and no longer trapped in a horrid relationship.

Too bad she couldn't enjoy it, not with the mental torture of her ex's surprise note. His signature at the bottom flashing in her mind every time she looked at her new love.

 _Thrash the Devil_

" **JULIE-SU!** " Knuckles called out, snapping her out of her thoughts so she could look out and see him literally sweep her off her feet.

She yelped in fright when he quickly encircled his arms around the back of her knees and her neck, pulling her up off the bench to skate across the ice with her in his arms.

"Knuckles!" She squealed, heart racing as she opened her eyes to see him skating around with her in his arms. "You dummy." She pouted with a blush as he shot her a playful smile.

"Couldn't let you sit on the bench all day, right?" He laughed, setting her down on her feet before taking her by the hands to twirl in circles.

She sighed, drowning in his violet eyes as he looked at her so intensely, making all her worries disappear like nothing.

"Where are the kids?" She asked, looking over his shoulder.

"Occupied." He smirked, turning his head so they were both facing the two toddlers.

They were holding hands, attempting to twirl together. They were getting the hang of it slowly, slipping here and there.

"Look Mommy!" Lara-Su squealed, "We're doing it!"

Julie-Su just smiled at the two, how adorable they were, and how much they reminded her of herself and the red echidna in front of her.

"Really takes you back, huh?" Knuckles chuckled, feeling the same way every time he saw his daughter and little brother together.

"It sure does." She giggled, shoving the red echidna playfully. "Only Mace is a lot more cute than you were."

"Hey!" He whined, attempting to push her before she took off across the ice, skating just out of his reach. "I'm gonna get you!"

Mace and Lara-Su looked up from where they were skating, laughing hysterically as they watched Knuckles chase Julie-Su around the entire perimeter of the ring until he finally caught her, grabbing her by the waist to hoist into their air screaming through giggles.

"Stop!" She yelped, "Put me down!"

"Tell me I'm cute."

"No!"

"C'mon, say it!" He demanded, "Say I'm cute and I'll let you go!"

"You're so ugly!"

"Fine." Knuckles shrugged before he began spinning around with her still held up off her feet. "I'm not gonna stop til you say it!"

"Okay, okay!" She whined in defeat, "You're cute."

He then set her down, both of them taking a moment to steady themselves before howling with laughter. The toddlers wobbled over to join them.

Lara-Su looked up to her mother with wonder, having never seen her this happy or smiley with her own father. The little girl then looked over to Knuckles, the resentment she had toward him diminishing more and more.

"How about we get some food?" Knuckles asked their little group, his little brother nodding vigorously in agreement.

"We have been out here a while—" Julie-Su began, but was thrown off after flying into a fit of dramatic coughing. She clutched her shirt, wincing in agony at the pain in her ribs.

"Whoa." The red echidna beside her exclaimed, grabbing her quickly to prevent a possible fall. "You okay, Julie?"

"Mommy?" Lara-Su asked in a worried tone.

"I-I'm okay." She assured them both before standing upright, wiping her mouth off. "We should get going though. It's too cold out here." The pink girl added, the temperature making her body feel so achy.

* * *

 ** _Amy:_** _Hey you._

 ** _Sonic:_** _Who me?_

 ** _Amy:_** _Yes you!_

 ** _Sonic:_** _Couldn't be._

 ** _Amy:_** _Okay, stop being adorable now._

 ** _Sonic:_** _Lol Sorry, but that's like asking a fish to not swim._

 ** _Amy:_** _You're so full of yourself._

 ** _Sonic:_** _You like it though._

 ** _Amy:_** _Sometimes._

 ** _Sonic:_** _Lol, so what's up?_

 ** _Sonic:_** _Really surprised to hear from you since the text well has been so dry._

 ** _Amy:_** _Sorry about that. Mari-An has been a little adamant on me spending less time on my phone and more time with the family while I'm here._

 ** _Sonic:_** _That's a smart thinkin' lady Rob's got there. Family's important…_

 ** _Amy:_** _Yeah. It's been nice here. Rob got me the most amazing gift, and Jon is learning to walk._

 ** _Sonic:_** _Happy for ya' Ames._

 ** _Sonic:_** _Just wish my vacation was going as well…_

 ** _Amy:_** _Something wrong?_

 ** _Sonic:_** _Nah._

 ** _Amy:_** _Come on Sonic. You know you can always talk to me._

 ** _Sonic:_** _My family's just been…dysfunctional, and kinda miss…someone_

Her heart fluttered like a wild butterfly at his last message, a bit empathic for his family issues, but more focused on the last bit of the message. He missed her.

Amy sat flat on her stomach, leaning over the edge of her bed with phone in hand as she swiftly texting another message.

Her quills were brushed back by her signature red headband, her lashes coated in a black mascara, and lips glossed. It was too cold for her usual dresses, so she opted for long black pants and a pink long-sleeved shirt with a V-cut. The necklace with the dazzling red emerald dangling off her neck.

"Amy." A voice called out, making her sit up and turn her attention away from the little screen.

"Hi Rob!" She cheered upon seeing the older hedgehog at the door, stepping into her room.

"You've been cooped up in here for a while." He remarked, taking a seat beside her bed on the wooden floor, looking up to her with a genuine smile. "Figured you could use some company."

"I'm fine." Amy giggled sweetly, holding up her phone to him. "Just been texting Sonic."

"Oh, not that one." He groaned, making the pink girl pout.

"Don't say that like he's gross!"

"I'm not." He whined, smirking at her. "I'm saying it like he's trouble."

"No he's not! He's a great guy."

"All guys are trouble, Amy. Trust me." Rob chuckled, "Besides, you're too young to date."

"I'm fifteen, almost sixteen! Mari-An says it's normal."

"Did you happen to just imply that you're seeing someone?"

"Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not."

"Amy…"

"I like him Rob, and he likes me." She sighed in defeat, explaining to him as vaguely as possible the romantic portion of her life. "We tried to date earlier this year, but I messed up… But I'm being given a second chance and I don't want to ruin it."

"How could you keep a boyfriend secret from me?!" He roared in an upset tone, "Did Mari-An know about this?"

"Y-Yes…" The pink girl admitted, staring down at the floor as the teal hedgehog rose to his feet. "I didn't tell you because I knew you'd say no."

"Of course I'd say no! At this age, boys only want one thing—"

"Not everyone's like that!" She protested, a grim image of Scourge hovering over her in the backseat of his car crossing her mind.

"You're not even in the right state of mind to be dating." Her cousin scolded her before turning around to see her teary eyes, the features of his face softening instantly. "Amy…" He whispered, walking over to kneel in front of her and wipe her tears.

"You think I'm crazy…like Mama, don't you?"

"Oh, no, no." He retracted his statement, guilty for putting it so harshly. "I just think you're…fragile…"

"I'm getting counseling, and I'm taking my meds every day for the anger." She whimpered, looking up at him through teary green eyes.

"I know, but it's my job to protect you." Rob explained, brushing away a quill that had gotten loose from her headband. "I can't have some little boy breaking your heart…Then I'd have to beat him up…"

She giggled, imagining her older cousin beating up Scourge and Sonic for her past heartaches, but opted to stay shut on the matter. Then she took a good look at the hedgehog in front of her, and how sincere his smile was.

For as long as she could remember, he's always been this way. So kind-hearted, so caring, and so protective. Like she was a priceless gem that needed to be kept safe.

Everything he ever said to her was so endearing, and he'd always see her through any trouble she got into. Going beyond the calling as a legal guardian more than once for her. So much so, that it's nearly costed him his job, and at one point even his marriage.

"You don't have to worry about me so much anymore you know." Amy told him with a sheepish smile, "I'm a big girl."

"Maybe you're right." Rob sighed, "I should be more lenient. You're growing up after all, and I can't stop that no matter how bad I wish I could…"

"I'll always be your little cousin though." She cheered, throwing her arms around him for a hug he quickly returned. "Forever and ever!"

"Well then, I guess I should go have a chat with Mari-An about this boyfriend thing…" The teal hedgehog chuckled, "Maybe he could come over for dinner sometime."

* * *

The SyFy convention was well and alive in Soleanna! The streets were littered with cosplayers and con goers filed out the door of a huge venue in Station Square.

Among the crowd waiting for entry outside the doors were Silver and Gold—or should I say Han Solo and Princess Leia? The two had decided to cosplay together, inspired by their mutual favorite movie of all time.

The tenrec had her long, golden quills wrapped up in that signature style of the princess, and the white hedgehog sported an exact replica of the character's outfit that he bought online.

He was so thrilled with the idea, this being one of the many things his old feline friend would never agree to do with him, although he'd do anything to make her smile.

"We're almost inside!" Gold squealed excitedly, jumping up and down beside him.

"I know. I'm so excited." Silver agreed, just as giddy as the tenrec as they took another step forward.

They then reached the door, pulling out their tickets to be scanned by the man up front who took notice of their couples cosplay.

"If only cute couples got in free, huh?" He joked, making both of them blush uncomfortably.

"Oh, uhh…we're actually not—"

"Tickets approved." He cut the mumbling hedgehog off, unlinking the rope behind him to allow them entrance. "Have fun, and definitely check in for the cosplay contest guys."

They nodded and stepped forward, but before Silver walked into the building he noticed a familiar flash of purple amongst the mostly dark-toned crowd. From the corner of his eye he spotted her, staring straight at him from what felt like miles away.

Suddenly, all the color drained from the world into a lifeless gray and white scene, all except for her purple fur, and hazel eyes.

"Blaze…" He whispered to himself, heart going through a shredder as it always did when she came to mind. "Is that really—"

"Silver!" Gold's voice yelped, forcing him to break eye contact with whom he believed to be the purple cat he once knew. The tenrec pulled him by the hand, ushering him into the building with her. "C'mon!"

"Oh, uh…right." He nodded, shaking off the sorrows before looking back quickly to see the flash of purple was gone.

* * *

Jules sat on the couch in the living room, skimming through the divorce papers he'd gotten from the notorious mongoose lawyer with a grimace as he thought of when to finally hand them to his soon to be ex-wife.

Sonia had rushed in and given him a quick kiss goodbye, stating she was off to the mall with a friend. He stared after her as she left, thankful that her eating disorder had calmed down immensely, and that she seemed to no longer be plagued by sorrows.

Sonic was up in his room, and Aleena in hers. She hadn't quite been herself since the altercation with Manic, feeling very depressed and regretful as she curled up in bed and stood there ever since. The present she had gotten for Tails remained untouched under the tree.

The blue-eyed hedgehog just sighed in frustration, setting the papers down on the coffee table before he began rubbing the stress from his forehead.

While trapped in thought, the front door opened, snapping him out of it. He stood up from the couch and turned to see Manic had returned.

"Manic." He greeted the still very much upset green hedgehog, coming around the couch toward him. "We should talk."

"Don't want to."

"Where have you been these last two days?"

"Who cares?"

"Manic, I'm your father—"

"Since when?" The teen snapped, glaring at him coldly.

"At least talk to your mother." Jules pleaded, "She feels horrible about what happened on Christmas."

"She should feel horrible about a lot of things." Manic retorted, taking off up the staircase. "And so should you." He added before running to his room, slamming the door shut behind him.

Jules just sighed again, running both hands through his brunette hair and blue quills in frustration.

Then he took off up the same staircase, turning toward the master bedroom down the hall. He opened the door lightly, peeking in to see the curtains drawn and Aleena still depressed in bed. He walked in, inching his way to her side until he was close enough to take a seat next to her and rest a hand on her back.

"Aleena." He called out to her, shaking her lightly. "Wake up."

"I'm awake, Jules." She told him in complete monotone, "What do you want?"

"Manic's home."

"He is?!" She gasped, sitting upright to face him with jade eyes wide in surprise and nervousness, throwing the blanket off of her as she stepped onto the floor.

"Yes, and you should talk to him." Jules nodded, watching her scurry off to the door.

"I know. I need him to know how sorry I am and how much I love—"

 **INCOMING CALL**

She released the knob instantly upon hearing her ringtone, turning around to look at the glowing screen of her phone sitting on the table beside her bed.

It was an image taken many years ago. A younger version of herself holding a two year old Tails that she had just finished signing the adaptation papers for.

"Tails…" She gasped, turning heel to snatch the phone off the dresser, picking the call up immediately.

 _"Hello?"_ His little voice sang through the phone, making her heart weep as she collapsed to the bed.

 _"Oh Tails…It really is you."_ Aleena whimpered, jade eyes brimming with tears upon hearing his voice for the first time in weeks _. "My baby…"_

 _"Hi…Mrs. Aleena…"_ He greeted, shattering her heart to pieces. _"I hope you guys had a Merry Christmas. I miss you."_

 _"I…I miss you very much too, Tails…"_ She nodded, fighting back the urge to wail. _"Is Rosemary treating you well?"_

 _"Yes. My mom's wonderful."_ He replied, making the strain in the hedgehog's woman chest much worse.

Jules could only watch her as she twirled her quills and rocked herself, letting a few silent tears slip her face. Upon realizing she had no intention to hang up and seek out Manic like she should, the blue hedgehog got up and walked out of the room to give her privacy.

 _"There's something I wanted to ask you."_ Tails admitted after a bit of small talk with his old adoptive mother.

 _"You can ask me anything, Sweetheart."_

 _"When you adopted me…did you know I had a brother with me?"_

As if she couldn't be more shocked. Her mouth fell open, a bewildered expression on her face as she contemplated how to respond.

 _"Y-Yes…"_ She admitted, _"The coordinator of the adoption agency introduced me to both of you."_

She could hear a light gasp from the fox on the other line, figuring he was taking a moment to process such a thing. Then he begun to hit her with much heavier questions.

 _"So you knew I had a big brother…"_ He mumbled before becoming much clearer, _"Why didn't you tell me?"_

 _"I didn't think it was necessary. I didn't even tell you that you were adopted."_

It's true. He would have never known he was adopted if Manic hadn't blurted it out in an argument once.

 _"At the time…you were my son, and that's all that mattered to me."_

 _"Then why didn't you adopt us together? He could have been your son too…"_

 _"I would have, but he was…different."_

 _"Different how?"_ Tails asked, yearning for the answer to this particular question after his mom had made a similar comment once.

 _"Well, on top of being much older than you, he was quite…angry."_

 _"Angry?"_

 _"Yes, very angry."_ Aleena nodded, cringing as she recalled the day she'd met the older boy. _"Why are you asking about him?"_

 _"Because…I want to look for him."_

 _"Does your…mother…know what you're doing?"_

 _"She doesn't want me to look for him."_ The fox admitted in a strained tone, _"But she won't tell me why…"_

 _"Maybe it's best that way—"_

 _"_ _ **OF COURSE IT ISN'T!**_ _"_ He shouted at her angrily, _"He's my brother, and her son! If your son was missing, wouldn't you look for him?"_

 _"Sometimes it's for the best to not go looking."_

 _"So you're gonna take her side?!"_

 _"I have to go Tails. I love you."_

 _"Wait…"_ Tails called out, the hedgehog seconds away from ending the call, but just before she could he called out to her in a feeble attempt to cruelly manipulate her. _"At least tell me his name… Please… Mommy…"_

Mommy. That's all he needed to say to have her cave into any request. Hearing the endearing term from him, the way he used to call her that when he was still her son. She was weak to it…

 _"His name is—"_

Just before the hedgehog could spill the beans, the fox found his phone swiped from his hand. He jumped up, looking up to see his upset mother standing over him with the phone in her hand. The tan fox shook her head in disappointment, apologizing to Aleena before ending the call herself.

She towered over the yellow fox who hung his head in shame.

"That was cruel, especially for you, Tails." Rosemary shook her head.

"I'm sorry." Tails whimpered, baby-blues glistening with tears as he looked back up to her. "But I…I want to find him. I want to know him…"

"Believe me, if that were possible I'd already have him here with me." She replied, kneeling in front of him to put both hands on his shoulders. "Your brother isn't like you, Tails. He's not a good person."

"But he's still my brother." The little fox frowned, "I always thought I had two brothers and a sister…but now I have no one..."

Rosemary frowned, understanding the loneliness Tails felt as seemingly an only child, fueling his interest in pursuing his mysterious brother regardless of warning.

"Hey…" She called out, lifting his head up in her hands to show him a sincere smile. "I have an idea. How about you call Sonic and have a little boys' night out? It might make you feel a little better."

Tails nodded, feeling as though it has been a while since he and the blue hedgehog have actually hung out together. Rosemary then handed him back the phone, ruffling his hair before taking off back to the kitchen.

* * *

 _"I didn't want to like him! Hell, I couldn't stand the jerk. So why did he make me? Why did he try so hard…just to hurt me like this? What was all of it for?! To humiliate me? I know she's pretty and everybody loves her, but I have feelings too."_

Nicole had just been casually strolling the upstairs hallway toward her room when she overheard a familiar voice coming from the closed bathroom door accompanied by light sobs. She recognized the voice of her sorrowful sister instantly, making her frown as she tiptoed over to the door curiously.

 _"I wish you'd pick up your damn phone when I call."_ The auburn-haired girl wailed into her phone on the other side of the door, running a stressed hand through her hair. _"I just need someone to tell me what to do…"_

"Sally?" Nicole's voice called out beyond the door with a bit of knocking, startling the chipmunk. Suddenly, the door clicked open and in walked the young lynx, jade eyes full of worry. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Nicole." She assured her, hanging up her phone to slide it back in her pocket. An action the raven-haired girl was quick to notice.

"Who were talking to?"

"No one…"

Nicole tilted her head with a frown, loathing the distance the chipmunk had been keeping between them since her abrupt return.

In their younger years, they were so close. They told each other everything, and when the divorce separated them they were both so devastated. There were no secrets between them, at least not back then.

The lynx gripped the doorframe tightly in both hands as she hid bashfully behind the wall. She stole glances at her older sister, eyes mainly focused on the big glasses she never used to wear and the scars beneath them…

"You know you can talk to me about anything still, right?" She spoke up in a depressed tone.

"I know…" Sally sighed, rubbing her arm awkwardly as she dropped her gaze to the floor.

"Then why don't you ever tell me anything?"

"Nicole I—"

"You've been so secretive." The lynx cut her off, looking back up to her with teary eyes. "I'm sure you wouldn't be hurting so badly if you'd just speak your mind. Holding secrets hurts, and holding pain makes it worse."

"It's complicated, Nicole."

Upon realizing her sister had no intention of closing the vast distance she had between them, the lynx let go of the doorframe and reluctantly took off to her room, tear droplets hitting the floor every so often.

Sally only watched in dismay until the lynx's door was shut. Then she stared blankly at the bathroom floor she stood on, thinking about the last words the raven-haired girl had spoken.

Those words had helped her come to a conclusion on what to do about the misery her heart had been drowning in ever since that fateful English class.

She stormed down the stairs, hastily grabbing her coat to throw on and storm out into the winter's cold. She stuffed her hands into her pocket, turning in the direction that she saw her brother walk off earlier, recalling his vague directions to follow.

* * *

After receiving a call from Tails of his own, Sonic had gone off to spend the day with the fox at his new home in Metropolis. It was nightfall when he had gotten back. He hopped out of the bus that conveniently stopped just in front of his family's home.

The wind whipped at him hard as his red sneakers crunched over the newly fallen snow on the pathway. He dug his house keys from his pocket, unlocking the door quickly to rush inside and hastily get off his frozen blue jacket and his damp red sneakers, discarding them by the door before walking into the living room.

"Hi Dad." He greeted the older blue hedgehog sitting on the couch who quickly shielded the papers he'd been staring at on the coffee table from view. "Where is everybody? It's a ghost town in here."

"Their asleep, like you should be." Jules replied, narrowing his eyes at the younger version of himself.

"Sorry. Metropolis' bus schedule is really stupid."

"Fair enough." He sighed, "Just head off to bed. It's late."

"Is…Mom okay?"

"She'll be fine. Your brother came home."

Sonic just rolled eyes, leaving his father's side to walk upstairs without much else to really say other than goodnight. At the top of the stairs, he grimaced at his troublesome brother's closed door before heading off to his own room.

He hit the lights, frowning at the emptier side of the room where the little kitsune used to reside in their home before he took off toward his dresser to set his keys and phone down on.

He stripped himself in silence, thinking about how shitty vacation had been. He tossed his shirt across the room, landing in a large pile of dirty laundry he'd been ignoring for days that sat by the door. Then he got to work undoing the belt holding up his jeans.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 ** _Sally:_** _Come outside._

The blue hedgehog stopped mid-action at the sound of his phone ringing, letting go of his belt to walk over and pick up the device. He tilted his head in confusion, surprised to read the name on screen.

 ** _Sonic:_** _What?_

 ** _Sally:_** _Look out your window._

He rose his eyebrow, jade eyes flying toward the window as he set down his phone again to follow her directions. He parted the blue curtains, gasping at the sight of the auburn-haired girl standing below in the snow.

"Sally?" He questioned, quickly grabbing his shirt to run back downstairs.

His father was still seated on the couch, startled by the blue speedster's sudden reappearance. He turned his head to see his son slipping back into his wet shoes and throwing on his jacket again.

"Where do think you're going at a time like this?" His father asked in a disapproving tone. "I thought you were off to bed."

"I will be." Sonic assured him before scrambling to the front door, "I've just got to take care of something real quick." He added, shutting the door behind himself.

Jules stared after him suspiciously, closing the folder containing the divorce papers to set down on the table. He got up from his spot on the couch, walking over to one of the windows on either side of the front door to peek out the curtains.

His eyes widened in shock at the girl standing at the end of their walkway. An auburn-haired chipmunk that bore an incredible resemblance to a girl he once knew in his youth.

"How'd you find my house?" Sonic remarked teasingly once he was close, "Stalking me now, huh?"

She had her head down, eyes at their feet as she stood shut. Sonic tilted his head, concern flooding his eyes as he reached out to her.

"Uhh, Sally—"

" **YOU COULD HAVE JUST SAID SOMETHING.** " She yelled angrily, lifting her head up to face him with angry tears before shoving him back, causing him to stumble. "Texted it even."

"Hey, what the hell's the matter with you?!" He retorted angrily after the shove.

"You didn't have to do it that way. On a stupid napkin in English class."

"Wait, what?"

"I knew you'd choose her." Her voice was hoarse with agony, tears streaming down her cheeks from beneath her glasses. "I don't even know why I was hopeful in the first place..."

"Hold on a second—"

"I don't even know why I came here. I just… I wanna go home." The chipmunk rambled before turning back to the sidewalk.

She was just about ready to take off when he abruptly grabbed her forearm and spun her arm to hold her place with both hands at her shoulders, forcing her crying eyes to meet his genuinely confused ones.

"You…think my speech was about Amy?"

"It couldn't have been about me." She remarked bitterly.

He then dug into his pocket, pulling out a crumpled piece of paper to unfold and hold out to her.

 _Sally Acorn_

Her eyes widened in surprise, looking back up to him in total shock.

"You sure about that?" The blue hedgehog smirked, "Besides, how could I have written about Amy when you're the one who pulled her name from the hat?"

The chipmunk blushed in embarrassment, so quick to jump the gun on his heartfelt assignment being about the pink hedgehog that she completely forgot who she'd done her own assignment on.

"But you were staring right at her the whole time." Sally recalled, guard still up.

"I wanted to make sure she understood what I was trying to say." He explained, raising one of his hands to her cheek as he smiled kindly, "I choose you, Stupid."

It was like an incredibly weight had been lifted off her weary heart, allowing it to throb painfully with a mix of relief and joy at his proclamation.

"But…what about everyone else?" She spoke up after a long pause, "Whether everyone's okay with me or not, no one wants to see you with me."

"Fuck everyone else." He stated bluntly, pulling something else from his pocket. "I'm over doing whatever people want to make them happy. It's time I do something that makes me happy."

He then pulled her hand up, opening his hand to reveal a gold ring that he gently slid on her finger before sliding the second one onto his own finger. Then he held them up side-by-side, her blush worsening as she gazed upon them.

"What is this?" Sally asked, admiring the shiny gold ring beneath the moonlight.

"These are the rings I found in our secret place." He chuckled, locking his jade eyes with her sapphire ones. "You're not shy anymore, and I really don't want to hide anymore so… Will you be my girlfriend?"

She couldn't believe it. All that heartache, just to come here and find out there was never a need for it. She mentally thanked her younger sister for the idea to come before she threw her arms around the hedgehog's neck and pulled him into a dramatic kiss.

From the window of his home behind them, his father watched with tears dripping down his face at the sight, instantly recognizing those rings.

The ones he once shared with his first love.

The ones they threw into the lake, swearing that the rings would be what brought them back to one another in a second chance.

And he was looking right at it.

 _'I only pray you're not like me, and that you understand what you have…before it's too late.'_ He thought to himself, breaking his stare from the two before walking over to the coffee table where the divorce papers he'd been looking over were. _'Alicia...'_

* * *

 **Bam! So many feels. Silver's rising yearn for Blaze and vice versa, Mina's growing crush on the music teacher, Lara-Su's slow-coming acceptance of Knuckles in her life, and lastly, Sonic and Sally's long awaited official get together.**

 **What could go wrong? Except well…anything of course!**

 **Thrash and Shade are out for revenge, Mephiles is still biding his time to claim popularity for himself, Jet has yet to make an appearance, Fiona's back with Scourge and in turn back to her old cruel ways, and so many other crazy factors.**

 **History has a strange way of unfolding itself within the new generation in this story. Ironically, the lake Sonic found that he introduced to Sally was the same like Alicia introduced Jules to many years ago, and the rings they put on this chapter are the ones he mentioned finding at the bottom of the lake, which belonged to their parents…**

 **Will they write their own story the way Jules is hoping, or will history unknowingly repeat itself with the two? Or will there be other obstacles to bring them down…**

 **SPECIAL NOTE:**

 **I just had to take a moment to really thank ALL of you (Haters included) for the feedback, motivation, and everything else you've done to make it all the way to 500+ reviews! We've come a long, long way since January, and I'm glad that most of you have stuck with me to see the story through and how much some of you really are invested in it. Thank you, thank you, thank you!**

 **Relationship Chart!**

 **Sonic and Sally: DATING**

 **Rosy and Shadow: DATING**

 **Alicia and Locke: ENGAGED**

 **Jules and Aleena: PENDING DIORCE**

 **Knuckles and Julie-Su: DATING/PARENTS**

 **Sonia and Elias: MUTUAL CRUSH**

 **Mina and Ash: CRUSH (ONE-SIDED)**

 **Cream and Ray: MUTUAL CRUSH**

 **Tails and Cosmo: MUTUTAL CRUSH**

 **Cosmo and Ray: BREIF ONE-SIDED CRUSH (OVER)**

 **Amy and Sonic: CRUSH (ONE-SIDED)**

 **Fiona and Scourge: DATING**

 **Mighty and Fiona: CRUSH (ONE-SIDED)**

 **Amy and Mighty: CRUSH (ONE-SIDED)**

 **Espio and Nicole: DATING**

 **Shard and Nicole: CRUSH (ONE-SIDED)**

 **Ash and Breezie: DATING**

 **Wave and Storm: JUST FRIENDS**

 **Blaze and Mephiles: UNDEFINED**

 **Rosy and Mephiles: FLING (OVER)**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Silver has a revelation about the adorable tenrec he's been spending so much time with**

 **Mephiles notices his girls slipping away and decides it's time for some damage control**

 **Mighty drives back to Green Hill Academy to confront Fiona**

 **Sonic breaks the news about him and Sally to Amy…**

 **A bet Sonic made to a certain hawk what felt like ages ago might come back to haunt him…**

 **And so much more!**

 **Fun Question:** **It's been a while since I've asked this, and seeing how this story is nearing that point more and more with each chapter, it's an appropriate time to ask again; Which couples are you rooting for now a days?**


	65. Chapter 65

**WARNING: Just a drunken altercation, and mentions of sexual acts and crimes**

* * *

 **Chapter 65: Damage Control**

 _"No one gave you permission to leave."_ Mephiles growled into his cellphone as he walked down the third floor hall of the girl's dorm.

Following close behind him was his only remaining minion, Shard. Hands buried in the pockets of his black sweatshirt and eyes down at his moving feet as he listened intently to the older hedgehog berate and belittle the purple feline over the phone.

 _"I don't need your permission for anything. I'm my own person."_ The cat retorted loudly, causing a smirk to cross the DigItalian boy's face as he followed along in silence.

 _"Seems as though someone's found their nerve."_ The gray-striped boy mused in his taunting tone _, "Lest you forget where 'being you own person' landed you. How are those friends of yours anyhow? Any of them call on Christmas?"_

 _"…"_

The cat was at a loss for words, making him grin maliciously with her confirming silence. Shard frowned, not a fan of how the older teen treated people, especially the two girls he associated himself with.

 _"As I thought."_ He remarked coldly to the speechless cat, _"Enjoy the rest of vacation. I'll deal with you later."_ He added, hanging up the phone before sliding it into his pocket.

The two boys then walked in silence for a while, until Shard finally spoke up in curiosity.

"What are we doing here?"

"Well, it seems as though my empire's falling apart before it can even begin." Mephiles explained honestly, his tone never seeming to change. "So now it's time for some damage control…"

They then came to a stop at the only single dorm room in the girl's dormitory, Rosy's room. The older teen felt he needed no announcement, opening the door without warning to step in and saw the pink hedgehog hastily plopping down on her bed, a surprised look on her face.

"Knock much?"

"Never." He replied, Shard standing by at the door as Mephiles strolled over to tower over her. "It's been a while, Rose…"

"Not long enough." She retorted bitterly, crossing her arms and averting her light-brown eyes from his freakish ones.

He didn't like the action, grabbing her forcefully by the chin to pull her face back toward his, leaning in close to be sure she'd have nowhere else to look.

"You seem awfully tense…" He spoke with such malice before shoving her away by the face, causing her to fall back on the messy bed. "Where have you been?"

"Like that's any of your business." Rosy growled, standing angrily to her feet.

"It is." He replied, "I own you, remember?"

"You don't own shit anymore." The pink girl shook her head, pointing toward the door where the younger hedgehog stood watching. "Now go."

She glared harshly at him, a new found confidence flaring in her eyes. One that was too much for him to diminish or manipulate. Something had gotten to her, risen her out of his reach, and it had him livid on the inside.

"As you wish…" He said plainly, no emotion at all to his tone as he strolled away toward the door. But just before he left, he turned around to send chills down her spine. "But you'll regret this. I promise."

He then shut the door, allowing the pink girl to cave to her knees and breathe out in relief, shocked by her newfound courage to stand up to him and cut the strings he had puppeteering he.

However, his last comment certainly had her feeling uneasy…

* * *

Ray and Matilda were seated together on the couch in the living room of the Rabbot family. The little squirrel had been wearing that same frown ever since he arrived, sulking every day in his room for hours.

He sighed heavily, arm resting on the armrest as he cradled his cheek in his hand. Matilda felt so clueless, wondering why he was so blue at a time where he should be so happy.

"Ray…" The green-shelled girl finally spoke up after a long silence, making him turn curiously at her. "Are you…not happy to see me?"

His widened as a light gasp escaped him, feeling guilty for making her think such a thing. He shook his head vigorously along with a wave of both hands.

"O-Of course I'm happy to see you Ma-Matilda!" He stammered, "I…I ju-just…I'm worried about someone."

"Who?" She asked curiously, "Are you still having trouble with Cream? Maybe when I go back to school I could talk you up and—"

"It's…Fi-Fiona."

"Fiona?" The armadillo girl repeated, "What's wrong with Fiona?—"

"Nothing." A third voice called out, making both their heads turn to see their older brother throwing on his bulky winter coat. "Ray's just been worried that Fiona's gonna be upset when I pick her up today."

"Pi-Pick her up?!" Ray repeated, hopes rising as he looked up to the smiling armadillo boy.

"Yeah…" He nodded, "Our landlord called and wanted to speak with me in person about renewing our lease on the cottage. I figured I could go grab Fiona on my way to Mercia and bring her back in time for New Years."

A wide smile emerged on Ray's face, happy that his older brother had gotten the message, and was going to bring their vixen friend back to them, where she really belonged.

* * *

"C'mon Jon!" Amy cheered, arms outstretched as she kneeled on one knee before the baby struggling to move in his walker. "Just a few steps. I know you can do it!" She encouraged the baby echidna.

He gurgled spit and moved his mouth to form words that only came out in baby drabble as he took a few steps, struggling to keep balance as he moved toward the smiling hedgehog girl.

"That's it!" She squealed, gesturing him forth with her hands. "Come to Cousin Amy!"

Determined, the baby propelled himself forward, kicking off the floor to send the wheels of his walker rolling straight toward her. She laughed at the sneaky action, picking him up to pelt him with a kisses. He giggled cutely, making a grab for her vibrant, pink quills.

"Close enough." The pink girl laughed, holding him up at arm's length so he couldn't pull her quills. "You're growing up too fast, Jon. Cut it out." She added, setting him back down in the walker before walking over to the couch to collapse with an exhausted sigh.

"I feel the same way, Hun." A kind voice agreed from the kitchen before the echidna woman emerged in the doorway.

Mari-An crossed her arms, leaning on the wall as she looked at the pink hedgehog with a smile. At this point, Amy was practically one of their own children, having raised her since childhood on their own. She strolled over casually, standing behind the couch to look down at the teen who had her head back, looking up at the echidna with a smile of her own.

"Rob and I had the boy talk yesterday…" She spoke up, making Amy's eyes light up like stars.

"What did he say?!"

"A lot." Mari-An rolled her eyes, accompanied by a slight chuckle. "He's not thrilled with the idea, but he's going to try and get used to it."

" **REALLY?!** " Amy yelped, hopping up on her knees to turn around and face the orange echidna standing behind her.

"Yep." She nodded before the pink girl pulled her into an abrasive hug, "All that he asks is that we get to meet him formally."

"Thank you so much, Mari-An." The pink hedgehog squealed over her shoulder, "I know sometimes you think I'm a brat…but I'm really happy you're in my life."

"Oh Amy, you're practically my own little girl." The echidna smiled, pulling away from the hug to kiss the pink girl's forehead. "Now when can we meet this Sonic boy you've been going on about for years?"

"I'll text him and see if he can come over for dinner tomorrow! With how much I talk up your cooking I'm sure he'll want to come as soon as possible."

"Just let me know so I can whip up something special." Mari-An nodded, walking around the couch to pick up her son. "You've been cooped up in here all vacation. How about you call Blaze and go out on the town? I'll give you some spending money."

"Oh no." Amy waved in dismissal, a pang of sorrow in her heart at the mention of her feline friend. "Blaze has actually been going through some stuff lately. I've been giving her some space."

"Did something happen between you two?"

"No, no. Nothing like that. She just went through a breakup a few weeks ago with this loser, so we've been giving her time to cool off. She hasn't really been herself."

"Well, maybe that's because she needs her friends more than ever." Mari-An remarked, carrying the babbling baby up the staircase. "Sometimes space is the last thing people need…"

Amy frowned, turning her head down to stare at her feet as she thought of her good friend, Blaze. When she and Sonic split up after Manic's outburst at the dorm party, she was miserable and found comfort within the arms of the vial Scourge who nearly led her down a much darker path.

The thought worried her enough to pick up her phone and shoot Blaze the first text she'd ever gotten from a friend in weeks.

* * *

It was still quite early when Knuckles sat up and stretched, releasing his routine, loudly exaggerated yawn before swinging his legs over the side of the guest bed he and Julie-Su had been sharing while staying at her grandfather's home.

He peered over his shoulder at the other side of the bed where the pink echidna laid on her side facing away from him, her body rising and falling with rhythmic breathing as she slept. He smiled at her, recalling all the sleepovers they had in their younger days.

She always loved him, and admittedly, he'd always felt something for her too…but it's complicated.

Because as his aunt, Tikal once said…

Sometimes the heart makes room for two.

He broke his stare from the sleeping girl to look over at his phone on the nightstand, picking it up to scroll through old pictures, coming across one of him and Rouge at Elise's Halloween Bash.

A sexy witch and a werewolf. She was kissing his cheek while he held her by the waist, both of them wearing blissful smiles.

A heartwarming image ruined by a flash memory of the current her, the one he saw in such turmoil on Christmas Eve.

 **CREAK…**

He jumped, fumbling with the phone in his lap before he looked out to the now ajar door of the guest room, surprised to see the little echidna peering in.

"Lara?" He questioned, setting down his phone to walk over to her.

The little girl looked to her sleeping mother before looking back to the red echidna in a white T-shirt and black pajama bottoms get down on one knee to eye-level with her. He tilted his head at her curiously, surprised that she was awake so early after such a long day yesterday.

"Is something wrong?" Knuckles asked, voice low as to not wake the sleeping echidna behind them.

Lara-Su said nothing, because the grumbling of her stomach cut her off before she could utter a word. An embarrassed glow of red took hold of her cheeks as Knuckles chuckled lightly.

"I'm hungry…" She mumbled shyly, looking over to her sleeping mother. "But Mommy's sleeping…"

"Well then how about I whip you somethin' up?" He offered, standing up to open the door and slip out into the hall with her. She smiled excitedly, both of them walking down the hall toward the stairs.

"Can you make me pancakes?"

"Uh…I can sure try…"

They made their way into the kitchen together, the little girl quickly rushing up to sit upon the only chair at the table with a pink booster seat attached.

She rambled on and on about her favorite things, like coloring and cartoons as he strolled up to the fridge and opened it. He scratched his cheek as he eyed all of its contents, unsure of what to take out or how to even make pancakes.

His father was a workaholic, and his mother had been absent almost all his life after the divorce, meaning no one was around to teach him such things. He bit his lip as he thought of a solution, closing the door of the fridge to spin around on his heels and face the toddler.

"Uhh, how about we just go get some McDonalds?" He offered, rubbing the back of his neck nervously as he laughed awkwardly.

"Really!?" She yelped, stars in her eyes as she hopped back onto the floor and ran to his feet. "Mommy doesn't let me eat fries this early ever!"

"Well, we'll keep it our little secret." He laughed, picking her up in his arms.

The smile on her face was priceless as she giggled and nodded her head in agreement. He then carried her to the living room, where he set her down on the ground so she could throw her puffy, pink winter jacket over her pink and white striped pajamas while he grabbed his keys from the table by the door.

Upstairs, Julie-Su tossed and turned feverishly in the messy bed. Sweat dripping from her brow as she shifted under the blankets for warmth.

She'd been secretly awake when her daughter walked in, smiling to herself as she heard Knuckles handle the situation so sweetly.

 _'They're getting along so well these days…'_ She thought, half-lidded violet eyes falling toward the envelope Thrash had somehow got to her, frowning as she remembered what she read inside. _'This is going to ruin everything…'_

* * *

 _'Yesterday was probably one of the greatest days I've ever had in my whole fifteen years of life._

 _The convention was amazing! The venue was decorated to resemble the inside of a futuristic space shuttle. Multi-colored LED lights, walls that resembled the steel interior of a ship with hand-painted circuit details. The stage in the center was a giant glowing platform, and the booths were neatly themed too._

 _There were so many people it's a wonder I didn't get lost._

 _Probably because Gold held my hand almost the entire time…_

 _On top of winning the cosplay contest, getting my entire shirt autographed by my all-time favorite directors and graphic novel artists…she was what really made my night._

 _There's just something about her that makes every negative part of my life so meaningless. Sometimes I forget how bad everyone at school hates me, or how friendless I am, because when I'm with her none of it feels like it even matters._

 _She makes me feel so happy just being me. She's not embarrassed to be seen with me, or worried about what people think of her because she's with me._

 _It's kinda the same feeling Blaze_ _ **USED**_ _to give me when we were both friendless losers in Soleanna, before she ever met Sonic and that stupid group of friends… When she'd make an effort to understand me instead of try to change me… When the opinions of others didn't bother her so much._

 _Looking at Gold now… I can finally understand why Blaze was always so cold toward her._

 _She must have known this girl is everything I've ever wanted…_

 _Wait…did I just think that?!'_

"Silver?" Gold questioned, walking over to the hedgehog staring blankly into the distance while seated at the edge of the hotel bed they'd been sharing these past few days, waving her hand in his face to grab his attention. "Hello?"

"Huh?!" He jolted up, a blush forming on his pale face when he realized how close her face was to his as she stood before him with hands resting on her slightly bent knees, tilting her head in confusion.

"Are you okay? You've been spacing out quite a bit…"

"Oh…I…I'm fine." He assured her with a nervous wave. "Just…overwhelmed by how amazing yo—I mean, the con was. How amazing the con was."

She blinked twice before standing up straight, flashing him that angelic smile before turning around to walk back over to her packed luggage by the door, long quills picking up with her brisk pace.

"It was pretty awesome." She giggled, secretly melting the hedgehog's heart with her laughter. "We'll have a lot of time to talk it over on the bus back to GHA." She added, kneeling down to zip up the front of her luggage.

"Uh…Yeah…" Silver nodded, getting up to begin his own packing.

* * *

Mighty gripped the steering wheel tightly, tapping his fingers impatiently against it as he waited for the light to turn green.

He groaned impatiently, reeling one of his hands back to run it over his forehead in a stressful manner.

Guilt pooled in the pit of his stomach as he thought about what Ray had scolded him for. Being so stupid. He definitely agreed, but not for the same reason the squirrel thought.

Fiona was fragile and he knew that, especially that one time she attempted to kiss him at the hospital he found her at, and expressed a desire to be with him. He chalked up those feelings to her mental state at the time.

However, the more they hung out, the more her feelings were apparent. This whole time he knew all about her crush on him, and chose to deliberately ignore it.

That's why he feels like such a fool, and so guilt ridden.

He thought outright rejecting her would send her over the edge. He thought if he ignored her long enough, she'd get over it and settle for friendship, but now he realized that was the wrong thing to do.

Instead of brushing off the idea of a romance, he had unintentionally pushed her away completely.

The armadillo stepped harder on the gas, speeding down the single dirt road that led to campus grounds. He'd been driving for hours, so much on his mind as he sat in silence thinking about what he could possibly say to her…

* * *

Blaze hung up the phone, tossing it angrily to the corner of her bed before she brought her knees to her chest. Angry tears peeked from her hazel eyes as she sniffled slightly, glaring at the phone coldly.

She was finally starting to feel okay again, surrounded by Marine and their loving family, then her phone rang and she made the mistake of picking up to have Mephiles pull her back down into the pit of despair she'd been trying to escape from for weeks.

He always knew exactly what to say and how to say it when it came to bringing someone to their breaking point, and he seemed to take so much pride and joy in doing so.

He used Rosy's past and self-loathing to his advantage, making her feel as though he could cure all her sorrows if she'd only submit to him.

He continues to manipulate Shard's hopelessness and aggression, turning him into a weapon of sorts to be used in his favor.

And when it came to Blaze…

He saw through her confident façade. Underneath that feisty attitude was an incredibly insecure girl who wanted acceptance and friendship. The dark hedgehog knew exactly what buttons to press when it came to her.

All he had to do was remind her of all the mistakes she's made this year, how everyone looked at her in disgust and disappointment, no longer the athlete they admired and looked up to the way they did last year.

After weeks of being seemingly ignored by her supposed friends and with her longtime friend Silver cutting ties with her entirely, she began to believe in his crude claims.

That no one cared about her…

That she was nothing.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE!**

She lifted her head to see the phone at the edge of the bed glow. She tightened her jaw in anger, assuming it to be Mephiles with more cruel remarks about how low she'd fallen. In a fit of rage, and without even looking at the message, she picked up the phone and hurled it to the wall, shattering the screen entirely.

 ** _Amy:_** _Hey Blaze… Sorry it's…been so long. When you got dumped, me and the gang figured you'd want space and time to heal, but for some reason I'm starting to believe that might not be true. Plus, I miss you like crazy. Hang soon?_

* * *

Mobotropolis Mall was a gigantic mall with marble walls and shiny, gray tiled floors. Renowned for its cleanliness and plethora of stores, most notably the main branch Master Emerald jewelry store.

Being Saturday, the mall was full to the brim with people out and about getting party supplies for the upcoming New Year holiday or just lounging around for the day.

On the second floor there was a large music store that took up a good amount of the floor itself. Through the sliding glass doors was a fluorescently lit, white room with posters of musicians and framed vinyl records lining the walls, and racks were stacked with several musical instruments such as trumpets and saxophones to violins and guitars.

Way in the back of the store was an oak piano, similar to the one in the school auditorium. In front of it, a matching wooden bench where Sonia was seated while her fingers tapped the piano's keys. Sitting beside her once again was longtime friend, Elias Acorn, singing along with the beautiful melody she played.

They looked at each other, the magenta girl at an expert level where there was no need for her to keep her eyes on the keys. She smiled adoringly at him as he sang in such a dreamy tone, admiring all of the things she's failed to see in the past.

The way his sapphire eyes shimmered like stars under the white lighting, the way his auburn hair swept across his forehead to frame his perfect face, and that infamous smile that made hearts explode.

He was clueless to her developing crush, being in the friend zone for so long, he just wrote it off as an impossibility entirely at this point. He was content with just being around her, finally accepting his fate as just the best friend.

Once she pulled her hands away from the keyboard, the melody stopped and the store became silent again until they both began laughing together.

"You fumbled a bit those last couple notes." He informed her teasingly, poking her sides as she giggled and shoved him playfully.

"And you were off key for almost half the song." She shot back in the same teasing manner, poking his nose with the tip of her index finger.

"I told her singing isn't my thing. So I hope she doesn't expect a masterpiece." The squirrel chuckled, gaze falling to their feet. "I guess we just need more practice. We've got a week to go…"

"How do you feel about your mother remarrying?" Sonia questioned curiously, "I mean, I read somewhere that it's hard for kids of divorce to accept their parents' new significant other let alone a new spouse."

Elias just picked up his head, looking out into the distance of musical instruments as he mulled the questioned over in his mind. Sonia waited patiently as he came to his conclusion, turning to smile at her as he scratched his cheek lightly.

"Well, I couldn't be happier for her to be honest."

"Really?" Sonia asked in surprise, "But what about your dad?" His smile quickly fell at the mention along with the mood.

"He was never good to my mother..." He admitted, mind wandering to memories before their divorce. "But Locke makes her happy, and after the life she's been through…she deserves to be happy. It's all I really want for her, and my sisters."

"What about you?" The magenta girl asked, resting her hand on top of his. "Don't you want to be happy too?"

When he looked at her it was almost impossible to keep himself from smiling, or looking at her like the most beautiful of sceneries. Even after the physical damage the eating disorder had done to her appearance, he still looked at her the way he always did, with such wonder and love.

"Right now…" He whispered, making her blush with the sweetness in his hushed tone. "I am happy…"

She broke their contacting gaze, staring down sheepishly to the floor as she tried to force her blush away with all her might.

"Now can I ask you a question?" His voice sounded in her ears, making her pick up her head to face him once more.

"Umm… Sure."

"Why are we at a music store in the mall practicing instead of your house? You've got a piano in your living room."

"Oh…" Sonia frowned, recalling how stressed things seem to be at home. "Well, there's been a lot of tension in the house lately."

"Is everything okay?"

"To be honest… I'm not sure what's even going on." She admitted with a heavy sigh.

His heart ached for her, loathing that saddened expression on her face.

In an attempt to bring back her lovely smile, he stood up from the bench and held his hand out for her to take.

"Hey, I know what'll cheer you up." He smiled, helping her up to her feet. "The jewelry store is around the corner. If Locke's working the register today I might be able to get a step-son discount." He winked, making her giggle a bit.

She took his hand, and never let it go as they walked out of the music store and out to the mall area. The promise of ogling priceless gems certainly did bring her back into good spirits, all laughs and smiles once again.

As they passed by several stores, something in one of the display windows caught the prince's eye, and made him abruptly stop in his tracks, unintentionally yanking the magenta girl's arm.

She turned around to see what his deal was, noticing his distracted gaze.

"Elias?" She questioned.

The squirrel had stopped upon noticing a pair of little pink shoes in the display window of a baby department store, recalling them to be ones he had bought for the little girl who mistakenly carried his last name.

"Huh? Oh sorry." He apologized upon snapping out of his thoughts, breaking their hand holding to stuff both of his in the pockets of his jeans much to her discontent.

* * *

"Where are we now?" Shard asked the gray-striped hedgehog as they stood in front of a closed door in the boy's dormitory. It was one of the few singles the boy's dormitory had, and it was the furthest from the rest of the population, being secluded on the highest floor.

"We're not anywhere." Mephiles replied as he pulled the knob to the door, "Wait out here while I take care of business."

Shard just crossed his arms and made himself comfortable by leaning against the adjacent wall as he watched the older teen take off into the dorm room without invitation. With him gone, the DigItalian boy had nothing to distract his focus from the soreness of the jagged cut on his neck.

Mephiles walked into the dorm room, olive-green eyes scanning the somewhat large room until he came to a stop on the weasel sitting at his desk across the room. He took a few steps closer, quietly shutting the door behind him as he peered up at the four computer monitors in front of the purple boy who typed with lightning speeds.

"Surprised to see ya' without Scourge glued to ya' side." Nack mused, not bothering to turn around because he strangely already knew who was behind him.

"He and I have parted ways in the way of companionship." Mephiles smirked at the weasel who spun around in his chair to face him while intertwining his fingers. "Anyway, I've come to thank you for the info I requested on Shard. Those pictures of the street fighting were enough to scare his little girlfriend away, and pull him in my direction."

"Glad I could be of service." Nack grinned, that hideously over-sized front tooth poking out of his mouth. "But if you don't mind me askin', what's all of this for, really?"

"Simple. I want to be king of these peasants." The hedgehog explained flatly, "And it seems as though great power comes with being popular around here, no matter what kind of person you really are."

"Ha! That's a laugh, not to mention an incredible waste of ya' time considering everyone thinks ya' a fuckin' creep, no offense."

"You just let me worry about that. Nothing a little intimidation and manipulation can't change."

"Well, with how stupid the majority of these clowns are, you're probably right on that." Nack agreed with a nod, gesturing with his eyes toward the computer screens where he had his infamous gossip blog pulled up. "The second I post something about anyone, whether it be positive or negative, these sheep are so quick to jump on the bandwagon. I bet if I post something about weed curing acne, everyone would be a pothead by tomorrow night."

"Precisely why I need your help." Mephiles replied, "You hold a great influence over the school, and you've got the means to make and break anyone."

"That I do, but you know my help doesn't come free."

"I'm well aware, and if you help me…I'll see to it that you're well compensated."

Nack's eyes lit up with a lustful greed as he returned the hedgehog's wicked grin.

"What do you need from me?"

"As of right now, I only see one major threat in my wake." Mephiles explained, mind wandering to the auburn-haired girl who seemed to sway the crowd in a more positive light than anyone. "I need something on a…Sally Acorn—"

 **SLAM!**

Nack sprung up so abruptly from his chair that it fell over and slammed to the floor with such force. The name had changed his entire demeanor, eliciting such rage from him while making Mephiles raise an eyebrow in surprise.

"Not that bloody name again!" He cursed, hands up and shaking with such anger. He then began pacing the room, peaking the hedgehog's curiosity even further.

"I take that as you've got nothing?" Mephiles questioned the frantic weasel, "How surprising—"

" **I'M SUPPOSED TO!** " The purple teen cut him off angrily, "You have no idea how many people have come in here lookin' for dirt on that girl, and I don't have shit to give 'em! She's new, keeps to herself mostly, and so far her record's clean. Jet and I had a deal, then he went and fucked everything up!"

"A deal? What deal?"

"In exchange for a negative post about Sonic the Hedgehog on my site to kick him off the popularity totem pole and raise the stupid hawk to the top, he promised me he'd get dirt on the ugly little bitch."

"What kind of dirt?" Mephiles asked with such interest as the weasel continued to pace the room in front of him.

"The dumb bird made a bet with Sonic that he couldn't sleep with her. He was supposed to get a recordin' and give it to me for the future blackmail. But it all got snuffed when he went fuckin' jail."

"I see…" The hedgehog nodded, before he uttered something to make Nack cease his pacing. "What if I told you that I could make that bet come to fruition?"

The weasel spun around on his heels and walked up to the hedgehog until they were nose-to-nose, that wicked grin returning to his face.

"If you could do that, not only will I destroy her good girl reputation and his hero reputation, but I'll make sure you're the next school king myself…"

"Perfect…" Mephiles replied, wearing the same wicked grin as his newest partner in crime.

* * *

Mighty finally pulled up into the school parking lot after hours of dangerously high-speed driving. He hopped out of his car and slammed the door, intent on searching the entire campus for the vixen. Both fortunately and unfortunately, he didn't have to look very far.

A few lots down, he could hear laughter, one of the voices incredibly familiar. The armadillo turned down the lot, briskly walking by a few cars in the cold until he spotted that infamous Hummer.

Sitting on top of the trunk was Scourge, one knee up and the other leg swinging back and forth as he blew out smoke into the sky from the remaining bit of his cigarette. Beside him, back in that slutty leather attire was Fiona, head back as she poured what little remained in the alcohol bottle into her mouth before dropping it lazily to the side.

"Jeez, I barely had any, and I bought the shit!" Scourge whined, flicking away the butt of his cigarette.

"Oops." The red fox giggled, swaying back and forth. "How about I just pay you back?" She asked, learning over to wrap her arms around him and kiss his neck.

He grinned, understanding what the drunk fox was insinuating. He pulled her closer, lifting her chin so that he could kiss her lips.

"How could I ever let you g-go?" She mused between his toxic kisses, gripping his leather jacket tightly as she pulled him closer. "I worked so hard to get you… Your mine forever. My king—"

" **FIONA!** " A voice called out that had both of them immediately break apart and jump back.

They looked out to see the armadillo angrily stomping toward them. Fiona was surprised, tilting her head as she squinted to make sure she wasn't imagining him.

"Mighty?" She asked as he got closer and closer.

He finally reached them, instantly grabbing her hand to pull her off the car. His grip was tight, almost crushing even. Scourge only watched from where he sat, not wanting to risk picking a fight the armadillo a second time.

"Hey!" The vixen scolded him, black heels scraping across the pavement as he practically dragged her away. She squirmed until she was able to wiggle out of his grasp, stumbling back a bit. "Let me go!"

He turned around to face her with a look of disapproval and disappointment.

"Do you know how worried Ray is?" Mighty spoke up, stepping toward her as she stepped back in refusal. "C'mon, Fiona. We're leaving."

"Why?" She sneered, "You don't want me. You want that stupid Amy bitch, remember?"

The features of his face soon softened, turning into more of a sympathetic look as guilt shot through his heart like a spear.

"Fiona…" He spoke up again, a pleading tone to his voice. "Look, I'm sorry I don't like you the way you like me, but that doesn't mean I don't care about you—"

"Yeah, yeah. I've heard it all before, but I just don't give a fuck anymore!" She cut him off in anger, "I'm over this good girl bullshit."

"Fiona…" He called out to her again, stepping closer so that he could reach for her, only to be swatted away with a stingy slap.

"No! **FUCK YOU!** " The vixen shrieked, blood beyond boiled as she glared harshly at him with all the hate in the world. "Your parents should have added you to their fucking body count."

His eyes widened in shock as his mouth dropped at the mention of his criminal parents, a topic she was very well aware hurt him more than anything.

The armadillo's sympathetic look soon turned into a look of anger just as heated as her own. All of his anger management therapy with Dr. Tikal practically thrown out the window in one fowl swoop.

"Fine, you wanna go there? You wanna be this way? Go ahead. I'm fucking over it! We were raised in the same foster home! Like brother and sister! So I can't be sorry that I don't return your stupid feelings." He bellowed, voice echoing in the distance. "I'm just done. I can't help you if you don't want to help yourself."

He turned on his heels back toward his car, showing his back to her as he walked away. It brought a vivid memory of him doing the same thing years ago when he left her behind at their foster home, sending an immense pain through her heart.

" **FINE!** " She screamed at the top of her lungs, tears streaming down her face. " **LEAVE THEN, LIKE YOU ALWAYS DO.** "

Mighty just shook his head as he heard her screams in the distance, more concerned about how he'd have to break the news to Ray than her ramblings in the background. Then he heard the green hedgehog's mocking tone, upsetting him greatly, although he chose to ignore it and get in his car.

"Way to be the good guy." Scourge taunted, throwing an arm over the crying vixen's shoulders as he leered in the direction of the armadillo. "By the way, Uptown Slut sucks at blowjobs." He added, taking a shot at the pink hedgehog he used to mess with.

* * *

After a very vague goodbye to their families, Sonic and Sally took off from their homes, meeting up halfway between their neighborhoods.

It was night fall, the sky an azure blue that matched the hedgehog's quills and his companion's shimmery eyes. The moon and stars lost in misty clouds, leaving the streetlights to illuminate the dark of the night.

The two walked together hand-in-hand down the sidewalk. They weren't heading anywhere in particular, just aimlessly walking as they enjoyed each other's presence.

"Look at us." Sonic teased, raising their connected hands up as he shot her his playful grin. "Walking around like a real couple."

"Knock it off." The auburn-haired girl pouted, sinking into the collar of her blue coat as she looked away with a blush.

"Remember when we first met in English class? You couldn't fucking stand me!"

"You weren't exactly a big fan of me either."

"Now look where we are." The blue hedgehog laughed, peering at her through the corner of his eye.

"I never would have guessed, that's for sure." Sally admitted, "I had no intention of falling for anyone, especially the jerk from English class."

"Same." He agreed, "Sonic the Hedgehog and the mousy girl with glasses? What a pair."

"Like fire and ice."

"Fun and boring."

"Smart and stupid."

"Blue and red."

"But at the same time…" They both spoke in unison, turning to each other with blushing faces. "I wouldn't want it any other way…" They then leaned close, catching each other's lips in another blissful kiss…until a phone call interrupted them.

 **INCOMING CALL**

They reeled back from one another, the modest chipmunk blushing madly as she clasped her hands together and stared down at her feet shyly. Sonic chuckled at her bashfulness as he pulled his phone from his pocket.

He turned his attention to the screen, instantly cringing at the image of the smiling pink hedgehog. He looked back up to the now curious chipmunk who noticed as well.

"It's Ames…" He informed her.

"Oh…"

She looked away, making him feel slightly bad before he looked back down at the phone, debating on whether or not to answer.

"If you misunderstood my paper, she probably did too…" Sonic sighed, calling the chipmunk's attention back to him. "Maybe I should pick up, and explain things to her."

"Explain things like…tell her about…us?!"

"Well, yeah." He shrugged, "We've got to come out to everyone eventually, right? It'd probably be better if she's the first to know."

"I suppose, but…" Sally replied, dropping her sapphire eyes to the ground as she spoke with obvious apprehension, rubbing her arm nervously. "She'll probably be really angry. I don't think she likes me very much."

"Don't worry." Sonic assured her, cradling her cheek in his free hand as he held the phone in the other. "Amy's always been a good friend to me, and she really cares about my happiness. She'll understand."

The blue hedgehog then tapped the answer button and pulled the phone to his ear, cringing at the awkwardness of looking at the auburn-haired girl in front of him and hearing the pink hedgehog's cheery voice in his ear.

 _"Sonikku!"_ She squealed delightfully before correcting herself, _"I mean, Sonic. I forgot you hated when I called you that…Sorry."_

 _"No, no."_ He waved in dismissal, _"It's fine."_

 _"Sorry I'm calling so late, but I wanted to ask you something."_

 _"It's cool. I'm actually glad you called because there's something I wanna talk to you about too…"_ He replied in a strained tone that went right over her head.

 _"Well, my cousin and his wife finally want to meet you. They want to know if you can stop by for dinner tomorrow."_

 _"Well I—"_

 _"I'll pay for your cab of course."_ She cut him off, rambling on. _"Mari-An had a talk with Rob, and he's actually officially on board with me dating—"_

 _"Uh, Ames—"_

 _"I told them about the paper you wrote for me in English class."_ She went on, sighing adoringly over the phone. _"They thought it was beautiful, and can't wait to meet you—"_

 _"_ _ **AMY!**_ _"_ Sonic practically screamed over the phone, finally gaining her attention.

 _"Ow."_ She cringed upon the speaker shattering her eardrum.

 _"Sorry."_ He apologized, _"But I've gotta tell you something important…"_

 _"What is it?"_ She smiled, kicking her feet over the edge of her bed with excitement as she expected a delighted response to her dinner request or another heartfelt love confession like the one in English class.

 _"Amy… My English assignment wasn't about you."_ He said, making her jade eyes widen. _"It was about…Sally."_

 _"…Who?!"_ Amy gasped, mouth open in shock as tears began brimming her jade eyes.

 _"Glasses-Girl."_

 _"…"_

 _"I'm really sorry for the mix up, Ames."_ He apologized whole-heartedly, expecting her to cry or lash out in a brutal manner. _"I'd be happy to go up and see you for dinner still—"_

 _"No."_ She replied in a casual tone although her heart ached with such pain, _"That's okay."_

 _"Are you okay?"_

 _"…"_

 _"Hello?"_ He called out, _"Amy? You still there?"_

She had dropped the phone after ending the call, tears flowing like rivers down her face before she turned around and threw herself onto her bed, silently crying into her pillows.

Absolutely heartbroken…

* * *

 **So now you know, Mighty knew all along about Fiona's feelings, but chose to ignore it in the hopes that it would deter her. He just couldn't look at her as more than a sister figure, especially because they were raised together. Now she feels as though carrying on the good-girl persona isn't worth it, and crawling back to old habits is her way of lashing out.**

 **Will she ever find her way back into good graces? What about Ray?**

 **Mephiles has been a side character casually climbing his way into the main cast, but not for the best of reasons. He's here to get to the top, and he'll clearly do whatever it takes to be the next school thing. He might have lost a pawn this chapter, but with Nack he's certainly gained a much greater ally.**

 **Who's next on his list? And what exactly does he have in store for Sally and Sonic?**

 **Shadow has given Rosy the courage to stand up for herself and cut ties with his venomous step brother, if only someone could do the same for poor, Blaze. She's fallen from grace, lost in loneliness, and ashamed of herself for everything wrong she's done this year. Too caught up in the bad thoughts to realize EVERYONE makes mistakes once in a while, and high school isn't the end of the world.**

 **If only she hadn't broken her phone she probably would have gotten Amy's message and found the same strength Rosy did to break away… If only…**

 **In lighter news, Silver's finally begun to notice his growing feelings for Gold the Tenrec, the girl who's shown him nothing but kindness, and makes him feel that it's okay to be himself. Awe, adorable nerd love…**

 **Will he ever find the courage to tell her? Or will Blaze end up getting the better of him once again?**

 **Oh, Sonia and Elias! How sad is it that when she finally starts showing some interest he finally accepts his fate in the friend zone? With this upcoming duet, they've been spending quite a bit of alone time together. Only time will tell with these two…**

 **With Julie-Su feeling a bit under the weather, Knuckles has had to step up and take command of the parent train. He and Lara-Su have been getting closer and closer, but just what could possibly be in that envelope Thrash sent that would ruin everything?!**

 **Lastly, let's take a moment to feel so bad for poor Amy, or not. It's up to you and how you feel about it.**

 **These last two chapters have shown the softer side of her, playing with her cousin's baby and having heartwarming conversations with the loving pair who raised her in the absence of her own parents. She's finally got her protective cousin on board with her dating, only to have Sonic shatter her heart to pieces once again with the confession that his words weren't for her at all, but his new girlfriend, Sally.**

 **The same girl who had unintentionally intruded on their old relationship, and prevented her from pursing one with her then lover, Scourge the Hedgehog.**

 **Hmm… Maybe Sally's right to think Amy doesn't like her very much…**

 **And maybe Mephiles and a cruel bet aren't the only unknown threats Sally has to worry about…**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **We see what Ken gets up to behind closed doors…**

 **Mephiles picks up another recruit**

 **Wave and Storm come face to face with their old friend, Jet**

 **Manic and Jules finally have a long overdue talk…**

 **And so much more!**


	66. Chapter 66

**WARNING:** **Drug use. Mentions of self-harm, abandonment, neglect, and abuse**

* * *

 **Chapter 66: Hurt**

Black sheets, messy from another sensual night spent together. Two hedgehogs cozied up to one another, legs tangled beneath the warm blankets that kept them safe from the cold temperature. Clothes scattered about on the wooden floor surrounding the bed they shared. Blackout curtains drawn to keep the bright sky at bay as to not disturb their sound sleep.

Shadow and Rosy had been living somewhat of a dream these past few days. Aside from Mephiles' pop up visit and passive threat, the pink girl had found herself at ease for the first time in years, the negative thoughts that once screamed like banshee now nothing but hush whispers.

Her head rested comfortably on his chest, his arms wrapped around her as if he were protecting her from the world that only seemed to cause them suffering.

Although her wrist wounds would surely leave scars thanks to no professional medical treatment, they were well on their way to healing, and she didn't even feel the need to harm herself anymore. Finding the relief and calmness she got from the act within the red-striped boy who'd burrowed his way into her heavy heart.

"Are you awake yet?" He whispered.

"I've been awake for a while." She admitted, "Just too comfortable to move."

"Well, you're gonna have to." Shadow informed her with an amused smile, opening his eyes to meet her curious jade ones. "I have to pee."

"Ugh, you sure know how to ruin a mood." The pink girl huffed, rolling out of his grasp so that he could get up from her bed. "Don't get caught by Ms. Vanilla."

"Please, you say that like the advisers actually do their jobs." He rolled his eyes before throwing on his shirt, "I've been sleeping here all week."

"True."

"I'll be back."

* * *

In the school parking lot, a city bus had pulled in and opened its doors. Out stepped a smiley, golden tenrec, dragging her heavy suitcase down the bus steps and out onto the parking lot. Behind her, a white hedgehog carrying his own suitcase.

The bus then closed its doors, turning around quickly to speed off down the dirt road it came from, creating a gust of wind that nearly toppled the teens over.

"Looks like we're home." Gold giggled, dragging her suitcase toward the pathway that led to campus grounds. "Green Hill Academy."

"Well, our home until summer vacation at least." Silver corrected her with a chuckle of his own, "It's a shame we couldn't stay in Soleanna to see the ball drop in Station Square for New Years."

"Yeah. That hotel was just way too expensive to grab an extra few nights, and the only hotels we could afford on our own were in the downtown area, which is way too sketchy…"

"You don't know the half of it." The hedgehog grimaced, recalling several stories he'd heard about the downtown area of Soleanna. "I've been hearing rumors all my life about crazy things that go down there, like organized street fights and drug pushing."

"Oh my Chaos. Do you think that's true?!"

"I dunno about the street fighting, but I do remember hearing a lot about a scary gang who terrorized the area."

"Really?!"

"Mhm." He nodded as they both strolled up the pathway side-by-side, "And they had a leader named…Nazo, I think."

"Jeez." The tenrec shuddered, "Now I'm kinda glad we didn't stay."

"At least Christmas was fun." Silver changed the subject, patting his stomach with his free hand. "I already miss that awesome hotel food."

"Hey, we can still fun for New Years too!" Gold pouted, playfully punching the hedgehog on his thin arm.

"How? We're back at school."

"We'll figure out a way." She assured him, both of them coming to a stop at the center of campus where the fountain was. "We've got a whole week until then."

"I guess you're right." He nodded.

* * *

In the gym, all that could be heard was the bounce of a heavy basketball on the polished floor, and the squeaking of white sneakers. Occasionally the swoosh of the ball passing through the net, accompanied by the strained grunts of an echidna girl practicing her free throws sounded as well.

Her orange braids swung behind her as she dashed up and down the court, the ball never ceasing it's bouncing until she picked it up with both hands and leapt up to shoot another basket.

A glorious form, incredible speed, and near pin-point accuracy.

Shade the Echidna, a true prodigy, and another star in the making.

Once the ball made contact with the hoop for the hundredth time, she turned heel toward the bleachers where her dark-purple duffle bag and water bottle sat on the first bench. She grabbed the bottle and opened the top, hastily pouring the refreshing liquid down her throat as she listened to the ball bounce on the floor until it abruptly stopped.

Curiously, she ceased her drinking to look back at the ball, violet eyes meeting with the hideous green ones of a creepy hedgehog who had stopped the ball under his foot.

"Shade the Echidna." He mused in that maniacal tone.

"Who the hell are you?" The echidna replied in a not-so-welcoming tone, "And what the hell do you want?"

"My name is Mephiles, and I want your help."

"Not interested." She stated coldly, throwing the strap to her duffle bag over her shoulder before walking right passed him.

"Hmph, Thrash did say you were a cold one…" He remarked, making her stop in her tracks to whip her head back around to look at him.

"You know Thrash?!" She gasped, stomping back over to take hold of his shirt. "Tell me where I can find him!"

"I guess you could classify us as _'friends'_." The hedgehog replied, a wicked grin crossing his face. "You didn't transfer here just for sports, did you? You came to find him. Well, you won't."

" **WHY?! WHERE IS HE?!** "

"I'll be happy to tell you all about it, then maybe you'll be more inclined to help me out."

"Fine." She hissed, releasing her grip on his shirt. "Talk."

* * *

Aleena stood in front of the sink. A white apron tied over her long-sleeved periwinkle dress, long quills tied off in a ponytail behind her head, and hands covered in yellow gloves. She had a yellow sponge in her left hand, staring blankly into space as she washed one white plate after another in silence.

Her first conversation with Tails since their separation didn't go at all how she would have liked, leaving her in an even worse state of depression than before, on top of her outburst at Manic on Christmas of course. She hadn't spoken to him or apologized yet.

Behind her, sitting on one of the stools at the kitchen island was Jules. He stared at her as she washed and placed dishes on the rack in the same pattern like a robot, silently sipping his mug of coffee from time to time.

Underneath his free hand, resting on the table was the divorce papers he had been finding the moment to finally serve her with.

The tension was chilling. They hadn't spoken much, just carried on with their usual tasks like zombies. The only sound came from the radio sitting on the counter beside her, the upbeat music irking her husband greatly.

After a while, he couldn't take it anymore. He slammed his mug down on the table, the brown liquid splashing over the marble top a bit as he got up from the stool and marched over to the radio. The blue hedgehog didn't bother hitting the off button, opting to yank the plug right out of the socket situated behind it, abruptly cutting off the music and causing his wife to finally whip her head around to speak to him.

"I was listening to that—" She whined before he cut her off in a tone that reflected his frustrations, slamming his fist hard on the counter beside the sink.

" **GO TALK TO YOUR SON, ALEENA.** " He snapped, pointing toward the staircase in the living area.

She didn't respond. She only slid a dainty hand out of one glove to snatch the cord from him, and plugged the radio back in. Then she put the glove back on to carry on with her dishwashing in silence once more.

He shook with anger, beyond frustrated with the purple hedgehog's self-centered attitude and cold shoulder.

"Fine, I'll talk to him." Jules huffed, turning to grab the folder off the counter to walk away. "But one day soon you're gonna have to learn the world doesn't revolve around you the way you think."

* * *

Wave and Storm looked up at the two floor, white house with a bit of apprehension. After a bit of running around from correctional facilities to the courthouse, the birds had discovered their friend was released, and back home.

A gust of wind blew by, sending chills down the swallow's spine as she looked up at the house through her baby-blues, imagining all of the horrible things that had happened to the hawk boys in there. Things she never knew until now…

"Maybe we should just go home—"

"No." She shook her head, taking the first step up to his porch. "We're his friends… Just like you said."

Storm watched her walk up the steps, debating with himself before finally making the decision to walk alongside her. He rang the doorbell, and they waited out in the cold for a few minutes until someone answered the door.

It was an older hawk woman, clad in a half-open robe, feathers a tattered mess, and a cigarette in the mouth of her incredibly caked-up face. She pulled the cigarette from her mouth, blowing smoke into both teens' faces before addressing them.

"What the hell do you two want?" She snarled, eyeing both of them before returning the cancer stick to her lips.

"We're here to see Jet." Wave replied as calmly as she could while staring in the face of her friend's tormentor and mother. "We're his friends."

"Friends?" The woman snorted, stepping back from the door. "Funny. Didn't see either of you at trial."

They both looked at each other, a guilty feeling rising in the pit of their stomachs before the woman disappeared from view, only to be replaced by…

"Jet…" Storm and Wave whispered more in shock than anything.

The hawk looked to be in slightly better condition than the last time they'd seen him, aside from the split lip and black left eye.

He glared in between both of them, taking note of the new-found sincerity in the swallow's eyes. A huge difference from the disgusted looks she used to give him.

"You told her about my mom?" He mumbled toward Storm, who became a flustered mess.

"Jet…I…I had to. She needed to know you weren't all bad."

"But I am."

"No you're not." Wave shook her head, cutting into their conversation. "You were just misguided."

"I don't need your fucking pity." He snapped at her, one of his hands reaching for the door. "Both of you, just go away."

"C'mon, Wave." Storm sighed, reaching for the swallow's hand only to have it snatched away.

"What happened to your face?" Wave asked, ignoring Storm as she took another step toward the injured hawk.

"Prison isn't exactly a welcoming place." Jet explained vaguely, "A lot of angry homosexuals in there."

Wave frowned, thinking about how much hassle he must have gotten in the correctional facility.

Although Rotor had been a good friend to her, and this was the same person who caused his death, she couldn't help but feel empathy for him, especially after hearing about his childhood abuse.

"How did you get out?" She persisted with questions that had been tormenting her since his arrest. "I heard you got life in prison for what you did…"

"My mom just blew the right people at the law firm." He shrugged, finally closing the door on his old friends. "Now go away."

The door then closed on her face, leaving her to stare blankly at it before Storm had grabbed her shoulder and turned her to face him. They exchanged disheartened glances, feeling that the hawk was no longer the friend they once knew.

* * *

After his failed attempt at rescuing Fiona from her destructive self, Mighty had took off in his car to Mercia where he met with his landlord and discussed renewing his lease. By the time he was done with that, he noticed one of his tires was flat and with the icy roads it was impossible to drive all the way back to Sand Blast City. Not to mention he was quite tired from all the driving, and a little too distraught to be on the road anyway.

So he stood the night at the little cottage in Mercia. It should have felt nice to finally be in his own bed back home, but the frustrating feelings of guilt and hurt made it too hard to be even the slightest bit happy.

He woke up at noon, and had no intention of leaving that bed until his phone rang and forced him to get up. The armadillo threw his red blanket before getting up to retrieve the cellphone he had mistakenly left in the kitchen.

He picked it up after a quick look at the screen to see a picture of his little squirrel brother. He frowned, both expecting and dreading this call.

 _"Hey Ray…"_ He greeted the squirrel unenthusiastically. So unlike himself.

 _"Fiona?"_ Ray's hopeful voice called out, making the armadillo cringe. _"Is she…"_

 _"I'm sorry, Ray."_ Mighty apologized, nothing but silence on the other line. _"I tried, but she's too far gone."_

 _"Sh-She hates us again?"_

 _"Yeah…"_ He nodded before quickly changing the subject. _"Anyways, I got a flat tire. By the time it's good to drive it'll be New Years, and Chaos knows I can't drive then. So I'm just gonna camp out here for the rest of vacation. You can hitch a ride back to school with Bunnie and Beauregard. Tell Matilda I'm sorry, but I'll see her again soon."_

 _"O-Okay…"_

The line went dead, forcing the armadillo to end the call before he finally collapsed on a chair in the kitchen with a heavy sigh. He set his phone down on the counter before his eyes curiously wandered out the window, falling on the snow-covered mansion next door.

* * *

 _'I remember our study sessions in the library, just the two of us, and our whispers._

 _She was sitting in one of those rickety, wooden chairs while I leaned over her shoulder from behind, pointing at the questions on her paper._

 _Her hair was still long back then, and I'd get so close it'd tickle my cheek._

 _Sometimes I'd be so close to her that she'd blush and giggle at the chilling feeling of my breath on her neck._

 _"Despite how far campus is from civilization, which city are we in?"_

 _"Metropolis, right?"_

 _"Yep." I nodded, making her eyes light up like stars. "Now if we're in Metropolis, what three cities are neighboring us?"_

 _"Umm… Well, Mobotropolis, Soleanna, and... Mercia?"_

 _"Er, it's actually Downunda." I corrected her, making her slump down in her seat._

 _For someone so smart, she didn't have a clue when it came to geography. Thankfully I had more than enough knowledge on world geography to give her in exchange for her help in advanced mathematics._

 _I knew she was upset, but I couldn't help smiling. She was so cute. Bottom lip poked out, with those big green eyes._

 _"I'll never pass that test." She mumbled._

 _"Of course you will." I assured her, wrapping my arms around her from behind, coaxing a blush out of her once more. "You've got the best geography tutor ever, and you're really smart Nicole."_

 _"I might just play sick that day. As smart as you think I am, I really just don't get this stuff."_

 _"Then we'll keep practicing until you do get it." I replied, pulling up a chair beside her._

 _She just smiled at me, nodding her head in agreement before we commenced studying for hours and hours._

 _The next day, I waited for her outside of her history class. I expected her to come out in a mess of tears, but to my surprise she was ecstatic. Hopping up and down with joy until she spotted me waiting by the door and ran up to me._

 _"Shard!" She squealed with glee, holding up a white paper to my face. "_ _ **I PASSED WITH FLYING COLORS.**_ _"_

 _"Wow, that's great Nicole!" I told her, "See? I knew you could do it."_

 _"Only thanks to the best geography tutor ever." She blushed, dropping the paper to throw her arms around me._

 _That was the first time she ever hugged me. Also the first time a girl's ever given me that butterfly feeling in my stomach, or even made me blush._

 _It wasn't just because she was the only other DigItalian person in school, there was something else that made me feel so drawn to her. Something I honestly can't explain._

 _I miss those days._

 _Those days where it was just us._

 _Before she ever even knew him._

 _The days she saw the potential in me to be a good person._

 _I wonder what she sees when she looks at me now…'_

Shard stood in front of the mirror that hung over the counter of sinks in the boy's bathroom. Her frowned at his thoughts, staring at his shirtless reflection in the mirror as he grazed the healing cut on his neck with his fingertips.

"A monster…" He whispered to himself.

* * *

With his father on a world tour, and hometown so far away, Ken was one of the many students who were forced to stay behind on campus for vacation. He didn't mind very much though. Growing up as son of the best MMA fighter in the world, he was used to spending holidays by himself while his father was busy with career life.

However, his father, Lao Khan was far from a neglectful parent. Even while on tour, he made it a point to call his son every day, no matter where was or what he was doing. And when he couldn't, he made sure family friend, Li Moon would call and check in on him.

The handsome boy sat with legs crossed on his bed, tossing his phone to the side with an eye-roll after having his phone call declined for the third time by Sally Acorn, the only friend and female he was remotely interested in at this new school of his.

 _'Wonder if mystery guy got to her…'_ He thought to himself before that familiar feeling of weakness hit him.

He winced in pain, grabbing his arm before falling back onto his mattress. He clenched his teeth in anger, fighting back a howl of pain as sweat began to bead on his forehead.

"Shit…" He hissed, rolling on his stomach to reach down into the duffle bag he kept beneath his bed. "I don't usually feel like I need it more than three times a day." He grimaced, pulling out a tourniquet, needle, and small vial.

He sat up to set them down in front of him on the bed, sitting up to perform the typical task with shaking hands.

He took the blue band, using his free hand and mouth to secure it around his upper arm. Then he went for the needle, popping the cap off to poke into the vial. He pulled back the plunger, allowing the device to fill up with the yellow-tinted liquid. Then he braced himself as he placed the needle at the most visible vein in his left arm where several old puncture wounds resided.

Once he pushed down the plunger, he felt a cooling sensation ride up his arm, breathing out in relief as the weakness in his muscles faded away.

He then undid the blue band, discarding that and the used needle into the bag he had pulled them out of.

But when he picked up to vial to stow away in the bag, his eyes widened in horror as he realized there was nothing left in it.

"Oh no…"

* * *

 _"So, what you're telling me is…you're banging your bro's girlfriend now?"_

 _"Is that the only part that got through your thick skull, dumbass?"_ Shadow growled over the phone at the green hedgehog chuckling on the other line, _"And he's not my brother."_

Ever since yesterday, Rosy had been a bit off. Her usual snarky attitude replaced with a more antsy and nervous demeanor. After a bit of interrogation, he'd come to learn that Mephiles had threatened her in his absence yesterday.

Having known Mephiles almost all his life, the red-striped boy knew that he thrived on the fear and distress an approach would bring, so opted against a direct approach.

Rosy had been so lively and well these past few days, and just that one visit had all of Shadow's progress falling apart.

He needed to get her away from here, from him. Give her time to steel her nerves, to heal from both her self-inflicted body wounds, and the mental ones the gray-striped hedgehog had given her.

After some time of just lazing around and talking like they have been this whole week, the pink girl dozed off.

He sat up beside the sleeping girl, red eyes occasionally falling toward her snoozing face. He took the opportunity to make a call, hoping that best friend Manic could help him figure out what to do since it seemed the roles between him and Rouge had been reversed, and she was giving him the cold shoulder.

 _"Dude, that Rosy chick is way messed up. There's a reason she always gets the single in the girl's dorm every single year. Everyone's afraid of her—"_

 _"You guys just don't know her."_ Shadow cut the green boy off coldly, _"Or what she's been through…"_

 _"Maybe not, but you're not in the right frame of mind to be playing Captain Save-A-Hoe either."_

 _"Hmph, you sound like Rouge."_ He grumbled in frustration, _"Clearly calling you was a mistake."_

 _"What did you call for exactly anyway?"_

 _"Rosy can't heal if Mephiles comes reeling his ugly head every time I leave the room. I need to get her off campus, even if just for a little while. Seeing as how there's a week left of vacation, I was wondering if we could crash at your house."_

 _"Sorry, but the parentals and I aren't exactly on speaking terms at the moment…."_

 _"Damn…"_ Shadow cursed, _"Then what the hell can I do?!"_

 _"Well, you can always go home."_

 _"Yeah, right. That's sure to bode over well with Rouge. She's not exactly a big fan of me seeing Rosy right now either. Don't know why, I never bitched at her for dating anyone."_

 _"Really? You seriously don't know why?"_ Manic remarked in a snarky tone.

 _"Not a clue."_

 _"Dude, you know she likes you right?"_

 _"Obviously. We're friends."_

 _"Not like that, idiot. I mean she like,_ _ **LIKES**_ _you."_

 _"No she doesn't."_

 _"Uh, yes she does."_

 _"No."_

 _"How are you gonna tell me?!"_ Manic scolded the ebony hedgehog, _"She and I talked about it just yesterday."_

 _"You're just an idiot."_ Shadow replied.

 _"I'm an idiot!? You're the dumbass pushing away the only stable thing in your life to pursue your brother's psycho fuck buddy!"_

 _"He's not my brother."_ The red-striped boy reiterated angrily, _"And she doesn't like me the way you or her think. That idiot counselor must have put some stupid fairytale shit in her head."_

 _"Yeah whatever. Keep avoiding the obvious, Smartass."_ Manic huffed, _"I gotta go. Someone's knocking on my fucking door. See you next week."_

The call ended, and Shadow pulled the cellphone from his ear. He stared at the screen with a grimace, using his thumb to scroll through his contacts until Rouge's name was highlighted.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 ** _Shadow:_** _I'm coming home tomorrow. We'll talk when I get there._

* * *

"Knock, knock." Bunnie cooed, slowly pushing the door to her boyfriend's room open, frowning as his muffled whimpers became more coherent. "Sugah-Twan, it's me." She added upon entering and closing the door behind herself.

Her heart ached at the sight of him, lying flat on his stomach with face buried into his pillow as he wailed uncontrollably.

He hadn't been returning any texts or calls, worrying her enough to call his father to check on him. That's when Armand had the misfortune of informing Bunnie on the release of Rotor's tormentor, and begged her to come over to comfort Antoine.

After informing her aunt and uncle that she had to tend to the coyote in Mercia and saying her farewells to Matilda and Ray, the outgoing rabbit hitched a painfully long bus ride to the city of Mercia.

"Antoine…" She murmured, dropping her large, leather, brown bag by the door before walking over to take a seat beside the sobbing boy, resting a kind hand on his shoulder to shake him lightly.

He sat up and turned to look at her, chest heaving up and down as he wiped his tears away on the back of his long red sleeve.

"Th-They…Let zat monster go…" He stammered through tears and heavy sobs.

"I know, Hun. I know…" The rabbit shushed him, bringing him in for a hug as she rocked him gently. "It's awful."

"I just don't understand." He sniffled, resting his head on her chest as he spoke the thoughts that ailed him. "How could zay just let him go? After everything our friend had endured at his hands. Ze bullying, and ze torture…"

"I don't know, Sugah. Sometimes justice isn't fair."

"No one even cared when thiz happened. Everyone just moved on…" Antoine murmured, pulling away from the hug to wipe his face once more, "I bet if he was popular zey would all be weeping even now, but no. No one cared about us losers…"

"Oh, Darlin'." Bunnie reached out to him, jade eyes full of sorrow.

"Maybe Sonic had the right idea getting away from us when he did…" He remarked with a pained expression, "No one carez about freaks like us… I could be gone tomorrow, and no one would notice—"

"Antoine, you hush now." The blonde girl beside him cut him off, pulling his face toward hers to lock their eyes in a battle of jade and sapphire. "You know Sally wouldn't like you talkin' like that, and I certainly don't. Just because we aren't caught up in drama like all the dummies at school doesn't mean we don't matter. We've got each other. You, me, Nicole and Sally-Girl. That's all we need."

The coyote just nodded along, taking in her kind words as he slowly began to calm down in her grasp.

"I just hate thiz…" He confessed, falling into her for another warm hug. "Why does zis monster get to live free? Why iz my best friend in ze ground?"

* * *

Tikal got out of her car, slamming the door behind her as she looked up to the big sign hanging over the crummy building she'd driven to in the downtown area of Metropolis.

 _No Zone_

That's what the sign above the crummy building read in bright red lights. A little bar her co-workers Zector and Zespio said their hedgehog friend was very fond of.

Despite the sketchy vibe of the area, the echidna steeled her nerves and began walking toward the entrance.

She wore a simple outfit of a white T-shirt, blue jeans with gray ankle boots, and a long gray peacoat thrown over top. Her hair was loose, picking up with the wind as she briskly walked over the mini mountain of snow blocking off the shoveled sidewalk.

Once inside, she looked around at all the occupants, quickly spotting the blue hedgehog slumped over the counter by the bar tender. A half-smile crossed her face at seeing him after such a long time without word from him. However, it soon fell when she noticed the disheartened expression on his face.

"Hey you…" She greeted, setting down her purse on the counter before taking a seat on the stool beside him.

He side-eyed her, surprised to see her although it didn't show very much. He was dressed casually same as her, quite an odd sight for her considering she had only ever seen him in his security outfit.

"What do you want, and how'd you find me?" He grumbled, beckoning the bar tender over with a hand gesture to fill his drink.

"Zector and Zespio told me if I couldn't find you at your apartment that you'd be here." She explained with an awkward giggle after declining a drink from the attentive bar tender.

"Figures." Zonic rolled his eyes, downing the shot in one gulp. "So, what do you want? Don't you have a wife to get to?"

"Zonic…" Tikal frowned, loathing the coldness he was displaying. "We're worried about you. Ever since that date with Bernadette you've been so…off."

"Am I not allowed to be a little upset at another failed date?" The blue hedgehog remarked sarcastically, blue eyes narrowed at the innocent echidna woman. "Or has being out of the dating scene so long made you forget how shitty it can feel?"

Being a psychiatrist, she read much deeper into the vague words of bitterness, trying to pinpoint the route of his sudden change in demeanor. The more he drank, the more he talked, and the more he talked…the more evident it became that he was incredibly lonely, and the holidays had amplified that pain.

She humored him, ordering a light drink as she listened to his drunken ramblings, heart aching for him although he didn't seem to notice how much of his heart he had been pouring out to her.

"Zec and I were raised by the same foster parents for ten years. Then we got moved without warning to another home where we met Zespio. I always knew there was something going on between them. Honestly, it wasn't really a surprise when they came out to me our first year of high school."

"It didn't bother you? To know that they'd fallen in love?"

"Of course not." Zonic shook his head in dismissal, "Love is love, but I can't say that I wasn't jealous…"

"Jealous?" Tikal rose an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Love is something that…that eludes me." He confessed, blue eyes falling to his empty glass. "Zector and I grew up in the exact same way… So how come he was able to find love, and I'm not? Why does everyone around me get to experience it? Am I not allowed? What am I doing wrong? Why is every date I go on a disaster?"

"Oh, Zonic…" The echidna murmured hands flying to her mouth as her eyes glistened with forming tears.

"All I really want is someone to share my life with, maybe even have a couple kids." He choked out, "A family…"

"I'm so sorry…" She whimpered, quickly wiping her eyes before standing up from the stool. "But I think I should drive you home now. It's late." She added, helping him off the stool.

"There was this one girl back in high school… I was never brave enough to approach her, but she was everything I ever saw in my dreams. The girl I honestly think I was supposed to marry, but let slip by me…" He rambled on as Tikal helped him out toward her car. He smiled at her as she set him down in the passenger seat. "You know, you actually look kinda like her."

"Do I?" The echidna played along, although she focused more on her driving than his drunken drabble.

"Yeah. Her name was Mari-An." He mumbled as his lids became too heavy to keep open. "Mari-An…the Echidna…"

* * *

"Sonia, I don't wanna freakin' talk right now—" Manic groaned as he swung open the door to his room, expecting to see his sister staring back at him, only to find that it was his father knocking.

The features of his face tensed immediately, and he quickly attempted to slam the door shut, but the military-experienced hedgehog was just too quick with reflexes, swiftly lodging his foot between the door and the frame before pushing it back open with ease.

"What do you want?" The green boy snarled, stepping back as the older hedgehog allowed himself entrance.

"We need to talk, Manic."

"Like I've said before, there's nothing for us to talk about—"

"Yes there is." Jules cut him off in a serious tone, definitely shaking the teen a bit.

Manic clammed shut, glaring harshly at his father before turning around to plop down on his bed. There was a long, chilling, silent tension between them.

Manic sat with his arms crossed while Jules stood in front of the closed door, their blue eyes locked as an unspoken conversation commenced with just their eyes.

This was the longest Jules had ever looked at his youngest son, so used to avoiding even the sight of him.

"I'm…divorcing your mother." The blue hedgehog finally spoke, breaking the silence.

"Good." Manic replied without even an ounce of care, "Now I don't have to ever see you here when I get home anymore."

"I…" Jules trailed off, eyes falling to the wood of the floor as he lost the confidence he had entered the room with. "I suppose." He finally agreed, turning around to take hold of the knob again.

He came in here with intentions to speak to his son, apologize for Christmas, among other long overdue apologies, but he lost his nerve.

Just before he could pull the door open and walk away, his son's voice rang in his ears, taunting him to turn back around.

"So that's it, huh?" Manic called out in a cold tone, "After everything, that's all you have to say—"

"Just what do you want me to say?!" Jules wailed in confusion, surprised when he turned around to see tears trickling down the green hedgehog's face.

"I wanna know why..." The teen replied with an edge to his voice, hands shaking as he gripped his pants tightly and looked right at his father through teary eyes. "I wanna know why you hated me so much."

"I **NEVER** hated you, Manic." His father corrected him, tears peaking from the corners of his own eyes as he walked across the room to kneel down in front of the bed where his son was seated, forcing himself to stare at the crying teen. "I just…couldn't look at you…without seeing him…"

Manic's eyes fell to his lap as his heart sank, fully aware of who his father was referencing. The older green hedgehog he used to call best friend, Scourge the Hedgehog.

Vague memories of Scourge telling him how his parents had left him swirled around Manic's mind. So many questions raised, but no answers.

"You just look so much like him." Jules confessed, putting his head down as his tears fell to the floor. "It was hard to look at you and not see the son I left behind. It was difficult for me to show you affection without feeling so damn guilty…"

"How could you do that to him?" He mumbled, tears staining his green sheets. "How could guys just leave him there like that?"

"I didn't have a choice." His father told him, "I never would have imagined you'd find him. Your mother didn't want you or your brother and sister to know about him—"

"Is that why it was so easy for you to love Tails?"

Jules only nodded in confirmation, getting to his feet before he rested a hand on the teen's head, making look up at him.

"He didn't break my heart when I looked at him, the way you did. Manic, I want you to know you're not at fault for anything. It was me who couldn't separate the two of you in my mind, and it's what costed us any relationship we could have had, and for that I'm sorry. Regardless, of what you may think…I do love you, Son…"

And with that, Jules stepped back, and silently turned to finally walk out the door, leaving a wide-eyed Manic to stare at the door that closed behind him, drowning in a pit of confusing emotions.

* * *

"Lara-Su?" Julie called out, opening the door to her daughter's room to peek her head in, only to find it empty. She shut it, walking back out toward the stairs. "Lara, where are you? It's bedtime."

The pink echidna sighed heavily, holding the small of her back as it ached with every step she took downstairs. She was no longer bedridden, but still a bit ill.

The wooden steps creaked under her bare feet, her magenta sweats so long they dragged along, the strings tying them up at her waist bouncing with each step along with her extra-long ponytail swishing back and forth behind her.

Once she finally came to the bottom of the staircase she turned her head out toward the living room below, intent on calling out for her daughter one more time, but stopped herself once she spotted the little girl.

Her mouth quickly curved up into a huge smile, heart fluttering at the sight.

The TV was on, one of the little girl's favorite cartoons playing a marathon. On the couch across from it were Lara-Su and Knuckles, who must've fallen asleep watching it with her.

Knuckles laid on the couch with eyes closed, lightly snoozing with one of his arms hanging lazily from the couch. On top of him, beneath the thin pink blanket was little Lara-Su. Her head rested on his chest, thumb secured in her mouth, and eyes shut with her glasses resting on the nearby coffee table.

She'd been catching them doing such adorable things like this a lot since Christmas, and although it warmed her heart to see the little girl finally coming around, it also broke it to think about what troubles were ahead of them…

She walked closer, giggling silently after noticing the striking similarities between them. Their color, their expressions, almost everything.

She would have left them sleeping like that all night, but she couldn't help the kitchen phone's ringing.

 **RING, RING!**

The sleeping red echidnas immediately sprung to consciousness, Knuckles jumping up with the little girl in a protective manner before relaxing at the realization that it was just the phone.

"Julie?" Knuckles grumbled, rubbing his eyes exactly the way the little girl did. "What time is it?"

"It's almost eleven." The pink girl informed him, kneeling down to face her tired daughter. "Don't cry, Sweetie. It was just the phone."

"Who the hell is calling this late?" He muttered.

"I have no idea. Just let it ring." Julie-Su shrugged, "C'mon Lara. Say goodnight to Knuckles so I can bring you to your bed."

"Okay, Mommy." The little girl cooed, turning around to look at Knuckles.

Without her glasses she had to squint to see him, mostly seeing a red blur, but she was too tired to really care. She threw her little arms around his neck, bringing her head up to kiss his cheek.

"Goodnight Da-I mean, Mr. Knuckles…" She corrected herself quickly, the syllable alone making Knuckles and Julie-Su's eyes widen with both excitement and shock.

"Umm… Okay, Hun. C'mon." Julie-Su blushed, picking up the little girl before she started off up the stairs. "I'll meet you in bed." She whispered toward Knuckles, sure to exchange his giddy smile.

Once they were gone he sank in the couch, heart literally doing backflips at almost being called _'Dad'_ by the little girl he'd grown so close to this vacation. The world around him seemed so much more colorful, and the future couldn't be any brighter in his mind.

 **RING, RING.**

"Ugh. What the actual fuck." He cursed upon being snapped out of his happy trance by the annoying phone in the kitchen again.

Unable to just ignore the persistent ringing, he got up from the couch and took off toward the kitchen, glaring coldly at the phone literally ringing off the hook. He picked it up with a grumble, raising to his ear before answering.

 _"Hello?"_ He greeted sleepily, _"If you're looking for Dimitri, he won't be home for another week, but I can take a message for him."_

 _"Are you having fun playing house?"_ The voice on the other line mocked angrily, making the sleepy echidna shoot his eyes wide open, fully alert.

 _"…Thrash?!"_

 _"How are my girls? They must miss me, not that they'll need to for long."_

 _"You've got some fucking nerve, and what the fuck is that supposed to mean?!"_

 _"Didn't Julie tell you?"_ The devil hissed, _"I filed for custody of_ _ **MY**_ _daughter over a week ago, but Julie called me and we struck a deal. She was desperate not to get the courts involved."_

 _"A deal?"_ Knuckles repeated angrily, _"What fucking deal?!"_

 _"I get visitations with Lara-Su starting tomorrow."_

 _"Why would she agree to that…and not even tell me…"_

 _"Guess you aren't as special as you thought you were. Hell, she probably misses me like crazy—"_

 _"You're a piece of shit. You're crazy if you believe that—"_

 _"Yeah? But I know my daughter must miss me. Must ask about me a lot too."_

At this point the echidna was shaking with rage, infuriated by the idea of Julie going behind his back to talk to the bastard who had abused her for years.

Deep in his heart he knew that if Thrash was to come back around, there'd be no chance for him and Lara-Su…

His knees wobbled as his breathing deepened, and he spoke with a bit of panic.

 _"Why would you want to see her… You know she's not yours… You didn't want her…"_

 _"Yeah, but I know you do."_ Thrash remarked, _"I couldn't think of a better way to hurt you both, and this is just a start. Sweet dreams Knuckles, but don't get too comfortable in_ _ **MY**_ _bed."_

* * *

 **This chapter was mainly in tribute to secondary/minor characters who we haven't seen very often, while also serving as the building blocks for current and future situations.**

 **-If you haven't picked up on it, Aleena is prone to falling into fits of depression that cause her to shun the world when triggered, obviously straining the relationships between her and her family as evident with Jules' frustrations toward her. It's one of many factors on a big list of why their marriage has been so strained.**

 **-After refusing to address the altercation she had with Manic on Christmas, Jules decides to talk to their son himself with the intentions of apologizing for his mother's actions and dropping the divorce bomb on him. Neither he nor Manic expected their conversation to go that deep.**

 **Jules admits to never hating Manic, only finding it hard to look at or love him without seeing the son they left behind, Scourge. This conversation also marks the first time Jules has ever referred to Manic as his son, or even acknowledged him as such.**

 **How will Manic be now that he's got that closure he's always wanted from his father? Better yet, just what happened to cause Jules and Aleena to abandon Scourge in the first place?**

 **After his mother using her 'assets' to 'persuade' a few court officials, she managed to snag Jet the best lawyer Mobius has ever seen, who not only set him free but got him back into Green Hill Academy. However, according to Storm and Wave, he isn't the same boy they used to know.**

 **Is that a good thing?! Or a very, very, very terrible thing?**

 **Shadow and Rosy have been living a dream these past few days alone together, but who'll be the end of that dream? Rosy's mental disorders? Shadow's PTSD? Mephiles' schemes? Or a distraught Rouge with complicated emotions?**

 **Lastly, Thrash is finally coming back full-force, with nothing but cold revenge to serve up. Apparently, those papers Rosy had unknowingly delivered from Mephiles to Julie-Su were from his buddy, Thrash. Custody papers to be specific, meaning that he's trying to take Lara-Su away from Knuckles and Julie-Su PERMANANTLY.**

 **To avoid going through the court system, Julie-Su secretly struck a deal with Thrash, shockingly allowing him visitation without consulting Knuckles at all.**

 **If Thrash is back in the picture, with Knuckles ever hope to be acknowledged by the little girl as her father? Or will this whole situation push him back into his reckless and selfish behaviors?**

 **Nack the Weasel- A senior notoriously known to have the 'dirt' on everyone and the means to expose anyone on his popular blog.**

 **Shard Metal- A very lost sophomore boy who can't see beyond his violent past, viewing himself as a weapon of sorts to be used or pitted against others like nothing more than a pathetic dog.**

 **Shade the Echidna- A newly transferred senior and a sports star in the making. Also known to be incredibly attractive, incredibly cunning, and…incredibly vengeful.**

 **Blaze the Cat- A sophomore girl who went from being an idolized sports star to practically nothing within just a few months of her second year. Insecure, lost, and easily manipulated.**

 **Just what use could Mephiles possibly have for these characters?**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **After not hearing from Amy, Sonic takes a moment to reflect on his decision**

 **Matilda and Ray have a heart-to-heart conversation on Mighty and Fiona's situation**

 **A scorned Fiona is clearly back to her wicked ways.**

 **Nicole gets a surprise visitor**

 **A heartbroken Amy stumbles out on her own…**

 **A certain someone makes a very big mistake**

 **And so much more!**


	67. Chapter 67

**WARNING:** **Some sexual themes, physical assault, and vague mention of suicide**

* * *

 **Chapter 67: Painful Conversations**

After Thrash's surprise phone call, Knuckles angrily stomped his way upstairs, intent on confronting Julie-Su about the supposed deal she made with the devil.

By the time he came upstairs, she had already put Lara-Su to bed, and fallen asleep herself.

The next morning he was woken by the sun's light breaking through the curtains, making him groan in frustration as he turned on his side to shield his face. When he did so, his hand fell to the other side of the bed where his girlfriend usually laid, but she wasn't there.

That's when he opened his eyes to see the empty half of the bed, recalling Thrash's words. The red echidna growled angrily, tearing the sheets off himself to leap up on his feet and storm downstairs.

"Lara?" He yelped as he came closer to the little girl standing by the front door, putting her mittens on.

"Good morning." She greeted him with that sweet smile, "Are you coming with us too?"

"Where are you going?" Knuckles asked her, squatting down to be at eye-level with her.

"We're going to see D—"

"The doctors." Her mother cut her off, making Knuckles stand upright to turn and look at her strolling into the room as she put her coat on. "We're going to the doctors."

"But, she's not sick." He replied in a skeptical tone as he stepped closer to the pink girl.

"You know I've had a cold these last few days." Julie-Su reminded him, "I just wanna take her to get checked out and make sure she's alright."

"I guess that makes some sense. Just let me get dressed and I'll drive—"

"No." She refused before he could even finish, walking passed him to grab Lara-Su's hand. "It's fine. I've already called us a cab. We'll be back in a few hours."

He wanted to protest, to argue even, but instead he just breathed a heavy sigh and nodded in understanding. Julie-Su rushed back to kiss him on the cheek, allowing Lara-Su to give him a goodbye hug as well before they took off hand-in-hand out the door, shutting it behind themselves.

 _'She's lying….but why?'_ He thought to himself as he walked over to the couch and collapsed onto it. _'If she lets him back in Lara-Su's life, she'll never see me as her dad. It'll make all this fucking effort I've tried to put in for nothing… It'll make leaving Rouge have been for nothing… Chaos dammit, I should have argued…'_

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 ** _Shade:_** _Hey there. I know it's vacation time, but I'm calling a team meetup._

* * *

Mari-An stood outside of Amy's room with her ear pushed against the door. She couldn't tell for sure, but she swore she could hear sobbing.

"Amy?" She called out, knocking lightly on the door. "Is everything alright?"

There was some shifting and movement heard until the lock on the door finally clicked, and the pink girl pulled it open to face the echidna woman.

She was geared up in her winter attire. This time a snow-white jacket, black pants, and knee-high white boots with a single red stripe down the middle. Her quills were brushed back by her typical red headband, which matched the dazzling red emerald hanging off her neck.

She wore her usual cheery smile, doing away with any worries her caretaker had.

"I'm fine Mari-An." She giggled, "I just had headphones on."

"Oh, sorry. I was just worried when you weren't answering. And you hardly came out of your room at all yesterday."

"You know me and my drama shows." Amy waved in dismissal, "Just got wrapped up in some fake love story…"

"I see." Mari-An nodded, "Well, I'm prepping the chicken for dinner tonight. Can Rob and I expect a certain friend of the boy variety over tonight?"

"Umm, actually no." The pink girl shook her head, "He's…busy."

"Oh, that's a shame. We were looking forward to meeting him." The echidna frowned, "Well, perhaps next time."

"Yeah…"

"Are you off somewhere? You're all dressed up."

"I'm just gonna walk into town and do some window shopping."

"Alright then. Don't stay out too long. You know your cousin hates you outing by yourself."

"I know." Amy nodded, turning down the long hallway. "I'll be back later…"

Mari-An eyed the girl skeptically. Although her cheery smile gave off an innocent vibe, something about the way the pink girl spoke didn't sit right with her. Even so, she wrote off her worried feelings as just overthinking, and decided not to press the issue.

 _'Window shopping…'_ Mari-An wondered as she watched Amy take off _, 'How strange. She usually begs for a gold credit card every time she wants to go shopping…'_

* * *

 _'She hasn't texted or called…_

 _I wonder if she's okay._

 _Who am I kidding? She's probably somewhere balling her eyes out._

 _Hating me with all her heart…_

 _It wasn't easy, choosing between them._

 _Amy's always been there for as long as I can remember. Even when she moved away she made it a point to keep in touch any way she could._

 _The late night phone calls, the endless texting._

 _Even when she wasn't there she was. She kept me company. Thanks to her, I've never felt lonely._

 _She gets my humor, she gets my views._

 _She just…gets me._

 _She makes me feel like a king who deserves everything, and cheers me on like my very own cheerleader, even when I'm being totally wrong…_

 _I can only chalk up our failed relationship to miscommunication and bad timing._

 _Because there's no doubt in my mind that she's perfect for me…_

 _But I don't need perfect._

 _I need realistic._

 _I need a shot to the pride every once in a while._

 _I need someone that can keep up with me, not just cheer me on all the time._

 _I need someone to tell me when I'm wrong._

 _I need someone that'll help me think of someone besides myself…_

 _I'm really sorry Ames, but I need Sally…'_

Sonic sat on his bed, staring absentmindedly at the phone resting beside him as he thought of Amy, and how horrible she must have been feeling.

He didn't mean to hurt her, but letting her down gently seemed impossible at this point. If he hadn't followed Ms. Breezie's rules on anonymity when it came to the English project, he would have made it more apparent on who he was really writing about.

"Well, this is what I get for trying to be romantic." He muttered to himself, "At least I got a good grade…"

 **INOMING CALL**

He perked up upon watching the screen glow with life, leaning over to grab hold of it and pull it toward himself before finally picking it up. He half-hoped it would be Amy, giving him a chance to explain himself and give a more sincere apology, but fate had something different planned.

The picture glowing brightly on screen wasn't the pink girl at all, it was Sally. A silly-faced selfie she had sent him mocking his signature wink and thumbs up severing as her contact photo.

 _"Heya' Sal."_ He greeted, the sound of her adorable laughter completely dispelling all of his pervious thoughts.

 _"Hello Sonic."_

 _"What's up?"_

 _"Oh, nothing really. I just…"_

 _"Missed me?"_ He teased, smirking at the sound of her becoming flustered.

 _"Errr, shut it."_ She replied, embarrassed by his booming laughter through the speaker.

 _"We're dating now, remember? You're allowed to get all mushy and stuff."_

 _"I know."_ She sighed, _"So umm…has that Amy girl called at all?"_

Sonic sat up, surprised to hear the chipmunk mention the pink girl at all. Usually it's a pretty bad thing when your current girlfriend asks you something about your ex-girlfriend.

 _"No…"_ He replied in a disheartened tone, _"I've tried reaching out to her but…she's not having it."_

 _"Oh, I see…"_ The auburn-haired girl mumbled, _"I feel really horrible. I know she likes an awful lot and I—"_

 _"Hey, don't feel bad. She's a big girl. She'll get over it."_ Sonic cut her off, _"Besides, this was my choice. You have nothing to feel bad about."_

 _"I guess you're right…"_

He could tell by the tone of her voice that she really was sad, guilty even. He just wanted to take her mind off it any way he could.

 _"How about we go out on a date tonight?"_ He suggested, lightening the mood. _"Mall and movie date sound cool?"_

* * *

After a call from her employer, Rosemary and her son hopped in the car, and set out for Green Hill Academy. Apparently, the principal was desperate for a certain student file, but was too busy to retrieve it herself. So she called the school receptionist, who was more than happy to do the favor.

Tails tagged along, hoping he'd see some of his friends who resided on campus grounds for vacation.

Living in Metropolis, the drive to the school wasn't too far, just a little over an hour.

"Sorry to have to bring you back here during what's supposed to be your vacation, Sweetie." His mother apologized once she turned off the engine, sitting back in her seat to turn and shoot him a kind smile. "But Principal Acorn really needs my help on something."

"That's okay, Mom." Tails nodded in understanding, "While you're doing that, do you think it would be okay if I went and saw Cream and Cosmo for a few minutes?"

"Of course. I'll call you when I'm finished."

They both stepped out of the car, gazing at the snow-covered campus as though it had been centuries since they last saw it. The two foxes then made their way up the shoveled-pathway, going their separate ways as the path split between the dorms and main building.

* * *

"Are you sure this is okay? I'm not afraid of Mephiles. I'm just fine staying here."

"It's not about you being afraid of him. It's about me being afraid of him getting back in your head." Shadow replied, eyes drifting to the floor beneath them. "He's like a parasite."

"I've been going to this school for four years now, and I've never stood anywhere off campus unless I blacked out at a party."

"Don't worry." He told the pink hedgehog dressed in all black, cradling her cheek gently in his hand. "I'll be with you…"

She blushed at his warm touch, nodding in agreement. He let a half-smile cross his face before he brought his lips to hers for a brief kiss in the doorway of her dorm room.

"Just pack what you need for the week and meet me in the parking lot. I already called a cab."

He then took off, sprinting back to the boy's dorm where he planned to pack up a few of his own things. It was strange, opening the door to not be obnoxiously greeted with some stupid petname by his green roommate, or the sight of him and the bat girl sharing a cigarette.

The black hedgehog sighed heavily, stressed with not only keeping his new love safe, but the oncoming, unavoidable storm that was to be his conversation with Rouge.

He packed in silence. Emptying out his favorite red backpack of its notebooks and pencils to refill with random clothes he picked up off his side of the room floor.

"Off somewhere, are we?" A low voice mused from the doorway, an all too familiar one.

Shadow didn't even bother looking back, able to imagine his step-brother leaning up against the frame of the door with that wicked grin all on his own.

"Fuck off."

"Touchy." The hedgehog in the doorway huffed, "Perhaps I'll go talk to Rose while you cool off—"

"Don't." Shadow warned, whipping around to stomp over and point a warning finger to the other hedgehog. "Don't ever go near her again."

"So it is you…" Mephiles smirked, unmoved by the red-striped boy's warnings in the slightest. "Stealing your own brother's girlfriend? How crude of you—"

"You're **NOT** my brother, and she was never your girlfriend. You were taking advantage of her."

"And you want to be the hero that saves her from little old me?" The cruel teen remarked sarcastically, "Aren't you just as bad as me though?"

"You're joking."

"Think about it for a moment…" Mephiles urged, "I may manipulate people for my own benefit, but you use them just as much as I do."

"I'm not feeding into your bullshit. So get the hell out before I throw you out." Shadow growled at him, making him stand upright to walk out of the room.

"Fine…" The gray-striped boy shrugged, "Just remember what happened last time you wanted to play hero for some broken girl. I'd hate to see you go through such a thing all over again. Hmm, what was her name? Oh…that's right. Maria Robotnik…"

* * *

"Ray?" Matilda questioned, slowly creaking the door to her brother's room open to poke her head in and look inside.

She had heard loud rumbling and shifting outside of the door, concerning her greatly. All vacation he had been so sad, and just yesterday he had finally revealed to her the complicated situation with Fiona and their older brother.

When she looked inside his room, she saw him standing over the bed, zipping up his blue bag after stuffing it messily with clothes.

"Ray…" She called out weakly, fully opening the door to walk inside. "Where are you going?"

"Ba-Back to school." He replied, dropping the strap of the bag to look at the armadillo girl with sad eyes. "I need to ta-talk to Fiona…"

Matilda only shook her head, stepping toward him to rest one of her fake hands on his shoulder.

"Mighty said it was no use…" She reminded him of yesterday's phone call. "He already tried—"

" **HE PR-PROBABLY DIDN'T TRY HARD EN-ENOUGH!** " The squirrel cut her off with an upset tone. He then remembered who he was talking to, settling back down quickly. "I'm so-sorry. It's just…we were all getting al-along so well. Like when we were kids at th-the foster home… Then he had to ru-ruin it…"

"Ray…" His sister shook her head disapprovingly, "You can't blame Mighty for this…"

"Wh-Why not? He's the one he drove her aw-away."

"He made a mistake. We all do it sometimes." The green-shelled girl explained, "True, he should have approached the subject instead of flat out ignoring it, but you've got to remember Mighty isn't exactly experienced in the ways of romantic feelings. He was too busy taking care of us to really get into that sort of thing."

"St-Still…" Ray shook his head, resisting the urge to not be angry with his older brother. "All that pinning af-after the girl ne-next door was so dumb. Es-especially when he knew Fiona liked him."

"We can't help the way we feel sometimes. He's only ever seen Fiona the way he sees me, as his little sister. You and I both know he's had a crush on Amy Rose since we moved into the cottage last summer, long before Fiona ever came back into our lives." Matilda replied knowingly, letting go of the squirrel's shoulder to turn out of the room. "You're allowed to be angry with him for handling the situation wrong, Ray, but you can't be angry at him for not reciprocating her feelings. That's just something beyond his control."

He watched the door slowly shut behind her, and once it was shut completely he finally slid to the floor in silence. He brought his knees to his chest as he thought of the poor vixen. With all the rejection he had faced from Cream this year…he couldn't help but completely empathize with her.

* * *

 **KNOCK, KNOCK.**

A loud knock sounded from the front door, loud enough to be heard by the chipmunk woman standing in front of the stove in the kitchen, and the lynx standing beside her.

"Oh, could you get that please, Sweetheart?" Alicia asked the raven-haired girl as she stirred the contents of the large pot sitting on the front-left burner.

"Are you sure you'll be alright in the kitchen by yourself, Mother?" Nicole rose a skeptical eyebrow, making the chipmunk blush with embarrassment.

"I think I can manage cooking soup." She mumbled.

"Last time I heard that we were out buying a new stove the next day…"

"Just go get the door already."

"Fine." The lynx giggled before skipping off into the living room.

Sally and Elias had left earlier to meetup with friends. That just left Nicole to look after their mother in the kitchen, who wasn't exactly the greatest chef in the world.

Once the lynx grabbed hold of the knob and pulled the door open, her jade eyes lit up like stars, and her mouth fell slightly agape in disbelief.

"Espio!" She squealed, quickly leaping at him with arms wide open.

"Hey there." He greeted in his usual soft-spoken tone, lifting her off the front steps to twirl her around happily, eliciting a fit of giggles from her before he finally set her down on her feet.

"What are you doing here?!"

"I got tired of just phone calls." He shrugged, a small smile spreading out on his face. "Plus, your mom invited us over for dinner"

"Us?" Nicole questioned before she caught sight of the chameleon woman standing behind him.

"Hello, Nicole." The military woman greeted the now blushing lynx who bashfully waved hello.

"My mother didn't tell me anything about this."

"I thought it would make a nice surprise." Alicia chimed in, appearing in the doorway behind them. "I know how much you've missed him."

"Thank you, Mother." Nicole smiled, walking over to give her mother a hug.

"Well then, I hope your cooking has improved since our home-economics classes in high school." The tall chameleon woman smirked, making the chipmunk chuckle and rub her neck nervously.

"Actually, I was thinking we'd all go out to Chuck's pizza shop. It's a bit of a drive, but the food is worth it."

"What happened to the soup—"

"C'mon Nicole." Alicia cut the lynx off, dragging her back inside. "Let's umm, just go get our jackets! I'll text Elias and Sally we won't be home for a few hours."

* * *

When dinner time rolled around, Ms. Vanilla was bombarded with a slew of phone calls from parents of those girls who remained on campus, most of them calling to just check in with their children or hear about their behavior while alone at the dorms.

Seeing as how her mother was so busy, Cream opted to scurry off to the café for some food, not wanting to disturb her.

Walking outside caused immediate shivering, the temperature of the girl's dorm going from toasty to freezing cold with just one step. She hugged herself tightly as she breathed a cloud of smoke and wobbled hastily down the path toward the main building.

"Okay snow, Christmas is over. You can go now…" She joked to herself as she sped up her movements.

Once in the building and finally back to a reasonable temperature, she sighed in relief and began walking casually with hands stuffed in the pockets of her orange coat. Her light-brown eyes soon fell to the white tiles beneath her orange boots, thinking about how much she missed her friends.

At the start of the year, everyone was together and happy, but now things just seemed so complicated, and they all seemed to have drifted apart.

No one made an effort in the group chat they had set up on their phones anymore, half of her friends hadn't spoken to her for weeks, and the other half were off in their own little world.

She understood everyone had their own problems and lives, but that didn't stop her from missing the good times, times she desperately wanted back.

Like get-togethers at the triplets' house during summer break. Sonic, Shadow, and Blaze would always be in a race around the block while Manic and Amy sat on the corner timing them with a stop-watch. Rouge and Sonia would be off bickering in a corner somewhere over Knuckles. Eventually, the race would end in a big fight over cheating or something trivial, while Sonia and Rouge would go from verbal attacks to physical ones, leaving Tails and Cream herself to defuse the situations.

Everything always ended in laughter and hugs…but now it's just…

Silent.

In mid-thought, the rabbit's light-brown eyes rose to the spread of food, unintentionally catching the baby-blues of the girl standing before her.

"Cosmo…" She breathed out in surprise, the seedrian just as bewildered by her sudden appearance.

It wasn't as though the girls had been avoiding each other on purpose, they just hadn't had a run-in during vacation time at all.

Until now, that is.

"Hello Cream." Cosmo greeted her in that typical soft-spoken yet kind-hearted tone, "Here for dinner as well?"

"Uh, yeah." The rabbit nodded, an embarrassed hue of red to her face as she grabbed a green tray off the counter and began picking out from the assorted foods placed in front of them.

Cosmo did the same, both of them carrying on in an awkward silence with an obvious tension of sorts in the air.

Occasionally, when she was sure the green-haired girl wasn't looking, Cream would steal glances at her. She felt ashamed of herself for unintentionally coming between the seedrian and Tails, in turn ruining their relationship, and she kicked herself even now for having unresolved feelings for the seedrian's new supposed crush, Ray.

While stealing another glance, she noticed the yellow emerald on Cosmo's bracelet, her eyes widening in astonishment.

"That's…beautiful." Cream whispered, enough for the green-haired girl to pick up on.

"Oh this?" Cosmo questioned, taking hold of the emerald around her wrist. "Tails gave it to me for Christmas…"

"Oh, he did?"

"Is there something wrong with that?"

"No, no. I just…didn't know you were talking. I figured Ray might have given it to you…"

Cosmo only rose a brow, catching the hint of jealousy in the rabbit's tone at the very end.

"No, it was Tails. He also wrote me a very kind message." Cosmo responded, both of them picking up their trays to walk over to the table their friends used to gather at in the far back.

They both took a seat across from one another, doing their best to avert their eyes from each other as they bashfully poked at their food with their forks. Another awkward silence passed over them until Cosmo decided to break it.

"I guess our little love triangle wasn't as civil as we thought…"

"We can call it a love square now." Cream corrected her, "Seeing as how you've brought Ray into it."

"Ray?" The seedrian repeated, "What's Ray got to do with you, me and Tails?"

"Tails told me you left him because of Ray." The rabbit explained, gaze dropping to the table. "I don't know if Ray's mentioned, but he had a bit of a crush on me earlier on in the year, but I rejected him because I had feelings for Tails."

"I don't understand, Cream…" Cosmo sighed, in complete confusion. "Is this about Tails, Ray, or just me?"

Cream bit her lip, tightening her grip on the plastic fork as her eyes began to water with frustrated tears. Her voice remained as calm as it could, if not a bit shaky.

"I…I don't know. Honestly Cosmo, I don't know." She replied honestly, "I've liked Tails since when were kids. I never really saw myself liking anyone else, or him with anyone else. Then you came along. I didn't want to be petty like Rouge and Sonia, I didn't want hate you or be rivals, but it was hard to see you two together and not be jealous."

"Oh Cream…"

"When I heard you two finally broke up, I thought it would make me happy to know I had a shot…but it made me feel horrible." The rabbit went on, "Then he told me you were hanging out with Ray and that made me jealous too. When I rejected Ray it was because I couldn't imagine myself with anyone but Tails, but now I feel like maybe I was blindsiding myself. Now he's yours too, and you probably hate me."

"Cream." Cosmo called out again, sliding her hand over the table to rest on top of the rabbit's, coaxing her to look up into her blue eyes. "I'm not upset with you."

"You're not?"

"Of course not." The seedrian shook her head, "This environment jumbles up feelings and makes everything so confusing. We're learning who we are and what we want while we're here. Sometimes wires get crossed and feelings get mixed. I understand you're confusion and jealousy, but I don't want things to be cold between us."

"Me either, Cosmo. I don't mean to have these feelings…"

"I know." She nodded, "You're a caring person, and I look at you as a friend. A best friend even."

"Really?!" Cream asked, eyes widening as the seedrian nodded in confirmation.

"Ray was there for me when it felt like Tails wasn't. We weren't talking romantically at all. He just gave me courage and I'm grateful to him. He's a wonderful boy."

"I know he is…" The rabbit frowned, "He's very caring and amazing in his own special way."

"That's why I know you two will make the best couple." Cosmo giggled, making the rabbit blush.

"If he even wants that anymore." Cream mumbled, "I've hurt his feelings so many times. I doubt he'd ever like me again."

"Second chances do exist Cream." The green-haired girl informed her, "And I'm giving one to Tails."

"You are?!"

"Yes, but I want you to be okay with that too. As my friend and romantic _'rival'_ , I don't want to hurt your feelings again—"

" **HEY! COSMO! CREAM!** " A familiar voice called out, making both of them turn their heads. Both of their eyes lit up like stars to see him, the cheerful kitsune they were both incredibly fond of.

"Tails." Cosmo blushed, both girls standing up to rush over and greet him with a group hug.

While both of their heads were over his shoulders, Cream smiled at the seedrian, and spoke to her in a hush whisper that Tails couldn't hear.

"Yes…" Cream whispered, "It's okay, Cosmo. Be happy…"

They then pulled away from him so he could greet them individually. Cream smiled as the kitsune went in to hug the seedrian alone, their feelings for each other evident even in a hug so simple. Although jealousy still panged at her, she wouldn't allow it to control her like it had been, or confuse her either.

"Come sit with us." Cosmo ushered the fox to the table.

"Uh, sure." Tails shrugged, taking a seat beside the green-haired girl. "My mom's doing something in the office so I can hang a bit. Are you gonna stay Cream?" He asked, looking at the rabbit who stood with her eyes fixed on something across the café.

He followed her gaze, coming to a stop on the notorious couple of the malicious green hedgehog and stone-cold red vixen, Fiona Fox.

"Cream?" Tails called out once more, grabbing her hand to cease her movement toward the cynical couple. "What are you doing? That's Fiona and Scourge… The bad guys…"

"I know." Cream mumbled, "But Ray wanted me to give her message. As much as loathe those goons, I have to do it for him."

She then shook Tails' hand off, and began walking slowly across the café toward the red fox.

* * *

Back at the music store in Mobotropolis Mall, Sonia and Elias had just finished their routine rehearsal. They both sighed in relief once the song was over. Sitting on the wooden bench in front of the large piano, the squirrel arching his back to stretch, and the hedgehog rubbing the soreness from her fingers.

"I think we're ready." Elias smiled at her.

"You did great, Eli."

"So did you." He poked her nose, offering her a playful wink. "I guess I make a great muse."

"You're such a dork." She blushed, swatting him gently.

While practicing for his mother's wedding, the two had been spending more and more time together. More than making up for his absence in her life earlier on in the year. Every day her feelings for him grew deeper and deeper, falling more in love with him than she thought possible, but he seemed oblivious to it all.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

"Hang on." He told her, standing up to retrieve his cellphone from his pocket. "It's my mom."

 ** _Mom:_** _Vigil and Espio are here for a visit. Nicole and I are treating them to dinner. Won't be home until later. Love you._

"Ugh, great." The auburn-haired boy groaned, "The one time I forget my house key."

"What's wrong?" Sonia asks, standing up from the bench herself.

"Apparently, no one's gonna be home for a while, and I forgot my house key."

"No worries." The magenta girl waved in dismissal. "We can just hang here until they get back."

"Don't you have to get home soon? It's getting dark."

"Eh, with how weird my parents have been, I doubt their worried about when I'll be home."

"Fine then." He shrugged, offering the hedgehog his arm. "Food court?"

"You know it!" She winked, encircling her arm around his before they carried off down to the food court.

After some time, the pair of best friends found themselves seated at a table across from each other with a basket of nachos coated in cheese sitting between them. They'd been laughing, joking, and just talking about whatever came to mind as they snacked.

"I mean, if Manic is gay, he should just come out already!" Sonia whined, picking up another nacho. "I've told him a hundred times that he could talk to me about anything…including his sexuality. He's my brother. I'd love him no matter what."

"Has it ever crossed your mind that maybe he isn't gay at all?"

"If you're referring to crush he had on Amy when we were kids, that doesn't really count because back when he did like her she kinda looked like a boy."

"I've seen him flirt with Rouge from time-to-time." Elias shrugged, plopping a nacho into his mouth.

"But who doesn't Rouge flirt with?" The magenta girl rolled her eyes, "He's just friendly with her. If he wanted to have her Chaos knows he already could have, she's so damn easy."

"Well, he'll come out in his own time…if he is gay, that is."

"I wish he'd do it soon. I have so many cute boys in mind for him! Like Razor from my algebra class, or Cobar from my history class."

"You'll just have to put playing cupid on hold for him." The squirrel chuckled, "But hey, you could still play cupid for your other brother."

"Sonic The Slut-Hog?" Sonia snorted, crossing her arms in distaste. "Um no thanks. He's done a perfectly fine job of getting around on his own."

"He's not **THAT** bad…" Elias cringed.

"That brat Elise, cheersqaud captain Tiara, my old friend Madonna, Blaze, Amy, even Honey!"

"Did you just say Blaze?"

"Yeah, yeah." Sonia huffed, "Apparently it was some summer fling they had that Manic let out of the bag."

"Wow…I wonder if Silver knows." The squirrel muttered to himself before going back to address the magenta girl, "Well maybe instead of setting him up, you could help him settle down. Clearly he needs help with that…"

"Sonic? Settle down?" She laughed, "Now there's a funny joke. I bet your sisters don't give you this kind of migraine." She added, pinching the bridge of her nose as she thought of her promiscuous brother.

"Well, Nicole's been with Espio for a while. So no real worries there, and Sally isn't interested in anyone at our school as far as I know."

"Not interested in anyone?"

"Not at all according to her." Elias shrugged, reaching for another nacho.

"Oh yeah, she's totally into someone." Sonia giggled, nearly causing the squirrel to choke on his chip.

"Wh-What?"

"Silly, when a girl claims she's _'totally not interested in anyone at all'…_ she is."

"Sally wouldn't lie. There's just no…way…"

"Eli?" Sonia tilted her head, watching the squirrel furrow his brows in confusion. "What is it?"

"She has been going out an awful lot this vacation but all of her friends live in other cities…"

"Who is she going out to see?"

"I don't know. She never says. Just leaves and comes back, sometimes pretty late too…"

"Ohhh she must have a secret boyfriend—"

"Quit saying that! She does not."

"She totally does."

"Does not." He replied in a huff, pulling out his cellphone.

"What are you doing?"

"Texting Sally to ask if she has a secret boyfriend…."

All Sonia could do was burst out into a fit of laughter while Elias blushed in embarrassment and shot his younger sister a text message.

* * *

 _'I can't believe I told Rob and Mari-An he'd meet them…_

 _I feel so stupid._

 _I thought we moved passed the Scourge thing. He knows I only did that because I thought he'd like me better if I wasn't a virgin because he sure as hell isn't one._

 _We forgave each other…_

 _I just…_

 _What did I do wrong?'_

"Umm, excuse me." A voice called out, snapping the heartbroken Amy out of her dooming thoughts.

She blinked twice, recognizing the shoveled sidewalk she was walking down. She was just a few blocks from her cousin's mansion, out to get fresh air and think.

"Are you okay?" The voice called out again, luring her green eyes upward to meet innocent blue ones.

It was the armadillo boy who had left notes in her locker that melted her heart—although she assumed them to be from her favorite blue hedgehog.

He stood a head taller than her, looking down on her with the kindest of smiles. He had on a brown coat with pockets he stuffed his hands into, blank pants, and matching brown snow boots.

"I…I'm fine." The pink girl croaked out, eyes drifting toward the little cottage she'd been walking by.

"I…uh, I hope you don't think I'm stalking you or anything like that." He chuckled nervously, pointing toward the little cottage she had never noticed before. "I live here."

"It's so…small." She commented, making the blush on his face worsen.

"Yeah, but it is cozy." He replied.

Amy rose an eyebrow in surprise, finding it hard to believe such a small home could be comfortable at all. Having lived in a nine bedroom mansion for most of her life, she'd forgotten what simple living was, and thus found the tiny cottage to be quite intriguing.

"Can I….go inside?" She asked, turning to flash the armadillo a curious look.

"Uh…sure." He nodded, gesturing out toward the pathway to his front door with both hands. "After you."

She smiled before scurrying down the path and up the steps to the front door. Without instruction, she opened the door and made her way inside, jade eyes scanning the tiny but well decorated home with amusement.

It was simple, an open floor plan with the kitchen and living area separated by an island counter top. In the back was a small hallway that filed off into four rooms, one of which a tiny bathroom.

Mighty just watched her look around, confused as to why she had been out by herself in the cold when it was getting so dark out, and what her interest in the small cottage was.

Truth is, it reminded her of her old home in Mobotropolis. She lived in a tiny place just like this with her parents once. A vague memory. The home she remembered was much more grim and dirty, and what she saw in the armadillo's home was everything she only wished it would have been.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Mighty asked, resting a hand on her shoulder from behind, pulling her gaze back to him. "It's just…you were out in the dark all by yourself."

"I was just going for a walk to clear my head." She admitted before gazing upon the tiny home once more. "What about you?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, what were you doing out in the dark all by yourself?"

"Me? I well, uhh—"

Mighty tried his best not to fumble in front of the adorable pink hedgehog, but it was hard. He was used to admiring her from a far—from his kitchen window to be exact. Not at all used to having her so close or talking to him directly—at least not in real life anyway.

Alas, their conversation was cut by the loud roar of his hungry stomach, making him blush in further embarrassment as he hugged himself and chuckled awkwardly once more.

"Well, as you may have heard…I'm a bit hungry. My car's got a flat so I was going into town to find a replacement tire, and a McDonalds…"

Amy couldn't help but giggle, finding his embarrassment quite adorable. Talking to him felt so easy, and definitely kept her mind off the thoughts that had been troubling her.

"Mind if I tag along?" She offered, as if he couldn't be anymore flustered. "I was off to town for a bit of shopping myself."

"Um, sure! Yes! Absolutely" He nodded a little too eagerly.

"Great." She cheered, following close behind him out the front door they entered from. "It's Mighty, right?"

"Yeah." He mumbled shyly, not at all expecting this is how an evening trip to McDonalds would turn out.

* * *

 **CALL REJECTED**

 **CALL REJECTED**

 **CALL REJECTED**

She either wasn't getting service wherever she was, or flat out ignoring him. Either way, Knuckles was pissed beyond reason with his girlfriend.

He tossed his phone angrily to the empty passenger side of his vehicle, using both hands to turn abruptly into the school parking lot. He didn't bother taking it once he stepped out of his car and slammed the door shut. He just left it there as he made his way toward the electives building where the gym was.

Shade had called a meeting, and with Julie-Su and Lara-Su gone he saw no reason not to attend or blow off the basketball captain.

As he trudged toward the building his mind recalled bits and pieces of his conversation with Thrash, and how Julie-Su had been so secretive this morning, not relying anything to him whatsoever.

It infuriated him to know they were talking, but what infuriated him even more was not knowing what they were talking about.

 _'Does she want him in Lara-Su's life? Does she want him in…her life? What the fuck. Why the hell is she keeping shit like this from me! We're supposed to be a fucking team. What kind of relationship is this if she can't clue me in on important shit like this? She's my daughter too, dammit.'_

"My, my." A sultry voice mused, pushing the echidna out of his thoughts as he looked up to see he was in the gym, and the only other person inside was the sexy basketball captain. "Let's hope you're not that distracted out on the court for our game next week."

"Where is everyone?"

"They couldn't make it." She shrugged innocently, standing up from the top of the bleachers to make her way down toward him. Exaggerating the sway of her hips and the bounce of her chest as she did so.

"You should have fucking called and told me not to come then, idiot." Knuckles snapped at her, making her violet eyes widen in response. "Shit, I'm sorry." He apologized after realizing what he'd said.

"Hey…" She called out to him soothingly, resting a kind hand on his shoulder. "Wanna talk about it? We're not just teammates, we're friends too, remember?"

He looked at her curiously, a bit embarrassed at his outburst. She ushered him to take a seat on the bleachers beside her, their knees touching as they faced each other to talk.

Normally, he would have shrugged it off, but he was stressed and unsure of what to make about Julie-Su's decision to keep him in the dark.

"My girl's just…secretive lately, and it kinda has me on edge."

"Julie-Su, right?"

"You know her?"

"We've had our fair share of run-ins." Shade shrugged, "What do you think she's hiding from you?"

"I have no idea…" He lied, not wanting to gossip any further on his personal matters. "But I don't like it."

"Honestly, I know how you feel…" The orange echidna sighed, making Knuckles sit up to look her way.

"You do?"

"Yeah." She nodded, "My boyfriend—if you can even call him that—He's been pulling some secret shit on me too."

"You have a boyfriend? But that one time you tried to—"

"I know." She cut him off as he referenced the time she attempted seducing him, "I was angry with him because I think he's been cheating on me. So I wanted to use you to get back at him."

"Really? I'm sorry."

"He's been in the hospital a while. I tried calling him today, but some girl picked up, and I could hear a kid laughing in the background." She added, making him quite suspicious. "I think he's back to messing with his baby mama."

"…What?" Knuckles whispered, watching the echidna girl beside him burst into tears, covering her face in shame.

"He won't even tell me her name, because he knows I'd beat the fuck out of her! I'm so frustrated. We dated four years ago, but broke up because he got some slut pregnant. Then I moved to Echidnapolis to get away from the painful memories. As luck would have it, he moved there too. To torture me of course, the sick fuck. I thought when I transferred here that would be the end of it. Then he found me again, but this time he swore he wanted to get back with me. What a liar."

Her tears dripped through her fingers and fell onto the bleachers, a bewildered and empathetic Knuckles staring at her with mouth agape. Her story, those people she spoke of…sounded all too familiar.

"Who is this guy?" He finally asked, dreading the answer to come.

"Thrash." She mumbled before pulling her hands away to compose herself and look him dead in the eye. "Thrash the Devil."

Knuckles couldn't believe it, staring off into the distance as more horrible thoughts rattled in his mind about Julie-Su.

 _'She's…cheating on me? With the guy who abused her? No…Why? Why would she do that? There's no way…I…'_ His mind was an explosion of both angry thoughts and disbelief.

"I'm sorry Knuckles." Shade apologized, resting her head gently on his shoulder as she sniffled lightly. "For putting all this weight on you when you've clearly got your own issues. I just don't have a lot of people I consider friends here."

"No." He corrected her, pulling her head off his shoulder to cup her face in his hands. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For not caving sooner."

"Wha—"

Her response was muffled by his lips slamming hard against hers, and his hands pulling her closer. Her violet eyes widened in shock before settling down as she got on board, closing them while she deepened the intense kiss.

She moved closer before climbing onto his lap. The only time their persistent, lustful kisses stopped was when she reeled back to undo the buttons on his pants and do away with her shirt and sports bra.

Blinded by rage and feelings of betrayal, the red echidna decided to return the favor to his cheating girlfriend while also finding some comfort in the arms of the orange echidna girl he had laid out on the bleachers.

"C'mon Knuckles…" Shade panted between heavy moans, digging her nails in the red echidna's back as she wrapped her legs around his waist. "We'll make her…regret it…"

He then went on to perform yet another act of infidelity to mark on his record. It didn't feel right, like it did with Rouge. It felt wrong, terribly wrong. But he didn't care anymore.

About anything.

* * *

"Um, excuse me." Cream called out, reaching out but quickly retracted her hand from tugging the red vixen's arm. "Fiona?"

The fox girl didn't acknowledge her for some time, hoping she'd go away, but she wouldn't. So Fiona whipped her head around to glare at the nervous rabbit, nothing but coldness in her two-toned eyes.

"What the fuck do you want, Brat?"

Cream grinded her teeth harshly, but did her best to keep calm even with the rude greeting. She was here for one reason and one reason only, for Ray's sake.

"Ray called me the other day, and wanted me to rely a message to you." She explained, making Fiona just a bit curious. "He asked that you'd call him."

"Oh jeez. Poor Ray…" The vixen mumbled, grabbing the silver flask from her boyfriend's hand. "Can you give him a message back for me?"

"Um…Sure." Cream nodded, listening closely to make sure she'd remember everything to tell Ray during a future call.

That's when Fiona popped the top of the flask and filled her mouth with the vial liquid until her cheeks poked out. Then she kneeled down and spit the alcohol right in the rabbit's face, burning her eyes.

Cream clasped both hands over her face and caved to knees, screaming out in agony as she tried to rid her eyes of the burning alcohol.

Cosmo and Tails had been watching from afar, immediately springing from their seats to rush over and help.

"Tell him to fuck off." Fiona finished with a crude smile, tail swishing delightfully behind her as she watched the little rabbit cry out in such agony.

"Oh no." Cosmo cried out, kneeling to help the sobbing rabbit. "Cream we need to get you to the bathroom." She wailed, helping her up to her feet.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Tails shrieked angrily at the vixen, wiping the amused smile off her face.

"Oh, look at you." She rolled her eyes, "Trying to act all big and play hero."

"What happened to you?" He whimpered, an amused Scourge just watching from the sidelines. "I thought you found the good in you…"

"There's no good in anything." She huffed, "Not even you, Little Man. Or did you forget that already?"

"Huh?" Cosmo perked up, eyes shooting straight for the yellow fox standing toe-to-toe with Fiona. "Tails, what is she talking about?"

"Nothing—"

"Nothing?" Fiona snarled, "I wouldn't exactly call cheating _'nothing'_ , would you?" She looked toward a now wide-eyed Cosmo.

"Cheating?" The seedrian repeated, mouth falling open. "T-Tails?"

He froze, so unsure of what to say or do. Should he deny it? Say it never happened? Or tell the truth himself?

"That's right. Your good boy isn't so good after all." Fiona taunted further, eyes falling on the now semi-alright Cream. "And neither is your bestie."

"What is she talking about?" Cosmo asked her friends, neither of them responding. "What are you talking about?!"

"Well, if they won't speak up I guess I have to, right?" The cruel fox giggled, "These two have exchanged some smooches behind your little back."

"Wh-What…"

"So much for bestie and boyfriend, hmm?"

Cosmo suddenly released her grip on Cream's arms, taking steps away from them as her eyes began to overflow with hurt tears. Tails and Cream both looked back at her, completely mortified.

"Oh! On top of that, the only reason he ever even asked you out is because I rejected him. You were just the runner-up. I'd say your welcome, but clearly he's no prize like you thought either." Fiona added, only further hammering nails in the seedrian's fragile heart.

"Cosmo, wait." Tails called out, reaching out to grab her arm. "I can explain…"

" **DON'T BOTHER!** " She wailed, ripping the bracelet with the yellow emerald to throw back at him.

An injured Cream and Tails were just left in the café to stare after her disappearing figure, the sound of Scourge and Fiona's cynical laughter booming through the café as they made their own exit.

* * *

"That movie was awesome!" Sonic howled, fist pumping the air before bringing down his hand to rest over the blushing auburn-haired girl's shoulders. "Man, I wish the zombie apocalypse would just happen already."

"For the whole _'end of the world'_ situation there was a lot of…intimacy going on…" Sally muttered shyly, dropping her embarrassed gaze to the sidewalk as they walked out of the theater.

"Intimacy?" The blue hedgehog scratched his cheek, wondering what the word meant until it struck him, and he snapped his fingers. "Oh, you mean the crazy amount of sex scenes?"

"Mhm." She nodded, averting her uncomfortable gaze from him as they walked alongside each other.

"Oh? Is Glasses-Girl feeling uncomfortable?" He teased, grinning as he poked at her blushing cheek until she swatted him away.

"Stop it." She whined, face getting redder and redder as he kept up the playful taunting.

"Why? Cause you're all hot and bothered now?"

"I am not!" She yelped, turning to glare at his playful smile. "You big pervert."

"You sure?"

"Obviously."

He then ceased their walking abruptly by pulling her wrist to spin her into an unexpected hug. The blue hedgehog rested one hand at her hip, the other behind her head as he leaned forward and closed the space between them without warning.

Her face was as red as her hair, this being the first time he kissed her like this. His tongue slipping into her mouth to dance with hers, one of his hands lost in her auburn locks while he held the other at her waist.

Embarrassed and inexperienced, she tried to step back, but he'd only step forward, causing them to trail off from the sidewalk.

It came to a point where she could no longer back up, the wall of a building preventing her from doing so. He leaned closer, resting his entire body against hers as he kept up with his spontaneous kiss until he finally pulled away to flash her that seductive smile that had girls swooning his name wherever he went.

"How 'bout now?" He asked in a hush whisper that gave her goosebumps beneath her blue sweater.

He had such a confidence to him, something she lacked greatly herself. He was giving off such a romantic vibe, not to mention a very suggestive proposition.

He was so close to her, and with him right in front of her she had nowhere to look except right at him. His handsome face, those gorgeous jade eyes that set her heart ablaze.

All she could do was blush madly and tremble in response as her scattered brain tried to recollect its pieces.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

Then her phone went off, giving her the excuse to shove him back with all her might. He stumbled, chuckling as her shaking hands fumbled with the device.

 ** _Mom:_** _Vigil and Espio are here for a visit. Nicole and I are treating them to dinner. Won't be home until later. Love you._

"Shoot." Sally huffed, discarding the message before putting the phone back in her pocket.

"What is it?" Sonic asked curiously.

"That was my mom. She won't be home until later."

"So…" The blue hedgehog whistled, walking up behind her to wrap his arms around her waist and rest his chin on her shoulder. "No one's at your house right now?"

"Uh, I guess not." She mumbled shyly.

"Then what the heck are we doing out here in the cold?" He chuckled, his breath on her neck giving her chills as he whispered in her ear.

"C'mon." The chipmunk pouted, pushing him off her back. "Haven't you teased me enough?"

"Whoa, whoa." He rose his hands innocently, shooting her that same playful grin once more. "Who says I'm teasing?"

"We've only been dating a few days."

"But we've been pining after each other for months." He sang, eliciting a light chuckle from her.

"Yeah, yeah." She waved in dismissal, "You can knock it off now."

He rose an eyebrow, surprised by how sour her tone had gotten. She even crossed her arms and looked away.

"What?" He whined, confused by the sudden shift in mood.

"I'm starting to think you only act this way with me now because you've seen what I really look like…my figure I mean…"

He stopped walking once more, this time forcing her to stop and look back at his bewildered expression.

"Are you kidding me Sal?" Sonic huffed, clearly offended. "At this point, after everything we've been through…you don't believe I'm all in for real?"

"…"

"Sally. I like you. I **CHOSE** you." He reminded her, "And not to sound like a total douche, but if I wanted you just for your body…I would have had it already and been done with you."

"Nope. That totally doesn't sound douchey at all." She rolled her eyes.

He's never been a wise one when it came to words, and he sure didn't help his case with that last line. He bit his lip, thinking about what he could say or do to let her know what he was really feeling.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

Her phone rang once more, forcing her to fish it out of her pocket again while the hedgehog watched her with interest.

 ** _Elias:_** _So…I'm not mad or anything, and this is a weird question, but… DO YOU HAVE A SECRET BOYFRIEND?!_

"Secret boyfriend?" The auburn-haired girl yelped, mortified at the message on screen. "How does Elias know? Oh Chaos."

"What are you talking about?" Sonic asked, walking up to take the phone from her hand and read the message himself. "Oh…shit."

"Amy must have told all your friends and they must have told. Everyone probably knows by now, and rumors must be spreading like wildfire and—"

"Hey!" The hedgehog called out to her, resting both hands on her shoulders to snap her out of her panicked ramblings. "Calm down and kiss me."

"Wha—"

Before she could speak out again, he pulled her back in for another kiss that had her mind in a frenzy. However, she quickly pulled away at the snap of a camera click. That's when she noticed he had been holding his phone out, and took a photo of them.

"What are you doing?!"

"You don't think I'm all in, so I'm gonna prove it to you."

"Huh?" She questioned.

Then he held his phone out to her, making her sapphire eyes widen with the image he had posted on his Facebook page with the caption…

 _Sup world,_

 _Been a long while since I updated this stupid thing. So I thought I'd reintroduce myself. The real me. My name is Sonic the Hedgehog. I'm a sixteen year old junior at Green Hill Academy, and who's this girl right here you ask? Her name is Sally Acorn (aka Glasses-Girl) or as I like to call her, my girl. Yes,_ _ **MY**_ _girl,_ _ **MY**_ _girlfriend. How'd that happen after our little rivalry earlier this year? I have no clue, but I can tell you this…I couldn't be happier. I know it might bother or outright upset some of you, and to that I say fuck you. Fuck being popular. Being happy is way past cool._

She blushed, looking back up to his now sincere smile before she handed him back the device and threw her arms around his neck.

* * *

 **KNOCK, KNOCK**

"Mom, get the door!" Rouge hollered out to her mother, whom was much closer to the front door than she was.

 **KNOCK, KNOCK**

"Oh my fucking Chaos." The bat huffed, putting down the wash cloth she had been scrubbing her makeup off with at the bathroom sink. " **MOM!** "

 **KNOCK, KNOCK**

"Ugh!" She hissed, stomping out of the bathroom after tying her black robe tightly, leaving just a bit of cleavage exposed.

She stormed into the kitchen where she assumed her mother still was, only to find another note on the counter with some cash slipped beneath it.

"Figures." She rolled her eyes, taking the cash to slide in her pocket before taking off toward the door. "Old tramp."

 **KNOCK, KNOCK**

" **I'M ON MY FUCKING WAY DAMMIT!** " She bellowed angrily before finally reaching the door, swinging it open to have her teal eyes met with familiar ruby ones.

It was Shadow. A backpack swung over one shoulder, standing on her front steps, and beside him that deranged pink hedgehog she'd only heard nightmarish stories of.

The awkwardest moment of all their lives. Just standing in the doorway, exchanging glances under a heavy tension.

Shadow could practically feel the pink girl going into flight mode, quickly reaching for her hand to intertwine her fingers with his in an attempt to keep her from fleeing. The action getting an angry scowl from the underdressed bat.

"Your mom said it was okay." The black hedgehog spoke up, making his way passed her in the doorway while pulling Rosy quickly inside behind him.

Rouge turned, shutting the door as she watched the two hedgehogs scurrying up the stairs.

"What about that talk?" She commanded more so than asked, voice riddled with intimidation that didn't seem to shake him in the slightest.

"It's been a long day, and a long bus ride. I'm tired." He replied, going up the steps. "We'll talk tomorrow."

"Fine." She hollered after him, wanting to get the last word in more than anything.

* * *

 **So…Knuckles has fallen back into that old fuckboy habit of cheating, driven over the edge by Julie-Su's secretive antics. He did everything to prove he could be someone respectable and trustworthy, but felt that his efforts were futile either way if she couldn't confide in him…in turn having him make a big mistake. Sleeping with Shade.**

 **What will become of his relationship with Julie-Su? Or his relationship to little Lara-Su? And why would Julie-Su do this to him? Or even agree to see Thrash, the guy who abused her for years!?**

 **It's hard not to think of Mighty as an idiot or bad person for driving poor Fiona away, especially for Ray, but Matilda is right when she says he can only be mad about how the armadillo handled the situation, but no one can be mad that he didn't reciprocate her feelings because that's someone no one can control. Even knowing this, Ray can't help but feel for Fiona, knowing exactly what it's like to be rejected.**

 **Speaking of Fiona, she's fallen lower than she ever was. Ten times more ruthless and heartless than she's ever been. Spitting alcohol in Cream's eyes, and breaking innocent little Cosmo's poor heart. She's hurt, and now she wants everyone to feel her pain. Cruel, but it's always been her coping mechanism.**

 **In the midst of her sorrows, Amy has stumbled upon kind-hearted Mighty the Armadillo. The boy next door she never knew existed. Could this be the start of something new? Or another crash course in disaster?**

 **Shadow and Rouge have finally come face-to-face after the cruel way they had left things off, and to her shock he's brought a third party into the hone they share. What will become of this strained friendship? Will the pair ever be as close as they once were? Or is it the end of the line for them?**

 **Lastly, Sonic has officially gone public with the news that he and Sally are indeed a couple. Which of course is bound to stir up some controversy among Green Hill Academy.**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **The long awaited start of the New Year for our favorite students. The ball is dropping in Soleanna, surprise kisses are exchanged, and of course love and hate are in the air!**

 **Rouge vs. Shadow!**

 **Ash has a surprise sure to bring Mina out of her depression**

 **Sonic and Sally are forced to deal with their siblings who are not too happy about the idea of them dating**

 **Could this new year be a new start for Blaze? Or will she be crushed under Mephiles' thumb…**

 **Sonic's post has gone viral overnight, and no one will leave poor Amy alone about it**

 **Jet is looking for something…**

 **And so much more!**


	68. Chapter 68

**WARNING:** **Sexual situations, minor physical violence, and mentions of rape, abuse, drugs, and suicide.**

* * *

 **Chapter 68: Happy New Year!**

As usual, Shadow was the first to wake up, his crimson eyes falling over the peacefully asleep girl beside him. He let a small smile cross his face, happy that Mephiles couldn't touch her, at least for now.

He kissed her forehead lightly before slowly slipping away from her. Then he picked up his clothes from the ground and dressed himself.

The house was cold, making the ebony hedgehog shiver as he tiptoed his way downstairs, careful not to wake any of the sleeping girls in the house. Especially the frustrating bat he didn't have the patience to deal with, at least not this early in the morning.

But as fate would have it, when he walked into the kitchen to prepare some morning coffee for him and his girlfriend, he was greeted by the scowl of Rouge, who sat at the table with arms crossed.

"Hmph." He huffed, ignoring her as he carried on toward the coffee machine. "Surprised you're awake this early."

"How could I not be? Haven't slept since last night." She replied in a sour tone, eyes glued to his moving figure. "Your girlfriend's a screamer."

"Serves you right for being nosy."

"So." She spoke up again, steering the subject her way. "Are we just ignoring the elephant in the room?"

"I would if you'd give me a choice, but clearly I have none." Shadow sighed, finally turning to face her while leaning on the counter. "So let's talk I guess."

".."

Finally faced with the opportunity to express herself, the bat didn't know what to say. She just stared at the table top in contemplation as he eyed her from the counter, clearly agitated. After some time of just staring at her sad face, he sighed, settling down as he walked over to kneel in front of her.

"I apologize for how I left things off with you before vacation." He spoke light-heartedly, although his cold tone remained. "I was just stressed with everything going on, and mistakenly took it out on you."

"You kissed me." She mumbled back before lifting her head to face him with teary eyes, "You kissed me, then got a girlfriend. What the hell is that shit?"

"Not at all what you've probably been thinking." The hedgehog replied, "Like I said before, I was distraught and confused. I just saw a dead body for Chaos sake. It was nothing more. You act like we haven't kissed before. Hell, you even made me kiss Manic that one time during truth or dare—"

" **YOU'RE JUST SO STUPID!** " She scolded him, standing up to meet him toe-to-toe, pointing a dainty finger to his chest as she got in his face. "You just don't get it, do you?"

"Then tell me so I can _'get it'_." He barked back at her, patience wearing thin. "Or get the hell out of my face."

"I think I love you!" She blurted out.

"No you don't, Rouge."

" **YES** I do."

"No." He corrected her again, this time grasping both her shoulders. "You don't, at least not like that."

"What the hell makes you so damn sure you know how I fucking feel?!"

"Because I know you, Idiot!" He yelled at her, "Sometimes it feel like I know you better than you know yourself, the way you do me."

"Well, clearly you don't—"

"No. Clearly that idiot counselor drilled some stupid shit in your head about us the way she tried to do me before I let her ass go." He snapped, shoving the bat lightly away from him as he lost his temper. "What did she tell you? That you could love two people at once bullshit? That you and I care about each other too much to just be close?"

Her mouth hung open, emotions in an even worse mess of confusion. She just stared at him with such a hurt expression, losing her thoughts again.

"You always get this way when you don't get your way. Now that numbskull Knuckles is over you, you want to get territorial my way. Like I'm your damn property." Shadow reprimanded her, "You don't love me, you love attention—"

" **WELL WHAT ABOUT YOU?** " She hollered back angrily at him, "You're in constant need of attention when you're upset even in the slightest, like a damn child I have to fucking baby because no one else can tolerate your bullshit the way I do!"

He clammed shut, acknowledging that there was some truth to her harsh words. Their little talk had long blown of proportion, their strained friendship tearing at the seams.

"Maybe if I wasn't so busy babysitting you I would have had more time for Knuckles."

"Oh, so that's what this is really all about, huh? You're pissed because he left you. So what? You want me to be forever alone with you?"

"Chaos knows you should be alone, you psycho." Rouge retorted shoving him the way he did her moments earlier. "You're a train wreck waiting to fucking happen, and that psycho bitch is gonna see to that for sure."

"Don't talk about her like you know her."

"Don't I? They're **ALWAYS** the fucking same. Some dumb bitch with a sob story." She bellowed in his face, both of them at wits end with one another. "Well guess what? **MARIA'S DEAD! DEAD, GONE, NEVER COMING BACK,** and you **CAN'T** replace her."

Shadow's heart literally sank to the pit of his stomach, eyes widening in shock at the mention of the golden-haired girl he'd been trying so hard to forget. He shook with anger, fists balled tightly as he did everything in his power to fight the urge to strike her…but his patience had been long out the window.

"Shadow!" A third voice called out, making them both turn to see Rosy standing in the doorway.

He then regained his composure, glaring hard at the bat in front of him before turning his back to her so he could walk over to the pink girl's side.

"Let's go out for breakfast." He told his girlfriend, leading her out toward the front door. "My bike's in the garage."

Rouge just stood there, glaring at the back of the hedgehogs until she watched them leave out the front door.

Once they were outside, Shadow handed the pink hedgehog with eyes heavily caked in dark makeup a helmet. She took it, staring down at it with apprehension. He noticed while he was putting his own helmet on.

"There's nothing to be afraid of." He assured her, "I've been riding a motorcycle for a year and half now."

"It's not that." She told him, lifting up her head to give him a skeptical look. "I'm just wondering…who the fuck is Maria?"

* * *

 _'It was late, and I had just gotten done checking in on all the boys. I was tired and heading right off to bed._

 _I had just gotten out of the shower when I heard my door creak open. So I quickly grabbed a towel and tied it around my waist before heading out to see who it was, assuming it to be one of the boys._

 _To my surprise, my girlfriend was leaning up against the door. Wearing that slutty Santa dress from the office party last year._

 _"Breezie?" I called out to her, "What are you doing here?"_

 _"I missed you, Silly." She purred, strutting toward me to pull me in for a kiss. "The apartment gets so lonely without you…"_

 _"C'mon." I chuckled, pulling her gently away. "You know you can't be here."_

 _"I know, but I wanted to be naughty for Christmas." She winked, undoing the top buttons to reveal the middle of a white lace bra._

 _She was persistent, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't into it. She pushed herself against me, practically forcing me back onto my bed before she got on top and straddled me._

 _"Breezie." I whined as she kissed my neck and undid the rest of the buttons on her dress, "Principal Acorn wouldn't like this."_

 _"So don't tell her." She moaned, "It'll be our secret."_

 _She started grinding her hips against me and I nearly lost my mind, but I just couldn't do it. Not with the thought of my depressed student weighing heavily on my mind._

 _"Oh Ash, haven't you missed this?"_

 _"Mina." I said, making her abruptly pull away from me with a confused expression._

 _"What?"_

 _"Mina." I stated again, sitting up with her still on my lap. "Why'd you fail her? She did everything right on that stupid assignment you gave them."_

 _"Oh my Chaos." She huffed angrily, scrambling to her feet to redress. "Are you kidding me?"_

 _"You've got something against her, don't you?"_

 _"Why wouldn't I? She's been stealing my boyfriend's attention for weeks with her hussy ass."_

 _"So you did fail her on purpose." I couldn't believe it, standing up with such outrage. "You're a fucking trip, Breezie. You know that?"_

 _"I'm a trip?! How am I tripping when you're the one giving your phone number out to students?"_

 _"I told you, there's nothing going on between her and I. She's just a student down on her luck and I'm trying to be there for her." I tried to explain, but she was clearly having none of it. "And your stupid jealousy has only hurt her further."_

 _"You seem to care an awful lot about her."_

 _"Of course I do. She's my student, and I see so much potential in her."_

 _"Hmm, potential like there was in Honey the Cat?"_

 _"You're really bringing that back up?" I bellowed, enraged by the comment. "I've told you a hundred times it was nothing but a drunken mistake that she initiated. And since you wanna drag skeletons out of the closet, let's not forget which one of us got caught blowing a student in the janitor's closet at the old school we worked at."_

 _She then slapped me, pissing me off even more. I just couldn't tolerate her or her petty bullshit anymore. So I pulled her by the wrist toward the door, refusing to stand in a room another second with her._

 _"Just go." I told her, throwing her out of the room. "Be out of our apartment by the time vacation is up. I'm over the bullshit, Breezie."_

 _Considering all the infidelity and the fact that our relationship was mostly based on good sex, it's no surprise that we're finished. It's been a long time coming for sure._

 _I wonder if Mina's vacation is going any better than mine…'_

Ash sat on the edge of his bed, staring blankly at his phone screen as he thought of what to text the lavender-haired mongoose he'd grown so fond of. From what he could tell, she still seemed depressed, if not worse, and he wanted desperately to change that.

He recalled being the same way in his high school years. A heartbroken musician down on his luck and with seemingly nowhere to turn. It was the worst feeling in the world, until a caring teacher came and lent him a helping hand.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 ** _Ash:_** _Hey Mina. If you're feeling up to it, I was thinking of heading into Soleanna to watch the ball drop tonight. Some of the best bands are playing at Station Square too._

 ** _Mina:_** _Depends, is Ms. Breezie going?_

 ** _Ash:_** _What? Why would ask that?_

 ** _Mina:_** _Well, I heard she was your girlfriend._

 ** _Mina:_** _You didn't mention that when I was talking trash about her._

 ** _Ash:_** _Well, no she isn't coming._

 ** _Ash:_** _And I didn't tell you because I didn't think it was very relevant._

 ** _Ash:_** _Besides, we aren't dating anymore. I called it off on Christmas._

 ** _Mina:_** _Oh…_

 ** _Mina:_** _Are you okay?_

 ** _Ash:_** _I'd be much better if I knew you were okay._

 ** _Ash:_** _I know she probably knocked your grade because of me, and I'd feel terrible if you were just stuck in your room all vacation._

 ** _Mina:_** _Well, in that case I'll go to Soleanna with you._

 ** _Mina:_** _It just sucks I won't be preforming like I was supposed to. Drummer still MIA._

 ** _Ash:_** _Who knows what could happen tonight._

* * *

 _'Who would've guessed after getting brutally rejected on the rooftop of the school that I'd be walking through Mercia with that same girl just a few days later?_

 _I don't know how it happened. I just saw her roaming around all sad, and wanted to help._

 _I could tell something was bothering her, something she didn't feel comfortable sharing. I didn't press. I figured she just needed a distraction, and honestly with everything I'd been through this week, I sure as hell needed one too._

 _And she's always been the perfect distraction._

 _The girl next door._

 _Amy Rose._

 _I couldn't believe she was actually talking to me let alone walking beside me, especially after I made such a fool of myself on the roof. I honestly didn't think she'd ever talk to me again._

 _But we did talk…a lot._

 _We even laughed a lot too._

 _I was so nervous._

 _Thank Chaos she didn't reach for my hand because it was drenched in sweat._

 _Too see her up close and interact with her… It was pretty different from just watching her out the window._

 _It was so bizarre…_

 _But not as bizarre as when she asked to stay the night at my house.'_

 **SLAM!**

While deep in slumber thoughts, the armadillo had turned over on the red couch he offered to occupy while the pink girl took his bed, and fell face first to the wooden floor.

"Ouch…" Mighty whined, getting to his knees to rub his aching cheek after being forced out of his dream state.

"Oh…" He heard a very feminine voice along with the rattling of metal. He opened his eyes to peer up at the pink hedgehog doming one of his aprons, kneeling down before him to place her hand over the one he had at his sore cheek, offering him a sympathetic look. "That sounded like it hurt."

"It ki-kinda did, heh." The armadillo blushed, stammering almost as bad as the speech impaired Ray.

He couldn't help it. He was staring his crush right in the face. She was smiling at him, and had one of her hands resting on top of his. How could he not turn into mush? Especially when she was so cute.

She then got back up to her feet offering him her hand to help him up. He took it gladly, the red tint to his face never fading as he watched her quickly take off toward the kitchen right after. Curiously, he followed her in, eyes widening in shock at what she had been up to all morning.

"Tada!" She sang, pulling the pan off the burner to walk over to the table and slide another pancake onto the stack she had cooling off on a plate.

The table was seated for two. Two plates with stacked pancakes covered in warm syrup, two tall glasses of orange juice, and small side bowls with scrambled eggs.

He looked between her and the food, amazed at how she cooked up something so magnificent looking when he had so little in the fridge. It was truly a breath of fresh air from the fast food he'd been living off.

"This…looks amazing Amy!" Mighty croaked out, pulling out a chair while she removed the apron from her waist and folded it.

"With how the fridge looked, I figured you weren't exactly the best chef in the world, and you hadn't had a decent meal in forever. So I whipped us up some breakfast." She giggled, pulling up the chair before taking a seat across from him, sure to shoot him a kind smile that threw his heart into overdrive. "Consider it thanks for letting me tag along and stay here. It's really helped keep my mind off things."

"Well, I'm glad I could help." He smiled back, digging his fork into one of the soft pancakes. "My door's always open, and so is my fridge door." He added with a wink, making them both laugh.

She watched him eat away at the meal, smiling as she studied the boy next door she had never noticed before.

Tall, incredibly built for someone so thin, and quite cute with an adorable smile to boot. The most noteworthy thing about him was his kindness and the good vibes he gave off. He really had been a good distraction from her troubles, and she was truly thankful.

"Hey Mighty…"

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted to apologize if I hurt your feelings on the roof." The pink girl sighed, "I didn't mean to just brush you off like nothing. I was just…"

"Don't worry!" He waved in dismissal, "I totally get it. I'm just glad you talked to me, and that I could help you out."

 **39 NEW MESSAGES!**

"Whoa." The armadillo reeled back, both his and his guest's eyes flying toward the counter where the pink girl's phone was buzzing like crazy. "Someone's popular."

"Oh, sorry." She apologized again, getting up to walk over and take hold of the device. "It's probably just my worrywart cousin." She rolled her eyes before unlocking the phone screen to be bombarded with messages.

 ** _Pearly:_** _OMC, I just saw Sonic's post. I'm_ _ **SO**_ _sorry Amy._

 ** _Coral:_** _I just heard. I'm sorry, Amy. Are you okay?_

 ** _Honey:_** _Are you and Sonic still cool? If so, can you ask him what the hell he's on? Because whatever it is, it must be hella strong if he's actually sleeping with a pile of rags. #TeamAmy_

 ** _Tiara:_** _Amy OMFC! What in the actual fuck is this? Is this a fucking prank? Because I'm not fucking laughing. Don't worry, Babe. The cheersquad is here for you! Fuck Sonic._ _ **IMAGE SENT.**_

 ** _Elise:_** _Just saw Sonic's post. Guess your relationship wasn't as stable as you thought. Not to throw shade around of course._ _ **IMAGE SENT.**_

 ** _Razor:_** _Girl, I hope you ain't crying wherever you are. That boy was_ _ **NEVER**_ _worth the trouble, trust. And his new boo ugly af._

 ** _Spike:_** _Don't worry, Ames. Sonic's just an idiot. You're still number one in my books!_

So many text messages pooling in, making the pink girl feel a bit overwhelmed. She was confused as to what most of her friends and social media followers had been referencing until she opened one of the images, all of them being the same exact one.

The picture Sonic posted of him kissing the auburn-haired girl, professing his love in the caption.

It shattered her heart all over again, and she felt like she could no longer breathe.

"Hey." Mighty called out, making her jump when he rested a hand on her shoulder and appeared right next to her, nothing but pure concern in his eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Uh…yeah." She lied, stowing the phone away in her pocket. "It was just my cousin. I need to get home."

"Oh…okay." He nodded as she walked toward the living room where the front door was. "Well, have a happy New Year tonight."

"Thanks…"

* * *

After a long night with girlfriend, Sally, Sonic awoke much later than usual. He got up and did his best to shake the groggy feeling off as he got ready for the day. Once he was done, he swung the door of his room open and entered the upstairs hallway.

His bare feet dragged across the wooden floor as he yawned and made his way toward the stairs.

Just before he could reach them, he felt a pair of hands grab at the collar of his T-shirt, yanking him back with such a force.

Before he knew it, he was pulled back and slammed hard against the wall by his room door, rattling the picture frames that hung on it.

"What the—" He growled at the action before his jade eyes were met with two pairs. One of the same green hue, and the other a light shade of blue. "Sonia? Manic? What the hell is your problem?" He barked at the two siblings who had him pinned.

" **WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!** " The two yelped in unison, both of them shoving their phones in his face. The picture he had posted of him and Sally on both screens.

He blushed immediately upon seeing the image before bringing his hands up to push the phones away from his face in annoyance.

"A picture?" He retorted sarcastically, averting his gaze from their judging ones.

"Yeah, of you! Kissing…Cindy?" Manic replied, losing himself at the last part as he tried to recall the auburn-haired girl's actual name.

"Her name is Sally." The blue hedgehog corrected him sharply, "And yeah, I'm kissing her. She's my girlfriend."

"I knew Elias' sister had a secret boyfriend…but you?!"

"Is there something wrong with that?"

" **YES!** " The green and pink siblings screeched together.

"I know she's Eli's sister, but she's…"

"A walking fashion disaster with glasses thicker than a textbook!" Manic finished for his sister, who nodded in agreement.

"Nothing against her at all." Sonia added, "It's just…she seems so…not…your type at all."

"Well sorry I'm not as fucking shallow as you." Sonic snapped at the magenta girl, "Or gay, like you." He turned toward the green boy beside her.

"What about Amy?" Manic brought up with a raised eyebrow, knowing the pink girl was probably a mess.

"I've already talked it over with her." The blue hedgehog stated, clearly agitated by their judgmental tones. "I expected the bullshit from everyone at school, but not you guys…"

Sonia's features soon softened upon hearing the sincerity in his voice.

"I'm sorry, Sonic. It's just…she's not the kind of girl we're used to seeing you with. And you can't blame us for being surprised. She did kick you in the face once, and snapped at you during class. Not to mention the rumors around campus—"

"And that's just what they are." He cut her off, "Just rumors. You guys wouldn't be acting like this if you knew her. She's actually really cool, like Elias."

"I'm just worried about Amy." Manic spoke up, "I don't care who you're banging this week."

"Well, in that case maybe we should meet her." Sonia suggested.

"Meet her?"

"Yeah. We could have her over for dinner tomorrow."

"Take it down a notch, Sis." The green hedgehog beside her chuckled, "I doubt it's that serious. He never even brought Amy home for dinner—"

"No." Sonic spoke up again, confidence in his tone. "It is that serious. Go tell Mom and Dad. I'll text her and see if she's on board with it."

* * *

After a long night with boyfriend, Sonic, Sally awoke much later than usual. She got up and did her best to shake the groggy feeling off as she got up from the couch she'd been sleeping on in the living room, and strolled toward the bathroom upstairs.

She carried on with her morning rituals. A warm shower, hair brushing, teeth brushing, and fresh clothes. The chipmunk then walked out of the bathroom, not quite fully awake, but definitely up for the day.

She turned heel back toward the steps leading downstairs, but just before she could descend, the hood of her blue sweatshirt was yanked back.

"Ah!" She yelped with fright, back colliding with the wall.

When she opened her eyes, she was met with two other pairs. One of the same dark-blue hue as hers, and the other pair a bright green.

"Nicole? Elias?" Sally questioned, looking in between them with such confusion. "What's going on?!"

"What's going on?" The prince repeated, pulling out his phone to flash her the picture Sonic had posted. "This has been spreading like wildfire online!"

Sally's heart sank to the pit of her stomach as her face flushed into a red hue of pure embarrassment. She had nearly forgotten her boyfriend had done that last night. And it was only just now registering with her that people wouldn't take it so well…including her siblings and close friends.

"Elias, please calm down." Nicole begged in a soothing tone.

"You said you weren't interested in anyone!" He wailed, ignoring the lynx entirely. " **PLEASE** tell me this a joke."

"It's not a joke Eli…" Sally croaked out. Although her anxiety was throw the roof at this point, she did her best to address him in the most confident tone she could muster. "He's my boyfriend… I'm sorry I didn't have the chance to tell you myself—"

"Chaos, Sally!" He bellowed, slapping his face with his palm. "Of all the guys you could have possibly liked, it had to be him?!"

"What's wrong with him?"

"Sally…" Nicole piped up again, this time addressing her sister. "I know Sonic was there for us with Rotor's passing, but he's not exactly the type who should be trusted with a heart…"

"To put it more bluntly, he's a complete douchebag usually only after one thing when it comes to girls." Elias added sternly, "And no offense to Sonia or Sonic, but I sure as hell don't want a guy like him with my little sister."

With his bitter history with Nicole, and the conversation Elias just had yesterday with Sonia about her brother's promiscuous nature, it's no wonder why they were objecting the idea of her and Sonic being an item. They were merely looking out for her wellbeing, as siblings should, and as much as she respected that she just couldn't agree.

Because she liked the blue hedgehog, and wanted to be with him.

"He's not the person he used to be, or at all who everyone at school thinks he is." Sally explained, desperately wanting their approval, although she knew her chances were slim to none. "I couldn't stand him when I met him, but over time I've gotten to know him for who he really is…and I like who really is…a lot. When we're alone…he's kind, honest, and sweet—"

"Wait." Elias cut her off, blue eyes widening in horror. "You've been **ALONE** with him?!"

"Elias!" Nicole scolded him, this time grabbing his hand so he'd turn back and face her. "That's enough. As much as we don't like it, we can't tell her who she can and can't be with."

"The hell I can't." He replied harshly, "You're my little sisters! My responsibility…"

"Eli…" Sally mumbled, tears building up in the corners of her eyes.

"What happened that Ken guy? If I remember right, he really likes you too, and he seems like a decent guy."

"He is a nice guy, but I don't want nice! I want Sonic, and you can't change it. Believe me, I've tried."

"Love is love." The lynx reprimanded her brother calmly, "Just because Ken is nice doesn't make him right for her. Sometimes what's right seems like the wrong thing."

"You had enough sense to pick Espio over Shard!" The squirrel wailed, stepping away from them as he began to run his hands through his auburn hair in frustration. "Ugh… I need some air." He grumbled before taking off down the stairs, leaving the two girls to stare after him.

"Thank you…for understanding Nicole…" The auburn-haired girl mumbled after a long silence.

Then Nicole turned around, smiling kindly before pulling her older sister into an embrace.

"Don't worry about him. He just needs some time to get used to the idea. Sonic doesn't exactly have the best reputation around when it comes to girls…or friends for that matter."

"Friends…" Sally mumbled, "Bunnie and Antoine… Do you think they'll be angry?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure…" The lynx replied, discouraging the chipmunk before she reached for her hand. "But I support you Sally. No matter what."

* * *

Marine the Raccoon casually strolled down the hall of her home back in Soleanna. It was late, so the hall itself was hardly lit without the natural lighting of the sun, but the dim light peeking out from beneath her older sister's bedroom door was her guide in the darkness.

"Blazey?" She called out, knocking three times on the closed door. There was no answer, but the raccoon was too persistent to just give up. Instead, she opened the door anyway, poking her head in to examine the scene before making the decision to enter. "No one's seen ya' all day. Mum and Dad wanted you to come with us to see the ball drop in Station Square soon."

"I don't want to." The cat replied in a dead tone.

Marine only frowned, ocean-blue eyes falling over the purple feline sitting on her bed with knees brought to her chest, nothing but pure sympathy and a bit of confusion in her heart for her older sister.

She took a few steps closer, the dim light from the shaded lamp on the cat's desk setting such a gloomy mood in the dark, purple room.

It felt so strange for Marine to see Blaze look so…defeated, and lost. A complete one-eighty from who the raccoon had known almost all her life.

The reserved, fierce, feisty girl who always stood with her head held high, passing classes with no sweat, and dominating every sport she touched; now reduced to nothing but a hollow shell of her former self.

This walking tornado of insecurity, drama, and depression was not the sister she knew.

"What happened to you, Blazey?" The raccoon girl mumbled after a long silence of just staring at the cat. "You used to be the strongest person I ever knew…"

"I…I don't know…" Blaze replied, lifting up her head from her knees to reveal her tearful hazel eyes.

"Everything was fine last year. Although you left me and Silver here, we only heard wonders about you at Green Hill Academy. I thought when we made it in this year, it would be the three of us the way it used to be..."

"Everything was perfect last school year." The cat agreed, an edge to her voice. "I was ranked highest in the ninth grade academics, won the gold for the school at the female track race, and met…Sonic and the gang."

"So what changed?"

"I really don't know, Marine." She mumbled in shame, "I just kept making mistake after mistake, and I don't know why. I lost my virginity to Sonic last summer, I pushed you and Silver away because of what my friends thought, I let my grades slip, and now everyone hates me…"

"Oh Blazey…" Marine cooed sympathetically as the cat flew into a fit of tears, surprised to hear the severity of her sister's troubles.

"Silver's gone, rightfully so too. I was so bad to him, and for what? To keep the friends that don't even care to call. Amy sleeps right across from me and hasn't even bothered to ask if I'm okay! And she's supposed to be my best friend, but I guess I sank that ship with the Sonic bullshit."

"…" The raccoon was at a loss for words, being only fourteen with no real experience with social drama herself she hadn't a clue of what to possibly say.

"Silver tried to warn me about them, but I just didn't want to believe it. For the first time in my life I was popular, people actually liked me, and now I'm nothing with no one."

"Maybe he was right about them, if this is how they treatin' ya." The raccoon frowned, heart aching for the cat. "You don't need them. You were find just being you, not looking for anyone's approval."

"But I was a loser…"

"So are me and Silver, but you loved us anyways, and we loved you. You didn't need to try for us, and you certainly don't needa try for anyone else."

"Mephiles says I've always been pathetic, and I'm starting to feel it more and more every day—"

"Well, he's wrong!"

"Is he?" Blaze replied, "If I wasn't pathetic, I wouldn't have pushed you or Silver away. I wouldn't have cared so much about what Sonic and the others thought of me…"

"…" Once again the raccoon was at a loss for words.

Blaze then gripped her knees tighter and put her head down once again, staining her white pants with tears.

"I just wish I could go back…start over…"

"Maybe you can." Marine whispered.

There was a shift of weight on the bed, making the feline pull her head back up. She saw that Marine had took a seat beside her.

"With a new year comes a clean slate." The raccoon smiled warmly, throwing her arms around the crying cat. "Happy New Years, Blaze." That's when the cat's eyes caught sight of the alarm clock sitting on her desk by the lamp.

It was midnight, the start of a new year.

* * *

Station Square in Soleanna was packed to the brim! Bright lights hung off the buildings, the tallest of them supporting a large rod where a gigantic glowing ball rested.

People cheered and laughed in the crowd, some in conversation about New Year resolutions while others bustled along, enjoying the live performance of several bands on the makeshift stage.

After a long ride, Mina's white limousine pulled up on the street, and she stepped out in a dazzling purple dress with her hair curled to perfection. She thanked the driver, giving him the okay to head off before she turned and scanned the crowd.

"Hey, Mina!" She heard a distinct voice from the roaring crowds around her, turning to the left to spot her music teacher gently shoving his way toward her.

She blushed at how handsome he looked tonight. Dressed in casual attire as opposed to the usual teacher clothes she'd seen him in, and he was even wearing his hair in the style she had suggested.

"You made it!" He exclaimed once he reached her, pulling her into a brief hug that almost made her heart stop until he reeled back. "I'm so glad! I've got a surprise for you."

"A surprise?" She rose an eyebrow, "What is it?"

"Take my hand." He smiled, holding out his hand for her to take.

She did so, blushing madly as he pulled her into the crowd, creating a pathway so that she wouldn't get bumped into or harmed. She stumbled in her tall heels, jade eyes staring at his back as he parted the crowds and led her to Chaos knows where.

"Where are we going?" The mongoose girl tried to ask, her voice muffled by the bustling crowd of people around them.

"We're almost there." He called out to her although he hadn't heard her previous question, "I think you're gonna love me after this one!"

Her blush worsened at the notion, although he was obviously joking. It only drove her curiosity to its peak.

After some time, he abruptly stopped their movement. She looked around in confusion as they stopped right at a set of wooden steps. He let her hand go, gesturing with his hand for her to wait as he ascended the steps. She did as instructed, waiting in confusion until she heard his voice boom over the intercoms set up on the stage he had just walked up on.

 _"How we doin' tonight everybody?!"_ His voice boomed, the crowds roaring excitedly in response. _"In a few minutes, it'll be a whole new year! So how about we kick it off with a fresh sound? Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for the next big popstar Mobius has ever seen, and my number one student,_ _ **MINA MONGOOSE!**_ _"_

Her eyes widened in disbelief at the sound of her name escaping his mouth, her mouth falling open as he descended back down the steps, handing her the microphone with a big smile.

"Go on, Songoose." He told her, "Sing your little heart out."

Although completely awe-struck, she took the stage. The confidence being the center of attention brought her coming over her so naturally as she waited for the band behind her to start a beat. Her heart pounded almost right through her ribcage.

Then her magnificent voice escaped her lips, causing the crowds to freak out and swoon with such delight. Normally, she'd have her eyes closed during a show, so into herself the way everyone else was, but this time her eyes were open, and they never left the music teacher cheering on the sidelines.

 _'He was right…'_ She thought to herself, recalling his earlier notion. _'I do love him…'_

Somewhere off in the crowd, Honey who had just arrived with her parents in the nick of time to see the ball slowly descending down the pole above the stage where a familiar lavender-haired mongoose was singing like an angel from the heavens.

"Mina?!" Honey yelped, turning to tug on the sleeves of both her parents' coats. "Oh my Chaos! Mom, Dad! That's Mina! Mina's singing at the ball drop! That's my girl! Oh my Chaos! You go Mina! I love you!"

* * *

Back in Mobotropolis, Shadow and Rosy sat on the swings of the big city park. It was nearly midnight, but the black hedgehog hadn't found the courage or desire to go home just yet, not after the huge argument he and Rouge had gotten into.

The pink hedgehog beside him side-eyed him curiously. He had been quiet ever since they left the house, a distant look in his blood-red eyes.

"So…" She spoke up after what felt like the longest silence of her life, kicking her feet to swing gently. "Are you ever gonna tell me who the hell Maria is?"

"I'd rather not." He replied honestly.

"Well, I don't have the patience to force shit out of you the way you do me. So you might as well tell me before I really start to get irritated." She huffed, gripping the chains of the swing tightly. "Is she an ex? Some stupid slut you have on the side or something? C'mon, just say it."

"She was my best friend, and I was more in love with her than a person could possibly be." Shadow explained after another everlasting silence, making the pink girl's eyes widen with his next statement. "She was raped, and infected with NIDs. She couldn't cope, and ended up killing herself by throwing herself off the school roof…right in front of me."

"Are you…still in love with her?" She asked after a bit, voice an undefinable tone.

"I don't think I could ever not be…"

She didn't say anything, worrying him enough to look over at her. She had her head down, shielding her expression. He had just confessed to being madly in love with someone else once, so he expected the worst or at the very least some bitterness. He just wanted everything to be honest between them.

"Are you upset?" He finally asked.

"No." Rosy replied, lifting her head up to smile at the starry night sky. "It's funny to hear you say that, because I fell madly in love with someone once too…"

"You did?"

"Yeah…" She nodded, mind wandering to nostalgic memories. "A drug cartel leader, the most feared in all of Moebius."

"So…what happened?"

"I ruined whatever we could have possibly been by sleeping with Scourge and getting pregnant." The pink girl confessed, a painful edge to her tone as what appeared to be tears glistened in her black-lined eyes. "I was kept on a string by my best friend. To this day I don't know if my feelings were even reciprocated, and I guess now I'll ever know…"

Shadow just stared at her, both of them drowning in misery. Only this time they weren't doing it alone. They had each other, and that made their hearts stay afloat.

After wiping her eyes on one of the arm-warmers linked in bicycle chains and smudging the eyeliner on her face, she turned back to him.

"You should be more grateful that Bat Slut cares about you the way she does…" She said out of the blue.

Truth is, Rouge's willingness to stand by the frustrating hedgehog no matter what really reminded her of her lost love, coaxing a bit of empathy out of the usually so cold Rosy.

"You should go back and make up with her before you lose her."

He then looks back down, thinking of the immense strain that had been bestowed upon his extremely close friendship with the snow-haired girl.

"I will…tomorrow."

"Why not now?"

"Because I want to be with you when we cross over."

"Cross over? What the fuck is th—"

Her questioning was immediately ceased when he crashed his lips onto hers so suddenly, taking her by complete surprise. After a few moments, he pulled away from the blushing girl and held up his wrist, where the numbers on the digital watch he wore read midnight.

"Happy New Year, Rosy…"

* * *

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 ** _Shade:_** _An eye for an eye. No condom either. Maybe I'll pop out a real baby from your man._ _ **VIDEO SENT.**_

Julie-Su couldn't believe her eyes after she had pressed play on the video, shooting up from the couch where she had been snuggled up with her daughter who had her eyes glued to the cartoon playing on the TV.

She told the little girl she'd be back casually before briskly walking into the kitchen, sure not to reveal her immense anger until Lara-Su couldn't see her.

She grabbed at her hair as she feverishly paced the kitchen, staring at the clock to see it was only a quarter to twelve, and Knuckles still wasn't home. Her temper was coming to a boil, and her mind was in a frenzy after seeing that video.

The secret recording Shade had been doing when she and Knuckles were getting physical in the gym yesterday, sure to get those extra good camera angles so it couldn't possibly be taken out of context or claimed a fake.

Julie-Su stomped around like a madwoman, calling the red echidna over and over again, but was sent right to voicemail every time. He hadn't come home last night, and that already had her thinking the worst, but now this video had confirmed the worst and she was livid.

"Mommy!" Lara-Su shouted from the living room, forcing her out of her rage for a moment.

"Yes, Sweetie?"

"There's someone knocking at the door. I can't see who 'cause it's dark out!"

Julie-Su's face twisted up in anger as she stomped back into the living room, assuming the person at the door to be Knuckles. She wasted no time rushing over to grab the knob and swing the door open, her furious violet eyes meeting just as hateful ones.

"Where the hell have you been?" She scolded him angrily.

"…" Knuckles said nothing, opting to just stare at her.

"Mommy?" Lara-Su called out, tugging the pink echidna's pajama bottoms lightly to make her presence known. "Are you mad?"

"Go upstairs, Lara." She ordered the little girl in a commanding tone that startled her a bit. "I'll be up to tuck you in soon."

Afraid and confused, Lara-Su nodded and took off toward the steps. She glanced back at an expressionless Knuckles before crawling up the stairs as instructed.

With her gone, Julie-Su had no fear of lashing out, and quickly pulled out her phone where the video was still playing. She held it up to his face, his eyes widening in surprise. He didn't know the basketball star had recorded the sex at all.

"I've got nothing to say to you." He stated coldly, making her mouth fall open in disbelief. "I just came to get my bag."

" **YOU CHEATED ON ME!** " She screamed, backhanding him across the face with phone in hand. " **AND YOU'VE GOT NOTHING TO SAY?** "

" **WELL I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE!** " He replied, swatting her hand away from him after it made contact with his now red cheek. "So what the fuck does it matter anymore?"

"What?!" The pink girl questioned, "What are talking about?"

"Where were you going when you left yesterday?"

"I told you…the doctors."

"You're a fucking liar, Julie!" He wailed angrily, roaring in her face. "Thrash told me about your secret agreement. You want him back in your life don't you? My daughter's fucking life!"

"…"

She was silent, not sure how to respond to such wild accusations. The silence only worsened the situation, fueling the angry fire within his frustrated heart.

"You wanna go back to getting beat on all the time? Go ahead." Knuckles huffed, walking passed her to grab his bag sitting behind the couch. "I'm fucking done." He added as he walked passed her out the door.

Her heart sank, never expecting that this is where they'd be after everything they'd been through.

"Wait…" She begged, reaching out to him as he took off down the front steps.

"Fuck you."

"What are you doing?!"

"Being the immature asshole you and everyone else thinks of me as."

He then hopped in his car and peeled out of the driveway quicker than lightning, burning rubber on the street until his headlights disappeared in the night.

Julie-Su just stood there, tears pouring down her face as she tried to register everything said, and the fact that he had ended it…

"Mommy…" She heard Lara-Su's voice, making her jump in fright before she looked down to see the little girl. Lara hadn't gone up stairs as instructed, and heard the entire argument although she didn't understand. "Does Mr. Knuckles….not want to be my daddy anymore?"

* * *

Sally climbed the stairs, turning toward the room on the right of the hall. She stood outside it for a moment, taking a deep breath as she remembered the encouraging words her younger sister had given her. It was enough to help her steel her nerves and open the door.

It was Elias' room, and he sat on the edge of his bed with face in hands. She frowned, feeling a bit bad about making him so upset.

"Elias…" She called out, making him move his hands away as he turned to look at her. "Can I come in?"

He nodded, and she walked over to take a seat beside him on the bed. His gaze was on the floor, as he leaned over and played with his thumbs. After a heavy sigh, he sat back up and finally turned to address her.

"I didn't mean to freak out on you like that, Sally." He said, "We just got you back, and I don't want to see you get hurt…"

"I understand. You're just trying to be a good brother." She smiled, "But I'm not eight anymore Elias. You don't need to worry about me so much."

"I know." The prince sighed, pulling her in for a tender hug. "I'm sorry about all that. I just want you happy, and if it means I have to tolerate Sonic full time…I guess that's what I have to do."

They both shared a laugh before their ears perked up at the sound of the doorbell.

"Oh, Nicole's on the phone with Espio." Sally said, getting up from the bed to run downstairs. "I'll get the door."

She then ran downstairs to answer the door. Her mother was sitting on the living room couch with Locke, their eyes glued to the television screen. They held hands as they counted down the seconds before the ball was to drop for New Years.

 **FIVE.**

 **FOUR.**

Sally giggled before joining in on the countdown while she linked her hand around the doorknob.

 **THREE.**

 **TWO…**

Once she opened the door, she turned her face to greet whoever was standing at the front door, only to have her lips met. Her eyes widened in shock before she pulled away to meet with familiar jade ones.

"Happy New Year, Sal." The blue hedgehog standing in front of her grinned, coaxing an immense blush out of her.

"S-S-Sonic…" She stammered breathlessly, adjusting her glasses to be sure it was really him. "What are you doing here?"

"Came for my New Year kiss." He chuckled, bringing his hand up to scratch his cheek as he dug his shoe onto the doorstep nervously. "And…ask if you'd come meet my family for dinner tomorrow…"

"You could have just texted me you goof." She giggled.

"Well excuse me for trying to take the romantic approach." He pouted, crossing his arms. "So? Is that a no?"

"Of course I'll come to dinner. Now get back home! It's way too late for you to be running around, Hedgehog." She gave him a peck on the cheek before shewing him off her doorstep.

All the while completely oblivious to the fact that Nicole and Elias had watched the two from the upstairs window, smiles crossing both their faces.

* * *

Amy sat curled up in the corner of her dark room, hands covering her ears as tears streamed down her face, light whimpers escaping her every so often.

Resting on her bed was her pink cellphone, that hadn't stopped vibrating with incoming messages all day. Most of them messages of condolences, others asking if she had heard the news along with links to the image that plagued her heart, and a few passive-aggressive ones from girls who used to be jealous of her with the blue hedgehog.

They were driving her mad. All she wanted was to be left alone, to ignore it, to forget it, but no one allowed her peace.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

It seemed there was no end, the noise of the vibration ringing in her ears as she tried to shut it out.

"Amy?" Her cousin's voice sounded, forcing the pink girl to sit up and raise her head. "Are you up?"

"What is it, Rob?" She hollered back, doing her best to sound as if nothing was wrong.

"Mari-An and I wanted you to come watch the ball drop with us on TV."

"No thank you." She shook her head, wiping the tears off her face on her red sleeve. "I'm going to bed soon."

"Oh…okay." He sounded tipped off, making her nervous. "Are you alright in there?"

"Yes, Rob. I'm totally fine." She groaned, doing her best to just sound annoyed. "Don't be such a worrywart, remember?"

"Fine, fine." He sighed, his footsteps sounding on the wooden floor of the hall. "See you in the morning."

She then sighed in relief, slumping down against the wall before her jade eyes caught sight of the blinking light on her phone. She huffed, tears welling back up in her eyes. She brought her hand up to her face to wipe them away, but in doing so she noticed something missing.

She touched her collarbone, eyes widening in fright as she realized the expensive red emerald necklace her cousin had bought her for Christmas was gone!

The pink girl scrambled to her feet, running over to hit the light-switch before looking around the all-pink room. She tore the sheets from the bed, disregarding her phone as it fell to the wood floor and began vibrating much more loudly.

Halfway into tearing her room apart, she got the idea to look out her bedroom window.

She walked over to it, pulling away the sheer white curtains. Her view was of the beautiful, snow-covered landscape, but upon further inspection she noticed Mighty's little cottage for the first time.

That's when she saw him standing in his kitchen window, mouthing her name as he waved the necklace she had been looking for.

Her heart flipped with joy as relief that she hadn't lost it forever washed over her. Without a moment's thought she fished around for her shoes and slipped out of her room. She walked downstairs, slipping passed her cousin and his wife as they sat on the couch and counted down with the television.

Once outside, she sprinted across the field separating her lavish manor from the simple cottage next door.

He was waiting at his front door for her, holding out her necklace. She walked up the steps and took it, wasting no time in clipping back around her neck, whispering her thanks.

He had been smiling the whole time, until she lifted her head to thank him and he noticed the tears that stained her cheeks. Without even asking permission, he brought up his hand to cradle her cheek, using his thumb to dab away the stray tears.

The action made her eyes widen, a blush forming at his warm and tender touch. With how sorrowful her little world had been this vacation, the effect the act of kindness had was amplified ten-fold.

"Didn't anyone tell you? Tears are like, so last year." He joked.

He expected her to giggle in response, but to his surprise she threw her arms around his neck and yanked him to her height-level for a surprise kiss, crashing her lips right on to his.

The armadillo was on cloud nine, baffled until she pulled away and smiled at him, uttering something that made sense of the abrupt kiss.

"Happy New Year, Mighty…and thank you for everything."

He blushed, and looked down at his watch to see that it was midnight.

* * *

Back at Green Hill Academy, Scourge and Fiona were back in his room, lying in bed next to each other. He stared at the ceiling with arms propped behind his head while she sat up on her phone.

"I heard the rabbit brat went blind thanks to your little alcohol spit." The green hedgehog remarked, eyeing the vixen who swiped the screen of her phone with seemingly no interest in his words. "That's pretty bad."

"Good." Fiona snarled, "Now she won't be able to look for me like that again."

She then went back to scrolling through Facebook, coming across Sonic's trending post. She scrunched up her face at the auburn-haired girl in the picture, but settled into a smirk when she read the bashing comments about how heartbroken Amy Rose must be.

"Hmph, that slut deserves more than just a broken heart." She mumbled to herself.

Curious, Scourge sat up to see what she was looking at. He came up to rest his chin on her shoulder, vibrant blue eyes peering down at her cellphone screen. He noticed the image, biting his lip after being taken off guard. Not at all expecting to see…her.

With someone else…

Fiona's two-toned eyes caught sight of him from her peripheral vision, doing everything in her power to read the expression he wore, to no avail of course.

"Something wrong?" She asked.

"Yeah." He replied, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed after tearing the blanket off of him. "I have to piss."

She then rolled her eyes in annoyance, commencing with her Facebook surfing as he pulled on some pants and took off toward the bathroom down the end of the hall.

When he walked in, he was able to drop the façade, releasing[CJ1] the pent up anger in a series of frustrated growls as he walked back and forth in the all-blue bathroom. In a fit of rage, he walked up to the mirror hanging over the sinks and threw his head against it.

He clenched his teeth as blood dripped from his head into the white sink, and he glared angrily at his reflection in the cracked mirror.

Specifically at his fiery blue eyes.

Eyes of a devil.

"Pobre Diablo…"

* * *

Almost midnight, but he knew it didn't matter. The church was always open.

With it being a holiday, no buses were running. So the green hawk had to walk three and a half hours straight toward Frozen North City.

The soles of his shoes were peeling, his feet freezing from the cold with no help from his wet red sneakers. With every breath he took he exhaled a cloud of smoke, the tip of his nose red from being out in such temperatures. He shivered, holding himself as he finally came to a stop in front of the old fashioned white church with the colorful glass windows.

He bit his chapped bottom lip as he steeled his nerves and took off up the steps leading to the doors.

Once inside, he gazed around at the place, blue eyes stopping at the large wall mural of Chaos, the Water God. He tore his eyes away from it, a pain striking through his heart before he carried on toward the black box.

He stopped in front of it, reaching for the sliding door as he debated on whether or not to enter. After some time of a mental war against himself, his hand slid the door open and he took a seat inside.

It was dimly lit by a candle, nothing but a bench for him to sit on, and a window connecting him to the person sitting on the other side.

He'd been mentally prepping himself for this ever since his release.

"F-Forgive me Father." He chokes out in a shaky voice.

"What is your sin child?" The person on the other side asked.

He recognizes the gruff voice of the priest, biting his lip as he played with his thumbs and dropped his gaze to the floor.

"I…I killed your son…" Jet whimpered, eyes glistening with tears as he forced himself to face what he had done. "And I'm so…so sorry."

On the other side of the confessional, Sherman Walrus' eyes widened in horrifying realization. The realization that he was talking to the very same boy who had driven his son to suicide…

"I'm so sorry." The hawk cried out, voice trembling. "Not a day goes by where I haven't thought about what I did. In my time away I've found Chaos…and he told me to come here, and beg for your forgiveness, Father Sherman."

There was a long silence between the two, nothing but Jet's pleading sobs could be heard in the box as the walrus man tried to register what he had just heard.

The tension was so sharp it could cut through glass, the silence overwhelming the shaky hawk as he prayed for the walrus on the other side to just say anything.

"As a pastor, I'm obligated to tell you Chaos will forgive you for anything that you do in this lifetime so long as you truly repent." Sherman's voiced echoed in his ears, "But as a father… Understand that I could never forgive you for taking away the only family I had left in this world…and robbing me of my own chance at forgiveness with my son…"

Then the walrus got out of the box from his side, and took off toward the front doors, leaving the church without another word.

All Jet could do was cry and wallow in the pit of agony he had dug for himself as the clock struck midnight and the bells rang.

* * *

Gold and Silver laid on the roof of the main building together, limbs sprawled out as their eyes fixed on the starry night sky. He had promised her they'd go stargazing someday, ironically on the day she didn't have her telescope set up.

It was cold, but they were bundled up well enough for it not to bother them.

They laughed together, smiling as they pointed out whatever constellations they could decipher on their own.

"This would be much easier if I had my telescope up." The tenrec giggled.

"It's much more fun when you work for it." Silver told her, pointing toward a constellation. "I think that's the big dipper."

"No." The girl beside him huffed, "That is!"

"Oh…" He said, dropping his hand. "Maybe we should have gotten the telescope."

She just giggled, filling his ears with that angelic laughter he was so fond of.

 **BEEP, BEEP!**

His watch went off, forcing him to reel his left arm back to look at the digital numbers on his wrist.

"It's midnight!" He yelped with glee, both of them sitting up.

"Yay!" Gold cheered, leaning in to exchange a festive hug.

While pulling away, he caught her gaze, her baby-blue eyes setting off butterflies in his stomach. She smiled at him, something he should be used to by now, but felt the same awe-struck feeling every single time anyway.

Without even thinking, he swooped in the close the gap between their lips.

Her lips were so soft, and once he realized that…his eyes shot open and he immediately pulled back. A deep blush on his face as he fumbled to spit out an apology.

She only laughed, tilting her head with a blush of her own as she smiled with a hand to her lips.

"Hehe, Happy New Year Silver." She told him sweetly.

* * *

In Nack the Weasel's dorm, Mephiles had assembled his growing army of rebels and lost souls.

The purple weasel sat at his desk, typing away on his computer. On the bed sat Mephiles, and laying on her side behind him, Shade the Echidna. Shard was the only one to keep his distance, leaning against the wall by the door with arms crossed as he tuned out the chatter of the infamous seniors.

"Great work seducing that idiot." Mephiles commended the attractive echidna girl, "Taping it to send to the girl was just icing on the cake."

"I didn't do it for you, Creep. I did it for Thrash. He's the only reason I'm rolling with you, so don't get comfortable with me." She snarled, "Besides, I've got my own torture list, and she was on it."

"Aye, Mephy take a look at this." Nack called out, breaking the hedgehog's stare on the echidna to turn and face the weasel. "Look at this fuckin' post!" He whined, pulling up the picture of Sonic and Sally on screen.

"Hmm, interesting." He noted, crossing his arms as he smirked at the image. "It'll make my part a lot easier than anticipated."

"Don't count your eggs before they hatch." The weasel scoffed, pulling up a picture of Jet walking out of his home. "There was a rumor going around that one of Rotor Walrus' attackers was set free. Sorry it wasn't your little brother."

"I'm not."

"Well, what do you plan to do about him?" He asked Mephiles, "I can guarantee he'll be headin' for his thrown as soon as he sets foot back on this campus."

"I don't have to do anything." The hedgehog chuckled, "He drove a lovable LGBT student to suicide. There's no comeback from something like that."

"Then what's all this waitin' around for?" Nack questioned, "Why not just claim the prize while the rest of the contestants are laggin' so far behind?"

"Patience is virtue." Mephiles replied, green eyes falling to the monitor where Sonic and Sally's picture was still up. "For now, main objective is her. The girl everyone loves to hate…then love again. I just can't wait to bury her for good."

* * *

 **Lots of kisses, lots of love, and definitely lots of hate.**

 **As many of you have speculated… Yes, Jet has seemingly renounced the ignorant ways and ideals that got Rotor Walrus killed, and is paving his own road to redemption after finding Chaos in prison. Of course, no one said it would be easy. Can he do it? Or will he never see the light at the end of the tunnel?**

 **Not telling him about Thrash or the secret visiting arrangements was enough to infuriate Knuckles. He LITERALLY turned his life around to prove he could be the father type and even the good boyfriend type if he tried, and her secrecy made him feel as though she didn't believe in him. And with how gullible he is, it's no wonder how easy it was for Thrash and Shade to manipulate him into hurting Julie-Su.**

 **What will become of these two? Or better yet, what effect will this whole mess have on poor Lara-Su?**

 **Sessions with Dr. Tikal must be really paying off, because Amy hasn't lost her mind or temper yet over the news that Sonic is officially with Sally. Instead of hopping on call with Scourge or doing something drastic, she's just been trying to avoid it and keep to herself. Stumbling upon Mighty has probably been the best thing for her, because he's the perfect distraction and gentlemen.**

 **However, knowing how in love she is with Sonic, will this calmness last? Or will Mighty steer her clear of the disastrous meltdown just waiting to happen?**

 **Blaze had went from hero to zero in no time at all, with no one to help, only to judge her on mistakes. Something we've done in our lives at some point. Will this feline be beaten into submission by her own insecurities and depression, or will she rise again like the fiery spirit she is?**

 **Oh Shadow and Rouge, like fire and ice at this point. Snapping at each other isn't unusual for these two, having been so close for so long, but bringing up their dead friend within an argument was reaching new heights.**

 **Will they come out okay? Or is it time to say sayonara to this complicated friendship for good?**

 **SPECIAL NOTE:**

 **Hey guys, I just wanted to say thanks so much for sticking around this far! I'm both happy and sad to let you know we're somewhat close to a closing. In light of that, I've got sort of a new warning.**

 **This story has had some dark moments, but things are about to get a lot darker from here on, and if you can't take that I completely understand.**

 **Eventually we're gonna hit some heavier topics again, so prepare yourselves. Not that they'll be happening right away of course.**

 **Also, yes… Be sure to prepare yourself for some character death. Way to kick off a new year, right?**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Jules finally decides to drop the divorce bomb…at the worst moment possible**

 **Shadow swallows his pride and tries to make up with Rouge**

 **Scourge reminisces on the first time he ever met the auburn-haired girl**

 **Fiona reveals the true reason for her malicious actions toward Cosmo, Tails, and Cream**

 **Ken is going through some trouble with withdrawal, but withdrawing from what?!**

 **And so much more!**


	69. Chapter 69

**WARNING:** **Mentions of assault, drug use, rape, child abuse, and suicide**

* * *

 **Chapter 69: Can't Wait To Forget You**

He'd been biding his time all vacation, waiting for the right moment to finally tell her. With all the family drama going on, it felt wrong to throw a divorce at her, but he couldn't wait forever.

Jules sighed heavily, staring at himself hard in the bathroom mirror as he cupped his hands under the faucet running lukewarm water. He splashed his face, mentally prepping himself for what was to come.

"It's now or never." He steeled his nerves, straightening out the open plaid shirt he had thrown over a white T-shirt. He brushed the brunette fringe from his vibrant blue eyes, nodding to himself in the mirror before picking up the folder off the closed lid of the toilet.

He then took off downstairs. It was early. He figured the kids were still asleep so he'd have the chance to speak with his soon to be ex-wife alone before breaking the news to the other two kids.

His feet felt like cement blocks, heavily weighing him down and constricting his movements. He couldn't understand why he was so nervous or apprehensive.

The stairs seemed endless as he descended upon them, stepping out onto the living room floor before slowly making his way to the kitchen. He could hear her sweetly humming along with that radio she kept on the counter, and with the shuffling of kitchenware and dishes.

The blue hedgehog gulped, curling his fingers around the entryway before finally stepping inside, the folder gripped tightly in his other hand.

"Aleena, we need to talk." He breathed out, his eyes closed as he awaited an answer.

The shuffling of metal and porcelain ceased, but the voice that replied him was not of his wife.

"Can it wait, Daddy?" His daughter asked, making him open his eyes to see her standing by the counter with her mother. "She's busy seasoning the meat for dinner."

The lavender woman was standing at the counter wearing her signature white apron, her hands coated in seasoning as she kneaded the raw meat on the cutting board. Sonia stood right next to her, a bowl and spoon in hand as she mixed what appeared to be a sauce of some sort.

Jules eyes caught sight of his two sons at the nearby table in the connected dining area. Manic seated while he texted away on the phone he had rested on the table top. Sonic stood up next to him, leaning with his elbows resting on the table top as he bobbed his head with the melody his mother hummed to.

"Is it important, Darling?" Aleena questioned, eyeing him over her shoulder.

"I…" He trailed off, noticing the generous amount of food she was prepping. "Yes, but I can wait. What is this?" He changed the subject reluctantly.

"Oh, well Sonic has just given me wonderful news." The lavender woman cooed, the blue teen blushing as his brother and sister snickered.

"Sonic's bringing a girlfriend home for dinner." Sonia explained, "Mom nearly had a heart attack, and wanted to start prepping right away."

"A girlfriend…" Jules repeated, turning to smirk at the blushing Sonic. "That's wonderful. I can't wait to meet her." He added, recalling the auburn-haired girl who he'd caught his son sneaking off to see a few days ago.

Sonic just chuckled in response, rubbing his arm in a bashful manner so unlike his usual cocky self. Jules' eyes then curiously made their way over to his other son, Manic.

"When can we expect you to bring a girlfriend home?" He joked, eliciting a small smile from the green hedgehog.

"Daddy!" Sonia yelped, thinking the question might offend her presumably closeted-brother. "We're out of vinegar and basil. Could you run to the store and pick some up?"

"Of course, Sweetheart." Jules nodded, not questioning his daughter's random request at all.

He then turned around to head for the front door where his keys hung on the rack beside it. Just before he walked off, he peered over at his two sons.

"Wanna come along for the ride…Manic?" Jules asked hopeful, making the green hedgehog perk up in surprise.

"Uh….sure." Manic nodded, swiping his phone off the table before he followed his father out of the house.

"That was weird…" Sonic muttered, catching his sister's ear.

"What was?"

"Nothing it's just… Dad usually only ever asks me to tag along." The blue hedgehog shrugged.

"Oh quit being such a brat." The magenta girl rolled her eyes.

"Bleh." Sonic pouted, annoyed by her remark. "Anyway, you gals seem to have everything under control in here. I'm gonna go give Knucklehead a call." He then scurried off, leaving his mother and sister alone to prep for the day's dinner.

"So how are things going with you, Sonia?" Aleena asked her daughter as they stood side-by-side carrying out separate tasks.

"I'm fine, Mother."

"I mean…your health, Sweetheart." She murmured sorrowfully, making the magenta girl frown. "I've worried so much about you."

"It's getting better day by day…" Sonia answered truthfully, "Before I couldn't even stand the smell of food, but I've gotten much better. Not back to normal entirely, but Dr. Tikal has been walking me through it the right way."

"I should have never trusted Knuckles with my baby girl." The hedgehog woman shook her head.

"It's fine, Mother. We've made up, and moved on…"

"Well, from what Sonic screamed off in the car when I came to get you Shadow wasn't one to be trusted either."

"Um…" Sonia cringed, feeling her stomach turn as she set the bowl down on the counter and undid the apron around her extremely tiny waist hastily. "I've gotta go to the bathroom." She lied, the conversation growing too uncomfortable for her.

She then took off quickly, leaving Aleena to stand in the kitchen all by herself. She sighed heavily, grateful that her daughter was in the process of recovery, but sad that she even had to go through such things.

 _'Hopefully I can trust Little Amy with my Sonic.'_ She thought to herself, thinking of the adorable pink hedgehog who used to live down the street chasing her little boy all over the neighborhood.

* * *

Ray hadn't left his room very much, opting to spend the rest of vacation sulking in bed until he'd have to go back to Green Hill Academy. Light from the large window hanging over his bed illuminated the otherwise dark room. He stared at the ceiling blankly, thinking about all that had gone wrong this year.

This was supposed to be family time, enjoying the company of both Mighty and Matilda after weeks of being apart. He was supposed to be happy, but he couldn't find the heart to be. Thankfully Matilda understood, and didn't take either of her brothers' distance to heart although she wished they could have spent the vacation together and all smiles.

 **INCOMING CALL**

He sat upright, rubbing his eyes before he leaned over to pick up the phone he had lazily dropped to the floor sometime in the night. His heart skipped a beat as his eyes widened at the picture on screen. It was Cream!

His first thought being that the rabbit had news to rely from Fiona, since he begged her to seek out the vixen.

Ray wasted no time answering, sitting up right before finally greeting his school locker-buddy.

 _"Hi C-Cream."_ He yelped excitedly, heart racing with nervousness. _"Di-Did you talk to Fiona for me?"_

 _"Hey Ray…"_ A voice replied, but it didn't belong to the rabbit. His features twisted in confusion as he pressed the phone closer to his ear.

 _"Wh-Who is this? Ho-How do you have Cream's phone?"_

 _"It's Tails Prower…From art class."_

Ray's eyes widened in surprise and confusion, wondering just what the hell Tails would call him for, from Cream's phone no less. His voice instantly took a turn toward bitterness, displaying his distaste for the fox.

 _"Wh-What do you want?"_ Ray huffed, _"And wh-where's Cream?"_

 _"She's…at Metropolis Hospital."_ Tails replied, making the squirrel's fragile heart nearly stop.

 _"_ _ **WH-WHAT?! WHY!? IS SH-SHE OKAY?!**_ _"_

 _"I don't know... Her mom and I are in the waiting room."_ The kitsune explained, clutching the phone tightly as he listened to the squirrel's shocked silence. _"It was Fiona who did it."_

 _"Fi-Fiona?"_ Ray repeated, entire world shattering to pieces.

 _"Listen Ray. I know you don't like me, and that I don't know what relationship you_ _ **THINK**_ _you have with Fiona, but she's not worth it."_ Tails warned, words coming from his own experience with the vixen. _"Just let her go…"_

He then hung up, leaving Ray to pull the phone from his ear to just stare at it in his hand.

* * *

Rob sat on the couch in the living room, hunched over with a tiny spoon and bowl in hand. Sitting in the bouncer in front of him was his little boy, and it was feeding time.

"C'mon Jon, open up." He encouraged the baby who was more than happy to open his mouth and welcome the spoonful of applesauce.

The teal hedgehog couldn't help but chuckle at the baby's eagerness.

Sometime later, he heard the creak of the wooden stairs beside the couch, making him peer up curiously to see his young cousin sliding her hand across the banister as she made her way down.

"You're up early." He commented as the pink girl skipped over to the front door.

"Yeah." She shrugged nonchalantly before reaching for the knob, "I'm going out."

"Again?" Rob rose an eyebrow, "Where?"

"Just going in to town to hang around." She rolled her eyes.

"You know how I feel about you venturing off on your own." He shot her a stern look, "It's dangerous."

"Ugh, stop being such a dad. You know Mercia has the lowest crime rate in the country now!" She waved him off, opening the door. "Besides, I'm going out with a friend."

"A friend? The boyfriend?"

"No Rob. Just a friend." She grunted, slightly upset by the suggestion. "Bye."

"Amy, hang on a sec—"

Before he could even finish his sentence the French door slammed shut behind her, and all he could do was watch her disappearing figure out the stained-glass windows of the front door. He sighed heavily, trying to calm the anxiety it gave him to let her go off alone.

"Promise me you won't be such a dramatic teenager when you're older?" The teal hedgehog asked as he popped another spoonful of applesauce into the baby echidna's mouth.

Jon wasn't at the age of talking just yet, what came from his mouth being a series of drabbling as he nodded his head. Rob took that as a yes, although he knew the nodding was mostly for the food.

 **INCOMING CALL**

It was his day off, so he wasn't expecting any calls today, and his wife had gone to visit a relative. He reeled back from the baby, who whined in response as he reached for the spoon desperately. Rob peered over at the screen of the cellphone he had placed on the couch beside him.

It was a restricted number with no contact photo. The hedgehog usually ignored these calls, writing them off as simple pranks or telemarketers, but curiosity got the better of him this time.

 _"Hello?"_ He greeted skeptically after picking up the call.

 _"…"_ There was an eerie silence as static sounded through the line, then came a very creepy, hush whisper that sent chills down his spine. _"Robbin…"_

His jade eyes nearly bulged out of his head as he shot right up from the couch, startling the baby with such an abrupt action. Rob's heart raced as his hands began to tremble.

 _"Auntie?"_ He breathed in disbelief, _"Auntie, where are you calling from? This isn't the facility phone…"_

 _"I slipped it off a guard."_ Her chilling voice whispered, _"Robbin…please help."_

Her voice was hoarse and dry, like she hadn't had any water at all. She kept her volume at a hush whisper to keep the nurses oblivious.

 _"Are you alright?"_ He asked, feeling guilty for avoiding visitations with her. She just put so much stress on him, and instilled such nervous fears within him with her schizophrenic ramblings.

 _"It's my precious baby, Robbin. He's after her. Your father told me so—"_

 _"Auntie please."_ He begged, cutting her off as he winced at the mention of his deceased father. _"My father has been dead for years. You can't talk to the dead. Auntie, you're very sick—"_

 _"_ _ **I'M NOT CRAZY ROBBIN! PLEASE BELIEVE ME!**_ _"_ She screamed, undoubtedly alerting the nurses. _"Please, you have to save her like the spirits say. The devil is making his move soon. He's going to murder her dead—"_

While she spoke he could hear the bellowing of nurses and a struggle until the line went dead.

Rob's mouth was agape in shock, his hands trembling as he let the phone slip from his grasp and drop to the floor.

It was only when Jon began to cry that he snapped out of his trance.

* * *

Rouge sat at the edge of her queen-sized bed, one leg crossed over the other and arms crossed as she glared hard at the framed picture siting on her vanity table.

It was just another photo of her, Shadow, and Maria. This one was just them sprawled out on the grassy fields of their old high school, Space Ark Academy. The bat had taken it from an angle above her face while her two friends leaned in over her shoulders.

The memory of when the photo was taken just sent a knife through her already sliced up heart, the smile on the golden-haired sweetheart bringing tears to her eyes.

 _'Why did you have to do that to yourself? After you made me keep such a horrible secret—'_

"Rouge." She heard Shadow's voice from behind her closed door, snapping her quickly out of her thoughts as she turned to see him opening the door. "I'm coming in."

The red-striped boy entered. He would have whether she wanted him to or not, so he spared both of them the confrontation it would bring for him to ask for permission.

He walked silently over to her, taking a seat right next to her on the edge of the bed, his crimson eyes falling over the same picture she had been staring at. He shuddered, biting his lip as he tore his eyes from the ocean-blue ones of their deceased friend.

His gaze then found the bat girl, the only remaining childhood friend he had.

Shadow the Hedgehog has always had difficulty in the ways of communication, Maria's tragedy forcing him to create this outer-shell that was hard to break down. Never been one for second chances, or apologies—

"I'm sorry." He muttered, making her brows shoot up in response. "About that last fight."

"Seems like we've had nothing but fights these days." She replied, pouting as she looked to the floor. "I'm sorry too."

"You infuriate me sometimes, you know?"

"You say that as if you don't make me wanna pull my damn hair out all the time."

"I bet if she were here, she'd chew both our ears off about this." He chuckled, his eyes helplessly falling to the human girl in the picture once more.

"You've got that one right at least." Rouge smirked in response.

"Shadow, Rouge, you shouldn't fight so much." They spoke in unison, imitating the same old speech Maria had given them on a constant basis. "We need each other if we're to make through this cold world. Remember that."

"Hmph," Shadow mumbled, breaking his gaze from the photo once more. "She probably would've never guessed someday we'd rely on each other a little too much."

"Maybe we have, but she was right. We did need each other."

"And now we can hardly stand each other."

"It's my fault." The hedgehog sighed, turning to finally face her. "Maria's death messed me up so bad…and I put all the weight on you."

"It messed me up real bad too." The bat whimpered, "I kept the rape a secret for her. The one time I wasn't selfish…ended up killing one of my best friends. I guess that's why I'm the way I am. I'm selfish because I'm afraid, and I baby you because I feel guilty. If I would have told you about what happened…maybe things would be different. Maybe she'd be here."

"It's useless to think that way." Shadow shook his head, "She was stubborn, and would have done what she wanted anyway. Only difference is I probably would have jumped with her."

"Me too…"

"When I saw Rotor's body hanging from the flagpole, it brought me back to her. How I watched her dance on the edge… All these images and delusions came over me. I panicked, but then you showed up, and I couldn't even tell if you were real or not."

"I knew hearing about the Rotor kid would be a trigger for you. That's why I had to find you during the lockdown. I was afraid what you might do to yourself…"

"If you've ever wondered why I'd always sneak into your room for bed, it's because I'm afraid too. I'm afraid one day I'll wake up, and you'll be gone just like her." He confessed, "I never got to tell her how much she meant to me, or that I loved her more than anything I've ever known. I kissed you because I needed to know you were really there, and there to stay. I needed you to know I cared, but I didn't know how to say it any other way. I didn't mean it in a romantic way. You're practically my sister at this point."

"To be honest, I figured that." Rouge sighed, "Dr. Tikal just put the idea in my head and I wanted to run with it because I seemingly had no other option."

"See? We don't need that idiot doctor." The hedgehog grumbled bitterly, "Healthy or not, I like our relationship the way it is. We may lean on each other more than we should, but we also understand each other more than anyone else could."

"Even though you get on my nerves, and I can't stand you sometimes…I love you."

"Platonically, I hope." He joked, earning a playful shove from the bat.

"Shut up and hug me, Stupid." She grumbled, pulling him in for a long overdue hug.

"Don't worry, if Knucklehead doesn't come around Manic is still able and willing."

"Cut it out." Rouge pouted, pulling away from him to show him a big smile. "And introduce me to your girlfriend properly."

* * *

Julie-Su stood over the counter in the kitchen. She stared blankly at the long carrot she had half-way chopped, a pool of fresh tear droplets right beside it on the cutting board.

She couldn't focus, her mind wandering back to the bitter way Knuckles had left her yesterday. Sure he had a history of infidelity and poorly breaking up with people, but she had a good amount of hope that he wouldn't do such a thing to her because the history they shared was far more meaningful than what he had with the girls before her.

The echidna girl kept her crying as silent as she could, only allowing light whimpers to escape her every so often, doing everything she could from letting her little girl know something was wrong.

"Shit!" She blurted out, reeling back after absentmindedly slicing into her finger with the large knife.

Julie-Su stumbled back, holding her pained hand as she caved to her knees. Blood trickled down from her finger like a never ending waterfall, landing on the white tiles of her grandfather's kitchen floor. She clenched her teeth, heaving in agony.

More so at her internal injuries though, the pain in her wounded hand nothing compared to the pain in her heart.

While staring at her injured finger, she noticed the necklace she was wearing, the one she always wore. The over-sized green emerald Knuckles had once promised her as a child, the one he passed around to every girl he's ever been with.

The biggest momento of the bond they once shared in their youth.

Nothing but a cursed object of heartache and misery.

She wrenched it off her neck with a shriek, squeezing it tightly before standing up to slam it into the trashcan with such a force.

"Dammit Knuckles!" She cried, tears flowing down her cheeks as she squeezed her eyes shut over the trashcan. "You just don't understand…"

"Mommy?" Lara-Su's voice sounded, making the pink girl turn to see her daughter standing in the doorway of the kitchen. "You got a booboo."

"Oh, it's nothing Lara." Julie-Su responded, walking over to grab a napkin from the roll hanging off the wall. "Just a little cut."

"Why did you throw Mr. Knuckles special rock away?"

"What?!"

"The necklace with the special rock. The pretty, green one you always wear." The little girl explained, "Mr. Knuckles said it was very special to him."

Julie-Su just bit her lip, debating on whether or not she should explain to the little girl that the red echidna was possibly never coming back, but she couldn't find the heart to.

Instead, she tried to distract her.

"I'll tell you later." The pink girl shrugged, "C'mon, I'll go put on cartoons for you."

"Okay! I like the one with the dancing toys!" Lara squealed.

Julie-Su then walked off to the living room, expecting the little girl to be tagging along behind her. Little did she know however, Lara-Su sneakily tiptoed back toward the trashcan where she picked up the emerald necklace and stuffed it into her coat pocket before scurrying off to the living room.

* * *

 _'Living in Moebius is next to impossible without getting involved in some sort of bullshit. Since Penelope the Prostitute was my personal nanny, I was her personal drug peddler. She'd order the stuff, I'd pick it up, and bring it back home when I came back from school._

 _Mind you, I'm only about eleven at this point._

 _I remember the day like it was yesterday. The first time she ever talked to me…_

 _Penelope would order from these echidna guys that hung around the alley behind my apartment building. I met up with them like usual, only this time I didn't have the amount of cash for the amount of stuff the bitch wanted._

 _I didn't know that when I handed him the stack of cash and took the stuff from his hand. As I was walking away, they called me back. I looked over my shoulder to see two of them charging at me._

 _They grabbed my arms and pulled me back, kicking my knees from behind so that I'd buck and fall to them before the third echidna holding the cash. He counted the stack in front of me._

 _"You're about eighty dollars short, Kid." He growled, "You trynna pull a fast one on us?"_

 _"I just give you what Penny gives me." I replied, nervous sweat beading on my head._

 _"She should fucking know better." He huffed, coming up to ram his knee into my face. "Now we're gonna have to make an example out of you so she knows not to fuck the Brotherhood or Nazo over like this again. So disrespectful."_

 _The three then pounded on me. Just three grown ass men, ramming their fists into a child's face, stomping my chest when I fell over onto my back, and even kicking my head like a soccer ball. Nothing out of the ordinary at all for Moebius._

 _I didn't cry. By that point I was just so used to it, ya'know? Nothing hurt me anymore._

 _I just closed my eyes and drifted off into my dream world, thinking about the auburn-haired girl from the schoolyard…_

 _Sometime later, I finally opened my eyes to see the sky went from blue to black. I figured I passed out as I sat up and rubbed my bumpy head, then wiped the blood from my nose and lip. I looked around to see I was at least still in the same alley, but the heroin was gone. Meaning that Penelope was gonna be pissed._

 _I remember trying to get up, only to fall flat on my face again. I was weak, and sore._

 _That's when I heard her voice call out to me…_

 _"_ _Pobre diablo…" She whispered in the dark._

 _I lifted my head to see her strolling toward me. My eyes widened as she came into view, the dim lighting not at all obscuring her beauty._

 _She walked with one foot in front of the other, so elegant. Brushing her bangs away, red hair flowing down her back like flames, contrasted by her blue dress._

 _Her eyes a medley of sapphires and diamonds that captivated my entire being._

 _When she kneeled in front of me and held her hand out to me I swear I couldn't breathe. I didn't reach for it on account of being both sore and awe-struck._

 _Instead of reeling her hand back, she brought it closer to caress my bruised cheek. Her touch literally setting my heart on fire._

 _"I know you. You're that boy who's been following me since I moved here two years ago. My little shadow." She giggled, tilting her head with that sweet smile. "What's your name?"_

 _I couldn't believe she knew. I thought I was super stealthily, but it both embarrassed and excited me to know that she knew I existed._

 _"Scourge…" I gulped, a stupid blush on my face obviously. "My name's Scourge…"_

 _"Scourge." She repeated, running her thumb along my cheek. "You have beautiful eyes."_

 _"Th-Thanks." I stammered, the badass confidence flushed out of my system completely. "Wh-What's your name?" I finally asked, desperately wishing to put a name to the girl who'd serve as my very first and only love._

 _"You can call me…La Reina." '_

Scourge gritted his teeth in anguish, running his hand along his long green quills in frustration as he glared coldly at the picture of Sonic and Sally he found online.

Even after the last talk he had with the auburn-haired chipmunk, it still drove him crazy.

To see her with anyone else...

* * *

Gold skipped out of the girl's dorm, back into her winter wonderland of snow.

The white fluff draped over the world always brought a smile to her face. Even though everyone else prayed harder than anything for the snow to go away now, the tenrec secretly wished it would never end.

She hummed to herself as she took off toward that special spot beside the electives building where the ground curved in a tiny hill that filled with a mountain of snow just begging for her attention.

On her way, she noticed a familiar person heading down the same pathway in the opposite direction. It was Monkey Khan, better known as just Ken, one of the other students she had transferred in with.

She hadn't seen much of him since the tour, but whenever she did spot him she was sure to be polite and greet him. He usually returned her greeting with the same amount of politeness, but something seemed different about him today.

"Hello Ken—"Gold waved as they crossed paths. She expected the same in return, but jumped in fright when he aggressively barked in her face.

"Fuck off!"

She gasped, baby-blues widening before she covered her mouth with her hands and scurried off. His intimidating scowl so unlike the charming monkey she always greeted around campus.

He sighed once she was gone before a familiar pain shot up his left arm. The monkey gritted his teeth as he winced in agony, clutching his arm tightly as he dragged his feet along the cement, praying with all his might that the pain in his muscles would just subside already.

His breathing was heavy, sneakers scraping the pathway as he carried on.

Withdrawal was nothing new to him. He had run out before, and sometimes he even tried to stop. The pain ravaging his body only reminded him why he never was successful in quitting.

 **INCOMING CALL**

He groaned upon hearing the ring of his phone, using the arm feeling the least pain to slip into his pocket and rummage for the device. He pulled it up, grimacing at the photo of the red fox with hime-cut bangs smiling brightly on his screen.

"Dammit Li-Moon." He cursed under his breath, ignoring the call before slipping it back into his pocket. "Not now…"

"Aye." A voice called out to him in the distance, making the monkey shoot up his head in response.

He watched as the skunk strolled toward him, hands stuffed in the pockets of his black sweater while a cigarette poked out from his grinning lips. He was taller, looking down on the monkey in what appeared to be amusement.

"Jeez, you look a mess."

"Ple-Please get out of my way, Geoffrey." Ken begged through clenched teeth and shortness of breath, "I can't fucking do this right now…"

"Touchie, aren't we? Withdrawal will do that kinda thing to you I suppose."

"I'm **NOT** on drugs." The monkey retorted angrily.

"What do you take me for? A fuckin' moron? Of course you're not on drugs. That's why you're acting like such an asshole now." The skunk chuckled, pulling the cigarette from his mouth to flip his snow-colored hair. "You're probably in a lot of pain right now too, but don't worry. I might be able to help you out. Just tell me what your poison is and I'll gladly get some for ya' free of charge."

"You…You can do that?"

"Of course." Geoffrey shrugged, "Think of it as thanks for stopping Scourge from beating my ass that one time."

Ken bit his lip as he contemplated what he should do. He figured if he outlasted the withdrawal pain, he'd no longer be addicted to the substance he'd been shooting up with, and maybe even no longer need it.

Then again, this pain was far worse than anything one could ever imagine. It was as if all the cells in his body were on fire.

"I…No thanks." He stammered, shuffling passed the skunk boy. "I don't need it."

"Sure you don't." Geoffrey snickered, blowing out smoke as he watched the monkey drag himself back to the boy's dorm. "I'll be seeing ya' real soon, Ken."

* * *

After her performance at the big ball drop in Soleanna, Mina dashed off the stage and was swept off her feet by the overjoyed mongoose teacher who praised her endlessly. Then the two carried off into the dancing crowd to enjoy the first night of the year.

Once the night was over, the music teacher drove her all the way back home. She thanked him for the wonderful time and opportunity, heart doing backflips right up until she fell asleep.

The next morning she woke up and her life seemed to be right on top of the world again. Her parents had witnessed the performance on TV and were ecstatic that their daughter was featured at one of Mobius' most extravagant events.

Her mother Isabella, the infamous lawyer who also happened to be her manager had been receiving calls nonstop with record labels, event planners, and everything in between.

The mongoose girl's social media pages had sky-rocketed with such heartwarming comments of encouragement and admiration.

Mina Mongoose was finally back, and it was all thanks to the kind-hearted music teacher who had helped her find her voice again.

 _"You didn't tell me you were preforming in Soleanna!"_ Honey whined over the phone, making the mongoose girl giggle as she rolled onto her stomach on her bed.

 _"It was a last minute thing."_ Mina replied, all smiles as she kicked her feet in the air.

 _"Well you really rocked it, Baby!"_ The cat squealed excitedly, _"The crowd totally fell in love with you!"_

 _"You think so?"_ She asked, thinking back to the raven-haired mongoose who cheered her on front and center in the crowd.

 _"I know so. Everyone was swooning like crazy."_

 _"Well, I am like totally amazing."_ Mina remarked in her signature cocky tone, flipping a strand of purple hair back over her shoulder as her ego swelled from the praising.

 _"Now there's the bitch I love."_ Honey smirked _, "I missed the cocky attitude."_

 _"Good, because it's here to stay."_ She giggled, _"No more whiny sad Mina. It's back to being 'that bitch' for me. Well, unless I'm on stage or camera of course."_

 _"And what has caused this coin to flip might I ask?"_

 _"A new objective."_ The mongoose smiled, blushing as she thought of Ash Mongoose.

* * *

Storm and Wave sat on his front porch beneath a tarp that prevented snow from falling over them. They were on the steps, staring at the house next door.

"He slipped out after his mother took off for the night." Storm spoke up, "He didn't come back until this morning."

"Where do you think he went?" The swallow asked curiously.

"Dunno, but he was crying."

"I'm worried about him, Storm…"

"I know, but what can we do?" The albatross shrugged, "He doesn't wanna see us."

The two just stared helplessly at the house, hearts torn in two on the difficult position they were in.

To sympathize with Jet felt like an act of betrayal against the late Rotor, but to turn away from the hawk completely just felt wrong….

* * *

Nicole and Elias sat on the long couch in the living room. The lynx sat upright with hands cupped around a warm mug of hot chocolate. Her hair was freed from the little pigtails she usually kept it in, it's length finally grown out to just below her shoulders, the ends curling upright. With no real plans for the day she lounged about in her purple pajamas.

Elias leaned with his back against the armrest, and one of his legs stretched out on the couch, his foot resting behind her back. His other leg was pulled to his chest as he rested his cheek against his knee and stared at television in front of them through his messy auburn fringe. He too had no real plans for the day, opting to lounge around in his pajamas as well; a white T-shirt and dark-blue sweatpants.

They sat in silence, the TV being the only source of sound as he occasionally glanced over to her.

"It's good that you've adapted to Mobius this much." The squirrel commented after watching her sip her mug, gaining her attention with his voice. "Imported beverages from DigItaly were pretty pricey."

She set the mug down in her lap again, light-green eyes fixed on it as a small smile crossed her face.

"It certainly wasn't fun drinking the same thing every day." The lynx mumbled, "I've lived here almost all my life. I love the culture here, although I do hold to some customs I just can't shake."

"I just don't know how Shard does it." Elias sighed, sitting up to push closer to his youngest sister.

Nicole just looked down at her cup, tightening her grip on the handle as she recalled how deeply rooted DigItalian customs were for the hedgehog. In the midst of her thoughts, she was startled by the feel of an arm drape around her shoulders. She turned to meet her brother's sincere smile.

"I'm sorry about how I acted yesterday." He apologized to her, "I know how much you don't like confrontation. I was just…not too happy. After all, this is Sonic we're talking about. He doesn't exactly have the cleanest reputation."

"Believe me I know…" The lynx agreed, not at all holding anything against her brother. After all, he was just being protective. "But we can't judge. Who knows, maybe's she changed him somehow."

"Yeah, try telling that to Antoine…"

"I have." Nicole shuddered, recalling the incredibly difficult conversation she had with the coyote and his rabbit girlfriend.

"What did he say?! Is he…"

"He was actually…okay."

"What?"

"I know." The lynx nodded, "it was the strangest thing. I didn't quite understand, but he said that he and Sonic had found middle ground, and that he'd save his grudge for the ones who deserve it."

"He must've been talking about Rotor's attackers…" Elias mumbled sorrowfully, thinking of the late walrus who used to hang out with his little sisters.

"Hey you two!" Sally's voice called out from behind them, making both of them turn toward the staircase.

They shut their mouths as their eyebrows rose in surprise upon sight of the chipmunk descending the steps. They were so used to seeing her in such baggy attire and rundown boots. It shocked them, to see her so well dressed, and with her hair done!

Short auburn hair made up in a series of lavishly twisted curls with straight bangs swept across her forehead. Sleek and shiny with product, and curls bouncing with every step.

Black wedges propped up her feet while her intensely curvaceous figure was accented exquisitely by a navy-blue, off-shoulder dress that ended just above her knees. She even sported a pair shiny diamond earrings, and a gold ring they had never seen before.

"Mother let me borrow this." The chipmunk explained, smoothing out the dress once she made it down the steps. "Is it okay?"

"It's stunning!" Nicole yelped, setting her mug down on the coffee table so she could stand up. "But where are you going?"

"I'm going to see Sonic—"

"In that case." Elias cut in, standing up beside Nicole. "You should probably go put on a sweater, and then another, and another."

The lynx pouted, elbowing her brother lightly to shut him up.

"Relax. He invited me over for dinner with his family." Sally explained with a chuckle, "I'll be sure to tell Sonia you said hello."

He pouted with a blush at her teasing smile. Then the chipmunk walked over to Nicole and took her hand.

"Can I borrow you for a moment?" She asked politely, to which the lynx nodded.

Sally then pulled her little sister upstairs and into the bathroom where she locked the door behind them. Elias watched them go curiously, but shook it off to go grab something to eat in the kitchen, figuring they were just being girls.

"Is something wrong, Sally?" Nicole asked worriedly as the auburn-haired girl turned around to face her with a blush.

"I…I need help with something."

"What is it?"

"Well…umm…This." She mumbled, opening the bathroom closet to pull out their mother's makeup kit. She set it on the sink, turning to the confused lynx as she took off her glasses, revealing those gruesome looking scars.

* * *

At Green Hill Academy, one of the showers in the girl's dorm bathroom was on. The water was extra hot, the steam fogging up the mirror above the counter of sinks, and practically burning the skin off the naked girl sitting in the corner.

She sat with her knees to her chest, arms linked around them tightly as she gritted her teeth. Tears rolled down her face with the water as she sobbed lightly. Her rust-colored hair fell sopping wet halfway down her back, while her fringe stuck to her forehead.

Her eyes remained half-lidded, the whirlpools of gray and blue coated in fresh tears that blended with the hot water stinging every inch of her.

Fiona's life had always been a dark one from an early age. Sexually abused by her father, beaten by her mother, and out on the streets doing whatever she had to survive. The foster care system was a joke, every home she went to solely caring for the money she brought over her wellbeing.

Anger and hatred were second nature to her. Doing on to others being her strongest coping mechanism.

Mighty was the first person to ever show her the world wasn't all dark, and that she didn't have to be so hateful.

He had captured her heart with that one act of kindness. Giving her the yellow bow for nothing in return, and offering his friendship along with it. How could she not fall for the boy who filled her with hope, inspired her, cared for her wellbeing, and promised her a better life?

She wore that yellow bow religiously, it being a constant reminder that there was a silver-lining in her little world. Now she couldn't even stand to look at the thing.

Their last conversation wasn't a very good one to leave off on, but she didn't care. He broke her heart, to be with one of the people she despised the most.

He had taken all the hope he'd ever given her away, drowning it all out with a painful bitter feeling that she prayed he'd suffer one day. She prayed everyone suffered…but she secretly prayed Ray suffered the least.

 _'I'm_ _ **NOT**_ _sorry I can't say sorry, but I am sorry that I can't say it to you, Ray. You're the one thing I'll really miss about being a goodie-goodie.'_ She thought to herself, digging her fingernails into her thighs as she sobbed into her knees. _'Hopefully it works out the way I planned. I injure the stupid rabbit brat, you hear I did and feel guilty so you go to comfort her, and it brings you closer the way you wanted. Making that Tails kid look like an idiot was just a bonus. I know how much you can't stand him.'_

* * *

In Mercia's shopping center, Mighty staggered left and right trying to keep the bags and shoeboxes he'd been carrying from toppling over on him. Speedily walking in front of him all smiles and cheer was Amy Rose. She bobbed her head side-to-side so freely, her bubblegum quills swishing around with her as she giggled.

"You okay back there?" She called over her shoulder, the mountain of bags obscuring the armadillo from vision.

"Uhh…Yeah!" He lied, sweat beading off his forehead as he struggled. "When you said you wanted me to come along to help carry your bags…I didn't expect there to be so many."

"Sorry." She apologized, turning back to take a few of the bags. "I tend to get carried away with buying stuff when I'm feeling down."

"Feeling down?" He repeated, smile falling slightly as he recalled something he'd seen online last night. "About Sonic...?"

"Ugh, I just wish people would leave me the hell alone about it."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"

"No, it's okay." She shook her head. "It just upsets me because I had my whole heart set on him. Apparently we weren't as in sync as I thought."

"I'm really sorry things didn't work out with him." Mighty frowned, upset by the pink girl's sudden change in demeanor. "I can tell you really liked him."

"I really do, but I don't think I've got any hope left to give." She mumbled, "I just want to forget it…"

He could see the tears stemming from her jade eyes, and it broke his heart to see Green Hill Academy's sweetheart so down. The armadillo and hedgehog had spent so much time together lately, going from complete strangers to what felt like good friends.

He was great company, and probably one of the best listeners she's ever known. The armadillo would let her go on talking forever if he could, and she appreciated his goofy charm for what it was. It certainly took her mind off her troubles. Most of the time anyway…

"You sure?" He asked after a long silence, making her turn to give him a puzzled look.

"Sure of what?"

"That you want to forget."

"Of course I'm sure." Amy pouted, both of them finally arriving to his now fixed car. "I just want to forget I'm even sad…"

"Then let's put these bags away and go make you forget." The armadillo cheered, trickily unlocking his trunk to throw her bags in. She did the same, watching him slam it shut with a curious look.

"How?"

"C'mon, I'll show you!" He laughed, taking her hand to pull her back toward the shopping center.

After some sprinting and a few apologies to people they had mistakenly bumped into on the way, the two arrived at a strange building the pink hedgehog was unfamiliar with. It was all black with tinted windows. Above it hung a neon-green sign that read _'Starlight Zone'_

"What is this place?" Amy questioned as the armadillo pushed open the black, glass door and took her inside.

The interior stood true to the all-black outside, only inside vibrant blacklights illuminated the darkness. Mighty walked up to the stand, leaving her to stare around in awe as the light turned the white stripes on her red boots blue, and made her hair a brighter pink.

It was all one big room. Aside from the desk up front by the door there was no other real furnishings. Just abstract looking sculptures littering the room. Some stood tall and thin with holes in them, others short and wide with no holes at all, and everything in between.

"M-Mighty?" She called out, turning to see the armadillo was back at her side.

She tilted her head in confusion as he handed her a vest with strange patches on it, and what appeared to be a ray gun.

"C'mon, the other teams are already ready." He told her, slipping a much larger vest on himself. "There's nothing like a good game of laser tag to get your mind off something."

After gearing himself up, he turned to finally notice that she was just awkwardly staring at the vest in her hand.

"Haven't you ever played laser tag before?" He questioned, to which the pink girl shook her head. "Oh, well don't worry. I've got your back." He smiled, giving her a thumbs up that reminded her much of someone else.

She then put the vest on, and the guy at the front desk signaled for them to enter the playing grounds. Amy was quite nervous, but Mighty just took her hand and walked her in. Once they entered, the patches on their gear and the accents of their weapons turned a bright red color, and fog began to pool beneath their feet.

The pink girl yelped in surprise, hugging the armadillo's arm tightly. He chuckled until a voice booming from hidden intercoms cut him off.

 _"Good evening players, and welcome to Starlight Zone! The best laser tag place in all of Mercia."_ The voice cheered, _"There are three teams; blue, yellow, and red. Each player is granted ten lives, meaning if you get shot on one of the patches on your vest more than ten times you're dead. With every shot you take your gun is down for ten seconds, and for every shot you make you earn a point. Whichever team racks up the most points wins. Once you hear that bell the game will begin! Have fun!"_

Mighty dragged Amy quickly over to one of the abstract sculptures and pulled her down so they could hide. She gulped nervously, looking at the digital numbers on the back of her gun that read the number of lives she had.

"Why don't we just sit here and wait for them to kill each other?" The pink girl suggested.

"That's no way to rack up points."

"But what if they get us first? I'm a total newbie!"

"Don't worry." Mighty smiled, squeezing her hand gently. "I've got your back, remember?"

She returned his smile, nodding in agreement after being filled with courage. Their heartwarming moment was cut short at the sound of footsteps heading their way. They both stood up on their feet, preparing themselves as the devised a plan.

"So what's the plan?" Amy questioned.

"How good is your precision?"

"I'm a girl who does flawless eyeliner without a mirror." She rolled her eyes with a smile, "I'd say pretty damn well."

"Alright then, You go left, I go right. We meet up on the other side."

"Right. I'll do my best!"

The two then separated, going off in the dark room illuminated by the bright neon lights and disoriented by the cool fog machines.

Shots fired, shots taken. Tumbles, dives, and dodging. Amy was having the time of her life, the claims of her accuracy definitely showing in the amount of shots she had gotten in on the other teams. The armadillo wasn't half bad either, but of course he had experience on his side.

It felt like another world to her. Her imagination running wild again.

 _'A post-apocalyptic future where everyone's divided on the country turned battlefield!'_ She imagined, _'And I'm the last hope my side and my partner has!'_

She spotted another player, a koala girl with blue patches on her vest, with her weapon pointed right at the pink hedgehog. They each had one life left, making the moment all the more intense as Amy drew her weapon and aimed back.

The koala girl approached her as she stepped back. Suddenly, the pink girl slipped and toppled to the floor, her weapon sliding away as she helplessly looked up to the blue team girl who took the opportunity of advantage. She stood over Amy, gun pointed at the red patch above her heart as she grinned maliciously.

The pink girl gulped, shutting her eyes tightly as she braced herself for what she imagined to be the real impact of an actual bullet that would ruin her fantasy world.

 **ZOOM!**

The funky sound of the laser gun's attack was heard, but to both girl's surprise, Amy's vest still glowed.

"Huh?" She tilted her head in confusion before looking up to see the koala girl's vest had been cut off.

 _"_ _ **GAME OVER!**_ _"_ The voice on the intercom boomed, startling the koala who stepped out of the way so the hedgehog could catch the goofy smile of the armadillo standing behind her, waving excitedly. "Looks like Red Team tales the win with over thirty points acquired and both members surviving."

"We won?" Amy breathed in disbelief as she got to her feet. Once the realization finally struck her, she dashed over to the armadillo and leaped into his arms with excitement. "We did it!"

"You were awesome out there!" He complimented, filling her with such glee. "So did you forget?"

"Forget what?"

"Good." He smiled, thankful for the smile on her face.

One he wish she'd keep forever.

* * *

Dinner time had finally rolled around at the Hedgehog residence, and the spread Aleena had prepared on the long, white-clothed table was absolutely divine.

Succulent chicken breast, mashed potatoes, salad, she pulled out all the stops. She even had the table set with the good china plates and silverware.

The lavender woman hummed to herself as she went around the table and poured a homemade punch into the decorative wine glasses, barking instructions at whoever's shoulder she leaned over.

"Straighten out your shirt, Dear." She told Jules.

"Elbows off the table." She told Manic.

"Button up your blouse a little more, Sweetheart." She told Sonia.

"Sit up right, Little Hero." She told Sonic.

"Relax Ma." The green hedgehog rolled his eyes, doing as told. "You act like she's the president's daughter or something."

"Well, she is the mayor of Moebius' daughter if you wanna get technical." Sonia shrugged.

"Really?" Aleena cooed adoringly, overjoyed to see what kind of young lady the pink girl she assumed to be dating her son had become. "I probably would have known that if I watched the nation news channel a little more."

"You guys…please don't embarrass me." Sonic begged, looking around at everyone once his mother had took her seat at the head of the table across from his father. "She's a little self-conscious, and has crazy anxiety. So don't overload her with questions, okay?"

"Oh Sweetie, we'd never embarrass you." Aleena shook her head, "It's the first time your bringing a girl home .I just wanted it to be special."

"I might." Manic shrugged, earning himself an elbow to the gut from the magenta girl sitting next to him. "What?" He pouted.

 **KNOCK, KNOCK**

"Oh that must be her!" The lavender woman squealed excitedly as she shewed Sonic off, "Go on and greet her!"

"Okay, okay." The blue teen chuckled, getting up to walk out of the kitchen and into the living room where the front door was.

He opened it, eyes practically bulging out of his head at the sight of her. It was a rare treat to see her so dolled up. Aside from the change in outfits, there was something missing…

"Yo-Your scars…" He breathed, astonished that her face was no longer burdened by the gruesome looking wounds. Then he caught his own words and quickly sputtered out apologetically. "I mean—Not like that. What I mean is—"

"It's okay." She giggled, fluttering her mascara-coated eyelashes. "Nicole helped me with makeup. Apparently Bunnie's been giving her major lessons over the years."

"You look amazing, but you know you didn't have to…"

"I wanted to." She blushed, "So…can I come in? It's kinda freezing out here."

"Oh, uh, yeah sure! C'mon in. I'll introduce you." He nodded, taking her dainty hand to pull her into the kitchen.

Although she was riddled with anxiety, she steeled her nerves and followed him anyway. She cleaned up well, hoping to make a good impression with his family.

Once they got into the kitchen entryway, all eyes fell upon them.

"Guys, this is Sally Acorn." Sonic introduced her proudly, "My girlfriend."

Jules' jaw practically threatened to unhinge and fall off, in total disbelief. Without the glasses or bulky winter attire, she looked just the girl he'd left behind in his youth. The abrasive chipmunk popular kids despised, and nerd kids looked up to, Alicia the Chipmunk. It didn't help that she wore the very same ring he had given to her mother when they were young.

"My Chaos…" Sonia squealed, rubbing her eyes to make sure she wasn't imagining things. "You look…gorgeous!"

"Thank you." The sheepish chipmunk blushed, "Elias says hello by the way."

"You sure clean up well." Manic remarked, eyeing the auburn-haired girl up and down in a way that made her a bit uneasy.

"Heh, I appreciate the compliments." She mumbled shyly, nervously taking a step behind her boyfriend.

"Well Mom? What do ya' think?" Sonic asked the lavender woman who hadn't said anything at all so far. "Isn't she pretty?" He teased, slinging an arm over the chipmunk's bare shoulders.

"Forgive me, but I was under the impression that Amy Rose would be joining us for dinner tonight." Aleena stated in a rather rude way that instantly made everyone in the room uncomfortable.

"Aleena." Jules snapped at her, furious that she'd be so insensitive.

Sally frowned, averting her gaze from the hedgehogs in a bit of shame. Sonic squeezed her shoulder in assurance as his siblings exchanged uncomfortable glances and his father glared harshly at his mother.

"You'll have to forgive her, Ms. Acorn." Jules sighed, turning to address her with a kind smile. "Please, have a seat you two. This food isn't gonna eat itself."

Sally nodded, thankful for his kindness. Sonic then led her to the table, where he pulled out a chair and helped her get seated before he took the one right beside her.

"So…can we like, eat now?" Manic piped up in a hopeful tone.

After a sometime, the awkwardness began to dwindle as conversations picked up, and food was passed around the table. Soon all of them were laughs and smiles. Sharing stories, making jokes, and even exchanging helpful advice.

Sally was excited, feeling as though she was winning his family over like she had hoped, except for the one…

"So is Amy just out of the picture now?" Aleena piped up in a passive tone with a mere hint of disapproval.

"I…She and I aren't really speaking right now, Mom." Sonic muttered, shoving a spoonful of mashed potatoes in his mouth hoping that she'd drop the subject.

"I can't imagine why. She's always been so sweet on you." She persisted, glancing coldly at the chipmunk sitting beside her son. "I figured when you said girlfriend that she'd be the one coming through my door. You know, they've always been quite close, Amy and my son."

"I'm aware." Sally replied, obviously uncomfortable. "She's a very kind girl."

"Definitely the kind of girl I'd like my son with—"

" **ALEENA.** " Jules barked, standing up to slam both hands down on the table, making everyone jump. "That's enough. Have some respect."

"Respect? That's a laugh, coming from you of all people." She retorted, standing up to slam her own hands on the table.

"Oh boy…" Manic groaned, slumping down in his chair.

"Mother please…we have a guest." Sonia begged, but was completely disregarded.

"What? I can't be upset my children keep dating the wrong kind of people? The kind that lead them to bulimia and body shaming. Chaos knows what this little number will do to my son—"

"You can be mad all you want, but you should respect your son's right to freedom of choice. Then again you've always gotta be the selfish one, right?"

"You unbelievable bastard." She hissed at him, their children and the chipmunk just watching them go at it. "Stop talking like you've got my children's best interest at heart when you've hardly ever been a father or husband!"

"Funny that you say that." He scoffed, stepping away from the table to grab the folder he had stowed away on the display shelf behind him, carelessly tossing it across the table to her.

The papers it contained slipped out a bit as it unintentionally hit her in the face, and fell in her hands. She opened it, eyes scanning the papers before they widened in shock.

"I'm divorcing you!"

" **WHAT?!** " Sonic and Sonia bellowed in horror.

Aleena was furious. Sonia cupped her mouth as tears welled in her eyes, staring in between her parents in total disbelief. Manic seemed to be the only one not surprised, his baby-blues specifically on his upset father.

"Are you guys seriously doing this right now?!" Sonic bellowed angrily before he heard the chair next to his slide back, and turned to see Sally standing to her feet. "Sal?"

"Please…" She begged, raising her hands defenselessly. "If this my fault, I don't mind leaving—"

" **NO!** " Jules cut the auburn-haired girl off, "It's not your fault at all. It never has been, Alicia."

" **WHAT?!** " Aleena shrieked, red in the face with anger. " **DID YOU JUST CALL HER, ALICIA?!** "

His mouth instantly clammed shut as his eyes widened in realization of what had just slipped his mouth.

"You two." She barked, pointing at the man who was supposed to be her husband, and the girl her son had brought home for dinner. "Get out of my house… **NOW**."

* * *

"Heading off to bed?" Elias asked the lynx girl who began to head upstairs.

"Yes." She nodded, rubbing her sleepy eyes. "I'm really tired."

"Maybe you shouldn't stay up on the phone with your boyfriend all night." He snickered, making her blush in response.

"Oh hush, you." She rolled her eyes, waving goodbye before going up. "Mother went to visit Locke. She'll be home soon, and so will Sally."

"Alright then." Elias shrugged, taking a seat back on the couch after lifting the remote from the coffee table. "Guess I'll just watch some TV and wait up for them."

He brushed the auburn hair from his face as he kicked back and flipped through channels.

Of course there would be nothing interesting on, there never was. So he just settled for the debate channel. The prince watched through bored eyes as the fox and hound on screen bickered about the poor Child Services set up in the country.

 **INCOMING CALL**

A half hour in, he perked up at the sound of his cellphone buzzing along the edge of the coffee table. He quickly caught it before it could fall to the floor, bringing it to his face to read the caller ID.

 _Metropolis Hospital_

He stiffened up, gasping as fear consumed him. Could it have been an accident? Both Sally and is mother had been running late in returning home.

 _"Hello?!"_ He answered quickly, worry flooding his system.

 _"Hello, is this Elias Acorn?"_ The soft-spoken nurse on the other line asked.

 _"Yes, I'm Elias."_ He confirmed, _"What's going on? Did something happen to my mother? Or sister?"_

 _"No Sir."_ The woman replied, eliciting a sigh of relief from him up until her next words practically turned him to stone _. "It's your baby."_

 _"My…baby?"_

 _"Yes. We have Alexis Acorn at our facility right now."_ She explained, _"We've had no success in contacting Megan the Squirrel, so we pulled your number from the records. We need you to come in right away. It's an emergency."_

* * *

 **Oh no, poor newborn Alexis is in the hospital! What for?!**

 **Ps. Remember when I said there would be more character death? Yeah, sorry to inform you that the children are NOT exempt from this**

 **Jon O'Hedge, Mace the Echidna, Lara-Su the Echidna, and Alexis Acorn are not safe just because they are children/babies**

 **Is that too dark? Probably, but it happens…**

 **Anyways, Shadow and Rouge have finally made up through therapeutic reminiscing of their dear friend, Maria Robotnik. Truth is, Rouge and Shadow are the kind of friends that are extremely close to an almost unhealthy degree. She never had romantic feelings for him until Dr. Tikal put the idea in her head. He was right, all she wanted was attention, because let's be honest, she's got nothing going for her at the moment now that Knuckles is out of the picture.**

 **But after his split with Julie-Su, is he still out of the picture? Or could this be her second chance at the expense of Lara-Su and Julie-Su?**

 **Fiona may be cruel and easy to hate, but there's no denying that she does have a soft spot in her stone heart, and is incredibly cunning. She had a master plan the entire time, harming Cream because she knew Ray would seek her out, and hurting Tails because she knew Ray couldn't stand him.**

 **The real question now is, will it work? Will the attack bring Ray and Cream closer as she planned? Or will it push her away from him completely?**

 **Scourge is such a sad case. Abandoned by both parents to be raised in a disgusting place by disgusting people. Trafficking drugs as a young child, and being faced with horrible situations. But alas, if none of it had ever happened, he would have never met the girl of his dreams.**

 **A young Sally with quite the…interesting nickname.**

 **Lastly, ohhh Jules. Wrong time, wrong place, wrong name… However wrong you were, Aleena was much worse.**

 **Mighty and Amy playing laser tag is probably one of the nicest scenes that's been in the story so far. No crying, no drama, just fun! But you just can't help but think of Amy's mother's chilling phone call, can you?**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Vacation is finally over, and everyone ventures back to campus for even more drama!**

 **Ray seeks out Cream at the hospital while Tails struggles with apologizing to Cosmo**

 **Elias is surprised to see what Megan's life has been like since he left her and Alexis behind him**

 **Mina has officially made a new nemesis**

 **Lara-Su has been kidnapped!**

 **Rob O'Hedge reveals a horrifying secret about his cousin's new friend…**

 **And so much more!**


	70. Chapter 70

**WARNING:** **Mentions of physical injury, murder, and bullying**

* * *

 **Chapter 70: Sorry & Secrets**

"I-I'm sorry I was su-such a downer this vacation Matilda." Ray apologized to his green-shelled sister, "I promise next ti-time it'll be better."

"It's alright Ray. I was just happy to see you guys." She waved in dismissal before throwing her arms around him to pull him in for a hug. "Please, take care of yourself, and Mighty too."

"I will." The squirrel nodded, returning her hug before retracting to pick his blue bag up from the sidewalk.

He then turned toward the silver jeep in the driveway of the Rabbot home, Beauregard in the driver's seat, and Bunnie in the passenger side. He opened the back door and tossed his bag inside before climbing in.

He let out a heavy sigh, glancing out the window to see his younger sister waving them off. He waved back until the vehicle pulled out of the driveway and onto the road.

Aside from the country music playing on the radio, the trip was otherwise silent. Ray stared out the window as the snow-covered scenery flew by, mind just drifting in space.

"You alright, Sugah?" Bunnie asked after catching sight of him in the small compact mirror she had pulled out to touch up her makeup.

"Huh? Oh, I'm fine. Just tired." Ray assured her, noticing the _'Welcome to Metropolis'_ sign they had just passed by.

"Don't worry, Little Man." Beauregard chimed in, "We're about one hour away from campus now."

"Um, if it's no-not too much trouble co-could you drop me off at Metropolis Hospital?" The squirrel asked, hopeful.

"Why would wanna go there?"

"I go-got a call that one of m-my friends is there." He explained vaguely, "I co-could get a ride to ca-campus from her mom."

"Well of course I can do that for ya', Son." The rabbit man nodded, turning on his signal lights.

"Thank you, Mr. R-Rabbot."

* * *

After packing her bag, Sonia climbed up onto her bed. She brought her legs up, linking her arms around them as she rested her forehead on her knees. She shut her eyes tightly as tears beaded within them at hearing the sound of her mother in the room over, smashing or tossing whatever belonged to her father in their bedroom.

The divorce had hit her a lot harder than she would have imagined. She had never been exposed to the darker corners of her parents' relationship. He was the hardworking military man, and she was the stay at home wife. A perfect family picture, only it wasn't so perfect.

Losing Tails was hard enough, but losing her father now? It was just devastating.

Jules and Sally had been thrown out last night. Sonic was mortified, but his arguing was quickly silenced by their mother, and they were all sent to their rooms.

Being the closest to her parents' bedroom, the magenta girl was forced to listen to the painful sobs and cursing of her heartbroken mother. Even now, at seven in the morning her mother was still crying, and hadn't come out of her room at all.

Sonia clenched her teeth as tears streamed down her face. She changed positon and used her hands to cup over her ears, desperately wanting to drown out the sounds of her mother's sobbing.

Suddenly, she felt arms drape across her. She opened her eyes to see her bedroom door was creaked open, and there were two random bags on her floor. It was her brothers, both of them had entered and came over to comfort her.

"Why is this happening to us?" She whimpered, looking left and right at both of them. "Did we do something?"

"No. Of course not." Sonic assured her, stroking back her bubblegum quills.

"Sonic's right. We didn't do anything." Manic added, "Ma and Dad have always been like a tornado and a volcano. It was only a matter of time…"

"Did…Did you know about this?" She asked the green teen, who looked down in response.

"Kinda…" He admitted, "He told me he was planning on it a few days ago…"

"Did he say why?!"

"Actually…no." Manic replied, thinking back to how strange it was. "He didn't say why…"

The magenta girl just wiped her face, the two boys on either side of her with arms still draped over her and heads leaned on her shoulders. It had been a long time since it was just the three of them like this, it was a shame it had to be under these circumstances.

"I'm sorry dinner didn't go so well." Sonia murmured toward her blue brother, "Is Sally okay?"

"I don't know. She hasn't texted me back at all. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if she never talked to me again." He sighed heavily, "I just don't get why mom was so…bitchy. She didn't even give Sal a chance."

"Ma's not exactly a saint, ya'know." Manic grumbled, gaining the attention of both his fellow triplets.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" His brother rose a skeptical eyebrow.

"Nothing." He shrugged.

"I don't think she's in good condition to drive us back to campus." Sonia changed the subject, "She hasn't slept very much…"

"Maybe you're right." Sonic agreed, "We'll probably have to take a bus back."

"Well, if we're taken a bus we should head out now. The next one arrives in about fifteen minutes."

"We should say bye to mother. We can't just disappear on her too…"

"Fine, but I'm not going first." Manic rose his hands up and shook his head, leaving Sonia and Sonic to exchange nervous looks.

* * *

Espio zipped up the last zipper of his decent-sized suitcase before pulling it off the bed. He rolled it out of his room as he took off down the hall searching for his mother. After a bit of searching he found her in the bathroom.

The door was open, and she was just leaning over the counter applying lipstick in the mirror. Her son cleared his throat to make his presence known, causing her to turn to him with a sweet smile.

"The school bus should be arriving in about fifteen minutes." He explained, dropping his bag to stretch his arms for a hug. "I just wanted to say goodbye, Mother."

She smiled, setting down her lipstick vial to turn and embrace her only child. She kissed his forehead before pulling away to rest a kind hand on his cheek.

"Goodbye for now, Espio." She corrected him, cradling his face. "Summer's just around the corner now, and I'll see you at your principal's wedding this Thursday."

"So you're not heading back to base tonight?"

"No. What made you think that?"

"The commander's here." Espio shrugged, reminding her that her superior and army partner had spent the night on their couch. "I figured you guys were heading back early."

"Oh no, I doubt that." Vigil waved in dismissal, "He wouldn't miss the wedding for anything…"

"Why's that?"

"Don't mind that." She shook her head, shewing him off. "Just hurry up and make it to your stop. I love you, and I'll see you soon."

Espio nodded, waving before taking off down the hall toward the living room. His speed instantly slowed down once he caught sight of Commander Jules the Hedgehog sitting up on his couch.

"Where are you off to so early?" The blue hedgehog smiled, distracting the chameleon who pulled his hand away from the knob to walk over.

"Back to school. Vacation ends today."

"Oh, that's right." Jules nodded, a bit saddened by the fact that he wouldn't be able to see his children off.

He then took another look at the chameleon boy, amazed at how much he'd grown. It felt like just yesterday that his partner had turned in her papers for maternity leave. It was the first time he'd ever seen any of his fellow soldiers' children. It got him thinking about how Arthur's daughter turned out, and the late Captain Metal's son…

"Say…Your mother told me once that you had some sort of squabble with Shard Metal…" Jules spoke up again, making the chameleon's polite smile drop. "Have you two worked it out? I'd like to know how he's doing."

"No. We haven't." Espio grumbled, turning rudely to walk out the door. "He's a dog I'd prefer not to associate myself with. Excuse me, Commander, but I need to get going."

Jules blinked twice before the teen dashed out the door, slamming it shut behind him. The hedgehog just sat back and eased into the couch, whistling at the tension left behind.

"Jeez." He commented to himself, "You'd think all the army kids would get along…"

"Between you and me, I think its girl trouble." A familiar voice spoke up, making him turn to see Vigil strolling in to take a seat beside him on the couch.

Jules just chuckled at the prospect, finding much sense in the idea.

"I gave her the papers…"

"I figured that when you were banging on my door at three in the morning." The pink chameleon smirked, turning to look at him. "How'd she take it?"

"Horribly, not that I really blame her. I handled the situation just as bad as you predicted." He sighed, meeting her hazel eyes with his turquoise ones. "I guess you do know me better than I do."

"What about the children?"

"I don't know, and that's bugging me the most." Jules admitted with a sad frown, "They're off to school so I won't get the chance to explain myself before she drills something into them."

"Hey, you surprisingly did the right thing. Not just for you, but for her too. Your marriage was an atrocity, and you couldn't let her live in a false reality forever."

"I do care about her, Vigil. Just not the way I thought I did when I was sixteen…" The hedgehog replied in a disheartened tone, "I tried to make the best of it, but I couldn't keep up with it. Not after what she made me do to my son…"

"You don't need to explain yourself to me." Vigil assured him, resting a kind hand to his shoulder. "I think Aleena is a wonderful woman, but she's also selfish and cruel to a degree. You may not be perfect, but you've tried. I've seen you try."

"Not hard enough I guess..." He murmured, making the chameleon woman frown and look away.

* * *

"Bye Mum! Bye Dad!" Marine squealed, leaping onto both her adoptive parents to plant kisses on their cheeks.

"Goodbye Sweetheart." Her mother smiled, ruffling her orange hair.

She then stepped back, allowing Blaze to set her things down and go hug each of her parents.

"Goodbye Daddy." The cat whispered, kissing the cheek of the obese man sitting on the couch before heading over to the thin woman standing beside him. "Goodbye Mommy."

"You two take care of each other, alright?"

"Don't worry, Mum! I'll look out for Blazey like a hawk!"

"Likewise…" The lavender girl nodded in agreement.

"Good to hear." Their mother smiled, shewing them out the door. "Now go! I see the bus pulling up."

"Huh, oh Chaos!" Blaze yelped, grabbing her things off the floor before bursting out the door, Marine chasing after her.

The two dashed down the sidewalk, the bus pulling up at the stop way down the street in the distance. They watched as other teens loaded onto the Green Hill Academy bus, and the doors began to slowly shut.

"Oh no! We're not gonna make it." Marine cried out.

"Yes we are!" Blaze assured her, looking back at her younger sister. "Jump on my back!"

"What?"

"Just do it! Like when we were kids and you'd help me train for the track meets by letting me piggyback ride you around the oval!"

The raccoon nodded, throwing her backpack on before leaping onto the cat. She held Blaze's neck tightly as she pointed out to the bus.

"C'mon Blazey!" She hyped the feline, "Put those track star legs to use and get us to that bloody bus!"

Blaze took a deep breath, concentrating as she held on to both her sister and bag tightly. Without the worry of leaving Marine behind, she broke out into a sprint at near full speed. The sidewalks were still slippery with snow, but her red boots prevented much skidding.

Marine howled with excitement as they got closer and closer to the bus, the cold winds rushing passed them. The cat felt exhilarated, she had almost forgotten what joy running brought her, and how good she was at it.

The two girls arrived just in the nick of time, forcing the bus to open it's doors to them. Blaze set the raccoon down so they both could climb on in. For the most part it was rather empty, allowing them to find a seat together without worry.

The cat took the window seat, chest heaving as she smiled with victory.

"See, you're still just as awesome as ya' used to be." Marine giggled, making the cat blush bashfully.

"Maybe I can fix things…" She murmured to herself.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 ** _Mephiles:_** _Looking forward to having you back Fire Woman…_

 ** _Mephiles:_** _And don't make me go looking for you._

"Or not…" She mumbled, just the vial hedgehog's name on her screen alone enough to throw her back into a fog of despair.

* * *

Wave was up in her room getting ready to take off back to campus. She stood in front of her bed, folding clothes and setting them back into her white suitcase.

She found it incredibly hard to concentrate, her eyes constantly drifting out the window to stare at the two houses at the end of the street where her two closest friends were neighbored.

 **INCOMING CALL**

Her wandering thoughts were soon interrupted by the chime of her cellphone. She set the pair of jeans she had just folded up into the bag before turning around to walk over and grab her phone off the bookshelf.

She tensed, the breath in her lungs escaping her at the sight of the contact picture.

It was of her and Cobar at an LGBT pride parade. Both of them wearing rainbow bracelets and sticking their tongues to the camera.

She hadn't spoken to him since Rotor's funeral, not that she was ignoring him. They were both just grieving at their own pace, and hadn't been much for socializing.

Regardless, she steeled her nerves and answered the call anyway.

 _"Hello?"_ She said, nothing but sobbing on the other line _. "Cobar? Are you okay?"_

 _"No! I'm not alright, Wave!"_ The orange echidna on the other line shrieked, nearly shattering her eardrum.

 _"What happened?!"_

 _"They…They let him walk. They let that monster Jet get off scot free!"_ Cobar sobbed, _"Rotor's best friend called me this morning to tell me. He wanted me to be prepared to see him on campus. I can't believe he's allowed back to school too."_

 _"I know, Cobar."_

 _"You know? Yet you're so calm about all this? I expected you to be just as furious as me."_

 _"It's a complicated situation…"_

 _"The hell it is!"_ Cobar spat bitterly _, "That bird is murderer! He deserved the life sentence."_

 _"He turned himself in."_ Wave defended the hawk, shocking the echidna on the phone _. "He would have never done those things if it weren't for his mother—"_

 _"Don't you dare try to defend him to me with that garbage!"_ He cut her off coldly, _"Remorse doesn't ensure forgiveness or bring Rotor back. And who cares about what kind of example his mother was? Everyone has free will to choose their own fate. Mighty the Armadillo is the son of Mercia's thief couple. They were murderers too, yet Mighty is the most humble person at our school."_

 _"I'm not trying to defend him. I'm just saying he isn't fully to blame."_

 _"I can't believe you right now. After all the times he teased you about being gay, and ridiculed the LGBT committee."_ Cobar murmured, betrayal evident in his tone. _"I thought we were your friends…. I thought Rotor was your friend…"_

 _"You are, he was…but…Jet was my friend too."_

* * *

 _'When the nurse called I had no idea what to do. She's not my daughter, but they had me down as her father on hospital record so they called me._

 _I wanted to correct her, and tell her to take me off the contact list. I wanted to hang up and get back to watching nothing on TV, but I couldn't find the heart to._

 _That's how I ended up here at Metropolis hospital._

 _I came in around eleven last night, rushing to the front desk to give my name and find her. Eventually I found the nurse who had called me, and she led me to the ICU where they kept babies in the far back wing._

 _I can't even begin to describe how awful it felt to see her lying in a glass box with tubes and an oxygen mask strapped to her face._

 _"Alexis…" I whimpered before turning to the nurse, "Wh-What's wrong with her?! What happened? Why is she blue?"_

 _"We aren't sure yet." The purple dog woman replied professionally, "The babysitter brought her in half an hour ago."_

 _"Babysitter? Where the hell was Megan?"_

 _"She didn't return any of our calls. That's why we called you."_

 _Who leaves their one month old alone with a babysitter?! Where the hell did she have to go that was so fucking important? And where the hell is she now?_

 _Alexis was all by herself, in some strange place. I couldn't just leave her like that…_

 _"Can I stay with her?" I asked, hopeful._

 _"Of course. There's a chair right there." The nurse told me, leading me over to the chair by the hospital bed. "The doctors will be in and out checking her progress while we try to pin a diagnosis."_

 _I nodded in understanding before taking a seat. I watched her for hours, doctors passing by, sometimes coming in and out just as promised. Eleven at night suddenly turned into eleven in the morning, and still no sign of Megan…'_

"Eli?!" A familiar voice called out, making the sleepy squirrel straighten up in the uncomfortable chair he'd been sitting in for a little over twelve hours.

His bloodshot eyes flew to the door where he saw her. Megan, rushing over to the baby's bedside, jade eyes brimming with tears as she put both hands on the glass box.

"What happened to Alexis?!"

"She has extreme asthma…" Elias grumbled, standing up from the chair to walk over to her. "The babysitter brought her in last night. They tried to call you, but you didn't answer so they called me instead. Just where the hell were you, Megan?!"

He was grumpy from lack of sleep, and pissed at the squirrel for the given situation. He scowled at her, and loomed over her as he awaited some stupid answer. A party? Shopping?

"Work…"

"What?"

"I was at work." Megan muttered, bowing her head in shame. "My manager forced me to take nightshift."

"Work? Megan, you just gave birth a few weeks ago! Why the hell would you be working?!"

"I needed the money." She explained, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Between rent and diapers I'm barely scraping by—"

"Whoa, what rent? You're at home with your dad."

"Not anymore."

"What happened?!"

"I told him the truth, about Alexis' father. He was furious. He kicked us out a week after you left me. So I found a small low income apartment here in Metropolis, and I took a job at Casino Night Zone. It's a bar and lounge…" She explained further, wiping her tears away. "I'm sorry they called you. I know we aren't your problem anymore. I'll have them take your name off the list when we leave…"

"Good…" He replied, doing everything to stifle the feeling of guilt in his heavy heart.

She was right, they weren't his family, therefore not his problem. Still, he couldn't help but feel bad for her.

"Thank you for coming though. I really appreciate it Elias…"

"Sure…" He nodded, turning toward the door.

* * *

"Lara-Su!" Julie-Su called out after swinging her bag over her shoulder and stepping into the hall, "Grandfather's on his way home, and Mommy has to leave soon."

She took off down the hall toward her daughter's room, opening the door to peek in and see the little girl wasn't there.

So she instantly turned heel downstairs, expecting to see the red echidna girl sitting up in front of the TV in the living room.

"Lara?" She called out again as she came down the steps, only to find that the TV was off and no one was in.

At first it seemed harmless enough. The little girl was always fond of worrying her with the hide-and-seek nonsense, but shortly after the teen mom couldn't help but begin to panic.

"Where are you, Lara-Su?!" The pink echidna bellowed, setting her bag down by the door to go over to the kitchen. "Mommy's not laughing-"

She immediately paused and gasped at the scene in the kitchen. Glass shards of the cookie jar that had been sitting on the counter top scattered about the floor with crushed cookies, the toddler's special booster chair toppled over, and the back door wide open…

A horrific shriek escaped her as she scrambled out the open door, looking frantically all over the backyard, but finding no sign of her daughter anywhere.

She didn't know what to do, quickly rushing back inside to grab her cellphone. She breathed heavily as she dialed 911 and explained the situation. After they assured her they'd arrive shortly, she hung up and scrolled through contacts to see who else she could call.

The echidna girl was quick to disregard both of Thrash and Knuckles' names, scrolling right passed them to Mighty's name.

* * *

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 ** _Amy:_** _So, not to sound needy or anything, but do you think we'd still be able to hangout when we're back in school? Just every once in a blue. I promise I won't be a pest._

 ** _Mighty:_** _Of course! But…why would you wanna hang out with me?_

 ** _Amy:_** _That's such a stupid question. These last few days have been awesome. I have tons and tons of friends, but none of them have ever taken me to laser tag!_

 ** _Amy:_** _Besides, me and Sonic kinda hang with the same crowd, and I'm really just trying to keep my cool._

 ** _Mighty:_** _Well, I'll gladly be your icepack. Lol._

 ** _Mighty:_** _So what are up to?_

 ** _Amy:_** _Oh nothing. Just got done packing. So now I'm waiting for Rob to put Jon down for nap so he can drive me back to GHA._

 ** _Amy:_** _With how that kid is, I won't be back on campus until nightfall…Ugh._

 ** _Mighty:_** _If that's the case you can always hitch a ride back to school with me._

 ** _Amy:_** _Really?!_

 ** _Mighty:_** _Sure, we could make a fun road trip._

 ** _Amy:_** _Awesome! When can we leave?!_

 ** _Mighty:_** _I was just getting ready to head out. I'll walk up to your place and get you now._

 ** _Amy:_** _Okay._

Amy then shoved the pink cellphone back into her pants pocket and got up from her bed to dash out the door. She was sure to grab her bag before speeding off down the hall to slide down the banister of the stairs, landing gracefully on her feet in the large living area.

She was greeted by the sight of Rob pacing the living room with a sobbing baby in his arms, bouncing the echidna boy up and down to soothe him, to no avail of course.

"Sorry Amy." The teal hedgehog apologized, "It shouldn't be much longer."

"Oh that's okay, Rob." She waved in dismissal, the sound of the doorbell only aggravating the baby more. "That's my friend. He's gonna give me a lift back to school. Love you, bye—"

"Now hang on there, Missy." Her cousin cut her off just as she was about to open the door and take off.

She tensed nervously as he came around the couch to stand in front of her at the door where she had her hand on the knob.

"Who's this friend?"

"His name is Mighty." Amy huffed, rolling her eyes at his parental tone. "He's our neighbor."

"Neighbor?"

"I didn't think we had neighbors either, but he lives in this tiny cottage next to us. He's really nice and super responsible."

"How come I've never heard of him before?"

"We actually just started hanging out this vacation, but don't worry. He's totally cool." Amy assured him, "You can meet him if you want."

"Of course I want to meet the person I **MIGHT** let take my little cousin to a campus that is about five hours away."

"Fine." The pink girl huffed, yanking the door open to reveal the awkward armadillo standing at the door innocently. "Rob, this is Mighty the Armadillo."

Rob's eyes glossed over the armadillo curiously, still bouncing the baby who was finally drifting off to sleep in his arms. The boy was tall, wearing simple clothing appropriate for the weather. He waved, smiling shyly as he greeted the teal hedgehog casually.

"Hello Mr. O'Hedge." Mighty gulped nervously.

"See Rob, everything's fine—"

"No it's not." The teal man cut her off coldly as his curious gaze became a confused glare, making the armadillo quite nervous. "I've seen you before…"

"Oh, you've probably seen me around the neighbor—"

"How old are you?"

"I just turned eighteen a few months ago."

"And you're from Mercia?"

"Yes." Mighty nodded, scratching his cheek. "I was born here, but taken to foster care when I was around three. I just moved back with my little sister and adopted brother last summer."

"Okay Rob." Amy snapped in annoyance, "That's enough interrogating my friend. He's fine. Can I go now? I want to make it back to campus before dark."

Rob stared hard at the armadillo, brows furrowed together in confusion as he tried to place a name to such a familiar face. He'd seen him before, but not around this neighborhood, and a very long time ago…

 _'The devil Robbin…'_ His aunt's voice whispered in his head, making his eyes widen in shock. _'He wants to her soul…'_

As Amy took off down the front steps beside the armadillo, the teal hedgehog called out to cease there movements with what sounded like an angry and commanding tone.

"Wait."

The two turned back toward him curiously.

'What is it now?!" Amy whined.

"I remember your face…" The teal hedgehog directed to a confused Mighty, "You were one of the children they found at the apartment that belonged to Mercia's most wanted couple…"

The armadillo suddenly felt a great shame wash over him, bowing his head as he looked down in embarrassment.

"Those psycho's you're always watching documentaries on TV about? Don't be so stupid, Rob! Not all armadillos look alike—"

"No… He is right." Mighty cut off Amy's defense, making her turn to look at him with a bewildered expression. "They were my parents, but believe me I'm not like them, I—"

"Get off my property…"

"Sir, please. I swear I'm **NOT—** "

" **I SAID GET OFF MY PROPERTY!** " Rob screamed, tears brimming his furious jade eyes. The sound of his screams waking up the baby that had just fallen asleep.

"Rob!" Amy shot up to the armadillo's defense, stepping in between them with arms raised. "What the hell wrong with you!?"

"Do you have any idea what your parents did?!" He asked, ignoring the pink girl as he stared directly into Mighty's blue eyes with such distaste.

"They robbed banks and local businesses…" The armadillo mumbled, the last part being the hardest to speak aloud. "And they murdered some man during a robbery gone wrong—"

" **WRONG.** " The teal hedgehog bellowed angrily, "They didn't just murder some man. That man was King O'Hedge…Charity man…the next mayor of Mercia…my father…right in front of me…"

Both Amy and Mighty's eyes widened in horror as they looked up to the furious hedgehog holding the crying baby.

"Amy's not going anywhere with you, ever again." He stated coldly, "Now leave…"

"Rob—" Amy mumbled before Mighty lifted his hand to silence her.

"Don't. It's alright, Amy." He assured her, hurt evident in his tone. "As a guardian myself, I completely understand where he's coming from. I'll see ya' around."

He then took off, eyes on the stone pathway he walked down as Amy stared after him with a sorrowful gaze, then looked back at her cousin with the same expression.

She had never known the fate of her uncle, always assuming he had died of illness in her youth. Rob had never spoken about it to her…

* * *

 _' "Thank you for walking me home, Sir." I told him as he strolled along side me in the night, the street lights illuminating our path._

 _"Well, it's late and I couldn't just let a young girl walk home alone." He shrugged in the same manner his son often did, "And please don't call me, Sir. Chaos that makes me feel old. Just call me Jules like everyone else."_

 _"Oh, okay." I nodded, my gaze falling back to my feet as I thought of how horrible dinner had gone. "Si—I mean, Jules, I'm really sorry about dinner. I didn't mean to cause you guys so much trouble."_

 _"Don't worry about that." He told me, waving in dismissal. "And don't take what his mother says to heart. She's just a very bitter woman with quite the mouth on her."_

 _It was strange walking beside the older version of my boyfriend, only with brown hair over his quills, and bright blue eyes that seemed almost familiar._

 _I'm at least grateful that he likes me. I only wish I could say the same for his mother. She really seemed to dislike me. Especially when Jules called me…_

 _"Umm… Jules?"_

 _"Yes, Dear?"_

 _"You called me Alicia… That's my mother's name." I remarked, turning to see him quickly shoot his gaze to his feet. "Do you…know her?"_

 _He didn't even try to answer the question, but the disheartened expression I caught on his face was worth much more than words. Raising my curiosity to new heights. Before I could even begin to lay into him with questions, he shot his head up and smiled at me as he pointed out behind me._

 _"I think this is your stop." He spoke up, pointing out toward my mother's condo. "You should probably call Sonic to tell him you got home okay."_

 _"Thank you, but where do you plan to go? It's really late and there aren't any hotels in walking distance." I explained worriedly, "I could ask my mother to take you in—"_

 _"No." He cut me off, tone still gentle. "That's alright. I'm in a bit of a walking mood anyhow."_

 _He then disappeared down the sidewalk…'_

"Sally." Alicia sang, walking over to the girl seated on the living room couch with her bag beside her. "Are you okay?"

Sally had been looking downward, rubbing her arm as she sat with her legs crossed on the couch. Her large glasses were back and hung off her face as she stared blankly into space, concerning her mother.

"Sweetheart…" Her mother cooed, sitting down beside her to throw an arm over her shoulders. "Is something the matter?"

"No…I'm just wondering something…"

"What is it?"

"Mother….do you know Jules the Hedgehog?"

The older chipmunk's mouth instantly fell open upon mention of the blue hedgehog, and her whole body tensed. She immediately broke her gaze from the auburn-haired girl, refusing to acknowledge the question as she stood up and changed the subject.

"Your brother came home from Chaos knows where." She stated, carrying off toward the door without looking back at her daughter. "He and Nicole are waiting in the car for us."

Alicia has never been one to beat around the bush, and her brushing off the auburn-haired girl's question so blatantly only raised her curiosity even more.

* * *

Blackness, nothingness, just and empty void of darkness. That's what poor Cream had been living in after being taken to Metropolis Hospital post incident with Fiona in the café yesterday. The doctor had forced her to spend the night with breathable bandages around her eyes to prevent anything from getting into them while they healed themselves.

The first layer of her eyeballs had been damaged, causing an almost unbearable sensation of pain within them until her mother and Tails brought her to the hospital where doctors washed the alcohol out and supplied her with pain killers.

Tails had gone home, and her mother had duties to attend to on campus as female dorm adviser, leaving the rabbit girl to wait it out in the hospital alone.

She couldn't see, and it frightened her. She gripped the white sheets tightly as she whimpered, tears causing an immense irritation as they rolled off her cheeks.

Suddenly, she felt something fall upon her hand, making her jump and gasp in fright. She turned to look, but with the bandages on she couldn't see.

"Who's there?!" She yelped nervously, heart racing with panic. Usually the doctors and nurses announced their arrival at the door before entering.

"I-It's me, Ray." A familiar voice called out, putting her at ease.

He felt the tension on her hand beneath his loosen as he ran his thumb along the back of her palm soothingly. He looked at her with such sympathy, heart nearly breaking at the sight of her in such a dreary state.

"Ray?" She repeated with surprise, "What are doing here?"

"Ta-Tails called me…" He explained, sorrow evident in his tone. "I'm so so-sorry Cream. I didn't th-think she'd hurt you like this."

"It's not your fault. I wanted to help." She assured him, taking his hand to squeeze lightly. "I'm glad you're here though…" The rabbit added with a blush, making him smile weakly.

"Of course I am." He chuckled, "You were th-there for me when I was in the ho-hospital too, remember?"

"Yeah." Cream giggled, "It seems like no matter what we always end up together in the end."

* * *

After going back to his dorm to settle back into the place, Tails quickly rushed across campus to the girl's dorm. He jogged lightly on the sidewalks still covered in a thin coat of ice and surrounded by dingy mountains of snow as he mentally scolded himself on past actions.

 _'How could I be so stupid? I should have just come clean to Cosmo myself about kissing Cream. At the time it seemed innocent. I was just trying to comfort her, but then I let it get too far with emotion. I'm so dumb. I just couldn't decide where my head was at! But seeing her cry…I know…I know where my heart is.'_

He picked up the pace, clutching tightly to the emerald bracelet the green-haired girl had thrown back at him the other day after Fiona's ousting.

Once inside the girl's dorm he wasted no time with polite hellos to the girls he knew roaming the lounge area, immediately taking off up the stairwell and down the hall until he came to a screeching halt in front of the seedrian's room.

He frowned at the closed door, squeezing the bracelet tightly as he did his best to muster up all his courage. He then lifted a hand to lightly tap his knuckles on the wood.

"Cosmo…" He murmured, "It's Tails."

"Go away, please." She begged, sorrow clear as day in her voice.

The seedrian sounded close, and that's because she was sitting with her back to the door, curled up with fresh tears that hadn't left her poor baby-blues since the harsh reality was brought to her attention.

"I can't." The fox whimpered, resting his forehead on the closed door as he tried to imagine her on the other side. "I want to talk to you…"

"I don't want to."

"Please? Let me explain myself."

He waited, but no reply ever came. Only the sound of shuffling and murmurs could be heard until the click of the door sounded and it reeled back just a bit, enough for him to meet half of the seedrian's face.

"Go ahead…" She mumbled through the slightly ajar door, not at all allowing him entrance into her room.

"I…I don't know where to start—"

"You kissed Cream…while we were together." She reminded him.

"I didn't mean to though. I found her crying in the bathroom that day, and it just sort of happened. I didn't tell you because I didn't think it meant anything at the time—"

"At the time?" She repeated.

"Yeah…but after that, I felt myself developing feelings for her I didn't even know I had." He explained honestly, hoping the green-haired girl would understand. "That's why we drifted apart. It wasn't you or her, it was me. I thought I could have my cake and eat it too, but I realize that I was wrong to play with both of you like that, and Ray was right to talk shit to me. I was a real jerk, and I'm so sorry."

"…" She said nothing, slowly easing the door shut until he jammed his foot into the frame.

"Wait, please…" He begged, prying the door open. "When you broke up with me, It hurt me a lot worse than I thought it would… Truth is, despite those weird feelings I got from Cream after the kiss, you've always been the one I wanted, and it took me until now to realize it…"

"Always?" Cosmo huffed in disbelief, "What about your first, Fiona. Remember that?"

"I won't lie to you, I did want her first…and when told me there was no way I did run to you." He sighed, gripping the doorframe tightly before he looked back up to her with the most sincere of smiles. "But you weren't some constellation prize. You were the right choice all along, Cosmo."

Her heart fluttered at the prospect, and she slowly began to let her guard down as she opened the door completely. They stood in front of one another in the doorway not uttering a word for the longest time. Then he held out the bracelet he had given her for Christmas, the yellow emerald shining brightly on it.

"I love you, Cosmo…" He whispered as he took one of her tiny hands to slide the bracelet back on. "I'm just learning to love, but if you give me another chance I promise I won't mess up…"

She blushed, sad tears replaced by joyful ones. Although Fiona's words had came at her like a wrecking ball, the kitsune had just pieced her back together with his own.

It's true, being the youngest they were the least experienced among their friends, and were just in the stages of learning what hormones and feelings meant. She couldn't find it in her heart to hold it against him, never having been the grudge-holder type. She was the kind of girl who believed in second chances, and he was the only boy at this new school she truly wanted more than anything from the first moment she laid eyes on him.

To his delight, she outstretched her arms for a hug, welcoming him in before reeling back to give him a tender kiss on the lips.

* * *

Boxes upon boxes scattered about by the door as the teal hedgehog woman who had packed them up sat on the black loveseat in the living area, amethyst eyes fixed on the TV. The giant, yellow bracelets on her wrist jingled with every push of a button on the tiny remote she held up to black box mounted to the wall.

She had just got done packing away her things, and was waiting for the moving truck she rented to arrive and transport them back to her parents' home in Mobotropolis. The curvaceous woman was tired, opting to turn on the TV to kill time as she relaxed.

Of course nothing good was on as usual, leaving her to endlessly surf through channels until she ended up on the country news channel.

A black cat in a tight-fitting purple pants suit sat at a round, wooden desk with a stack of papers in hand. Breezie scrunched up her nose in distaste for the feline's gross overuse of tacky, purple eyeshadow and hideous gold earrings.

She was just ready to flip over to the next channel when the cat uttered a familiar name that peaked her interest.

 _"The ball drop in Soleanna was an absolutely phenomenal event. The decorations, and the atmosphere, but I'm sure we can all agree what really made the night was the entertainers. Particularly one to be specific."_ The cat said, _"That's right, we're talking Mina Mongoose. The lavender-haired angel with a voice to match! I have never seen an audience so captivated, so emotional, and so overjoyed by sound than when she took to the stage! Here's some footage."_

Breezie sat up and leaned in her chair to glare harshly at the screen as her student Mina twirled about on stage. Then the camera angles panned over to the crowd of swooning spectators howling out her name like banshee.

A low growl escaped her as she followed the mongoose's gaze, only to land right on her now ex-boyfriend, Ash Mongoose. He was among the crowd, standing off to the side cheering and howling with the rest of them. It made the English teacher's blood boil with anger.

 _"We've caught wind that several labels are discussing deals with the girl's manager, mother, and famous lawyer Isabella Mongoose. She's sure to be the next big popstar Mobius has ever bred!"_ The cat added, _"This was Sasha Cat with entertainment news. Now we pan over to Rory Bear with sports."_

"That little hussy…" Breezie growled lowly as she turned off the TV, gripping the remote tightly.

* * *

Once Rouge, Rosy, and Shadow made it back to campus, the bat departed from the group, saying that she just wanted to go unpack her things. Truth be told, she was just sick of third wheeling it the way she had been.

 _'Ugh, thankfully we're back on campus and Manic will be here so I won't be the awkward tag along anymore.'_ She thought to herself as she wheeled her white suitcase toward the girl's dorm.

She'd done this so often that she didn't even have to look where she was going. Instead, she pulled out her cellphone and began to scroll through Facebook out of boredom. She noticed Sonic's trending post, bewildered to see the blue hedgehog locking lips with someone who wasn't Amy, or at the very least someone who wasn't attractive.

"Gross." She spat, scrolling past the image. "He must have lost a bet or something." She concluded, reminding herself to ask Manic about it the next time she saw him.

Then she came to a slew of boring statuses, surprised that none of them were posts by her pink hedgehog friend looking for sympathy from her followers the way she often did.

Of the statuses, one in particular caught her eyes. She ceased scrolling to scan her eyes over it before they began to slowly widen with horror.

 ** _Julie-Su the Echidna: PLEASE READ:_** _My daughter Lara-Su is four years old. She's red with light-pink hair and violet eyes. She has been missing since this morning. She was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, blue overalls, black slip-on shoes, a pink winter jacket, and a pink beanie. If you've seen here or know where she is please contact me immediately._

"Oh my Chaos…" The bat gasped, cupping her mouth as she stopped her walking to reread the post.

She stood there, mortified, and wondering how the little girl's parents must be feeling…especially Knuckles.

Amidst her frantic thoughts, the bat felt something tug at the leg of her tight, black pants, causing her to jump up before looking down.

"Rooge!" The little echidna girl in a pink beanie exclaimed joyfully, stretching out her arms for a hug. "I missed you."

"Lara-Su?!" She yelped in disbelief before kneeling down to level with the little girl. The echidna instantly wrapped her arms around the bat's neck, forcing her to lift her up. "How did you get here?!"

"I took a big girl bus like the one Mommy takes me on sometimes." She explained in that adorable kid voice, snuggling into the bat's comfortable chest.

"Did you tell your mommy you left?"

"No…" She frowned, "She wouldn't have let me come…"

"Of course not, Sweetie!" The bat sighed, "This is a school for big kids. C'mon, we need to call your parents and tell them where you—"

Just as she pulled out her cellphone and begun dialing the pink echidna's phone number, the little girl swatted her phone, causing it to slip from her hands and land on the snow.

"No!" Lara-Su shrieked angrily, "I didn't come here for school!"

"Then why did you sneak off to get here?"

"I came to see Mr. Knuckles." The little girl whined, violet eyes brimming with tears behind her little glasses. "Mommy wouldn't have let me see him. So I had to run away."

"Why wouldn't your mommy let you see him?"

"Because she's mad at him."

"How come?"

"They got into a big fight, and he went away, but he didn't bye to me…" She whimpered, "Do you know where he is?!"

Rouge bit her lip as she looked sorrowfully at the confused and upset toddler in her arms. She knew the right thing to do here would be to call Julie-Su and let her know what's going on, but the little girl sounded desperate, and she didn't have the heart to refuse.

"No, but I'll help you find him." Rouge sighed, setting the little girl down to her feet. "But then we're going to call your mother."

* * *

Knuckles laid on his bed with arms propping up his head as he stared absentmindedly at the ceiling. His roommates hadn't arrived back on campus yet, leaving him some alone time to think about things.

He of course felt like a huge jackass for sleeping with Shade, but those feelings of self-loathing were quickly disregarded when he thought about his phone call with Thrash.

He was doing great, on the right track for once in his life. His grades were sky high, higher than they've ever been. Basketball was starting back up again, and graduation didn't seem so impossible for him anymore. He had settled down with one girl after hopping on several like trains left and right this year, and he even made up with his exes and past rival, Elias Acorn.

But it's hard to keep on the right track when you feel like those around you are still judging you based on your past.

Julie-Su not telling him that she'd been speaking to Thrash about Lara-Su felt like an act of treason. He worked so hard to prove to her he could be trusted, but clearly that wasn't enough for her, and that pissed him off.

He was even willing to put his evergreen feelings for Rouge behind him to pursue something real with her, only for her to still keep him at arm's length.

Well, he had enough.

Enough with the secrecy and spring traps. He couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel, therefore he just turned back around.

"Maybe suicide isn't such a far off thought after all…" He mumbled lowly to himself as he thought of how terrible life had been to him.

 **KNOCK, KNOCK.**

He jolted up from his laying down position to peer over at the door with an annoyed scowl, expecting to see the silent polar bear and crude albatross that were his roommates, but to his surprise the two standing at the door weren't them.

A curvaceous bat holding a tiny echidna girl had swung the door open, forcing a gasp of surprise out of him.

"Rouge?" He breathed in disbelief before his eyes wandered to the little girl she set down on the floor. "Lara?"

"Mr. Knuckles, Mr. Knuckles!" The little girl cried out as she ran over to him, tears flying off her face as she leapt onto him for a hug.

He was surprised by the action, and felt such sorrow as he listened closely to the blubbering sobs that escaped her over his shoulder. He patted her back gently before pulling her away to tilt his head at her.

"What are you doing here?"

"You didn't say bye…" She whimpered, wiping her face on the sleeve of her jacket. "When you left…"

"I…I'm sorry, Lara." He apologized, feeling guilty as he thought of how confusing the situation must have been for her.

She then dug her hands into her left pocket, pulling out several crumbling cookies to hand over to him. "I brought you snacks for when you get hungry. I made them for you and Mommy to take to big kid school."

"Oh…" He chuckled, taking the crumbling cookies to set on the nearby dresser. "Thanks…"

"And I brought this for you too." She explained, digging her other hand in her other pocket to pull out the familiar over-sized emerald necklace.

Rouge eyed it from the door, able to spot such a magnificent jewel a mile away. Knuckles was baffled, taking it in his hand before looking back up to the little girl curiously.

"Mommy tried to throw it in the trash, but I know it's your special rock so I took it and wanted to bring it back to you…" Lara-Su mumbled, making Rouge's ears twitch at the door.

"Knuckles…" The bat called out to gain his attention, topaz meeting amethyst. "What the hell did you do this time?"

* * *

 **Awe, poor Lara-Su. Tricked ya! She wasn't kidnapped at all. She ran away to find Knuckles and give him back the master emerald necklace.**

 **Recall that the real father of Megan's baby was some older scumbag from the neighborhood that her father had warned her about. Once Elias left her, she was forced to tell him who the true father was. This resulted in a furious Joss disowning her and kicking her out. Thankfully she found a place to stay, but to earn a living she has been sacrificing time with her child to work, leaving the infant in the care of a babysitter often.**

 **Will this new information influence Elias' choice in leaving her? Or will the time he's been spending with Sonia actually pay off?**

 **Poor Blazey, back at another fork in the road. She's slowly figuring out that she's still got so much potential, but at the same time she's still got Mephiles in her ear…**

 **If anyone's struggling emotionally right now it's definitely Wave. A side character with a very complicated situation. Sexually confused, and torn between right and wrong when it comes to two friends. She and Rotor were good friends. She helped him come out, and encouraged him to pursue his crush. So…even the tiniest bit of empathy for the person who drove him to suicide feels wrong, but Jet was her friend too.**

 **Cosmo and Tails have made up, Cream and Ray have had their moment. Maybe everyone else could learn a thing or two from the young ones…**

 **Finally, let's talk about Rob…and Mighty…**

 **Remember a very, very long ago that Rob's father was murdered in front of him at a store when he was young, resulting in him having to go live with Amy's parents.**

 **Also, it's been hinted at several times that Mighty's parents were infamous thieves of Mercia, and had even killed once. Resulting in him and Matilda's entire childhood being brought up in foster care.**

 **So yes, Mighty's parents are the ones who killed Rob O'Hedge's parents and started a crazy chain of events in both their lives. Rob's reaction was harsh, but keep in mind that he was completely traumatized and his life was destroyed by the event.**

 **Oh how ever will the Mighty/Amy ship sail on now?**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Sally and Amy both receive some unwanted attention on campus**

 **It's revealed what happened between Julie-Su and Thrash that fateful day…**

 **Jet's return to campus isn't so pleasant**

 **Blaze makes her choice**

 **Rouge confronts Shade**

 **And so much more!**


	71. Chapter 71

**WARNING:** **Bullying**

* * *

 **Chapter 71:** **Miscommunication**

It was now January, the school year halfway over with only five months left until seniors would be chucking their hats to the air and the campus would be closed for summer renovation.

It was still bitter cold out, and the snow hadn't gone away. The brick buildings of campus still had long, jagged icicles hanging off the window frames, and it still felt like skating when walking on the cement pathways snaking around mountains of shoveled away snow between the buildings.

Students and staff had all returned after a long winter break for the holidays, campus bustling with life once again as teens filed in and out of buildings, the sound of their chatter echoing in the distance.

You'd think the festive holiday break would have everyone upbeat and cheerful. However, the tension on campus was more than apparent, and it wasn't even just the students…

"G-Good morning, Zonic." Tikal greeted the blue hedgehog who had just trudged by her and the two other officers she was speaking with in the staff lounge.

He didn't acknowledge them at all, just holding tightly onto his steaming mug of coffee as he carried on toward the tables in the back he usually sat at alone.

The echidna woman frowned, recalling the hedgehog's drunken confessions of pain and loneliness. She didn't hear anything from him after that, and neither did his two friends.

"So…" Zespio whispered to the counselor, "You said when he was drunk that he mentioned a girl from his past?"

"Yeah." Tikal nodded, turning back to the chameleon and crocodile in front of her by the water-cooler. "He said he feels like everything in his romantic life has been awful because he let the one get away. A girl named, Mari-An."

"Oh no…" Zector gulped, making the other two staff members turn to him curiously.

"You know who she is?" Zespio questioned.

"She's this girl we knew back when we attended this school ourselves." The crocodile sighed, rubbing his arm as he thought back to his high school days. "Sweet thing. Prom queen every year, and ended up finishing top of our class. He liked her a lot, but never really could work up the nerve to talk to her. I guess he's always just been stuck on what could have been…"

"Poor thing…" The chameleon mumbled, eyeing his poor friend across the room.

Tikal did the same, and soon all of them were casting sympathetic looks his way until the echidna woman caught sight of familiar, red high-heels. Her gaze flew across the room toward the purple nurse who had just entered and cat-walked her way to the coffee machine on the counter.

Without alerting her friends, she took off toward the purple hedgehog.

"Excuse me, Bernadette." She greeted politely, gaining the hedgehog's attention.

"Oh, hello Tikal." Bernie smiled, "How was your vacation?"

"Fine, I just came to ask you something…"

"Well, shoot."

"Umm, when you and Zonic went on that date—"

"Whoa now girly." The nurse cut her off, setting down the coffee cup to raise both hands innocently. "Who said anything about a date?! I was just treating him to dinner."

"But he—"

"Dr. Tikal." Another voice called out, making all the staff in the room turn toward the door. Suddenly everyone sprung to attention, the person at the door being their respected employer, Principal Acorn. "I need to have a word with you."

* * *

 _' "Custody papers?" I screamed, clutching the phone tightly as I seethed with rage. "Are you insane, Thrash? She's not even your daughter!—"_

 _"That's not what you told me for the past_ _ **FOUR YEARS.**_ _" He cut me off angrily._

 _I couldn't help but shudder and unconsciously brace myself for a physical attack. Then I remembered we were just on the phone, and that he couldn't hurt me anymore._

 _"I don't care what I said…" I hissed, no longer afraid of him. "You're not taking my daughter from me."_

 _"Fine. Have it your way. I'll just take your ass to court, stupid bitch." He retorted, "It's my name on that birth certificate."_

 _Court… I couldn't do that._

 _"No." I cried out, "Please… no court. Anything but that, Thrash…"_

 _"Oh, did I hit a nerve? Well, seeing as how I'm feeling pretty generous, maybe we can strike a deal."_

 _"Why? You didn't even want her when you had her…"_

 _"True, but as much as I don't want her…I don't want him to have her…or you." He sneered, laughing in my ear. "I want visits."_

 _"No."_

 _"You don't want court right? Then I suggest you check the attitude and bring me my kid next week. I'm still at the fucking hospital your little buddies left me in…"_

 _He had me in a corner. I couldn't tell Knuckles because I knew he'd freak and force me to fight it out in court, but I couldn't risk… I just couldn't. So I agreed to his terms in secrecy._

 _When the day came, I snuck out of bed to get myself and Lara dressed. I secretly prayed Knuckles would just stay sleeping, but he caught us at the door._

 _"We're going to the doctors." I explained._

 _It wasn't a lie. Lara-Su did have an appointment, but it wasn't until noon…_

 _I was thankful he bought it without a fuss._

 _Then we took off in the cab. I sat with Lara-Su in the back and we watched the neighborhood roll by us. I looked out the window, mentally battling it out with myself on what to do. It was around ten in the morning, the time he told me to meet him._

 _"Ma'am?" The cab driver spoke up, snapping me out of my thoughts. "You still lookin' to be dropped off at Metropolis Hospital?"_

 _"No…" I replied, "Take us to Mobotropolis Park."_

 _I couldn't do it._

 _I made the driver turn around last minute…_

 _We never went to see him._

 _But he still managed to ruin my life…and hurt me without raising his fist this time.'_

Julie-Su sat with legs crossed on her bed, head down while tears slipped from her eyes and hit the gray sheets.

With her daughter now safe at home with her grandfather, she was a bit relieved, and finally able to unscrew the cap that had been bottling up her emotions.

She was devastated. Hurt beyond words could say.

This wasn't just some bad breakup she could bounce back from like Sonia or Rouge, because she and Knuckles had a history that ran much deeper than just crushing. They were friends, best friends.

"J-Julie." A voice called out, forcing her head up to glance toward the door after quickly wiping her tears from view.

She was alone before, but now at the door stood one of her good friends.

Ray had stepped in, and on his arm was one of her roommates.

"Oh my Chaos." The echidna girl gasped, clasping both hands over her mouth. "Cream?! What on earth happened!?"

The rabbit's eyes were still concealed beneath bandages, and she carried a cane in her free hand. Ray led her over to her bed, carrying her bag in his other hand.

Julie-Su scrambled out of bed to ease the load on the poor squirrel by taking the stuffed orange bag, allowing him to help the rabbit up onto the bed with both arms.

"Fi-Fiona hurt her really b-bad." The little squirrel frowned, turning to look up at his good friend. "Sh-She spit alcohol in Cream's eyes, an-and some of it got to-too far in…"

"Chaos…" Julie-Su breathed in disbelief, casting a sympathetic look over the rabbit. "Cream are you…blind?"

"Dr. Quack says it's only temporary." She explained, allowing Ray to take the cane from her hands to set beside her bed. "It should wear off in a few days or so…hopefully."

"Oh poor baby. How could anyone even think of hurting you of all people? You're so sweet."

"I wa-was wondering, si-since you're roommates if you co-could look after her while she's he-here?" Ray asked, "I-I'll be co-coming here to ta-take her to and fr-from class."

"Of course I will." The pink girl smiled at him, ruffling his hair. "If only all guys were as considerate and sweet as you, Ray."

"Hehe, th-thanks Julie." He murmured with a blush, "Well, I be-better get going. I have science with Dr. Ro-Robotnik. Sh-She has a free period, so I'll be ba-back in half an hour to ge-get her."

"Alright then. I'll look after her." Julie-Su nodded.

Ray then began to walk off toward the door, but just before he could disappear she called after him once more.

"Wait." Julie-Su spoke up, "Ray?"

"Y-Yes?" He turned back to look at her.

"When you see Mighty…tell him to call please…"

* * *

"Wow, never even noticed you in this class before." Rouge remarked, walking side-by-side with the gothic hedgehog out of their shared history class.

"I have a habit of blending into the walls." Rosy replied with a shrug.

"Jeez, and here I thought you and Shady wouldn't be a good match." The bat smirked, "Same cynical attitude."

"He said you'd love to hate it."

"He's got that right." She chuckled before getting a bit serious, "Hey, I'm sorry I was such a bitch the other night. I was just…confused."

"Don't worry." Rosy waved, "Not my business, therefore no explanation needed."

"Wow, and here I thought I'd have a gal pal to vent my troubles to." The bat pouted jokingly, "Still, I'm sorry."

"Just don't come between me and my boyfriend again, and we won't have a problem."

Rouge glanced over to the pink girl walking at her side, eyeing her up and down curiously. She was pretty much a female version of the red-striped boy, only she was much more blunt and cut-throat.

 _'Well, she's certainly no Maria, but she seems to care enough…'_ The bat thought before she felt a pair of familiar arms snake around her waist from behind. Then came that warmth on her neck from the breath of his voice.

"Baby!" He cooed delightfully, coaxing a fit of giggles out of her.

"Ugh, you know I hate that Manic! It tickles." She laughed, shoving him away before turning around to hug him the right way. "But I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss it."

"Well, obviously." He rolled his eyes, pulling away to shoot her his playful grin. "How could you not miss all of this?" He joked, outlining his slender body with his hands jokingly.

She just swatted him playfully with another shared laugh, Rosy standing off to the side as she watched with a cocked eyebrow.

"So is this like your playtoy when you're not crying over the ex or whining Shadow's ear off?"

"No." Rouge huffed, turning to glare at the crude hedgehog.

"Pshh, exactly. Everyone knows I'm the bae— **OUCH!** " The green hedgehog yelped after the voluptuous bat sent an elbow flying back into his ribs.

"He's just a good friend of Shadow and I." She explained, gesturing between the two. "And Manic, this is Rosy Rascal. You know, that crazy bitch everyone's terrified of. She's officially Shadow's new girlfriend."

"So…we're cool with that now?" He questioned, glancing between the two girls. "No more talk of an exclusive Shadouge ship—"

"Definitely not." Rosy spoke up, crossing her arms.

"Those were just sort of…mixed feelings that I'll definitely be scolding Dr. Tikal for planting in my pretty little head."

"Well, in that case…" The green hedgehog chuckled, "I guess the threesome has become a foursome?"

"How close are you three exactly?" The pink girl cringed, eyeing the two skeptically.

The two just laughed, both of them throwing an arm over her shoulders as they walked with her toward the black hedgehog's math class.

* * *

"Oh Chaos, just look at her…"

"Poor thing."

"Sonic is such a jerk. How hard is it to see that she's totally perf?"

"She looks so sad. I want to cry for her."

"What the hell does he see in that glasses freak anyway?"

"Can't believe anyone ever liked him. Ugh, Amy deserves so much better. She's too good for him."

Amy sighed heavily, purse swung over her shoulder with her head hung as she strolled along the pathway leading toward the main building, unintentionally listening to the whispers of those around her. She brushed it off though, the blue hedgehog shockingly being the least of her sorrows at this point.

Her mind was too preoccupied on the armadillo boy she had made friends with over vacation, the disheartened cousin she had left behind in Mercia, and the shocking revelation of what happened to her uncle.

After a long and silent ride from Mercia to campus, Rob had dropped her off late last night. It was probably for the best since everyone was asleep or in their rooms and couldn't bother her.

Then the morning came and she found herself bombarded with questions, sympathies, and constant reminders of things she just wasn't in the right frame of mind to handle, but no one would leave her alone.

After her second period class, she decided to go to Dr. Tikal for some guidance, but there was a sign on the door explaining that she had stepped out. The pink girl waited and waited, but it seemed the echidna was just too busy elsewhere so she decided to just take off to her next class.

So there she was, doing her best to brush off the comments and stares as she tried to get along the best she could. It was concerning, the lovable, popular girl who used to greet everyone with a peppy smile looking so sad.

"Amy, wait." Someone called out behind her.

She didn't look back, just rose her hand in refusal before picking up the pace. Several people had already tried to talk to her, but she didn't want to deal with anyone. So she brushed the person off like nothing and darted into the main building.

In a hurry, her little red boots were just going a little too fast.

 **BUMP!**

"Ow!" She and the other student she had bumped into yelped in unison, both of them jumping back.

The pink girl rubbed her sore forehead before opening her eyes to peer up at the person she had mistakenly bumped into.

"Mighty!" She gasped, staring at the timid expression on the senior's face.

He quickly averted his eyes from her, dropping his gaze to the floor as he began to rub his arm awkwardly. She tilted her head, desperate to keep his gaze.

"Are you…avoiding me?" She asked after receiving no reply, jade eyes glistening with potential tears at the prospect.

"No, no!" The armadillo yelped, waving both hands rapidly in dismissal. "I just…didn't think you wanted anything to do with me after what happened yesterday."

"Of course I do!" Amy pouted, "You're such a nice person, and a really awesome friend."

"But…my parents." Mighty mumbled sorrowfully, "They hurt your family—"

"So?! That has no bearing on you as a person at all! If we judged everyone based on the actions of their parents then you'd probably be the one avoiding me…" She preached, bringing a small smile to his face. "Just because Rob thinks that way doesn't mean I do. He's just being an ignorant jerk."

"Don't say that." The armadillo shook his head disapprovingly, "You've gotta understand where he's coming from too."

"I…I guess that's true." She sighed. Then she peered back up at him. "But I'm not gonna let him stop me from being your friend. So let's walk to class together, alright?"

For the first time since she had arrived on campus she smiled brighter than the sun, and took his hand to drag him down the hall before he could even respond.

* * *

"Oh Chaos, there she is."

"Man stealing bitch."

"What the hell could Sonic possibly see in something that ugly?"

"He either went blind or lost a bet. Nothing else could possibly explain it."

"Remember when she beat up Mina? Now she's trying to hurt Amy too! Fucking bitch."

Sally clutched the strap of her blue tote bag tighter, bowing her head as she bit her lip and did her best to tune out the harsh comments people made as she strolled down the hall toward her locker where she was to meet up with her trusted group of friends, the little Freedom Fighters.

Unlike her older brother who was welcomed back by a crowd of adoring girls swooning his name with delight, the auburn-haired girl was not-so-welcomed back by crude comments and harsh glares that drove her anxiety through the roof.

She knew how popular Amy was, how popular Amy and Sonic were as a couple, and that there was sure to be backlash about her relationship with the blue hedgehog, but she didn't expect it to be this bad.

Cruel remarks on her appearance, the occasional trip-and-fall tactic from random people she passed in the halls, and disgusted looks everywhere she turned.

It was almost too much for her anxiety, but she did her best to will her way through it. She picked up her speed, desperate to get into the safety of her little group of friends, but hallways felt much longer than they did when she wasn't being picked on.

Tears brimmed her sapphire eyes as comments got harsher and harsher with her passing, but she slowed her movements to hear what was going on behind her. Soon, with every crude remark the sound of a slam into lockers could be heard accompanied by arguments here and there.

Curiously, she turned around to see what was going on, only to see the blue hedgehog she had been avoiding slam an orange porcupine boy into the lockers.

"Ugly bitch—" The boy grumbled before Sonic had taken him by the collar to shove into the metal doors.

"Hey, watch your fucking mouth." The blue hedgehog scolded him, "I'd expect shit like this from the jealous girls. Are you really that into me too, Spike?"

"Into you? Jealous? Dude, you're a fucking joke these days!" The younger boy scoffed, shoving Sonic out of his face to point out toward the chipmunk watching from the sidelines. "Why the hell would **ANYONE** be jealous over that? No one's jealous **OR** into you, arrogant fuck. We're pissed!"

"Pissed at what?!" Sonic bellowed in frustration, "What the hell did I do?"

"You know how much Amy loves you?! How many guys would kill to be with her! Yet you choose…the ragdoll?"

"Fucking Chaos, I'm so sick of this shit! Look, I get it, alright? Amy loves me! Everybody wants me to be with Amy, but has it ever crossed you or anyone else's mind what I want?! How I feel?! I'm more than just some idol. Amy and I are cool, we talked about it. Now you and everyone else need to get the fuck over it."

"Yeah, yeah. Now you aren't shit but some loser who **USED** to be cool…"

"Well I'd rather be a happy loser than a popular kid stuck in a situation I don't want." He remarked, before turning toward the auburn-haired girl standing just a few feet away. "And you better not let me catch you talking shit to my girlfriend again."

"Whatever." Spike snorted, straightening himself out before walking off.

Sonic then strolled over to the timid Sally who clutched her bag tightly and dropped her gaze in shame. They hadn't spoken since dinner the other night…

"Hey you." He piped up, lifting her chin with his index finger to shoot her a sincere smile. "Haven't heard from you in a while…"

"Yeah… I figured after the dinner fiasco you'd…change your mind about me."

"Are you kidding? Give up the only girl who can explain algebra in a way I understand it? Heck no!" The blue hedgehog chuckled, coaxing a bashful giggle from her. Once the laughter died down he took a step closer and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I'm really sorry if people are giving you a hard time because of me…"

"It's not like the student body hasn't shunned me before…" She rolled her eyes, "At least I actually deserve it this time…because I like you."

"And about dinner…I'm sorry about that too. I honestly don't know what the hell was wrong with my mom."

"It's okay." She assured him, pulling him in for a hug. "At least your dad likes me, right?"

"Yeah…" Sonic mumbled over her shoulder, wondering where his father was and what in the world could have driven him to drop the divorce bomb after twenty years of a seemingly perfect relationship.

* * *

 _'Come on, Silver. Be a man!_

 _You can totally do this._

 _If you can stand up at a con in front of thousands of people dressed like a fictional character, then you can totally do this._

 _You can totally take a chance and ask Gold to be your girlfriend._

 _Like, your actual girlfriend!_

 _We kissed under the mistletoe around Christmas, then again on New Years._

 _That has to mean something!_

 _Right?_

 _Like the potential to be more than just close friends._

 _Or not._

 _I'm totally overthinking it._

 _I'm gonna feel so stupid and be so embarrassed when she flat out rejects me._

 _Oh, stop it!_

 _Come Silver…._

 _You've got this.'_

Silver steeled his nerves, inhaling deeply before marching behind the electives building where he knew the golden tenrec would be out enjoying the snow as usual.

"Gold, I need to…" He began, but quickly ceased his speaking once he caught sight of the tenrec girl sitting with her back against the building, sobbing into her hands.

He quickly kneeled down beside her without a second thought, tilting his head in confusion as he gently pulled her hands from her face, able to see the endless tears dripping off her flushed face. She must have been crying for a while.

"Gold?" Silver called out, gaining her attention. "What happened?!"

"It's awful, Silver…" She mumbled, wiping her face on the back of her hands. "Just awful…"

"What is it?! Did someone hurt you!?"

"Remember Rotor Walrus? The boy who committed suicide after being bullied?"

"Of course I do. I know you two were friends…"

"Well…I don't know how or why, but one of the guys who tortured him is here."

" **WH-WHAT?** "

"Yeah…" The tenrec whimpered, eyes brimming with new tears. "I saw him on my way to English class…"

"Oh Gold…" Silver mumbled, saddened by the broken hearted tenrec's sorrowful expression.

In an attempt to comfort her, he outstretched his arms and wrapped them around her, pulling her close so that she could cry freely into his chest.

* * *

"Me-ow!" Honey purred, winking at the mongoose strutting beside her down the hall. "You really have got your confidence back."

"Sure do." Mina nodded, flipping a strand of bright-purple hair from her flawless face.

"I guess singing at one of Mobius' most major annual events will do that to you."

"Among other things."

"Oh, do tell."

"I'd rather not." The mongoose giggled, "A girl has to keep her secrets you know."

"Not this girl." Honey shook her head, doing an elegant twirl in her tall, red heels. "I'm an open book."

"Yeah, yeah."

"So, you over Shard now?"

"Pshh, way over." Mina snarled in disgust with a huff, "He was kind of a sarcastic prick anyway."

"I see." Honey nodded, "Then I'm sure you'll be happy to know that Sonic and Amy are officially over."

"Really? I heard something about that from Tiara earlier…"

"Yep, he's dating that girl that beat you up."

"The ugly mop?" The mongoose gasped in shock, "Are you serious?!"

"The very one."

"What in Chaos' name has gotten into him?!"

"No one knows. He just says she makes him happy, and that he really likes her and it's totally not a joke." The cat explained with a shrug, "That only leaves me to believe the little freak must be a freak in bed too. Only explanation I could think of."

"Of course it is. You're a total perv."

"Hush. The reason I'm bringing it up is because this could potentially be your chance to finally snag the blue babe! It'd be so easy to steal him away from someone like her. Effortless even."

"Hmm…"

Mina stopped, staring down at the floor as she thought of the cat's proposal. She had been pining after Sonic the Hedgehog since elementary school, ever since he first talked to her to be specific. He's the only reason she even gave Manic the time of day when she did, aside from using him to further her career.

Amidst her thoughts, the lavender-haired angel picked up on a familiar voice that forced her to lift her head. That's when her jade eyes collided with ocean-blue ones belonging to the music teacher she felt had saved her whole life! Ash Mongoose.

A smile as wide as the ocean stretched out across her face, her heart thumped hard against her ribcage as she clutched her books tighter and allowed a blush to creep up on her.

"I'm…not interested." The mongoose remarked, forcing herself to look away from the handsome teacher to stare back at her confused friend.

"What?!" Honey gasped, "Who are you, and what have you done with Mina Mongoose?!"

"Don't be so dramatic." Mina laughed, "I just have my interests elsewhere right now, that's all."

"Oh really, and who might this new interest be? Hmm?"

"Like I said before, a girl has her secrets." Mina winked, making the cat pout and cross her arms disapprovingly.

"Ugh, you're no fun." Honey whined, "I guess I'll go tease Sonia about her crush then."

* * *

Over twenty missed messages on her phone, all from Mephiles. Each one more manipulative and cruel than the last. Simply skimming them for keywords like _'worthless'_ , _'trash'_ , and _'failure'_ were enough to stop her from reading them completely. She knew if she did that, she'd fall into that trap of despair he'd purposely set for her. The one that makes her feel as though she has no place in this world but at his side in the darker corners.

 _'No…'_ She told herself, shutting the screen off and shoving the device into her pocket. _'I'm not doing this to myself anymore. No more feeling sorry for myself, no more letting that jerk pull me down. I'm gonna put my life back together! Starting with apologizing to the one person who's always cared about me…'_

Snow crunched under her magenta boots as the cat dispatched from the shoveled pathway and made her way behind the electives building. Marine had told her the white hedgehog had a habit of venturing off there as a getaway spot of some kind.

The cold air contrasted with her heated face as she forced her shaking legs to carry on. She gulped with fear, not having faced her old friend in what felt like forever. His last, very cruel but true words rang in her ears, but she wouldn't allow the harsh memory stop her anymore.

She wanted to apologize properly, mean it, and get back to how they used to be before ever coming to this school.

She inhaled before finally rounding the corner, hazel eyes widening as they caught sight of silly, white quills. Then a gasp escaped her lips as the pieces of her heart she had gathered slipped right back to the pit of her stomach at the out of context sight she was seeing.

From any other point of view it would have looked as harmless as it truly was, but from Blaze's angle it wasn't. Silver's was kneeling in the snow, his back toward her as a pair of golden arms were snaked over his shoulders, and his encircled around another figure.

The cat recognized those long, beautiful, golden quills that blew with the wind.

 _'He's…kissing…Gold… They're…together for real?!'_ She thought, stumbling back as hurt tears formed in her eyes.

Bitter, hurt, and upset, she turned to run back.

Only to slam face first into yet another figure. She pulled back quickly, lifting her head for her hazel eyes to meet the wicked grin of Mephiles who was quite observant.

"What?" He mused with such vial cruelty, "You thought he'd wait around for you all his pathetic life?"

"I…" Blaze was at a loss for words, heart aching, and mentally scolding herself for even trying to dig her way out of the despair she now truly believed was her new permanent home.

"Hopefully that'll be the last wakeup call you need before you realize you truly are worthless to everyone." He chuckled, resting an ice cold hand to her cheek, cradling it as he whispered wicked lies he knew she longed to hear from anyone at this point. "Everyone except me that is."

* * *

Shade grumbled in frustration as she stomped down the second floor hall of the boy's dormitory. She scowled coldly as she stood in front of one of the rooms. She didn't bother knocking, reeling her foot back to slam just beneath the knob, forcing it open whether it had been locked or not.

"Hey Moron!" She bellowed angrily, stomping toward the bed by the window where Knuckles laid.

He didn't even flinch, violet eyes fixated on the green emerald he held above his face, mind wandering far from his body.

The green emerald he had promised Julie-Su when they were children playfully speaking of marriage, the green emerald he had presented his first girlfriend Sonia with as a declaration of his love, and the same green emerald he had handed Rouge as a promise of more than just a fling.

The Master Emerald. The rock his grandfather was convinced would seek out a true soulmate.

He kicked himself for ever believing that.

"Are you listening?" Shade's voice called to him, bringing him back to reality. "Practice can't start without you, Stupid! Big game's tomorrow!"

"Right…" He murmured, sitting up with the green rock still in his hand. "Sorry. Got sidetracked."

"Yeah, whatever." The echidna girl pouted, crossing her arms. "It's a beautiful necklace, but I think you'd be happier looking at a golden trophy."

"Heh, got that right." Knuckles smirked, chucking the emerald to his dresser. "I'm sick of looking at that stupid thing."

"Probably because you're not a girl with an eye for jewelry."

"And you are I'm guessing?"

"Are you asking if I'm a girl? Or have an eye for jewelry?" She rose an eyebrow, "Because I'm pretty sure you know I'm a girl." She added with a wink.

"You can have it if you want it." He shrugged, swinging his legs off the side of the bed as he got up.

"Really?" Shade mused, swiping the necklace from the dresser to hold up to her own neck. "How come?"

"Why not?" He shrugged one shoulder half-heartedly, "I don't want it."

"In that case I guess I could take it off your hands." The orange girl smirked, grabbing hold of his hand. "Now c'mon, the boys are waiting for us."

She attempted to lead him out the door, but stopped and stumbled when he yanked her arm, forcing her to turn and look at him in confusion.

"Wait."

"What?" She asked, annoyed at the sudden action.

"Can we…fuck first?"

A wide grin broke out on Shade's face as she released his hands and pushed him back onto his bed, giving her consent through an abrasive kiss.

* * *

Tikal felt nervous, following the chipmunk to her office, unsure of what this surprise meetup was for. She did her best to keep calm, running back in her memory bank to recall anything she might have done to provoke a need for words from the principal herself, but nothing came to mind.

Once in the office, Alicia took a seat behind her desk, leaving the echidna woman to sit in one of the chairs in front.

"Sometimes I'm unsure of whether to address you as Ms. Acorn or Sis these days, hehe." Tikal joked nervously, referencing the chipmunk's upcoming wedding to her older brother, Locke.

"We'll see in two days…" Alicia replied half-jokingly, quickly brushing off the topic to get to business. She clasped her hands together and looked straight at the other woman with a stone look that sent shivers down her spine. "I see two students have dropped you as counselor."

"What?" Tikal gasped, "I mean, Shadow the Hedgehog had dropped me pertaining to my erratic behaviors and cruel assumptions during Rotor's case, but…no one else did."

"She dropped you today." The chipmunk explained, "Rouge the Bat personally came to me and asked to be pulled out of your care. Why do you think that is?"

"I have…no idea…" The echidna looked so confused, embarrassed, and mortified.

She came here with the intent to help these children, but it seemed that her presence was slowly becoming more and more unwanted.

"I see…"

"I'll have a talk with her when I get the chance…" Tikal assured the principal as she got up from her seat. "I'll head back now. Amy Rose and Julie-Su the Echidna usually come to see me around this time—"

"Not so fast." Alicia cut her off, forcing her to cease movement as she turned to look at the chipmunk once more.

"Is…there something else?"

"Yes…" The chestnut-haired woman sighed, standing up and creating a more dramatic scene as she stepped out from behind her desk to be face-to-face with the much younger echidna woman. "Tikal, I want you to know that Jet the Hawk is back on campus, and not by my will either."

" **WHAT?!** "

"Moreover, his lawyer has demanded that he seek counseling during his stay here and—"

"No."

"Tikal…be professional—"

"Absolutely not. Not from me!" Tikal shook her head, anger radiating in her voice. "You can't ask that of me, Alicia! Not after what he did…"

"I know how hard this is, believe me. Sometimes work requires you to bite the bullet." Alicia sighed, "And if you can't do that, then you're not fit to work here, Dr. Tikal the Echidna."

* * *

Jet fumbled with his books as his shaking hands reached out to place them in the locker before him, passing students behind him whispering death threats, and occasionally bumping him on purpose.

"Monster."

"Psycho."

"Bastard."

"Killer."

The green hawk's heart ached with such misery, misery he felt he deserved. Therefore, he didn't fight it. He allowed every painful word to sink into his soul and taint him. He allowed every shove, bump, and trip. He didn't fight. He was practically dead himself.

The glares of the LGBT kids were some of the harshest things he'd ever faced in his life, but nothing was more agonizingly painful than walking by the walrus' old locker, where a picture of him hung in his memory.

Completely broken, Jet trudged to his next class without so much as a peep, and his baby-blues glued to the white tiles the entire duration of the day.

His two old friends just watched in silent horror as the shell of their former friend carried on down the hall in silence like a ghost.

* * *

"Ugh, screw that egg-shaped creature!" Rouge cursed angrily, crumpling the red detention slip in her hand before discarding it in a trashcan she passed by as she stomped down the hall furiously by herself.

Usually, she and Shadow would be back at his room smoking away their troubles right about now for their free period, but the black hedgehog had ventured off with his girlfriend, leaving the bat to aimlessly wander around as she waited for class to start.

Manic had class, and the bat didn't really care to associate herself with the rest of the group at the moment, seeing as how they were all a mess. Blaze still MIA, Amy and Sonic the new topic of the gossip scene, Cream injured, Tails and Cosmo busy working things out, not the biggest fan of Sonia, and Knuckles….

"A fucking idiot." She grumbled aloud as a flashback of the bitter conversation they had about his royal screw up with Shade the Echidna.

As if on cue, the bat rose her head to see the very girl exit the gym, drenched in sweat, downing a water bottle as she hastily strode across the hall toward her locker, which was conveniently placed right outside the gymnasium she seemed to always reside in.

Normally, Rouge would have just ignored her, snarled in disgust, and carried on with her nose in the air, but something different had caught her eye about the echidna girl she loathed so much.

It was that familiar necklace, the one that used to hang around her neck with that dazzling emerald hanging off.

Her mouth dropped, topaz eyes widened as her blood boiled into a seething rage. Without even thinking, she stomped toward the echidna with shaking fists, heart racing as she slammed the locker door shut just after the orange-haired girl had undid the lock and opened it, earning an annoyed tooth suck and harsh glare.

"What the fuck!" Shade scolded, before turning her face to realize one of the girls on her own personal hit list was standing before her with a furious expression. Her own annoyed scowl settled into an amused look as a wide smirk spread on her face at seeing the bat in such anguish, assuming that she had discovered the video of her and Knuckles. "Oh, hi there, Rouge. Something troubling you?" She asked in the most taunting manner possible.

Rouge said nothing, eyes doing the talking for her as she glared down at the green emerald.

"Wasn't it enough you stole Julie-Su's boyfriend and her kid's dad, did you have to steal that necklace too?!" The snow-haired girl growled after a long silence, reaching out to yank the necklace away, only to be shoved to the floor.

She sat up quickly to see Shade standing over her with arms crossed over her sweaty, white T-shirt.

"I didn't steal anything." The echidna girl huffed, making sure to use her chest to bounce the emerald up in a taunting manner. "He gave it to me, and between you and I…I think he really, **REALLY** likes me."

She was lying of course, wanting nothing more than to get a rise out of the bat.

To harm and humiliate her the same way she did four years ago when she tricked Thrash into leaving her for Julie-Su.

Rouge clenched her teeth tightly, getting up to shove the echidna girl back, but not with the amount of force needed to knock her down.

"Bullshit." Rouge snarled, "You're a home wrecking whore, and you need to crawl back to wherever the fuck you came from and leave Knuckles out of your petty revenge schemes on me—"

"Look who's talking. From what I hear you've intruded on a few relationships yourself from time-to-time." The echidna remarked crudely, eyeing the bat up and down. "It's not cute when you're the one getting fucked over, right?"

The bat seethed with anger, clenching her fist as she raised it to deliver a punch. Her face was red with both fury and embarrassment, physical violence seemingly her only option because she had no words to say. What could she say? After all, she really was far from a saint herself.

But just before her fist could get close enough to make contact with the echidna girl, her wrist was grabbed and forcefully pulled back. She flinched, turning to meet the amethyst eyes of her ex-lover, Knuckles.

"What are you doing?" He asked her as she stumbled back and snatched her hand out of his grasp.

"Did…Did you really give her that?" Rouge asked, pointing toward the green emerald with tears brimming her eyes.

"Yeah." He replied in a deadpan tone, the simple word making her heart ache with each thump.

She couldn't believe it…how he had gone from nothing, to something, to something worse than nothing practically overnight.

A carefree playboy, to a reliable father, to something unrecognizable standing in front of her. Someone with nothing left to give. A heavy heart too beaten down by circumstance and expectation to care about anything anymore.

She wanted scream, and wanted him to scream back, the way he used to.

"You're a piece of shit, you know that?!"

"Yeah." He replied with not an ounce of emotion, walking by her to take Shade by the arm. "C'mon, break time's over." He mumbled to the orange girl as he led her back to the gym, leaving a disheartened Rouge to stare after them.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I know it's been wicked long and I'm SO sorry! I messed up my computer and all this other stuff, but now I'm back and that's all that matters! And so are new chapters!**

 **As a recap, here's the relationship chart!**

 **Sonic and Sally: DATING**

 **Amy and Mighty: CRUSH (One-Sided?)**

 **Cream and Ray: MUTUAL CRUSH**

 **Fiona and Scourge: DATING**

 **Julie-Su and Knuckles: BROKEN UP**

 **Ash and Mina: CRUSH (One-sided)**

 **Rouge and Shadow: JUST CLOSE FRIENDS**

 **Locke and Alicia: ENGAGED!**

 **Aleena and Jules: PENDING DIVORCE!**

 **Sonia and Elias: MUTUAL CRUSH**

 **Wave and Storm: JUST CLOSE FRIENDS**

 **Knuckles and Shade: HOOK UPS**

 **Ash and Breezie: BROKEN UP**

 **Tails and Cosmo: DATING**

 **Bunnie and Antoine: DATING**

 **Espio and Nicole: DATING**

 **Gold and Silver: CRUSH (One-Sided?)**

 **Rosy and Shadow: DATING**

 **Megan and Elias: BROKEN UP**

 **Julie-Su never went to see Thrash, so everything Knuckles did when he thought she had betrayed him was sadly all for nothing. Now he's back on the downward spiral due to miscommunication, not only hurting himself but also serving to hurt Rouge, Julie-Su, and poor Lara-Su as well. Will this echidna ever just get it together and keep it that way? Or is he one of the characters in this story destined for a bad ending?**

 **With a bit of pushing from Marine and Shard, Blaze vowed to get it together, to go back to being the shining star she used to be, but not only has her life been destroyed by miscommunication, she's also got the vial Mephiles pulling her strings. With her friends wrapped up in their own mess and thinking that Silver has moved on from her, the poor cat sees no hope for herself all over again. She's been walking in the darkness for so long, will light ever shine on poor Blaze the Cat again?**

 **Whether you like it or not, Jet the Hawk is back! And has gotten away with zero jail time whatsoever despite putting the late Rotor Walrus through pure hell and indirectly putting an end to his life. He accepts the abuse, believing he deserves every bit of it. Will this be the start of Jet the Hawk's road to redemption?! Or is this all a clever rouse, and he's secretly coming back for his throne as king of the school in some other fashion!**

 **So we've discovered that the criminal parents of Mighty that have been mentioned several times throughout the story had murdered King O'Hedgv during a robbery gone wrong, father of Rob O'Hedge. Despite this fact, Amy wants everything to do with the armadillo boy who has served to keep her happy during what should have been another painful, dark chapter in her life. Is this the start of a budding romance and some mature development for our sweet Amy Rose? Or will she hopelessly fall back into her fairytale fixation with Sonic the Hedgehog?**

 **Ahh, so much coming up! So many characters who are moving up and so many going down. Some more major plot points to be revisisted and huge secrets to be unraveled. Look forward to it all my precious little readers! It's coming! The next big event being Alicia and Locke's wedding!**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Rouge has a meltdown**

 **Blaze finds a new ray of hope?!**

 **Tikal quits!**

 **Rob pays Amy's crazy mother another visit**

 **With Alicia and Locke's wedding coming up, a few of the adults express their opinions…**

 **And so much more!**


	72. Chapter 72

**WARNING:** **Death, violence, and crime.**

* * *

 **Chapter 72: To Hold On Or To Break Away?**

Another dull morning of waking up to the sun masked by clouds, dimming the sky in a fitting mood of gloom as the DigItalian hedgehog sat up from his bed and stepped out onto the floor to ready himself for another dreary day of misery.

Being one to not worry about his appearance too much, it didn't take too long for him to get ready before taking off out the door in silence. Whether his roommates were there or not was a mystery to him, his tuning out of everything around him making him oblivious to almost everything these days.

His outfit of choice was standard, all black shoes, jeans, and a hoodie with horizontal yellow stripes like a bumblebee. Due to the neckline being so low, he often avoided wearing this hoodie in particular, but fresh laundry was scarce.

It made him feel self-conscious, forcing his gaze on the floor as he used one of his hands to rest at his neck to shield the staring eyes of everyone he passed by from the gruesome gash that lined his neck. The wound was still healing, looking much worse than ever before thanks to what could seemingly be considered a serious infection.

He walked silently out toward the main building, intent on retrieving a few things from his locker before coming back to the boy's dorm where Mephiles had summoned him via text.

As he carried on, a pair of the utmost sympathetic baby blues fell upon him. They belonged to the person who had graced him with such a vial looking cut, Mighty the Armadillo. He frowned, shivering in terror at the memory of the altercation the two were forced into in that bathroom just before vacation.

The pink girl standing at his side was quick to notice his wandering gaze, and how much sorrow seemed to have washed over him all of a sudden. Out of concern, she reached out to take his hand, forcing his gaze back to the pretty, green eyes that seemed to melt away his sadness.

"Are you okay?" The pink hedgehog asked in the sweetest of voices, for once genuinely concerned for someone other than herself.

"Yeah…." He lied with a nod, "I'm fine It's just…"

'Just what, Mighty?"

He tore his gaze away from her curious expression, dropping his eyes to the floor as he bit his lip in contemplation.

"Maybe your cousin was right in telling you not to hang around me."

"Ugh, we've been through this already!" Amy pouted angrily, "You're not some psycho killer! You're wonderful, and my new best friend! So…shut up and walk me to my gym class."

He couldn't help but chuckle, taking the dainty hand she offered him before they took off toward the electives building where the gym was

Long past them and out the building, Shard carried on with little to no regard for anything around him. The air was cool outside, and the mountains of snow that hand been shoveled onto the hidden grass was slowly drowning away, making his shoes slip and slide on the pathway toward the boy's dorm.

He finally reached the building, the cold air making the cut on his neck that he concealed with his hand sting as he trudged up the steps.

Suddenly, a familiar laugh rang in his ears, snapping him out of his imaginary world to look over and peer at a familiar face.

Nicole, leaning against the building with two textbooks clutched to her chest. Short, raven hair stuffed underneath a knitted pink beanie, body shielded from the cold by a large, purple peacoat that could pass off as a dress, black pants, and matching purple boots. She wore that cheery smile she always wore, even on dull days like this.

Shard could almost feel himself unconsciously smile at the sight of her, until her chameleon boyfriend had stepped in front of her, blocking his view of her entirely. Then all that bitterness rose back from the pit of his stomach, and he growled lowly to himself before carrying on to his destination.

It was an uneventful walk from then on, up to Nack's room where the older hedgehog said they'd be grouping.

"How nice of you to join us." Mephiles mused delightfully at him once the door separating them was opened, gesturing for the younger hedgehog to enter. "You're late."

"Whatever." Shard shrugged, tossing his bag to the side before choosing a spot by the door to lean against with his arms crossed.

Nack was seated at his desk, typing away as usual before Mephiles came back to his side, Shard's presence nothing more than that of a ghost. He didn't partake in their planning, only doing whatever he was told like a mindless tool. He tuned out most of the talk between the older boys, escaping in that little imaginary world of his once more.

"So how does this help your cause exactly?" The purple weasel questioned the hedgehog beside him, 'Everyone already hates the blue blockhead."

"Yes, but not enough to upset him to stoop to foolishness just yet." Mephiles replied with a shrug, shoving the weasel aside as he leaned over and typed his own block of text up. "In dealing with a natural narcissist, you can reprimand and scold them all you like and it wouldn't do any good to tear their ego up, but if you belittle them and tear down their confidence, you can manipulate them as easy as a marionette."

Just before Nack could look over at the gray-striped boy's text, a knock sounded. Out of instinct, the weasel was quick to minimize the windows on the computer screen.

All eyes in the room flew toward the door that slowly creaked open, but none widened in surprise the way Shard's did when Blaze the Cat stepped in and strolled over to Mephiles' side.

* * *

After bidding his tenrec friend a farewell, Silver strolled down the halls of the electives building aimlessly as he got lost in thought. He sighed heavily to himself, gripping the straps of his backpack as his amber eyes scanned each white tiles he stepped on.

'Ugh, the concert's officially a few days away and I still haven't found anyone to go with.' He thought to himself, exhaling in frustration. 'The struggle of being a near friendless nerd with a weird taste in music.'

The white hedgehog was obviously not very popular at this new school, and what handful of _'friends'_ he had managed to make were all coincidently unavailable for some reason or another.

Elias didn't like the band whatsoever, Manic was condemned to indefinite detention after mouthing off to the counselor before vacation, Larry has too much anxiety to go to a crowded event, Gold's busy that specific day, and no one's seen Shard in a while.

"Man…" He grumbled allowed to himself as he allowed his mind to wander back a little too far, to past days of him and his old feline friend. "If it were still just Blaze and I the way it used to be, she'd let me drag her along easily. As long as I promised to watch one of her stupid track meets—"

The white hedgehog suddenly stopped and gasped, cutting off his own words as a blush coated his cheeks. He quickly shook the thoughts away, refusing to let his heart or mind wander away any further before picking up the speed toward his music class.

* * *

 _'I was nine when it happened…._

 _My father promised he'd make it to my baseball game, but he got held up at a meeting with Moebius' mayor, Maximillian Acorn._

 _By the time his car pulled into the lot by the park we were playing at, the game was over, and everyone had gone home except for me._

 _We lost the game that day._

 _The sky was pinkish-orange, and the sun was drowning behind the horizon._

 _I sat on a bench alone. My long, teal quills tucked under a white baseball cap, and my right hand snaked inside a baseball mitt soaked in my tears._

 _I remember how he got out of the car and all the way toward me without my knowledge, his presence only being known when he rested his hand on my head and caught my gaze. He smiled warmly, apologizing profusely for missing the event._

 _"I got held up. I'm so sorry, Robbin." He said, his smile drowning all of my sorrows away._

 _"It's…It's okay, Father." I assured him, wiping my tears with my ungloved hand._

 _"How about we go to the corner store before we head home? I'll let you pick out whatever you want tonight."_

 _Of course I smiled and nodded in agreement. The promise of treats being so joyful to any nine year old._

 _Only now…I wish I had refused._

 _I wish I had just begged to go home…_

 _When we got there, everything was fine. My father stood by the cashier and talked while I snaked my way down to the candy aisle and grabbed fistfuls of whatever I felt like._

 _I was in heaven_

 _Then the chime of the door's bell went off, signifying more people had entered the store._

 _I paid it no mind really, not until I heard a scary voice._

 _"_ _ **HANDS UP.**_ _" The deep male voice bellowed before I heard what I'd later find out to be the sound of a gun cocked._

 _"_ _ **NOBODY FUCKING MOVE.**_ _" A much more feminine voice added._

 _Curiously, I peeked through the shelves, catching sight of the two new customers._

 _Two armadillos. A tall male with a red shell, and a petite female with a green shell. They both wore ski-masks, but I could still see their eyes. That peaceful turquoise color. The same color as that Mighty boy's eyes. Only there was a sinister feel to them…._

 _I ducked, frightened by their real life weapons. I could hear my father pleading with them, the terror in his voice making me cower._

 _"Please, just put the guns down—"_

 _"Shut the fuck up old man!" The male screamed, pointing the barrel of the gun right in my father's face. "And you! Get that fucking register open!" He added, turning his gun toward the cashier._

 _The cashier hesitated, his arms still raised as he contemplated what to do. It was hard to think with two weapons pointed at him. In mid-thought, his gaze flew toward the corner of the store where I was. He must have remembered I was there too._

 _Maybe that's why instead of opening the register as ordered, he reached for the panic button instead._

 _"_ _ **PANIC BUTTON!**_ _" The female armadillo shouted, quickly noticing what he was moving his hand toward._

 ** _BANG! BANG! BANG!_**

 _Three shots fired._

 _Three to the man's chest._

 _Then he collapsed dead before my eyes._

 _I couldn't help but gasp, dropping all my candy to the floor as I staggered back in horror. I fell, the noise rattling the paranoid armadillos, and serving to seal my father's fate._

 _"Who else is in here, old man?" The man growled at my father._

 _"No one." He lied._

 _"Bullshit." The woman cursed, stomping toward where I was._

 _It didn't take long for her to find me, and she was quick to put the barrel to my face. I couldn't believe it. Things like this only happened on TV, not real life…_

 _"Who is it?"_

 _"A little boy." She told her accomplice, "What should I do?"_

 _"You know the drill." The man huffed, "No witnesses…."_

 _Time felt so slow as her finger began squeezing the trigger. I closed my eyes, crying out for my dad until I heard his voice._

 _"_ _ **STOP!**_ _" He begged charging at the woman and knocking her to the ground, her gun sliding out of her hand. "_ _ **HE'S JUST A BOY!**_ _"_

 _"Dammit, we've got no time for this." The male armadillo cursed as he grabbed whatever he could from the charity jar by the register before running over to where we were. He then kicked my father off the woman and onto his stomach._

 _"Fa-Father…." I whimpered as he picked himself up to look me in the eye for the last time._

 _"Robbin…" He whispered back to me, his final words. "Run away!"_

 ** _BANG_**

 _A bullet to the head._

 _His blood and brain matter spattered across my face like a horror movie scene before his lifeless body collapsed back down._

 _I couldn't move, abide by his last request. I was so traumatized, so stricken with fear that I lost all feeling in my body._

 _I just remember looking at those sick monsters._

 _Looking into those hellish blue eyes._

 _Devil eyes.'_

"Rob O'Hedge." A nurse called out to the seemingly tense hedgehog sitting in the waiting room.

"Um, yes?" Rob questioned, standing up to straighten himself out.

"You may see your aunt today." The kind nurse smiled, gesturing him down the hall once she opened the steel door. "Window seven again."

"Thank you."

He nodded to her gratefully before taking off to the familiar window where he took a seat in the wooden chair and waited for the frail hedgehog woman to appear on the other side.

She looked worse and worse with every visit, and truthfully, so did he.

"Robbin…." She mused sweetly, "Are you alright?"

"That's what I should be asking you, Auntie." He smiled weakly.

"I can tell when you're troubled. The aura around your heart is pure blue. What ails you? Has something happened to Amy?!"

"No, nothing like that." He assured her, much to her relief. "But…I need to know something, Auntie."

"What is it, Robbin?"

He knew he shouldn't indulge in her psychotic delusions, but they just felt so real to him now. Amy bringing home the son of the couple who murdered his father couldn't possibly be coincidence. There had to be more to her than just being mad.

"This devil you speak of…" He mumbled, catching her attention with widened eyes. "Is he...an armadillo? Like those who killed my father all those years ago?"

"Oh no. No, no, no." She shook her head vigorously, confusing him. He thought he knew for sure what she meant, but he was off base. "He is not! He is like you and I, a hedgehog with a cold heart who will drive her to insanity."

* * *

As she promised Ray she would, Julie-Su was looking after Cream again during her free period. The rabbit was sitting in bed, her new cane rested against the wall as she struggled to organize her binder without sight, refusing the echidna girl's help.

With nothing else to do, Julie-Su decided to occupy herself by stripping her bed in replacement of fresh new sheets she had bought over vacation. She did so in silence, neither of the two girls having much to say really. She simply folded sheets and forced herself to not think of the red echidna in that disgusting video she was sent or that bitter farewell.

 **SLAM!**

A sudden swing of the door slamming against the wall had both girls jumping out of their skins. They both turned toward the door, and although Cream couldn't see, Julie-Su could see the furious bat storming in with a horrid scowl.

Rouge had remained silent all morning after discovering Knuckles and Shade together, but no longer could she keep this pent up rage to herself. If she was still seeing the counselor, Dr. Tikal, maybe she would have gone about the situation another way, but this seemed to be her only way of doing things.

"You're in here folding sheets?!" She seethed with rage, tearing the fabric from the echidna's hands before pointing angrily toward the door. "Do you have **ANY** idea what's going on? That he's out and about with that bitch, Shade?!"

"Yes, I do, Rouge." Julie-Su replied lowly, "I saw the video."

"Video?!" The bat shrieked, shaking it off before getting back on topic. "So you know they're together, together?"

"I don't care."

"Oh yeah? What about the necklace?! You know he gave her that too?"

"…"

The echidna stood silent, violet eyes falling to her newly made bed as she did her best to ignore the girl yelling her ear off, only fueling the enraged bat.

In a fit of rage, Rouge yanked the sheets off the bed and tossed them to the floor with a scream, frustration eating away at her as she got back into the echidna's face once more.

" **JUST WHAT THE HELL DO YOU PLAN ON DOING ABOUT THIS?** "

" **NOTHING!** "

" **DON'T YOU LOVE HIM?!** "

"What's the fucking point, Rouge?" Julie-Su cried out, "There is no point. I should have known better. I didn't want to play these stupid love games with you, and I'm sure as hell not going to play them with her."

"Well, what about Knuckles?" The bat asks in response, "He's a mess…"

Once again an eerie silence fell upon the room. All Rouge could do was shake her head and storm out the way she came, leaving the echidna to wallow in the sadness she had been trying to avoid.

"Um…Julie-Su?" Cream's worried voice sounded from across the room. "What's going on?!"

* * *

In the auditorium, Sonia and Elias had just finished up another wonderful practice before tomorrow's big event, his mother's wedding. The two were heading out the door as they conversed about things.

"Thanks for doing this, Sonia." The prince smiled, "It means a lot to her, and me."

"It's what I'm here for." She giggled, "So, are you ready to sing your little heart out for the entire school and your mom's friends?"

"Not really." He chuckled, "Chances are, I'll screw up big time, but at least you'll be there to play a joking tune on the piano when I do."

"Oh stop, you'll do fine."

"I hope so."

The two stop at the doorway to laugh, giving her an opportunity to admire the gorgeous features of his face, and sulk about the fact that there was no longer a mistletoe hung in the doorway.

"Well, I'll be off to math class." He bid her goodbye with a hug, "See ya."

"Bye, Eli." She blushed, waving daintily after his disappearing figure with a smile.

"Awe, look how cute you are when you're in love." A voice mused from behind the magenta girl.

She nearly jumped out of her skin in fright before turning around to see her yellow cat friend springing up from one of the rows of chairs. Sonia pouted shyly as Honey strolled up to wrap her up in a teasing hug.

"How long have you been in here, Honey?"

"C'mon, Sonia. Don't be all pouty." The cat whined, "I've only been here the entire time!"

"Entire time?!"

"Duh," Honey giggled, "You guys are so cute! I just love following you around on your romance quest."

"It's not a quest."

"Chase?"

"No!"

"Hunt?"

"Honey!" The hedgehog groaned, "It's nothing like that at all!?"

"Then what would you call it?"

"Waiting around for the right opportunity."

"Waiting?" Honey scoffed, crossing her arms and shaking her head disapprovingly. "Waiting's gotten you nowhere pretty damn fast, don't ya' think?"

"…"

Sonia could only say nothing, frowning as she searched her brain long and heart for a rebuttal but came up empty handed. Honey was quick to notice the sad look, intent on immediately wiping it off her lovely friend's face with some surprisingly positive advice.

"Here's a thought, why not do it tomorrow?"

" **WHAT?!** "

"Ask Elias Acorn out tomorrow!"

"Honey, that's crazy talk!"

"No it's not! It'd be so romantic! To begin dating on the same day his mother marries her best friend?! How sweet does that sound!" The cat urged, clapping and hopping about. "He's already totally in love with you anyway, and waiting around forever isn't doing either of you any good!"

"I…I mean….It does sound cute…but…"

"C'mon Sonia." Honey pleaded, "You need to learn how to take more risks. If you stand around waiting for Prince Charming, you'll freakin' die in your stupid tower, but if you go after him, your happy ever after will be just around the corner."

* * *

While making his rounds, Officer Zonic sighed heavily to himself, the thoughts of his lonesome and pathetic love life gnawing away at his conscious. He sighed heavily to himself as he turned the corner, teen couples who had been loitering the hallway immediately breaking out into a hurried run at the sight of him.

It didn't take long for the hall to become void of life, ironically symbolizing the feeling of solitude that never seemed to disappear from his weary heart.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, until he walked by the school counselor's office.

The blue officer's ear twitched at the sound of things being thrown, and his first thought was possible danger. Without warning, he turned toward the door and stormed inside.

"Tikal?" He called out, watching the echidna woman hastily pulling things off her desk to slam into a cardboard box. "What are you doing?"

"Leaving." She replied angrily, slamming more things into the box as frustrated tears fell off her cheeks.

"What? Why?" The blue hedgehog questioned, receiving not much of a response, just more desk supplies being slammed into the box. "Tikal, what the hell is going on?! Talk to me!" He tried again, this time walking over to take hold of both her wrists.

She fought against him at first, but eventually she ceased her frantic shaking to cry in his chest.

"Alicia told me that Isabella Mongoose got Jet the Hawk out of the life sentence, and that he'd be returning here."

" **WHAT?!** "

"I know." She mumbled, "That's why I can't be here. She wants me to take him on as a patient, but I just can't, Zonic. Alicia said if I couldn't keep it professional, I'd just have to go."

"But you can't go." He told her, pulling her back to shoot her a concerned gaze. "What about all the students you've been helping?"

"Helping? Yeah right. I can't tell you how many kids have quit me in the last few days." The echidna huffed sadly, wiping her tears away. "I gave Rouge the Bat horrible advice that almost costed her a childhood friendship with Shadow the Hedgehog, a student I accused of something so vial and ultimately pushed him away. Among a slew of other cases I've failed in…."

"But what about the kids who **DO** need you?!" He questioned, "The LGBT students will need your guidance more than ever before, and you've done so much for the student body. Aside from a handful of horrible incidents, crime has gone down significantly since your arrival."

"I…I just don't know." She shook her head, pulling herself out of his grasp to grab the box she had thrown all her things in. She looked back at him with a frown before taking off out the door. "I'll be back for my brother's wedding tomorrow, but after that, I don't know…."

All he could do was stare after her with a frown until she completely disappeared.

* * *

 _'I hate this._

 _I hate this so much._

 _I hate myself so much._

 _I keep trying to get away, to break free from this dark place, but somehow I keep ending back up here._

 _Back at his side._

 _Almost every part of me wants to go back…_

 _But there is a tiny part of me that tells me I deserve this._

 _To wallow in sadness beside a jerk like him._

 _Because I took for granted the good in my life, my sister and old best friend.'_

Blaze walked with her head hung shamefully, and Mephiles' arm snaked across her shoulders, keeping her anchored to him like a sinking ship. She stared at her tattered, magenta running shoes—ones she used to care for and clean almost regularly—as they walked over the clean, white-tiled floors of the halls.

It was only when familiar voices hit her ears that she dared to lift her hazel eyes from her feet and dart them into the direction she heard those voices.

First, it was the infamous duo of Manic and Shadow, the two of them leaning on their respective lockers as they joked about something.

For a moment, a brief moment, the two of them made eye contact with her, making her heart skip a beat at the prospect of either of her old friends coming to her rescue. Unfortunately, to her dismay, the green hedgehog only looked away as if he saw nothing, and the red-striped boy merely snarled in disgust at Mephiles before turning his attention away completely as well.

Shortly after, another familiar voice sounded. Then a third hedgehog joined them, throwing her arms around Shadow's neck to bring him down into a loving kiss.

Blaze recognized the girl as another lost soul who she briefly encountered in the darkness, Rosy Rascal. Bitterness ate away at her heavy heart, envious that the goth-girl had managed to completely break away from her depressions, and even found happiness in the form of a loving relationship.

The cat then turned away in sorrow, too distraught to look upon them any further. However, the sound of sharp heels aggressively hitting the perfect white tiles soon drew her head back up, and her eyes down the hall to see another former friend.

It was Rouge, the girl with incredible intuition and observation skills. That spark of hope dared to rise in her again as the bat stomped in their direction.

 _'She looks so angry. Is it because I'm walking with Mephiles?! Is she going to snatch me away? Yell at him for how defeated he's made me?!'_ The cat hopefully thought to herself, only to have her heart broken all over again as she watched the angry bat stomp right past them without so much as a glance her way.

Once again, her head was back down in defeat and anguish.

Then she heard more familiar chatter, turning her head back up to peer over at the adjacent hall to see a helpful Cosmo and Tails pulling books from Cream's locker, who stood off to the side of them with a cane in hand.

As the cat and cruel hedgehog took down that hall, she purposely got close enough to bump the fox boy, praying that he'd turn to see it was her and say something, say anything.

Turn and look he did, but not a word escaped him. Even when his baby-blues locked with her pleading hazel eyes, all he did was turn back to the younger girls in silence, as if he didn't see her at all.

The purple girl fought back the frustrated, painful, and distressed tears that brimmed her eyes, struggling to keep walking beside her mental tormentor in silence.

"There you are!" Yet another familiar voice sounded, this one being of slightly much more importance than all the other old friends she had encountered earlier. "I've been looking all over for you!"

She brushed Mephiles' arm off her shoulder to turn around, her eyes falling upon everyone's favorite pink hedgehog, Amy Rose.

The pink girl was sprinting down the hall, waving her right arm like a flag, and had a big smile plastered on her face.

Unconsciously, the cat began to raise her hand, and what was nearly a smile almost crossed her face before the pink hedgehog completely ran past her, coaxing a chuckle from Mephiles.

The two then turned their heads to see the pink girl leap onto a red-shelled armadillo who had just walked out of a history classroom.

At this point, Blaze knew it was only too good to be true, and didn't bother getting her hopes up or showing any sign of sorrow. Instead, she sighed heavily and continued her walk beside the amused Mephiles, only without his arm on her shoulders now.

The more she thought, the more she hated herself.

 _'Were_ _ **ANY**_ _of them ever really my friends to begin with?! Does anyone even care about me for real? Have they even noticed I've been absent from the group? Was I ever even a part of them? They all saw me! I know they did…. But it's like they saw right through me. Like I'm a ghost…I'm nothing… Would any of them care if I was gone forever?—'_

Just before the cat could even ponder that cruel thought, she was interrupted by a hand reaching out from behind her to grab her collar, and drag her out of the hall. By the time Mephiles had turned around, she had vanished into thin air.

Instead of wasting his precious time looking, he shrugged his shoulders and carried on without her. To him, she truly was nothing more than a toy to amuse himself with. She'd be back, and he knew it, so he didn't sweat her sudden disappearance in the slightest.

Blaze kicked and flailed in the hold of the stranger who had abducted her and dragged her into a dark room. Just before she could yell out for help in fright, the dim lightbulb above them went on, revealing to her that she had been pulled into the janitor's closet, and the person before her wasn't much of a stranger.

"Sh-Shard?!" She stammered, able to somewhat relax with her back to the wall and the hedgehog standing in front of her.

It was still somewhat dark, but now she could at least tell it was him. She could also make out the upset look on his face, and the disapproval was clear as day in his voice.

"What the hell are you doing with him?!" The DigItalian boy hissed, pointing out toward the door behind them where he had stolen her from Mephiles' side.

"…" She couldn't say anything, because she didn't know what to say, irritating him further.

"When I took you home for Christmas, it was my way of getting you out of this." He huffed in frustration, running a hand through his sharp quills. "You don't belong with people like us."

"Yes I do…" The cat murmured in response, "I'm horrible."

The reply struck a chord in him, those exact words being the last thing the lynx girl had said to him before her departure some weeks ago.

"No you're not." He told her, frustration in his tone. "You're a stupid girl who made a couple mistakes with her social game! You're not horrible, or bad like us."

"But everyone hates me!" She wailed, lifting her head to reveal the tears cascading down her flushed cheeks. "Hell, I don't feel like anyone ever really liked me in the first place! I want to go back to the way things used to be, but no one sees me anymore. I'm a ghost."

"So make them see you. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and do something about it."

"I've tried to apologize already! It didn't even work…"

"Of course it didn't." Shard snarled, "Apologies don't mean anything, actions do. Show them the girl they befriended, not the one who made the mistakes, or this sorry sack of shit. Learn to forgive yourself, and move on."

She wiped her tears, letting his powerful words that clearly came from such an honest place sink in. Her eyes unconsciously wandered to the healing slit across his throat before she brought them back up to his forest-green ones.

"If you're such a bad person, why have you been trying to help me all this time?" She asked.

A long silence fell over them as he thought of an answer. He's always been a paradox, someone whose actions, history, morals, and thoughts were all contradictory to each other. He struggled to look deep within himself to come up with a truly honest answer.

"Because… I know I'll never be able to save myself from this." Shard finally admitted, cracking a half-smile. "I'll never be the good guy, and that's just a fact. The least I could do is help someone like you, who's just lost."

For the first time in **MONTHS** , Blaze felt like someone could actually see her, understand her, and even cared. It was as if she were lost in a world of shame and darkness, the boy standing before her being the tiny ray of light she needed to find her way out.

Without even thinking, she joyously threw her arms around his neck, making him wince in pain from the healing cut as she pulled him closer and pressed her lips to his.

His eyes widened in surprise, the tears on her cheeks brushing against his face as she held her lips to his. He stood like stone until she was done, the purple girl quickly pulling away to exchange puzzled looks with him.

* * *

Mina Mongoose shifted her weight to one foot as she shyly swayed her body side-to-side, her black skirt fanning out slightly as she did so. She held a few books to her chest with one hand, while she used the other to twirl a strand of her long, gorgeous, vibrant purple hair cutely. The first few buttons to her purple shirt undone, exposing a generous amount of cleavage. She pursed her lips, only parting them every once in a while to let out an angelic giggle.

Before her stood the music teacher and her personal hero, Mr. Ash Mongoose. He domed his usual teacher outfit of a white button-up shirt tucked into khaki pants, and black dress shoes. He adjusted his wire-frame glasses as he nodded to whatever she asked, letting a bit of laughter out every once in a while himself.

They stood outside of his classroom, both of them waiting for the bell to start class. She'd been doing this a lot lately, arriving extra early to class to get a bit of time with him beforehand.

Down the hall, leaned against the lockers with arms crossed and a cold scowl on her face was scorned ex and English teacher, Ms. Breezie the Hedgehog.

She tapped her long, red-painted nails on her forearms as she glared at the mongoose girl's obvious yet pathetic attempts at flirtation. Her amethyst eyes flared with an envious fire, her teeth gritting in anger as she watched the songoose lean over and graze the young teacher's hair—which she quickly noticed was styled in a way far different from his usual push-back look.

"Little whore." The teal teacher cursed under her breath as she fumed with anger.

"Ms. Breezie?" A voice called out, making the teacher spring off the lockers to turn around and see the young teen behind her.

"Yes?"

"Are you okay?" The young girl asked.

Breezie looked on with a smile, erasing any trace of anger or jealousy on her face as she folded her arms over her chest and smiled at the girl who had come to her side.

"Of course." Ms. Breezie cheered, "Just on my way to class, like you should be."

"But your classroom isn't even in this building."

"Oh, I was just out for a walk. It gets boring being in one place for too long. I'm sure you can understand that, Honey."

Although she smiled, the teal hedgehog internally leered down at yet another relationship wrecker. Honey the Cat, a student her ex-boyfriend had a brief sexual fling with not too long ago.

"For sure!" The bubbly cat cheered, waving to the teacher as she took off toward the music room where the two mongooses stood outside. "Well, see ya!"

"Bye." Breezie waved, a horrible plot devising in her pretty head as she watched the yellow cat leap onto the mongoose girl, and the uncomfortable look that came over the blushing music teacher at her sudden presence. "Hmm, this gives me a new English project idea…"

* * *

"Ugh, this bloody school is such a damn bore." Geoffrey St. John groaned aloud as he walked down the pathways that snaked around melting piles of snow.

He had his hands stuffed in the pockets of his black jeans, his over-sized purple sweater hanging off his body, and a messenger bag swung across his left shoulder. He flipped his snow-white hair as he darted his blue eyes around the landscape, crossing everyone he could see in the hopes to find something interesting to do.

Students walked by or around, none of which that really interested him up until he noticed his old green hedgehog friend taking off toward the parking lot with a leather-clad vixen on his arm again.

"Those two back together, eh?" The skunk snarled, "What a joke. Maybe I should go poke fun at old Scourge just for laughs. It'd at least give me somethin' to do."

He began walking in their direction, a malicious grin crossing his face before it was quickly wiped off to be replaced with a look of confusion as he felt a hand come down on his shoulder. The skunk turned around with an eyebrow raised before coming face-to-face with fellow senior, Ken.

The confusion was quickly replaced with both surprise and disgust at the sight of the sickly looking monkey boy. He had his freehand clutching his stomach, heaving heavily for air. His clothes hung off his body, a vast amount of weight lost. His cheeks were sunken slightly on his pleading face, as he talked through gritted teeth.

"I…I can't take it anymore…" He murmured between rapid breaths, clutching the skunk's shoulder weakly. "I need…I need drugs."

Geoffrey's mouth outstretched into a triumphed, wide smirk as he leered down at the helpless monkey standing on weak, wobbling legs.

"Sure thing." The skunk chuckled, "What's ya' poison?"

* * *

Back in Metropolis, parents and army officials, Vigil the Chameleon and Jules the Hedgehog were seated at a booth in the well-known bar and lounge, Casino Night Zone.

The two sat across from each other, this being one of the rare occasions the two were in casual attire. He sat in jeans and a black T-shirt, while she domed a simple, white dress with pink and green floral print. On the table sat two pints of beer, the blue hedgehog's already halfway gone.

The chameleon stared at him with empathetic hazel eyes, frowning at the hedgehog she had become so close to over the years. Being partners in the army for so long, she could always tell what he was thinking, even when he wasn't saying anything at all.

Jules frowned, blue eyes casted down at his drink as he wandered into the darker corners of his mind.

"Are you ready for this, Jules?" Vigil questioned, breaking the long silence. "She's getting married tomorrow."

"I have no idea." He answered truthfully, tightening his grip on the glass cup.

"The best thing you can do for her is to let her go, Jules."

"I know." He nodded before lifting his head to shoot her a weak smile, "But you know, I've never been one to be selfless..."

The pink chameleon sighed heavily, understanding how difficult the situation was, being one of the very few spectators of the rise and fall relationship between him and Alicia the Chipmunk.

Before she could scold him about his possible intentions, two figures strolled up to their table. The two looked up to see fellow army official, Ash Mongoose, and beside him on his arm was his wife, Isabella Mongoose.

"Ash, you come to places like this?" Vigil questioned curiously, a bit baffled by his presence.

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Er, I just…never pegged you for a bar guy." She waved her hands innocently, "That's all."

"And what's that supposed to mean exactly?"

The chameleon became flustered with nervousness under his judging stare. While that awkward conversation ensued, the mongoose man's wife and the blue hedgehog exchanged looks. She smiled his way, and he was quick to avert his gaze, answering for his chameleon partner before picking up his glass to sip more beer.

"She means you're boring."

"Jules!" Vigil whined harshly.

"Well then." Arthur inhaled, putting the chameleon at ease when a smile appeared on his face. "I'll keep in mind to not carry myself like such a stick in the mud when we go back to base, alright?"

The four shared a laugh before the chameleon woman offered them a seat. Arthur scooted in next to her, leaving his wife to scoot extra close to the blue hedgehog on the other side.

"So…." Isabella purred, looking between the chameleon and hedgehog. "What were you talking about earlier?"

"Oh, just Alicia's wedding tomorrow." Vigil replied, making Jules grimace and look away.

"I see." The purple-haired woman nodded, grinning slyly as she turned to address the blue hedgehog. "Well, since we're already on the topics of marital statuses, Aleena called my office and approved the motion for divorce."

The comment only drove Jules' mood down further, forcing him to down the last of his alcoholic beverage angrily before setting the empty glass back down, concerning his army buddies a bit.

Unbeknownst to them however, beneath the table, Isabella had placed her hand suggestively on his thigh. He ignored her though, his mind already occupied with thoughts of what tomorrow would bring.

* * *

The clock read close to eleven at night. Locke had already gone upstairs for bed, and the house was almost completely dark.

The only exception was the side table lamp in the living room beside the armchair. Sitting in it with a look of distress was Alicia Acorn.

She stared at the ring Locke had placed on her finger some time ago, then out toward the duffle bag of heartfelt letters Jules had presented her with, contemplating the decision she'd make tomorrow.

* * *

 **Have you ever had a group of friends and felt like you were the outsider? The one no one would miss or look for if you were gone? The expendable one who never really was a part of them in the first place? That's how Blaze's already broken mind is processing things, especially after today where she was seemingly ignored. Unbeknownst to her however, is that they all ASSUME she wants this space. This is something that happens a lot to young friends. Some people (Amy and the gang in this case) believe after a breakup or sorrowful event, it's better to give a person space. Sometimes that's what people need, but other times (As in Blaze's case) A person may want comfort and companionship more than anything.**

 **The moral of Blaze's situation is...communicate with your friends, don't give them space because YOU THINK that's what they want. Otherwise, you might be the thing that pushes them off the deep end...or maybe even puts the final nail in their coffin.**

 **Now with Shard (Potential Love interest, what?!) being the first person to acknowledge her existence in so long and provide the comfort she's been looking for, will she be able to pull herself out of her everlasting depression? Or will her thoughts about being 'gone forever' overpower her to do something...drastic.**

 **In another subplot that has probably been long overdue for a visit, Rob O'Hedge has gone to see Amy's crazy (Psychic?) mother in the psych ward to confirm his suspicions of Mighty being the 'devil that threatens her life', only to find out that he is not the one...but a hedgehog is. Seen any hedgehogs driving Amy crazy lately?**

 **Oh, and yeah, Ken's drug addiction coming up again. Something that's been hinted at a few times...and definitely not something to look over. Is Ken really the standup guy he's presented himself as? Or was Rosy right to diss him in her English report a few chapters ago as 'fake', and just how does he feel about Sally choosing Sonic over him?**

 **Lastly, YES! It's time for a wedding! And do you know what that means exactly?!**

 **It's time for ALL of your beloved favorite characters to group up in one place!**

 **And do you know what that means?!**

 **DRAMA! ROMANCE! HEARTBREAK! DISASTER! MIRACLES! FRIENDSHIP!**

 **Prepare yourself for anything and everything.**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Mighty and Amy are closer than ever, and just keep getting closer... Something her ex-boyfriend isn't too thrilled about.**

 **Sally the Liar? After a talk with Geoffrey, Ken finds out everything may not be what it seems when it comes to the chipmunk...**

 **Rouge begins to snap under the weight of heartache and stress**

 **Jules finds himself in a very uncomfortable position**

 **And so much more**

 **Fun Question!: There can be ONLY ONE...ship! Next chapter will finally put a rival pairing to it's final test. So what team are you on and why?**

 **Team Alicia x Locke? Or Team Alicia x Jules?**


	73. Chapter 73

**WARNING:** **Bullying.**

* * *

 **Chapter 73: Wedding Bells I**

Chirp, chirp, chirp.

The flickys hummed sweetly as the orange ball in the sky rose to flush the sky a pretty pink. The remainder of the snow had miraculously melted completely overnight, revealing the vibrant green grass just in time for the upcoming spring season.

With just the aid of the flicky chirping, Alicia fluttered her eyelids open and stirred awake, groaning in dismay at the early wakeup call as she shifted and turned over in bed. The echidna beside her did the exact same, now both of them facing each other as well as staring at one another with smiles.

"Ready for the big day?" They ask each other in unison, only to burst out into a fit of laughter in response.

They then shared a sincere morning kiss, pulling away to continue their smiles and staring, today's big event weighing heavily on their indecisive minds.

"Can we make another deal?" The chipmunk asked, moving her hand over to rest on top of his as they laid on their sides.

"Like what?"

"Whatever either of us decide to do….we'll stay the close friends we always have been?"

He was surprised, but nodded in agreement.

"I wouldn't want it any other way. It's a deal."

* * *

After a long night of drinking, the chameleon had come home a tired mess, not bothering to shut the blinds like she usually did. The repercussion was the sun beaming through the crack of the blinds, irritating her until she was forced to sit up and stretch.

She rubbed the grogginess from her tired, hazel eyes as she let out a sigh. Then she stared at the wall adjacent to her bed, eyes scanning over the many framed pictures until it fell upon her old wedding photo.

The chameleon couldn't help but smile, having not been to a wedding since her own all those years ago. Despite how she knew the wedding made her close friend and work partner feel, she couldn't help but be a little excited for her old friends, Locke and Alicia.

Vigil then pulled her pink covers away and got out of bed to head out toward her living room. She stood in the doorway, watching in silence as the blue hedgehog sat up with both hands over his face, obstructing her view of his melancholy expression.

"Jules." She finally called out to him after a long silence, forcing him to turn toward her to give her a disheartening view of the pure sorrow evident in his ice-blue eyes. "It's almost time."

"I know…." He replied sorrowfully.

"Are you ready for this?"

"…" He doesn't respond.

* * *

As usual, Tiara and Shade were occupying one of the female bathrooms in the main building—considering a ton of girls were fighting over turf in the girl's dorm bathrooms to doll themselves up for the principal's wedding.

"What kind of whack-job gets married at a school instead of a church anyway?!" The echidna girl snarled, using both hands to scoop up all her braids as she attempted to tie them back into an elegant hairstyle suitable for such an occasion.

"Umm, clearly you haven't been here long, so you don't know her well enough." Tiara was quick to put her down, while at the same time fanning her face to dry the primer she had just applied. "This school is the principal's most valued place. She built it from the ground up, and made it number one in the country despite all the shit she had to put up with from her bastard ex, and the all-male school board. She takes pride in this."

"Really?" Shade questioned, genuinely moved, considering she had to put up with chauvinistic males in building her sports career. "I had no idea…."

"Yes ma'am! She's a true queen." The mink giggled, "I mean, I can't stand adults who always try to run shit, but she's different. She actually cares and helps kids no matter what their background is like. She's inviting the entire student body because to her we are a big family."

"Now that's just cheesy." Shade rolled her eyes with a huff, leaning over the pink countertop to pucker her lips to line with a dark-colored pencil.

As she did so, the mink girl couldn't help but notice the gigantic emerald hanging off her neck.

"Oh my Chaos! That's gorgeous!" She yelped, pointing out toward the shimmering piece of jewelry.

* * *

Nack and Mephiles sat in the weasel's single dorm, both of them leering out the window at the students below helping to set up for the principal's big day.

"Well, what're we gonna do?" Nack questioned the dark hedgehog sitting across from him, his snake eyes darting down below at everyone he spotted with such vial intent.

"For now…" Mephiles began, squinting as he made out a purple blur to be his reluctant cat companion. "We hold off the big plans until after the wedding. I have a feeling the event will create some disastrous gossip for you to fill up on all on its own."

The gray-striped boy frowned at notice of the cat, who was supposed to be at his side, but was out and about on her own. For a brief moment he was rattled, but figured something would upset her to come running back.

However, that brief moment of unease was noticed by the Digitalian boy leaning against the door behind him, coaxing a smirk to come across his face.

* * *

Out on the somewhat damp lawn thanks to the melted snow, Amy struggled to carry a few chairs out. Sweat dripped off her forehead as she panted and struggled to shuffle her way out to the designated area for chairs.

She was exhausted already, cursing her new armadillo friend for convincing her that it would be totally cool to volunteer and help out.

"Dammit Mighty, you big jerk! The next time I see you, you're getting an ear full- **AHH!** " She was soon cut off by the loss of balancing and the weight of gravity threatening to slam her to the earth.

But impact never came, as she felt herself hoisted back to her feet, and the heavy chairs removed from her hands. She was so thankful, looking up to thank her rescuer only to have her joyous look replaced with shock and then bitterness.

For it was Sonic the Hedgehog, the boy whom she loved and had broken her heart time and time again.

"Hey Ames!" He greeted her, "Haven't uhhh, seen you in a while."

"I've just been keeping myself busy is all." The pink girl admitted, averting her gaze from his face.

"What are you doing out here anyway?" He questioned curiously.

"Just volunteering." Amy explained briefly, "What about you? Volunteering has never been your thing."

"Well, my girlfriend is the principal's daughter, and kinda forced my hand." The blue hedgehog chuckled, shuffling alongside her with all the chairs she was struggling with earlier. "And to be fair, volunteering has never been your thing either."

"Yeah well, a good friend convinced me it'd be a cool thing to do."

"Really?" Sonic rose an eyebrow, "I knew Cream was persuasive, but—"

His rambling was suddenly cut off by someone calling after them. The two hedgehogs turned around to see a red-shelled armadillo flailing his left arm and calling out to the pink girl.

"Amy!" He shouted, a big smile on his face.

Sonic rose a surprised eyebrow as he turned to see the overjoyed look on his ex's face, and the gleam in her emerald eyes at the sight of the armadillo boy.

"Since when do you and Mighty hang?" Sonic asked curiously, getting no reply as the pink girl didn't waste breath on him, using what little energy she had left to dash out to the armadillo happily.

The move left somewhat of a bitter feeling in the blue hedgehog's heart, but he quickly shook it off and continued carrying the chairs away.

* * *

Off by the fountain, poor Cream the Rabbit sat with both hands in her lap, and her new cane leaning on the wooden bench beside her. She sighed heavily, eyes still shielded beneath fresh bandages, obstructing her view of the pretty spring scenery around her along with her entire world.

Beside her, and more than well aware of her sorrows was Ray the Flying Squirrel, the boy who's been taking more than good care of her since her vision loss.

"What's th-the matter, Cream?" The squirrel asked.

"It's just….I wish I could help is all." The rabbit replied sorrowfully, bringing her hand up to touch the bandages on her face. "But I can't do anything like this…"

"Th-That's okay." Her friend assured her, "Pr-Principal Alicia wi-will be gl-glad that you just a-attended."

"What's the point if I can't see anything?"

"Si-Sight doesn't ma-matter as long as you ca-can feel the love." Ray smiled, taking her hand in his and coaxing a blush from her. "Bu-But if it re-really means that much to y-you, I'll keep my eyes cl-closed so we can sh-share the experience…."

She couldn't help but smile at his sweet nature, something about him that she's always liked. In response, she leaned her head on his shoulder, making him blush just the same.

"You don't have to." She said innocently, "I feel the love, Ray…."

* * *

In the main office of the main building, Elias peeked out from behind the curtains of a window to peer at the parking lot, which was so full that cars began parking on the grassy plains beside it.

Sweat dripped from his brow as he closed the curtain and began pacing the office nervously, biting his nails as he mumbled to himself.

"This is why I never wanted to be a musician! Stage fright gets me so freaked out!" He wailed mostly to himself, although the magenta girl was there to watch and listen to his ranting. "There are so many chairs being set up! And so many people out there already! I can't do this…."

"Elias." Sonia called out gently, waltzing over to take both his hands in hers and lock their gazes, serving to somewhat calm his nerves. "It'll be okay. You'll do great."

"But…there are so many people out there…" He mumbled shyly, so unlike his usual suave and charming self.

"Like I said, it'll be fine." She assured him once more, resting a hand to his cheek. "You're…amazing."

He nodded, letting go of his nervousness the best he could. Her hand so warm to his cheek, melting away all his worried thoughts.

Then she pulled away, relaying to him that she had to go make sure the piano was set up outside. He gave her the okay before she skipped out of the office, leaving him alone to let out a sigh of some relief.

He sat in one of the chairs by the receptionist's desk and basked in the silence until it was silent no more, as the sound of a crying baby sprang him from his chair. He turned to look out to the door, blue eyes widening in shock to see Megan strolling in, and with a basinet where a crying Alexis was swaddled in a pink blanket.

"Megan." He breathed in shock, "What are you doing here?!"

"Alicia personally invited me, and I didn't have the heart to refuse." The squirrel girl admitted, "Despite not being my mother in-law anymore, I still want to be there in support of a wonderful principal."

"Oh…" Elias murmured, eyes wandering to the crying baby.

He hadn't seen her since he left her at the hospital. She looked much better, but still ungodly thin for a baby.

"Sorry." Megan apologized, setting the basinet down to lift the baby into her arms to bounce, taking the prince's starring as a look of disapproval. "She's been fussy lately."

The comment unconsciously drew his eyes to the teen mom herself, allowing him to notice the heavy bags visible beneath her makeup-coated eyes, and how thin her own body had become in the last few months.

It seemed the baby would not stop crying no matter how Megan tried to soothe her, leading the auburn-haired boy to hold up his arms and ask if he could try. She was reluctant to hand the baby over at first, but ended up doing so due to the tiredness in her arms.

And as if it were magic, the baby girl had ceased her crying all together within his grasp.

* * *

Alicia stood in her office, curtains to the bay window behind her desk drawn as she stood in the center of the room in her gorgeous, white gown. She blushed madly as Receptionist Rosemary tended to the braiding of her long, chestnut hair, and Nurse Bernadette kneeled before her and stuck pins into the bottom of the gown where a few alterations were necessary.

"I'm telling you Alicia, outside looks so beautiful!" Rosemary squealed, "The woodshop class did a beautiful job with the gazebo they built for you."

"I can't wait to see it…" The chipmunk smiled nervously.

"So…" Bernie called out for her attention below, "Are you ready for this?"

"I only wish people would stop asking."

"Fair enough. I'm sure you've been asked that all day."

"You have no idea." Alicia sighed, "And to be truthful, the more I get asked that, the less ready I feel."

"Don't worry about a thing." Rosemary told her, stepping back to admire her handy work from afar. "You'll be ready."

"Shoot." The purple hedgehog cursed, standing up to her feet.

"What's the matter!?" Alicia yelped, looking down at her gown to see if there was damage.

"I ran out of pins!" The hedgehog whined, "Wait here, we'll go get some more. Stay put and don't let the groom see you!" She warned, pulling the fox out the door with her.

* * *

"I called it twenty years ago!" Athair jeered from the driver's seat as he stared at his adult son and daughter whom sat in the back. "The moment that angry little chipmunk girl with the black makeup and upset scowl came over for dinner that first time, I knew she'd be your wife sooner or later."

"Yeah, yeah." Locke rolled his eyes, his little sister giggling beside him.

"I for one didn't think you'd ever pull it off." Tikal nudged him with her elbow, "She's always been way out of your league."

"Quit it, both of you please." He whined.

"At least tell me you're ready for all this, LoLo?"

"Chaos, I wish people would stop asking me that." The echidna man sighed, adjusting the tie that felt too tight around his throat.

"I'll take that as _'Absolutely, but I'm nervous as all hell.'_ "

"You really are good at reading people, Mrs. School Counselor." The jab made her frown instantly, and that's when he recalled al long talk he had with the principal about his little sister's job. "Tikal…. What do you plan on doing about your job anyway?"

"What? What's that supposed to mean."

"Alicia talked to me about it already…"

"Then you must know what she asked of me goes against all of my morals as an openly gay woman." The orange girl pouted, "How could I even think of helping someone like that boy, after the things he said, and did…."

Locke just sighed, disheartened by the upset look on his sweet little sister's face. He rested a hand to her shoulder, coaxing her to look back up at his serious expression.

"I understand." He assured her, "Just remember, that ignoring problems of the world you wish would be resolved defeat the purpose, and maybe redemption and in turn eradication of prejudices begin with a simple out reach."

* * *

Like most students, Relic and Marine were out doing their part in helping preparations. The two freshman had the tedious task of dragging out a long, white table for refreshments. Both of them being so tiny, the task wasn't as easy as it sounded.

The raccoon and pika wobbled and staggered as they did their best to hold the table upright, using all of the minimal strength they had to just barely get down the steps of the electives building.

"Why couldn't we get assigned chair duty like everyone else, eh?" Relic whined.

"C'mon now! It's only a few hundred steps til we ge-get there." Marine encouraged, voice cracking from the burning sensation in her triceps.

The pika nodded in understanding, both of them squeezing their eyes shut as they strained their little bodies to the max.

Just when they thought of letting the table fall, the weight on their arms suddenly felt much lighter. Both of them peered open their eyes to see a well-dressed, purple cat lifting the table with them, easing the load immensely.

"Blazey!" Marine yelped, surprised yet excited to see the cat.

"Don't worry girls, together this should be a snap." Blaze told them, her encouraging and familiar smile making Marine's ocean-blue eyes light up with such hope that her sister had finally returned to normal after such a long school year of self-loathing and misery.

"What are ya' doing out here?" Relic questioned curiously, "It's a bit surprising to see you so out of the blue, and not just moping around either."

The cat opened her mouth to comment, but before she did, she caught a glimpse of something out the corner of her eye that made her smile.

It was Shard, a few feet away and walking out of the boy's dorm. He seemed to have noticed her too, offering an endearing smirk back at her before taking off to wherever he was going.

"I'm putting in effort." Blaze told the girls, a light blush to her face as she turned her attention back to the task at hand. "To make everything good…"

* * *

Fiona had made it a habit of being in Scourge's dorm room, especially since Mephiles rarely showed up there anymore. The vixen sat at the end of the green hedgehog's bed barely clothed in just her underwear, staring out the window after she had swiped the blackout curtain to the side.

She watched tons of students scatter around like ants on a mission. Some set up white fold-out chairs on the lawn, some set up tables and decorated them with flowers and dishware, and others helped prep the gazebo that would serve as the alter.

She wore a bored expression as she watched them, up until her eyes caught sight of pink and red down below, by the gazebo.

That expression quickly turned into one of disgust as she recognized the two, Amy Rose and Mighty the Armadillo. Both of them laughing, smiling, and even touching one another's arm on occasion. The red fox's teeth grinded together as she broke away her angry gaze to look back at the green hedgehog laying on the bed with his arms propping up his head.

"So are we gonna crash this shit-show or what?" She asked him.

He shrugged in response before sitting up in bed to grab a pack of cigarettes from beside her, lighting one up to place in his mouth.

"Principal A's been the only thing remotely close to a parental figure in my life, one that hasn't abandoned me yet." He responded sincerely in his own cynical and sarcastic manner. "The least I could do is respect her this once."

"Hmmm…." Fiona grumbled, turning her gaze back out the window. Not wanting to let on that she too felt the same about the principal who never once judged her and even helped her out a few times. "Whatever."

Once her eyes looked out the window, she caught a more enjoyable sight, one that made her secretly smile.

It was Ray. He looked so happy, and even had the rabbit girl he adored so much leaning on his shoulder as they sat on a bench.

* * *

Outside, Storm was one of the strongmen who helped hoisted the gazebo the woodshop class had constructed out onto the lawn by the fountain. Once the task was done, he breathed a sigh of relief and wiped his brow before going to work fixing some of the fencing. A few pieces had come loose and even popped out of their sockets, an easy fix.

As he tended to that, he didn't notice the purple swallow jogging up from behind, her blue eyes darting to everyone on the school campus as if looking for someone.

"Storm!" She called out when she finally felt close enough, causing the albatross to stand up and turn in her direction.

"Wave." He greeted with a smile, wiping his hands on his dress pants. "What's up?"

"I…I was just wondering if you've seen Jet out here at all?"

"No." Storm shook his head, a worried look crossing both their faces. "I haven't seen him at all today actually, not even around the dorm."

The swallow dropped her gaze to the grass, a look of sorrow and worry on her face as she thought about how hard everyone had been on him since his return. Then a wave of guilt washed over her as she remembered what he did to deserve such cruelty, and how despite that, she still….

"You shouldn't care." A voice called out, causing her to turn around in fright as she assumed the person to be reading her mind. Standing behind her had been Cobar, and behind him was the rest of the LGBT club. "Not after the things he said, the things he did…"

Storm and Wave just looked away in shame under their stares.

Meanwhile, back up in his room, Jet sat curled on his bed. He had his knees to his chest as he rested his chin on them, blue eyes glistening with frustrated and regretful tears as they glanced down at the cellphone that had been bombarded with cruel and threatening messages.

 ** _Razor:_** _You deserve to die for what you did. And boy, if you even think of coming down to this wedding to ruin it with your filth of a presence you better check yourself. K, Bye._

 ** _Tiara:_** _You'll probably come to the wedding because it's not two dudes getting married. Well, FYI, my cousin's gay. Like, why are you even back here? No one wants you here. King of Trash._

 ** _Isabella:_** _I just want to let you know that you are legally allowed to attend any campus event, despite how people may feel about it. So you're welcome to attend your principal's wedding, even if she doesn't approve and gets upset….which is why I hope you'll attend. I'll be there._

 ** _Cobar:_** _You pathetic, poor excuse for a person. You've caused enough pain and misery. Just stay away from this wedding…Just go away forever._

* * *

"So, how's life been with your son back, Rosemary?" Bernadette asked the receptionist as they walked down to the art classroom to retrieve pins for their employer's dress.

"It's been a dream." The sand-colored fox smiled, "Best choice I ever made in my life."

"I can only imagine." The purple hedgehog nodded, her blonde hair bouncing upright.

"You wouldn't have to if you went out looking for your child—"

"I don't have to." Bernadette shook her head, "I know where he is, but I choose to stay away."

Rosemary opened her mouth to question why, but both women stopped in their tracks at an unusual sight. Standing at the doorway of the front doors were two mongooses they didn't expect to see.

Isabella and Arthur Mongoose.

"Well, well." Bernadette mused, planting both hands on her hips as she strutted over to the two. "Didn't think Alicia would invite you here after that court fiascos."

The comment was more so directed at the purple-haired mongoose who stood in a short black dress and matching heels—an outfit more appropriate for clubbing…or a funeral. The lawyer just flipped her lavish hair over her shoulder before giving the hedgehog a sly grin.

"She didn't." Isabella admitted, encircling her arms around one of her husband's. "Locke and my husband were good friends back in the day. He kindly forced me to be here. Why the sour face? I thought you'd be a big fan of me after my crusade against Aleena last November."

The blonde hedgehog found it difficult to hide her satisfaction at the memory of the mongoose's win against Aleena. Instead of trying to deny it, Bernadette simply nodded.

"Well, karma would have done the same to her sooner or later."

"Hmm, perhaps you're right, Bernie." The mongoose woman chuckled coldly, moving around the two woman with her husband to carry on with their walking. "Oh, and I think Jules might be outside. Just in case you're **STILL** after him…."

* * *

Most students, like Mighty and Amy, had been up since five in the morning setting up everything outside. From dragging chairs out to the dewy lawns, to arranging amazing spreads on elegantly designed tables, the two had done it all.

Now they were kneeled down by the gazebo, laughing and talking as they arranged flowers around it's perimeter.

"Pink and blue flowers together?" Amy commented, eyeing the selection of flowers her armadillo friend had laid out.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"That's so corny!" The pink girl whined, leaning over him to remove them. "This is a wedding, not a baby shower."

"Then what would you suggest? Ms. Expert Florist." He pouted, crossing his arms jokingly as he watched her rearrange flowers in a more appropriate way.

"There, that looks **MUCH** better."

"Red and pink?" Mighty rose an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah!" She shrugged, "Look how perfectly they contrast with the white gazebo, and they're very romantic colors."

"Hmmm…." The armadillo rubbed his chin as he ogled her work, "Well then, I guess your last name isn't _'Rose'_ for nothing."

"You're such a dork!" The hedgehog giggled, swatting him playfully on the shoulder.

They continued to line the gazebo in flowers, joking around, and creating such a light-hearted aura around them.

Up until Amy uttered something that made the armadillo a bit uneasy.

"Hey Mighty…." She murmured, "Rob called me earlier and said that he'd be here…."

"Oh…" He replied, arms going limp as he dropped his eyes to the grass.

He was clearly uneasy, and she didn't like that. The pink girl was so grateful to him. Despite rudely handling his feelings on the roof, he still ended up becoming one of the best friends she's ever had in her life. He made her feel so much better about herself, as if she were enough just being her, without the popular girl persona. He didn't know it, but he inspired her to want to be a humble, selfless, good-hearted person just like him.

She brought her hand down on his, squeezing it tightly so that he'd turn to look up at her smiling face.

"Everything's going to be fine." She assured him.

* * *

From across the lawn, emerald-colored eyes scanned over the two with a flare of jealousy to them.

It was Sonic again, who had caught sight of the two once more thanks to their loud laughter.

He had no clue Amy knew the older boy, let alone that the two were so…close.

The blue hedgehog sucked his teeth in annoyance. Why? He wasn't sure. He tore his gaze off the two in favor of dropping the chairs he had been holding to stomp over toward the familiar seedrian and fox that were sitting on the fountain ledge.

"Hey Sonic." Tails greeted, Cosmo waving her hellos.

"Hey Bud." He greeted back, eyes occasionally wandering back to the pink hedgehog and her new friend.

"Is something up?" The fox called back his attention.

"Nah, just uh…tired." The blue hedgehog shrugged, "Umm…So did you know Amy and Mighty hung out like that?"

"What?"

"Yeah. I had no idea they were friends."

Tails' gaze followed the hedgehogs to stop on the chummy pair by the gazebo. An interesting and unusual sight considering how since he's known her, the pink girl never hung on to anyone like that other than Sonic.

He then looked back up to Sonic, swearing he could see something strange in his eyes. Something like…jealousy.

"Does it….bother you, Sonic?"

"What?! No!" The blue hedgehog shook his hands, finally turning all his attention back to the fox. "It's just…surprising is all. Besides, I have a girlfriend, remember?"

"Oh…okay then…"

"Yeah, I should probably get back to work. The wedding's in two hours."

The blue teen then ran back off to where he had dropped some chairs in a fit, leaving the fox to turn to his girlfriend in confusion.

"Jeez, I wonder what that awkwardness was about." Tails sighed.

"Well, to put it gently…." Cosmo began, staring after the blue hedgehog. "Sonic is the kind of guy who…wants to have his cake and eat it too."

* * *

Three girls loitered around the gorgeous, white piano. Sonia sat on the bench in front of the keys, mimicking the motions she was to make, but not touching the keys themselves as she practiced the song in her head.

Sitting on top of the piano was Honey, tail swishing back and forth as she looked around at the almost finished setup.

And leaning on the side of the piano with arms crossed and face in a pout was Mina Mongoose herself.

"Ugh, I cannot believe Principal Acorn didn't ask **ME** to sing for her wedding." The mongoose whined.

"Sorry Mina." The magenta girl apologized, "But it's only natural for Principal Acorn to want her own son to sing at her wedding despite talent."

"I guess you're right." Mina sighed, "I guess I understand, and I guess it's fine considering Elias is pretty good…and he's a hottie."

The comment made a flustered Sonia roll her eyes in irritation, which made the noticing cat sitting on the piano above her giggle in response to her obvious jealousy.

"Well then, I'm off to find Mr. Ash." The mongoose mused, daintily waving to the girls as she stood upright and walked off.

"Why?" Honey questioned curiously, taking note of how the mongoose had been so chummy with their music teacher lately.

"Just to….you know, discuss music and stuff."

* * *

Back at the girl's dorm, in the room of drama club's costume designer, Bunnie Rabbot, sisters Sally and Nicole stood in their purple dresses as the rabbit made alterations to suit their figures.

Despite many protests and pleading with her mother, there was no way Sally could get out of wearing a dress, a form-fitting one at that.

Outside of the door, Espio and Antoine stood with their arms crossed, making small talk as they waited for the girls to finish up.

"Ya'll look so beautiful." Bunnie squealed, getting up on her feet to admire her handy work, motioning for the girls to twirl around. "Being maids of honor is such a…well, honor!"

"Thank you for the help, Bunnie." Sally smiled sheepishly, admiring herself in the mirror set up by the rabbit's bed.

"I wish you wouldn't thank me so much! We're friends, Sally-Girl. It's what we do." The rabbit waved in dismissal before walking over to open the door for the boys. "Ya'll can come in now!"

Soon both Espio and Antoine filed into the room, the chameleon's face turning as red as a cherry at the sight of his girlfriend so dolled up. In turn, she blushed as well, rubbing her arm shyly in response.

"Nicole…you look…amazing." The chameleon breathed, making the blush on her face worsen.

"Thank you."

The sight of the two flustered lovebirds warmed the three older teens' hearts. Antoine walked over to Bunnie's side, wrapping an arm around her waist as he complimented her.

"Another mazter piece, My Love." The coyote chuckled, coaxing sweet giggles from the golden-haired girl.

Sally smiled at the two couples, then turned to admire herself in the mirror once more.

With makeup on, there was no need for glasses. Her hair was done up in an elegant bun, and the long, purple dress hugged her perfectly. To her, it didn't look like she was staring at herself.

"Well, I'm glad the maid of honor style suits me so well, considering I see two more weddings I'll have to attend in my future." She commented to the couples.

In response, Bunnie placed her hands on her hips and smirked at the chipmunk.

"Wait a second, just two?" The rabbit questioned, "Are you trynna say Sugah-Hog isn't marriage material?"

"What!? Well…I….Uhh." Sally blushed, never having pondered such a thought. The two had hated/liked each other for six months, but have only just been dating for a little over one month. "I'm just gonna go see how things are going outside!"

The flustered chipmunk picked up her dress and scurried off, leaving her friends to stare after her in a fit of giggles.

* * *

Silver stood by Gold at one of the tables they were setting up. He blushed slightly as he watched her set down the forks and spoons so delicately. Like everyone else, she had dolled herself up for the occasion. Hanging up her gamer shirts and combat boots for a beautiful champagne-colored dress and white heels that matched the bracelets jingling on her wrists. Her quills swayed so elegantly with her movements, and her blue eyes could rival the sky for title of such a clear and vibrant color.

On top of being downright adorable and such a good friend, the tenrec was such a down to earth person, and a wondrous free-spirit.

If told to make a list of pros and cons about her, the white hedgehog wouldn't know what to come up with as a con! She was perfect. Perfect for him at least.

Maybe giving up on **WISHING** Blaze was perfect for him is what finally allowed him to see Gold **IS** actually perfect for him, and maybe that's why these feelings have stirred up in him over the last few weeks.

"Silver, you okay?" The tenrec asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

He quickly turned away, careful not to let her see the blush on his face as he stumbled with setting down cups.

"Uh, yeah!" He stammered, "I was just thinking is all."

"About what?"

"Well…I…"

His train of thought was quickly halted as he caught sight of something red from the corner of his eye. Curiously, he turned all his attention in that direction, catching sight of someone familiar.

It was her again, the girl he's constantly had delightful run ins with on occasion around campus since his first day. The chipmunk girl he stumbled on dancing in the auditorium earlier on in the year.

She was scurrying down the aisle of chairs, looking around for something. Unconsciously, he already had begun leaving his station in favor of chasing after her, but the newly forming crowd had swallowed her up whole just before he could, robbing him of yet another chance at speaking with her.

"I still…don't know her name…" He mumbled disappointedly to himself as he turned back toward the table.

* * *

Manic and Shadow were one of the few who didn't bother in helping out with wedding preparations. The two stood in their room, figuring they'd only mess things up if they tried. So instead of going downstairs to help in any way, they thought the best they could do was stay out of the way until it was time.

The two hedgehogs sat on their respective beds across from each other, accompanied by newcomer Rosy, who leaned on Shadow's shoulder.

She had no interest in weddings, so ended up tagging along in their lazy smoke session.

"Marriage is so stupid." The goth girl huffed, taking another swig of the wine bottle she had stolen off one of the tables on her way here.

"You don't have to tell me that." The black hedgehog beside her snorted with such distaste. "My father's been married so many times I think it's desensitized me to the idea."

"I dunno you guys." Manic shrugged innocently from the other side of the room, "I think marriage sounds…nice."

Rosy snarled in disgust, while Shadow stared at his friend as if he were insane.

"Ew." Rosy commented, "Wanting to get married is almost as stupid as wanting kids one day."

The comment struck a nerve with the green hedgehog, who immediately ceased his chuckling and smoking to drop his gaze.

A montage of images about a series of events played in his mind.

Arguing with Mina and her mother at the coffee shop, his signature on abortion papers, and the doctor telling him how the baby had been a little mongoose girl after the procedure was over.

"Yeah…" He murmured, doing his best to play off the painful feeling in his heart. "So stupid…."

Shadow rose an eyebrow, quick to catch the sudden change in demeanor, but couldn't say anything before the door to their room swung open violently.

They all turned to see an upset Rouge standing in the doorway. They all stared at her, confused by her upset scowl.

"Hey Rouge." Shadow waved, the greeting doing nothing to soften the features of her face.

"Why didn't you two call me over to smoke?!" She growled at them, eyeing the pink girl hanging on Shadow's lap.

"Sorry." He apologized, "Slipped my mind."

"Oh, but it didn't slip your mind to call her, right?!"

"Relax." The black hedgehog remarked, "You're being over dramatic."

"Yeah, whatever." She hissed, turning heel to walk off. "Feels like everyone's okay with replacements."

Rosy looked up at Shadow who shrugged, then both of their attention was caught by Manic hopping off the bed.

"That sounded personal." He said, running his hand through his shaggy quills as he shot them a curious look. "I'm gonna go see what that's all about."

He then took off, leaving the two hedgehogs to wonder.

Rouge hadn't quite been herself, not after her last encounter with Knuckles.

* * *

Julie-Su walked around campus, hand linked around the tiny one that belonged to her daughter, Lara-Su, who had been dropped off by her grandfather. The little girl hadn't been to a wedding before, and figured she'd enjoy the experience.

Instead of being excited and giddy of the food or colorful flowers, the little echidna girl focused all her energy on peering around at the crowds in search of Knuckles.

"Are you excited Lara?" Julie-Su asked, doing her best to put on a brave face for the little girl despite her own sorrows.

"Uh huh." The little girl nodded, "Do you think we'll see Mr. Knuckles?"

"I…I don't—"

" **LARA-SU, LARA-SU!** " A voice shouted, cutting the pink echidna off.

The two turned to be greeted with the sight of Lara-Le and Mace. The two were dressed up like everyone else, the little boy running toward them in a cute, little tux.

Lara let go of her mother's hand to meet the little boy halfway in an adorable hug and fit of giggles. Julie-Su's frown quickly curved into a smile, recalling fonder memories of Knuckles and her as children.

"Sweet isn't it?" Knuckles' mother smiled, walking over to the pink echidna's side as they watched the children babble.

"At that age, everything is." Julie-Su agreed.

"So, where's my son?"

Although innocent, the question immediately wiped the smile off the pink girl's face, making the older echidna raise an eyebrow curiously.

That's when she noticed Julie-Su's bare neck, the necklace with the dazzling emerald no longer hanging off it.

Instead of asking where it had gone, she rested a hand on the teen's shoulder knowingly.

"Sometimes love is painful." Lara-Le sighed, "In some cases, it can be salvaged, but in others…it's better to let go…"

Julie-Su nodded, looking out toward the row of chairs to see Knuckles walking around in search of a seat, wondering to herself…

Should I save this? Or let it go?

Then a pain rose in her belly, forcing her to keel over and cough into her hand.

"Chaos, are you alright, Julie?!" Lara-Lee asked worriedly, watching as the teen pulled her hand away to reveal a concerning amount of blood had come out of her mouth.

"I'm fine." She nodded, looking out to her worried daughter.

* * *

Ken waited and waited, his frail body barely filling out his suit as he feebly paced back and forth beneath the bleachers, biting his nails in nervousness and impatience.

He had been that way for what felt like hours to him, but in turn only being fifteen minutes at the most.

Geoffrey St. John had texted him to meet here, claiming to have the stuff he asked for yesterday.

The drugs.

After some more waiting, he finally heard the crackle of twigs and quickly whipped his head around to see the skunk strolling toward him with a stuffed backpack.

The skunk grinned maliciously at the look of relief on the monkey's face as he tossed the bag to the ground between them. Then he leered down at the sick boy who hungrily tore into the bag, finding all the essentials he needed.

White medicine bottles full of the liquid he needed and a slew of fresh needles.

"That should be enough to get you through the next week or two depending on how often you shoot up."

"I use at-at least four times a day." Ken sputtered out as he quickly filled the needle up, "This looks like six or seven days' worth just from looking."

"Jeez." Geoffrey whistled, impressed by the monkey's guestimate. "Guess you've been doing this a long time, eh?"

"Yeah…"

Soon after, Ken felt so much better, as if he were a normal again instead of the hungry zombie he's felt like for days.

After packing up, the two seniors decided to hangout for a bit, taking a seat on the bleachers that had a clear view across campus toward the area where the wedding would be taking place.

Thanks to being clear-headed now, Ken was able to register the events of the last few weeks he'd been oblivious too, the most notable thing being his crush ending up with the kid from English class he couldn't stand.

And as cruel luck would have it, he had the misfortune of catching sight of them across the field.

She was in a pretty, purple dress, and he was in a white tux. She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a hug, his hands resting at her waist.

With his mind no longer occupied by the horrible withdrawal symptoms, the monkey was level-headed enough to feel the sorrows of rejection, jealousy, and disapproval. Things the skunk beside him could easily recognize.

"You certainly missed out with that one." The skunk remarked, making the monkey turn to him curiously. "She's a looker, despite her usual attire."

"What?"

"Ya'know, she's hot once you get past the ratty clothes and glasses." Geoffrey shrugged, "Trust me."

"What the hells that supposed to mean?" The monkey questioned, "Are you saying you and her have….been together before?"

"You could say that."

Ken could only stare at the skunk in utter confusion, turning back to stare at the chipmunk across campus who had once told him that she never had a boyfriend before…

 _'So…Sally lied?'_ He thought to himself as he stared at her _, 'So much for being innocent…'_

* * *

Jules and Vigil had just stepped out of their cab and walked around to stand at one another's side as they stared at the finished construction of the wedding area.

It was breathtaking.

White fold-out chairs were set up by the fountain in two sections that created an aisle on the grass that led to a gorgeous, white gazebo decorated in red and pink flowers.

Most people were already seated, while others broke off in groups around the campus grounds, conversing on the principal and her almost-husband.

Vigil looked over at the hedgehog beside her, noting the sorrow evident in his eyes as he gazed around at everything.

"Jules…" She murmured.

Just before he could turn to her, the sleeve of his black suit was pulled, and he turned in the other direction to be met with a shocking sight.

"Aleena?!" He gasped, "What are you doing here?!"

It was the mother of his children, dolled up in makeup and a pretty pink dress that hung off her shoulders. She looked up at him with shining emerald eyes that glimmered with hope.

"I knew you'd be here…" She mumbled, "I just…wanted to talk with you about…our divorce…"

Vigil could only watch in curious silence as her commander stood there at a loss for words. He didn't know how to respond, but knew he had to say something.

Just as he went to open his mouth, another voice caught his attention.

"Figures you'd come." The sultry voice commented coldly, the three turning to see yet another purple hedgehog stroll up to them. "The real question is, what for?"

"Bernadette…" Vigil commented, remembering the blonde woman to be one of the many names on her friend's list of lovers back in high school.

Aleena shot the other hedgehog woman a cold glare as Jules gently pried her hand off his sleeve, standing in what may very well be the most uncomfortable position he's ever been in.

"Well how ironic." Yet another voice cooed, this one much colder.

They all turned to see Isabella Mongoose strolling up to them with her signature taunting grin, eyeing Aleena, Bernadette, and Jules.

"If we could get Alicia and Clove the Pronghorn out here, it sure would feel like a high school reunion. Wouldn't it, Jules?"

The blue hedgehog could only look in between the three girls from his past before glancing out toward the campus grounds where he had caught sight of Alicia in the distance.

* * *

 **So much set up...**

 **Sonic getting all jealous over Amy hanging out with Mighty although he's with Sally now.**

 **Ken finally back to normal (Thanks to drugs) and having Geoffrey reveal some info on Sally contradicting the whole 'Innocent girl' vibes she gave him.**

 **Julie-Su debating on saving or letting go of her relationship with Knuckles.**

 **Rob O'Hedge on his way, much to Mighty's anxiousness.**

 **Rouge's mental breakdown.**

 **Locke and Alicia's indecisiveness.**

 **Jules and Lara-Le there ready to object and intervene at any moment.**

 **Sonia ready to finally return Elias' feelings although he's finally accepted the friend-zone, and Megan's sudden appearance.**

 **Makes you wonder if this wedding will pan out good in any way at all, doesn't it?**

 **A lot of subtext was dropped here...teehee.**

 **Note: I had to add this in last minute to clarify for some people but Arthur Mongoose is Mina's father, and Ash Mongoose is the music teacher and her current crush. **

**Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Sonia FINALLY tells Elias how she feels**

 **Mighty comes face-to-face with Rob again. Will things turn out alright like Amy hopes? Or end in utter disaster...**

 **Knuckles receives a heartbreaking note that makes him rethink everything...**

 **Scourge has an interesting run in with someone**

 **Alicia and Locke finally make their choices...**

 **And so much more**


	74. Chapter 74

**Song:** **Safetysuit - Never Stop (Wedding Version) Lyrics**

* * *

 **Chapter 74: Wedding Bells II**

It was a quarter to twelve.

Everything was all setup, and everyone was finally seated.

Flickys chirped in the blue sky, and the rows of sitting guests were a colorful sea of dresses and tuxedos of all colors.

Sonia the Hedgehog sat at the piano by the lavish gazebo that would be serving as the alter where the priest stood ready to bind the fiancés in holy matrimony. The magenta girl played a lovely tune to set the mood as the event was just minutes away.

She stole glances at the crowd, smiling sweetly at those who looked back as she scanned over each and every one of them.

Being so social, she recognized most of them, but her smile was wiped off the instant she spotted…him.

 _'Daddy!?'_ She thought to herself, fingers fumbling on the keys as she was rattled with shock.

Thanks to a pep-talk she had with the principal during her troubling time of eating disorders and depression, she knew a bit of the bitter history between her parents and Principal Acorn, making his presence all the more nerve wrecking.

 _'Divorcing Mother so suddenly, and coming here…'_ She tightened her jaw, staring back at him although he wasn't looking her way, his gaze casted downward in an unreadable expression. _'Does he…plan to…object?!'_

"Sonia!" A voice called out to her in a harsh whisper, forcing her to break away from her worried thoughts to turn toward Elias, who had just strolled to her side. "We're on for real in five minutes."

* * *

After ditching Shadow and Rosy back in his dorm room, Manic wasted no time in scurrying after the upset bat, who walked surprisingly quick in such tall heels.

"Yo!" He called out once he caught up to her in the stairwell, "Baby—"

" **FUCK OFF, MANIC.** " She snapped angrily, not bothering to turn and face him as she continued her angry stride down the stairs.

Judging by the tone of her voice—that rare tone of upset anger—he could tell something was really wrong, and thus worry for his good friend flooded his heart.

"Rouge, wait." He used her actual name to let her know he was really concerned, and was finally close enough to tug her back by the shoulder so she'd turn around and reveal her crying face to him.

His mouth fell open slightly and his brows came together in a confused yet sincere gaze.

"I…I said to leave me alone." She whimpered, black mascara mixing with her salty tears as they dripped down her pale face.

"What's this about?" He questioned in a gentle tone, "Are you really that mad about Rosy?"

" **I'M MAD AT EVERYTHING.** " She screamed, not holding back as she came to a full boil.

"Rouge…"

"I kept Maria's secret, and it killed her. I convinced Julie-Su to get with Thrash, and he abused her. I kept Lara-Su a secret from Knuckles even though I knew the truth, and it ended up ruining us… I just… I want karma to leave me alone! I've had enough."

She nearly collapsed, but Manic caught her just in time. He looked down at the crying girl with such sympathy, sitting down with her on the steps as he listened to her get everything off her chest the way he always did whenever he stumbled upon her this upset.

"Someone as carefree as you just wouldn't understand…" She mumbled, "How painful it is to carry so many regrets—"

"You're wrong." He cut her off, no longer able to keep silent and listen. "I've got one regret…One that probably outweighs every damn regret you'll ever have in your lifetime."

The seriousness in his tone made her raise her head to turn to him. He gripped his black pants tightly as he narrowed his blue eyes to the floor, and thought about his biggest regret.

Signing the abortion papers for Mina…. Killing his unborn daughter…

"What would that be?" Rouge asked, genuinely curious as she noticed tears begin to brim his own eyes.

"I…I can't tell you. At least not now." He explained vaguely, standing up to offer her a hand accompanied by a weak smile. "For now, let's leave the worries behind and go enjoy some wedding cake. It'll make you feel better."

His cheeky smile always had such a positive effect on her, and he always knew how to put her in a better mood. Even now, in such a fit of anger and frustration, he managed to calm her down by just listening as usual, then saying something so corny it was laughable.

"More like, it'll make me fat." She remarked, offering him a weak smile back, taking his advice to push her worries aside for a little while.

* * *

Rob O'Hedge used one hand to hold his wife's, while his other arm was occupied by his adorably dressed son. The family had arrived some time ago, and often found themselves stopping to greet old friends or for complete strangers who wanted to compliment the little echidna boy in his arm.

"At this rate we won't find Amy before the ceremony starts." The teal hedgehog sighed behind a polite smile as he nodded his head in thanks to the compliments of a few staff members.

"I think I see her over there." Mari-An whispered to him, pointing her finger out toward the gazebo.

The hedgehog had to maneuver his head and squint really hard, but he soon was able to notice the unmistakable, flamboyantly pink quills of his young cousin.

"You're right." He gasped, an excited smile crossing his face.

"Well, we better move quickly before we get stopped again."

"Right."

The two then quickened their pacing, closing in on the pink girl. As they got closer, they could make out the figure standing beside her, the person making her smile and laugh so much.

Mighty, dressed in a tux like almost every other guy, one arm rubbing the back of his neck shyly as he smiled adoringly down at the pink hedgehog.

Rob tensed on instinct, those blue eyes being similar to ones he often saw in his nightmares as a child, but he forced himself to relax as they finally got close to the pair.

"Amy!" Mari-An squealed, gaining the teen's attention before she rushed over and gave her a hug. "You look so adorable."

"So do you!" Amy giggled, reeling back to admire the echidna woman's coral-colored dress and straightened hair.

She then turned toward Rob who was staring over at a now intimidated and self-conscious Mighty. She bit her lip nervously, confusing the echidna who turned toward her husband only to be handed the baby.

"Robbin?" She questioned as she watched the teal hedgehog walk over to the armadillo.

Amy readied herself with an angry outburst, but soon found no reason to do so as her cousin's hand came down on the armadillo's shoulder. Mighty looked up at him, and was surprised to see such a sincere expression considering the circumstances, and sure wasn't expecting any sort of apology.

"I apologize for the way I acted toward you, and my misjudgment due to….personal matters." Rob apologized, making the armadillo's eyes widen in surprise.

"There's no need to apologize. I completely understand." Mighty smiled, "I'm the legal guardian of my own siblings, so I kinda get a little over-protective myself."

"A guardian?" The hedgehog rose an eyebrow, "Aren't you a little young for such responsibilities?"

"Well, I had to grow up a little sooner than usual thanks to…personal matters."

Rob nodded, the young man in front of him looking less and less like the monsters who ruined his life. After some more chatter, he found the teen to be quite the respectable young man, and Amy finally found herself able to relax and smile.

"Amy…." Mari-An turned to Amy with interest, "This boy is quite the gentleman, and very cute. Is he your new boyfriend?"

" **WHAT?!** " Amy yelped, entire face turning as red as her dress. "No! He's… just my friend. Hehe." She then turned to the just as embarrassed armadillo who nodded in agreement.

"Well good to know. That'd take a lot more adjustment time…and interrogation." The teal hedgehog remarked, making the armadillo wish to sink into his shell. "But regardless, she's been quite happy these days, and her grades are higher than ever…so having you around is alright in my book…as long as you're just friends."

"Rob…." Amy whined, completely embarrassed.

"I think things are started." Mari-An piped up after watching everyone begin to sit down. "Mighty should join us."

"Oh, sure thing." Mighty nodded to the couple before turning to exchange happy smiles with the pink hedgehog beside him.

* * *

After Isabella's remark about Jules, Bernadette took off on her own, leaving Rosemary to return to the principal's office with the pins alone.

The sand-colored fox sighed to herself as she walked down the empty halls on her own. It took some time, but she eventually made it back to the office and slowly creaked the door open. As she did so, she couldn't help but overhear the chipmunk on the phone, making her cease the action of opening the door to listen in.

 _"This isn't fair Max."_ The heated chipmunk woman growled, _"I want_ _ **ALL**_ _my children to be here. It's my wedding day! Haven't you ruined enough precocious moments in my life as it is?"_

 _"I don't care."_ The man on the other line retorted coldly yet so calm, _"I'll be dammed before she ever sets foot near you or that school."_

 _"_ _ **YOU UNBELIEVEABLE BASTARD!**_ _"_ Alicia screeched, hurdling the cellphone to the wall where it shattered to bits.

She then plopped back down in her chair, struggling not to let tears escape to ruin her makeup.

"Alicia?" Rosemary finally called out, stepping through the slightly ajar door to make her presence known.

The chipmunk quickly straightened herself out, unaware that the fox had heard everything.

"Oh, Rosemary." She smiled weakly, doing her best to put on an excited façade although the fox was not fooled. "I didn't hear you coming." She added, standing up to walk over to her.

"I see."

"Where's Bernadette?! I thought she took off with you."

"Oh, she had to check on something important." The receptionist cringed, unable to speak the truth.

Unable to warn the chipmunk that her other ex, Jules the Hedgehog was out there somewhere.

* * *

"There you are." Lara-Le smiled, setting down her youngest son so that he could run up to her oldest and hug his leg.

"Nana!" Mace squealed excitedly as Knuckles lifted him off the ground to seat him in his lap.

For the first time in a while, the little boy managed to earn an honest smile out of the teen, even though it was quite weak.

"We've been looking everywhere for you." His mother sighed, taking the empty seat beside him as the little boy in his lap nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Sorry." Knuckles mumbled.

His mother was quick to notice his own disheartened demeanor, the same way she recognized Julie-Su's. It wasn't difficult to put two-and-two together.

The teen couple had broken up, and it was most likely his doing.

"Sweetheart…" She spoke up after a bit of silence, "What happened between you and Julie-Su? I ran into her earlier and she seemed just as sad as you do right now."

"It doesn't matter." He shook his head, "It wouldn't have worked out anyway."

"And why not?"

"She didn't trust me enough, and with my background, she probably never would have." He shrugged, "Besides…I still have feelings for someone else, but even that wouldn't work out because I'm done. I'm just giving up…. It's better for everyone this way."

Lara-Le sighed, sorrow pooling in her heart at the sight of her depressed son who in this moment resembled her more than ever before.

"Too much heartache can take its toll on the soul." She stated knowingly, looking out toward the gazebo where Locke had stepped up to his position beside the priest. "But if you give up now, you'll end up right where I am. A broken family….watching the only person who was ever willing to put up with you marry someone else, forever wondering why you couldn't just…be better."

* * *

"So your mom is marrying Knuckles' dad." Sonic whistled, strolling across the campus with his girlfriend as they talked and waited for things to start. "Does that mean you're siblings now?"

"Well, technically step-siblings." Sally shrugged.

"Hmm, wonder how Knucklehead feels about being bros with Prince Charming." The blue hedgehog wondered aloud.

"What's wrong with being brothers with Elias? I thought everyone at this school loved him."

"Everyone except Knuckles….Well, at least it used to be that way when he was dating my sister."

"Oh… Well, I'm sure they're over it by now."

"Maybe." Sonic shrugged, ears twitching at the sound of familiar laughter again.

As the two carried on their walking, and the chipmunk beside him continued talking, the blue hedgehog turned toward the direction he heard the laughter and grimaced.

It was Amy and Mighty again, this time taking their seats as they waited for things to start.

He couldn't help himself, he had to stare! It was just so weird and different, to be on the outside. Amy's never been so giddy with anyone except him, so it was the most bizarre and unusual sight to ever see in person.

It stirred such an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Sonic?" Sally called out to him, forcing him to break the staring to turn back to her.

"Ye-Yeah?" He stammered, fearing that he might have been caught.

"Are you okay? You were zoning out."

"Oh, I'm fine. Just got distracted by the scenery. It's really pretty out here."

"It is. I'm so happy, and hope things go well." She smiled out to the scenery he lied about distracting him, "Well, Nicole texted me that it's almost time. I have to go."

She then gave him a hug that he just barely returned, but she didn't pay it any mind, too occupied by thoughts about the wedding. Then she picked up her purple dress a bit and took off.

The auburn-haired girl cursed herself for not practicing in heels this tall beforehand, and for walking so far out from where she was supposed to be.

For the most part of her frantic running back to the gazebo there was no one in sight, but just as she passed by the football field she came into contact with someone, and she couldn't help but stop for them.

"Ken…" She gasped, surprised after not seeing him for so long.

He turned around, just as surprised as she was. The monkey offered her no smile the way he used to, just nodded to confirm that it was actually him. He also unconsciously gripped the ratty backpack he had been holding a bit tighter.

"It's been a while…" She murmured, "You haven't been to English class, and I haven't really seen you around…"

"I've just been sick and out of the loop is all, but I'm feeling a lot better." He replied, "Congratulations on getting with the mystery guy."

She frowned, the passive-aggressive tone being so obvious. It was more than obvious that he was hurt, and she couldn't blame him, and felt pretty guilty although she shouldn't have.

"I didn't expect things to really turn out like this." Sally confessed, "I'm sorry, Ken."

"It's no problem, really. I'm happy for you." He replied, accompanied by a genuine yet hurt smile. "But for the record, you didn't need to put on the fake _'Good Girl'_ act for me, because I probably would have fallen for you regardless."

He then continued his walking, waving goodbye to her as he did so. All she could do was tilt her head in confusion at his final statement before shaking it off to run to where she was supposed to be.

* * *

 _'Chaos…there's so many damn people out there…'_ Elias nervously thought to himself as he stared out at the full and seemingly endless rows of chairs.

During his analysis of the crowd, his blue eyes ended up falling upon Megan again, and the little squirrel baby cradled in her arms. He turned away quickly, doing his best to regain his focus as he heard Sonia begin to play the first few notes of the song.

The crowd suddenly went dead, the only sound on the entire campus being the keys played on piano.

Although his legs wobbled like jelly, and his throat felt as if it were ready to swell shut at any moment, Elias knew there was no going back.

He took in a very deep breath before emerging out from behind the piano with microphone in hand. His presence alone coaxing soft coos from the crowd in front of him.

 _Then he began to sing…._

 _This is my love song to you_

 _Let every woman know I'm yours_

 _So you can fall asleep each night, babe_

 _And know I'm dreaming of you more_

 _You're always hoping that we make it_

 _You always want to keep my gaze_

 _Well you're the only one I see_

 _And that's the one thing that won't change_

 _I'll never stop trying_

 _I'll never stop watching as you leave_

 _I'll never stop losing my breath_

 _Every time I see you looking back at me_

 _I'll never stop holding your hand_

 _I'll never stop opening your door_

 _I'll never stop choosing you babe_

 _I'll never get used to you_

It was unbelievably romantic, and his voice was so fitting for the beautiful words that escaped him. Even the prideful singer, Mina Mongoose herself was completely taken aback and awe-struck with the crowd.

From inside the main building across from the gazebo he stood at was his mother, smiling to herself as she listened to her son's voice.

 _You still get my heart racing_

 _For you_

But no one was nearly as captivated as the magenta girl sitting at the piano with a front row seat to the handsome squirrel's show. Her emerald eyes never left him, and her heart skipped a beat every time he turned in her direction.

Once the song was over, he took a bow, waved, and gave the crowd that signature smile before they stood up and roared with applause. He chuckled shyly before turning off the microphone and scurrying off.

Unfortunately, Sonia was grounded to the piano for a bit longer as she changed the tune from the song to the standard one of weddings.

So she watched him run off, but smiled to herself.

 _'Honey was right.'_ She thought, _'As soon as I'm able to leave this piano, I'm going to find him, and tell him how I feel.'_

* * *

As Sonia began the ceremonial wedding song, the double-doors to the main building gently opened up to reveal the bride in her gorgeous gown. She walked slowly, arm encircled around the arm of Athair the Echidna, her father in-law to be.

"Thank you for walking me down the aisle, Athair." She whispered quietly to the old man, "I know it's usually the maternal father giving away his daughter but…"

Her smile nearly fell as she recalled how she was orphaned at a young age, but the echidna's whisper back had kept her spirits up enough to not let the sorrowful memory pull her smile down.

"It's an honor to do this for you, Dearest." He chuckled, "Like I've always said since you two were young high schoolers yourselves, I knew this day would come, and I couldn't be happier."

She squeezed his arm with hers as a way of thanks before she looked out toward the gazebo and realized she was already halfway down the aisle. Her heart raced faster and faster as they came closer, and her eyes locked onto the echidna waiting for her by the priest and her daughters, who were so dressed up they looked nearly unrecognizable thanks to the hair and makeup talents of Bunnie Rabbot.

In that moment….

She wondered….

 _'Do I…really want this?'_

From one of the rows way back, Jules the Hedgehog watched with longing eyes as the chipmunk he loved since his youth took down the aisle.

She looked so breathtaking in her gown, and her smile was as pure as the white color of her dress.

With every step she took his heart cracked and cracked as it gave in to the agonizing feeling of watching her walk closer and closer to her destiny.

And it nearly shattered entirely when she finally stepped in front of Locke, and they exchanged such heartfelt smiles.

He clutched his pants in fistfuls as he grinded his teeth together in nervousness, sweating as the priest began the long speech to wed the two. From beside him, Vigil the Chameleon watched from out the corner of her eye with her own nervousness, fearing that the hedgehog might spring up at any moment.

Then it finally came…

"If there is anyone who objects to this marriage, let them speak now or forever hold their piece."

An eerie silence suddenly fell upon the campus as looks were exchanged.

Vigil looked at Jules sitting beside her.

Aleena tilted her head to look at Jules from the row of seats behind his.

Isabella leaned over to catch a glimpse of Jules from a row of chairs across the aisle.

Bernadette looked back at Jules from the first row of chairs in that same section.

Sonia looked out to Jules from the piano she sat at beside the gazebo.

His head had been down at the moment as he contemplated his next move. It was only then, when he looked up to stare out at the couple did his eyes widen as they made contact with the bride's own. The moment felt everlasting as they stared back at one another.

She was bewildered.

Not because he was there.

Not because he was staring right at her.

It was because…he said nothing.

The ceremony carried on, the chipmunk and echidna said their "I do's", and kissed.

The crowds cheered and hollered with such joy, all except for the heartbroken hedgehog man who stood up immediately from his chair and took off toward the forest area without so much as a word to his chameleon friend.

* * *

Once finally given the okay to leave the piano by the groom, Sonia wasted no time in running off to find the school prince. She immediately dashed into the swarming crowd of overjoyed acquaintances and students of her principal, coming across her yellow cat friend during her escapade.

"Sonia!" Honey cheered excitedly walking over to the magenta girl who was practically breaking her neck looking in all directions. "You did awesome up there! And Elias was amazing!"

"Thanks." She nodded, not paying much attention. "Have you seen him anywhere?"

"I think I saw him take off toward the football field around back."

"Thanks a lot Honey. Gotta go!"

The magenta hedgehog then dashed in that direction, creating a gust of wind that nearly blew the cat's red dress up. Honey smiled after her, wishing her the best of luck on her endeavor.

After a bit of running and stumbling through crowds in uncomfortable heels, the hedgehog girl finally found herself at the football field, standing behind the auburn-haired boy who stood with his back to her.

"Eli…" She breathed heavily thanks to all the running, a smile plastered on her red face. "You did so awesome! Everybody loved you."

"Heh, thanks." He mumbled, not yet turning to face her. "I was really scared I'd screw up."

Something about the tone of his voice concerned her, and her smile suddenly fell to be replaced with a worrisome expression. She stepped closer to him curiously.

"Is something wrong?" She asked.

After a bit of silence and contemplation on his end, he finally decided to turn around and speak his mind, his words turning her entire world upside-down.

"You and Honey were right, Alexis isn't mine, but…I've decided I'm going to marry Megan after graduation regardless."

Her green eyes widened in shock, the look of seriousness on his face confirming that it wasn't a joke.

Then another eerie silence fell over them, nothing audible to her but the sound of her own heart beating so rapidly with hurt and shock.

"What about…me…." She finally mumbled, hanging her head as she stared at the bright-green grass beneath their feet.

"What?" He questioned, not sure if he heard her right.

"Don't you…" She lifts her head to reveal the tears threatening to fall from her eyes, "Don't you love me?"

His eyes widened as his mouth dropped slightly in a look of pure shock.

"You knew?" He gasped in astonishment.

"I've **ALWAYS** known, Elias." She finally admitted, taking a few steps closer until they were barely apart. "And lately, I've finally just been realizing my own feelings for you."

Another Chaos awful silence befalls them, this one more tense than any of the previous. Taking the moment of opportunity, the magenta girl decided to lift her hand to cup his cheek…

Only for him to slap it away.

"Fuck you, Sonia." He murmured.

"Wh-What?!"

"I said **FUCK YOU!** " He bellowed, this time raising his head to stare daggers at her through his own teary eyes.

"Why are you acting this way?!" She remarked in a hurt tone, "Shouldn't you be happy?! I'm finally returning your feelings!"

"I'm not upset that it took you so long…" The auburn-haired boy replied angrily, stepping back and away from her. "I'm upset that you knew the entire time…and never said anything."

"…"

"You kept me on a string in your damn pocket so you'd have a backup plan in case your boyfriends didn't work out for you, right?"

"No…It's not like that." She shook her head.

"Then what is it like?"

"I just didn't want to ruin our friendship."

"Then why not just tell me that? I would have understood, maybe even moved on. I wouldn't have had to put my heart through the trouble of waiting around and watching you fall all over those other guys while holding on to the stupid hope that one day you'd realize it was supposed to me."

"I didn't want to hurt your feelings either."

"So what? Was I just supposed to wait around until shit was convenient for you? This isn't something you just grow out of, Sonia."

"I know that, and I'm really sorry." She apologized.

"So why now? Why just now are you suddenly catching feelings for me?"

"Because of those two idiots!" Sonia shouted, images of Knuckles and Shadow popping up in her mind. "It took them breaking my heart one after another to realize that you were always there and always cared about me."

"Bullshit and you know it." He shook his head in disbelief, "It's because I'm all that's left."

"…Elias…"

"No." He shook his head again, this time walking right past her as he did so. "I can't do this to myself. I love you, but I refuse to be someone's _'next best thing'_ or the one you _'settle'_ for."

She quickly turned around, but found her legs would not let her move any further. She cried helplessly as she watched her best friend fade in the distance. She then caved to her knees and wailed into her hands uncontrollably.

"Sonia?" A voice called out.

Then suddenly the magenta girl found her hands being pulled away from her face, allowing her to look up to see Honey had rushed over and kneeled beside her.

* * *

Storm and Wave stood beside one of the tables with refreshments. They solely conversed amongst each other, but found it hard to keep up lighthearted conversation when cruel remarks among those around them rang in their ears, upsetting them greatly.

"Thank Chaos that green fucker didn't show up." A shark by the name of Razor snarled, the echidna in glasses beside him nodding in agreement.

"Of course he didn't. That scum's presence would have dirtied up the peaceful air out here." Cobar remarked, clenching his fists at the thought of the green bird who had driven his boyfriend to suicide.

"He should have got the death penalty."

"I agree."

It had been a constant thing to hear since her return from vacation. Everyone hated Jet, everyone wanted him to disappear, and everyone wanted to force the same notion onto the swallow and her albatross friend, but with their past relationship and the knowledge they had about the hawk's history, they couldn't find it in their hearts to agree. Even though they did find his past actions against the walrus they were also good friends with to be deplorable.

Storm could see the swallow's grip on her glass tighten, threatening to shatter it as she grinded her teeth together.

"Wave…don't." He whispered to her, but Cobar's last remark had thrown her over the edge.

No longer could she stand by and listen to it. She dropped the glass of punch and stomped over to the two, swatting Storm's arm away from her as she marched on.

"That's enough." She reprimanded them, earning herself some upset scowls. "He might have done such awful things, but you don't know his story, or what made him such a bad person!"

The echidna adjusted his glasses and shook his head in disagreement with her.

"It's disgusting and wrong of you…to defend a killer." He replied, "It makes you just as bad, if not worse."

"You know what, Cobar?!" The purple girl hissed, taking a fistful of his pink dress-shirt in her hand. "I don't care anymore, what you or anyone else thinks is irrelevant to me." She then shoved him back, causing him to fall right into the shark boy he had been talking to earlier.

Then Wave walked back to where she stood, taking the albatross by the arm to drag him away. He didn't ask any questions, he just followed her, and silently watched tears drip off her red face. They walk quickly into the boy's dorm, then up to the room that belonged to Jet upstairs.

She didn't bother to knock, just linked her hand around the doorknob and pushed it open without warning.

Sitting on the bed with knees to his chest was the green hawk. The room was dark, but the window behind him casted a light upon him that made him visible—the same window where he had watched the wedding from afar. They could tell he had been crying too.

Wave was the first to step up to him, making his heart race with nervousness as he braced himself for an attack of some kind, whether it be verbal or physical. It was just his instinct to do so when anyone got to close now…

But to his surprise, the swallow kneeled down on his bed and wrapped her arms around him, crying silently into his shoulder. No longer able to stand by, Storm walked over and did the same, the three of them falling into a group hug of tears.

"We-We're a team." Storm muttered through light sobs, "Babylon Rogues."

"Best friends forever, even if that means the whole school hates us." Wave added, "As long as we stick together, nothing else matters."

Jet's eyes widened, shocked yet so overjoyed with the proclamation. These days, since his return, he's felt so empty…so lonely. No one wanted to look at him, or treat him like a person after what he had done. He didn't blame them, but that doesn't mean it didn't hurt.

So this moment of joy, of peace, of happiness, this meant everything to him.

He clung to both of them tightly as he wailed hysterically.

"Thank you guys….I love you…I'm sorry….I'm…I'm so sorry for everything…."

* * *

As Alicia made her way through the crowd she was congratulated endlessly by everyone she passed. She nodded in thanks, but didn't stop for anyone as she held her dress up and ran past everyone until she was out of the hoard of bodies and dashed into the same forest area she saw Jules take off to earlier.

She disregards everything as her thoughts run wild, even as her dress got snagged on branches and she stumbled in her white heels.

 _'Why...'_ She wondered as she swatted several hanging branches out of her line of vision, _'Why didn't he say anything?!'_

Preoccupied with rapid thoughts and running, the bride took a misstep and nearly tumbled over completely. Thankfully she caught herself before she could face-plant into the grassy plains she had arrived to, and looked out to see the blue hedgehog she had been searching for.

Ironically at the very same lake they used to meet up at as teenagers.

The very same lake they had thrown their rings in so many years ago in promise of a life together one day.

He turned to face her, the image of him now being replaced with a teenage version of him for a brief moment causing her heart to skip a beat and tears to take over.

"Why didn't you object?" The chestnut-haired woman mumbled.

"…" He said nothing, averting his eyes from her to look back at the shimmering lake.

Unable to handle the silence, the chipmunk ran over to him and began to sob and pound at his chest, a flood of confusion and unresolved feelings drowning her heart.

After some time of doing that, the hedgehog took hold of her dainty wrists and reeled her back, offering her a weak smile.

"I'm finally letting you go, Alicia."

She stumbled back, shaking her head in disbelief. Then she dropped to her knees and began to splash about in the water, confusing him.

"What are you doing?" Jules asked.

"Our rings." She replied frantically, "We made a promise. Don't you remember?!"

Jules' mind then drifted back to a few weeks ago where he had stumbled upon the sight of their children, Sonic and Sally, who now carried their rings.

He then kneeled beside her, and ceased her frantic splashes by grabbing her wrists again. She pulled back to stare at his captivating blue eyes, tears slipping her face as she began to register all of this…after so long.

"I love you. I'll **ALWAYS** love you, and only you, Alicia." He told her, "I want you to be happy, even if that means…we can never be together again."

His words finally sank in, and she nodded in understanding, those unresolved feelings slowly disappearing from her weary heart.

The first act of selflessness he's ever done for her.

She was finally able to understand, and began to accept it all.

This was the final chapter of their story.

The story of King Jules and Queen Alicia, the two rowdy high school brats who could have conquered the world together.

* * *

"Well that was boring as hell." Scourge rolled his eyes, ripping off the clip-on bowtie he had attached to his leather jacket, dropping it into a trashcan he passed by on his way to the refreshments table.

He then turned toward the cups of punch on the table and reached out for one, only to have his hand fall on top of someone else's.

"Shit." He cursed, reeling back his hand as he nonchalantly turned to the person beside him and apologized. "My bad."

It was Aleena the Hedgehog, an older, purple hedgehog woman in a pink dress with her quills straightened and falling down to her lower back.

She reeled her hand back in the same manner, and turned to apologize to him, until her jade eyes fell upon him and widened in horror. In a panic, she disregarded the cup of punch she came for and ran off, confusing the teen.

As he watched her run off, he searched his memory bank for a face he recalled seeing similar to hers.

Then it finally it him.

The framed wedding photo Manic had come across in his dad's study when they broke in.

"Mom?" He gasped.

* * *

Not one to be very good at socializing, Zonic thought his best approach was to just avidly stand by the refreshments table, and wait for someone to talk to him, and if they didn't he'd have to excuse of just being there for snacks. It was better than awkwardly standing around anywhere else.

After some time of it, his two best friends and fellow security staff managed to find him. The chameleon and crocodile stood on either side of him.

"Wasn't that pretty, eh Zonic?" Zector smirked, throwing an arm over the hedgehog's shoulders.

"It was a nice ceremony." He admitted, making the chameleon beside them nod in agreement. "So when are you two gonna tie the knot?"

"Yeah. When, Zec?" Zespio added in a hopeful tone, making the crocodile step back all flustered.

"Er, when the time is right! That's a huge commitment, ya'know."

"You guys have been dating since our sophomore year of high school. We're twenty-three now." The blue hedgehog reminded him, the chameleon nodding in agreement the whole way through.

"Well, uhh….Oh! They're dancing over there!" Zector nervously changed the subject, pointing out toward the swaying couples off to the side of the gazebo. "Let's go dance! Later Zonic."

He then grabbed the chameleon's hand, who allowed him to reluctantly drag him off to dance, leaving poor Zonic all to himself again. He sighed, envying how those two have always had each other, and probably wouldn't be able to understand that level of loneliness he had become so accustom to over years of just being by himself.

The blue hedgehog just sighed, eyes drifting aimlessly to passing students or the dancing taking place a little ways away.

"Excuse me." A gentle voice called out to him, gaining his attention. "Could you pour me some punch for my son?"

"Oh, sure." He nodded, reaching down to pour some punch in a cup before looking up to see the woman who had asked for his assistance, causing his eyes to widen with shock. "Ma-Mari-An the Echidna?"

She tilts her head and squints before she finally jolts up, startling the little echidna boy in her arms.

"I remember you! You used to attend this school as well, right?" She cheered, her smile as bright as the sun.

"Heh, I…I remember you too." He nodded shyly, a light blush to his cheeks.

"Zonic, was it?"

"Yeah. Zonic the Hedgehog." The blue hedgehog replied, "Well, Officer Zonic for the most part now."

"I remember you being one of the quiet ones back in the day." The light-orange echidna woman remarked, recalling hazy memories from her teen years.

"Yeah, I've never really been good at socializing."

"Hehe, my husband was the exact same way." Mari-An giggled, sending the hedgehog's heart into overdrive. "The only reason we even got together was because I texted the wrong phone number. Well, thank you for the punch. It was nice seeing you, Zonic."

She then took off, leaving him back to his lonesomeness, and a mind boggled with tons of regrets.

Regrets about not approaching her back then, regrets about not being a better talker, just so many regrets.

In mid-thought, a hand had been placed on his shoulder, forcing him out of his own head to turn around and see Bernadette standing right next to him.

"Ms. Bernadette?"

"Don't dwell on what could have been with a high school crush or you'll end up like me…" She warned him kindly, "All screwed up and lonely."

* * *

Sitting on the steps of the main building was the groom himself. He had his hands in his pockets and his gaze out to the sky. After so much talking and congratulations, he felt overwhelmed and walked all the way over here to avoid the crowd and think soundly.

"Oh groom, where did your bride run off to?" A voice called out, forcing him to look down at the bottom of the steps to see where it had come from.

"Lara-Le?" He smiled, watching her stroll up the steps to plop down beside him. "Oh, I think she got sick of all the attention and took off. Not too different from when we were teens."

"I see." She nodded, "And what are you doing all the way out here? You should be with your father…who's going around telling everyone his son married the right woman this time."

Locke chuckled at his father's antics, but frowned as he realized it must have hurt his ex-wife.

"It doesn't surprise me. He's such an unfiltered loudmouth."

"I only wish he would have been that overjoyed for our wedding."

"Well, not every parent gets excited to see his seventeen year old son get married to his pregnant sixteen year old wife."

"I guess I didn't consider that." Lara-Le giggled, coaxing a smile out of him.

He laughed along, but suddenly stopped when an image flashed in his mind.

An image of them as teenagers, back in his room again after Alicia had done something to upset him, and the echidna girl said something silly to get him laughing again, just like this.

His heart began to race as he averted his gaze from her abruptly, making her raise an eyebrow curiously.

"Are you alright, Locke?"

"Yeah, it's just…" His words drifted off as he thought more and more, "I wonder if this was a huge a mistake."

"What would make you think that?"

"You…." He turned to her once more, confusion clear as day in his eyes. "You and Jules."

"Jules and I, we're the past for a reason." Lara-Le reminded him, "Chaos knows they would've never worked out thanks to the kind of guy he was."

"What about us?" Locke asked curiously.

"Although we were always close, we were never right for each other in the romantic sense. Your heart was always hers, and I knew that. That's why I started seeing Wynmacher in the first place. We merely forced ourselves together because we thought that's what was best for Knuckles, but it was the wrong thing to do."

"I…" He was speechless, her having hit the nail right on the head. "I know. I just wish I could make those bad years disappear."

"I've long forgotten them, Locke, and you should leave them behind too." She urged him, resting a hand on top of his. "You're with the woman you've **ALWAYS** loved, and I'll always have a special place in my heart for you, because I've always loved you. With that said, I wish you nothing but the best, and I want you to be happy."

"Thank you, Lara-Le."

* * *

"Nana…" Mace mumbled, clutching his older brother's hand tightly as they walked around campus together.

"What's up, Bud?"

"I has something to give you, but it's a secret."

"A secret? Something for me?" The older echidna kneeled down to eye-level with the little boy who swayed nervously back and forth.

"Mhm." The little boy nodded, pressing his index finger to his lips. "But you can't tell nobody I gave it to you."

"I promise I won't." Knuckles assured him.

That's when the four year old shuffled his little hand around in the pocket of his little tux and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He handed it over, looking down at the ground with sad eyes.

Knuckles flipped it around in his hand a bit before slowly unfolding it, careful not to tear it by mistake.

"What is it, Mace?"

"It's a letter." He explained in that adorable kid voice. "Lara-Su gave it to me earlier. She told me to give it to you, but to keep it a secret."

After undoing a few folds, the echidna managed to open the paper and keep it in once piece. His amethyst eyes widened before instantly brimming with tears, confusing the little boy standing in front of him.

"Nana?" He questioned curiously, watching his older brother's hands begin to shake with the note in his grasp. "What does it say? I can't read so good yet…"

Within that little, pink piece of paper were only four words….

 _Knuckles, please come home._

Four poorly written, misspelled words, and beside them….

Wet splashes where tears of a sad four year old girl had once fallen.

 _'What the hell did I do?'_ He thought to himself as tears finally rolled off his cheeks and hit the same spot on the paper her tears must have once been.

* * *

 **So many good things and bad things all in one chapter!**

 **Damn Knuckles, just what will you do to fix things? Or the more important question, can you even fix things at this point? You've got Rouge stressing, Julie-Su stressing, but above all...you've got your daughter crying.**

 **Storm and Wave are finally fed up with the crusade on Jet. Out of respect for their late friend Rotor Walrus and their history with Jet-who's childhood abuse they know about-they did their best to remain as neutral as possible, but they quickly learned that sometimes no matter how hard you try, circumstances may force you into a corner. Sick of seeing their old friend belittled by those who don't know what he's personally been through, the two ultimately chose to take Jet's side regardless of the hate they know they'll get. Thus reuniting the Babylon Rogues, and branding them all as official outcasts to be hated. It's both a beautiful or sad moment depending on how you view it.**

 **Rob and Mighty have come face-to-face again, and much to Amy's relief, the tension has been put to rest, and the hedgehog has seemingly accepted the inevitable friendship between the son of the people who murdered his father and his young cousin. But with a certain blue hedgehog feeling a certain way, how long will this friendship hold up? Will it even have time to turn into something more?**

 **Locke and Alicia have finally made peace with the unresolved feelings for both their exes, and are finally freed from the painful memories and unfulfilled promises. Now they'll finally be able to carry on into each of their first happy, loving, and healthy relationship...maybe.**

 **Of the 500+ students and acquaintances of the couple to attend this lavish and abstract wedding, why of all of them did Scourge have to run into Aleena? What troubles will ensue from this little encounter? How would you feel or what would you even do if you came face-to-face with the woman who cut you, wished you dead, and abandoned you at the tender age of three?**

 **Speaking of green hedgehogs, although it's been some time since the incident with terminating Mina's pregnancy, Manic still carries that pain and regret inside himself, unable to grieve out loud or confess his troubles thanks to the contract her mother forced him to sign. While talking to Rosy and Shadow last chapter, the black hedgehog had noticed something off about him, and while talking with Rouge he nearly let it slip. Just how long can he keep up this pokerface while he's dying of guilt on the inside?**

 **Finally, let's talk about the big one...the one I know for a fact is going to bring in some crazy angry PMs... Sonia x Elias... All that build up... All that hope... All that praying they'd just get together and live happily ever after... All that fucking build up... NOPE! Sorry. Ya'see, sometimes in real life, build up leads to nothing. This unfortunately is one of those circumstances. Not even that, but this seemingly ends one of the sweetest friendships in the story. Can it be fixed? Who knows...I do, but...still. Poor Sonia, she's been through so much already. One of, if not the most tortured character in the story. But let this be a lesson to some of you young folk out there. That person you call 'just a friend', the one who's always there for you when your crushes don't work out or when you just need someone to be there...The one you and everyone around you knows has a crush on you... Don't lead them on, and don't give false hope. Sometimes (Like in Sonia's case) you don't mean to, but you do. That's why being honest and straightforward no matter how scary it seems is always best. You'll curb a lot of the pain and suffering someone (Like Elias) goes through in being unintentionally kept on a string and led on.**

 **Clarification: Another thing to clarify that some people are getting a little confused on are the ages of adults. To save time I'll group them together.**

 **Aged mid to late thirties and attended high school together before GHA was built:**

 **Alicia Acorn (Principal Acorn)**

 **Locke the Echidna (Knuckles' father)**

 **Vigil the Chameleon (Espio's mother)**

 **Jules the Hedgehog (Sonic's father)**

 **Charles the Hedgehog (Sonic's uncle/ Math teacher)**

 **Rosie Woodchuck (The librarian / Drama teacher)**

 **Dr. Ivo Robotnik (Science teacher)**

 **Bernadette the Hedgehog (School nurse / Jules' ex-lover)**

 **Aleena the Hedgehog (Sonic's mother / Jules' ex-wife)**

 **Rosemary Prower (School receptionist / Tails' mother)**

 **Arthur and Isabella Mongoose (Military official / Lawyer / Mina's parents)**

 **Clove and Cassia the Pronghorn (Child Service workers)**

 **Armand D'Coolette (Lawyer / Antoine's father)**

 **Sherman Walrus (Pastor for Church of Chaostianity / Rotor's father)**

 **Maximilian Acorn (Mayor of Moebuis / Alicia's ex-husband)**

 **Lulumae and Beauregard Rabbot (Neurologist / Engineer / Bunnie's aunt and uncle)**

 **Bride of Rich Nights (Rouge's unnamed mother)**

 **Vanilla the Rabbit (Girls dorm adviser / Cream's mother)**

 **Joss the Squirrel (Lumberjack / Megan's father)**

 **Lara-Le the Echidna (Housewife / Knuckles' mother)**

 **Now, characters aged early to mid twenties who once attended GHA together:**

 **Zonic the Hedgehog (School security guard)**

 **Zespio the Chameleon (School security guard)**

 **Zector the Crocodile (School security guard)**

 **Mari-An the Echidna (Housewife / Jon's mother)**

 **Rob O'Hedge (CEO of O'Hedge Estates / Amy's cousin)**

 **Ash Mongoose (Music teacher)**

 **Breezie the Hedgehog (English teacher / Ash's ex-girlfriend)**

 **Tikal the Echidna (School counselor / Did not attend GHA / Knuckles' aunt)**

 **Perci the Bandicoot (SVU Police Officer / Tikal's wife / Did not attend GHA)**

 **There you go. These ages will help some people with their shockingly in-depth and intricate theories.**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Fed up with how distant the group has become, Tails takes it upon himself to get his friends back together!**

 **Haunted by memories of abuse and terror, Scourge begins to lose it!**

 **Sally discovers Ken's...habit**

 **Fiona has her first run-in with Mighty since their bitter farewells**

 **Honey reveals a SHOCKING secret about herself in an attempt to comfort heartbroken Sonia... What could it be?**

 **In a devious plan to get at Mina for moving in on her ex, Ms. Breezie forces her class into another unethical assignment to stir the pot**

 **And so much more!**


	75. Chapter 75

**WARNING:** **Mentions of child abuse, drug use, self-harm, and other destructive behaviors.**

* * *

 **Chapter 75: Forcing Out Ugly Truths**

After the wedding ended, volunteers had cleaned everything up, and the campus was back to being ordinary school grounds.

The snow was officially gone, and the temperature was getting warmer.

Like always, things had gone back to normal rather quickly. Students bustled and gossiped as they walked to and from buildings on their way to class, the officers patrolled and made sure the speedier teens kept a reasonable pace, and teachers ushered kids into classrooms and scolded them about tardiness.

For Tails and Cosmo, this was their break time, the small window of the day they had no classes. So as usual, they met up, only instead of going to their signature spot in the library they decided the day was so nice they'd take a seat at one of the picnic tables by the fountain.

The seedrian sat across from him, resting her arms on the table, the yellow emerald bracelet shinning due to the sun's reflection.

"Tails?" She called out to the fox who had his eyes to the table and a disheartened look on his face, "Are you okay?"

His eyes stayed on the table as her words registered with him as very faint thanks to the more dooming thoughts over-powering his head. They were mostly about the little group of friends he rolled with, how distant and broken up they had become since the first day of school.

No one sat together these days, breaking off into smaller groups and disbanding. Some, like Blaze and Knuckles, didn't even have the time to hang out or talk at all.

This was his first year at Green Hill Academy after skipping a whole grade thanks to the extra work he picked up over the summer. In that first week, he had managed to become part of an awesome group of both old and new faces. He couldn't have been happier about it, but now….

"Tails?" Cosmo tried again.

This time her voice reached him, and he picked up his head to look back into her comforting baby-blues. She offered him a look of concern, and as always, he never really could find the strength to not clue her in on his inner thoughts.

"Sorry." He apologized, "I was just thinking about the group and how we've all drifted apart…"

"I see." She murmured, sympathies to her little boyfriend.

"We were all so close earlier this year and now we're just….not." Tails went on, sighing heavily, "I wish I could do something…."

"Maybe you can." The green-haired girl suggested, "Why not get everyone together? Send a group message and figure out a time for you guys to hangout the way you used to."

"That's actually…a really good idea, Cosmo." He agreed, pulling out his cellphone from his pocket.

"Well, I've got to get to science. Let me know how it goes."

He nodded, allowing the sweet girl to lean over the table and plant a kiss on his cheek. She then took off, waving goodbye before disappearing into the main building. Tails smiled after her, thankful that he had managed to salvage their relationship.

Then he turned to his cellphone and began the group chat that would hopefully bring his friends back together.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 ** _Tails:_** _Hey guys! It's been a while since we've all been together. I was thinking we could make plans? Lunch later at the back of the café the way we used to, maybe?_

 ** _Knuckles:_** _Busy._

 ** _Rouge:_** _Of course you are._

 ** _Knuckles:_** _Shut up._

 ** _Knuckles has left the group._**

 ** _Manic:_** _Not in the group chat you two. Anyways, sorry Tails, I got screwed with a history project due after lunch. So I'll be in the library doing everything half-assed and last minute of course._

 ** _Rouge:_** _And I'll have to be with the moron to make sure he actually does any work in said library._

 ** _Shadow:_** _I've got plans with my girlfriend._

 ** _Sonic:_** _Oh, so you're helping Manic on his assignment then?_

 ** _Shadow:_** _Very funny. And I suppose you'll be busy humping the pile of rags you call a girlfriend?_

 ** _Sonic:_** _Very cute. You should take opportunities like this to visit your friends. Soon enough you'll be the one scheduling visits with us out of some shitty prison._

 ** _Tails:_** _I didn't text so we'd all fight. I just wanted to hangout again…_

 ** _Sonic:_** _Sorry Bud, of course I'll come along._

 ** _Tails:_** _Really?_

 ** _Sonic:_** _For sure!_

 ** _Cream:_** _I've got time to hangout too._

 ** _Rouge:_** _Wait, Cream? How are you even texting in your condition?_

 ** _Cream:_** _I'm her friend, Ray. She told me what to respond with._

 ** _Amy:_** _I'd love to hangout again too Tails! It feels like it's been forever._

 ** _Tails:_** _That's awesome Amy!_

 ** _Amy:_** _Is it okay if I bring my friend, Mighty? He's really nice._

 ** _Sonic:_** _No._

 ** _Amy:_** _Why not?_

 ** _Sonic:_** _This just seemed like a personal thing._

 ** _Amy:_** _So? Nobody stopped Blaze or Tails when they brought people into the group._

 ** _Shadow:_** _She's got a point. I do intend for you idiots to meet my girlfriend eventually too._

 ** _Tails:_** _I think it's fine._

 ** _Sonic:_** _Well, I don't._

 ** _Manic:_** _Someone's J-E-A-L-O-U-S_

 ** _Sonic:_** _I'm not jealous. I have a girlfriend, and I all of a sudden don't feel like hanging. Sorry Tails._

 ** _Amy:_** _Me either._

 ** _Sonic:_** _Whatever._

 ** _Sonic has left the group._**

 ** _Amy has left the group._**

 ** _Tails:_** _Sonic…_

 ** _Manic:_** _Sorry Tails. Those two are pretty hard to get together lately._

 ** _Rouge:_** _Never thought I'd see that day._

 ** _Cream:_** _You and I can still hangout Tails…_

 ** _Tails:_** _Thanks Cream._

 ** _Blaze:_** _I can tag along as well. I'm free._

 ** _Manic:_** _And the dead finally rise! It's the apocalypse! Blaze is back!_

 ** _Rouge:_** _Where the hell have you been girl! Have you seen this group chat?! We've been falling apart here._

 ** _Blaze:_** _Sorry for the wait. I've just been…putting my own self back together._

 ** _Shadow:_** _Sure you don't have any plans with Mephiles?_

 ** _Blaze:_** _None at all, and I never intend to again._

 ** _Shadow:_** _Good for you._

 ** _Tails:_** _Well, I guess it'll be us three then._

The young fox sighed heavily, scrolling through the long mass of text.

Another failed attempt at getting his group of friends back together, making him wonder if this friendship could even be saved at this point.

* * *

Another day, another round of patrolling the first floor halls of the main building. Officer Zonic strolled down each hallway with a stern look that sent kids flying straight into their classrooms. The keys and cuffs attached to his belt jiggled with every step, and his boots hit the tiled floor with such a powerful noise.

As he came down the hallway of offices, he stopped in front of the counselor's door. He tilted his head in confusion at the sight of her sign still being up.

 _School Counselor: Dr. Tikal the Echidna_

Curiously, he knocked twice before hastily opening the door to see the light-orange echidna setting down a brand new clock on her desk. She turned around and shot a smile his way.

"Tikal?" He questioned with such surprise, "I thought you were leaving for good?"

"Well, I decided to stay after all." Tikal shrugged, picking up another item from the box in her hand to place down on the desk.

"What changed your mind?"

"My brother gave me some words of wisdom that I had never really thought about. Now I think maybe I am the silver lining that could put someone like Jet the Hawk on the road to redemption, and could prevent another violent act of intolerance with just a simple outreach." She explained, setting the box down to walk over to the blue hedgehog. "Plus, I love my job too much to walk away from it all."

"I see." The officer nodded in understanding before dropping his gaze to the floor, "In that case, would you take adult patients?"

She chuckled a bit, assuming him to be joking with her. Soon she realized she was the only one laughing, and his gaze was still firmly planted on the floor. She ceased her laughter once she figured out that he wasn't joking.

"Oh…umm, I wouldn't mind that at all. Let's schedule something for tomorrow then."

* * *

 **KNOCK, KNOCK.**

Knuckles sucked his teeth impatiently as he pounded his fist on the door for what felt like the hundredth time, shifting his weight to one leg and then the other anxiously as he awaited the person on the other side to open the door.

 **KNOCK, KNOCK.**

He heard rummaging and curses being grumbled, riling him up even further as he continued his angry and persistent knocking.

 **KOCK, KNOCK.**

It was around lunch time, the time Tails had offered everyone to hangout as a group. He could have been there, laughing and messing around with the friends he hadn't really had the time for these days, but he had more important matters to attend to at the moment.

 **KNOCK—**

Mid-knock, the wooden door had finally swung open, and he thankfully had reeled his fist back just before he could knock the echidna girl who had answered right in the face.

"What?!" The light-orange girl snarled angrily, face twisted up in a disgusted look.

He scanned her, noticing the green emerald necklace he had carelessly given away without thinking sitting on the center of her chest, the white turtle-neck shirt she sported making it all the more noticeable.

"I want my necklace back." Knuckles stated strongly, opening his hand to her as he waited for her to take it off.

"C'mon." She whined, not willing to give it up. She then tried to put the moves on him, hoping she still had him under some kind of spell as she swayed seductively and reached for his forearm. "Don't be that way. Come in here and we'll talk about it—"

"I don't want to talk or whatever the hell you really have planned." He cut her off, swatting her hand away from him. "Just give me the damn necklace."

"Why? You said it yourself, you don't want it." The echidna girl huffed, crossing her arms aggressively. "And I don't think Julie-Slut or Rouge the Hoe would take it back at this point either."

"How do you know about them like that? Aren't you new here?" He inquired, oblivious to the basketball star's history with both girls.

"Oh, and Thrash sends his hellos." Shade taunted, reaching for the door as his eyes went wide with realization.

"You…You played me?!"

"Like a damn violin. And here…" She tore the necklace from herself and carelessly tossed it out the window of her dorm room. "If you want it so bad, go grovel in the dirt for it like the dog you are."

With that, she slammed the door shut, right in his shocked face.

He stood there for a moment, in utter shock as he started to piece it all together.

* * *

It was her free period, so Blaze decided to take advantage of the alone time while all her roommates were out to tidy up a bit.

Her corner of the room had been a tattered mess over the weeks, and now that she felt somewhat better, it was time for some spring cleaning.

She discarded the faded and smelly purple sheets in favor of fresh new ones, she cleaned out the dirty laundry she had been stowing underneath the bed and placed them in bags to take down to the cleaners this Sunday, and reorganized the drawers to her dresser.

Once her corner was all clean, she smiled to herself and wiped the sweat from her brow at the mini-workout. She admired her work, the once ungodly nightmare of smelly clothes and dirty sheets turned into a clean and fruity-scented work of art befitting of a magazine cover.

It felt like symbolism to her, cleaning up the sad looking corner to turn it into something beautiful, the same way she intended to clean up her own life.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

She jumps at the sound of her cellphone, and quickly fishes it out of her pocket.

 ** _Tails:_** _Are you still coming Blaze?_

 ** _Blaze:_** _Of course! I'm sorry. I wasn't paying any attention to the time. Got distracted with cleaning. Be there in five minutes._

As promised, the cat readied herself and took off, arriving in the café exactly five minutes later. Her hazel eyes scanned the lunch room until they landed right on the fox and rabbit. A wide smile took hold of her face as she walked over to them, excited at the thought of hanging out with her friends the way she used to.

"Hi guys." She greeted them with such pep, making Cream's ears perk up.

"Is that really Blaze?!" The rabbit squealed, turning in the direction of the cat's voice.

That's when Blaze noticed the bandages around the younger girl's face, shielding her eyes. Then she noticed the cane rested against the table beside the little rabbit. She exchanged a look with Tails, who mouthed the words _'It's a long story. I'll text you about it later. Don't ask.'_

She nodded in understanding before gently taking a seat next to the rabbit, taking hold of her hand.

"Yes Cream, it's me." The purple cat responded, bringing a hopeful smile out of the rabbit.

"I'm…I'm so happy." She stammered, bandages dampening from what they assumed to be happy tears. "It's been so long since you've hung out with any of us…"

"I know." Blaze nodded, frowning slightly as she realized the time apart must have been just as hard on the little rabbit as it was on her. "I'm sorry about that."

"Where have you been?"

"I've just been….taking time to myself, but I'm all better now."

"That's really good to hear, Blaze." Tails spoke up, making the cat turn to see his disheartened smile. "Because we've been in shambles without you."

"How so? I mean, I read what happened in the group chat, so I get the gist of it, but I'm not really sure what's going on." She shrugged.

"Well, apparently Sonic and Amy don't want to be glued together anymore, and Shadow has a girlfriend that isn't Rouge…or Manic." The fox informed her, making her tilt her head. "So you've kinda missed a lot. I hope you've got time."

"I've got plenty." She assured him, "So how about you start with the whole Sonic and Amy bit."

* * *

This always happened when he came down the hall.

People from all over would stop whatever it was that they were doing, to stare daggers in his direction.

Having the same cruel thoughts of disgust and hatred.

But no longer did it effect his conscious.

No longer did he hang his head in shame or cower under their stares.

He had come to terms with what he had done.

He wasn't proud of it, but no longer did he dwell.

He had asked for those' opinions who really mattered for forgiveness.

That being the walrus' father, and Chaos himself. One who refused, and the other who didn't give him an actual answer.

No longer did he let his past actions or thoughts control him or keep him awake at night.

He had laid to rest that part of him.

The monster his mother created with her hate and lies, the monster created by his father's betrayal and abandonment.

Now he was Jet the Hawk full-time. Holding his head high like a king, walking tall like a king, and showing the masses exactly what they didn't want to see.

His smug grin, and that aura of pride he exuded.

Beside him, walking just as tall and fearless were Wave and Storm, no longer plagued by conflicting emotions or fear of shunning by their peers.

They had chosen a side, one no one would have ever expected after the ordeals the trio had gone through.

The two no longer cared about what anyone had to say.

They had decided to leave the past behind them, and had forgiven one another. That's all they needed.

The trio strolled down the halls, turning heads, and eliciting gasps all over.

" **BASTARD!** " Someone shouted from behind them, rushing up to them with such hate. "How dare you walk around like you're hot shit after what you did—" Just before the shark could reach the hawk, Wave had turned around and grabbed his wrist.

"Piss off, Razor." She growled, twisting his wrist before shoving him back to fall on his butt.

"Wave?! How could you betray us like this, Cobar, and Rotor—"

"Just shut the fuck up." She snapped, "I don't care what you or anyone has to say about it. Mind your own."

"You…fucked up bitch."

"Hey." Storm spoke up, glaring harshly at the fallen shark. "You better get lost."

He opened his mouth to say something, but the swallow and albatross had done well at intimidating him, so he decided to just get up and walk off.

The trio then got back to walking until finally they were at their destination.

Jet turned to both of them, getting nods of approval from them before he opened the door and stepped inside. The swallow and albatross stood outside as the door closed, reading the sign on the door in their minds.

 _School Counselor: Dr. Tikal the Echidna_

* * *

After her history class, Sally decided to link up with her boyfriend, knowing that his class wasn't too far away. As soon as the bell rang she was out in the hall, strolling up to where he was just exiting his class.

"Hey Sonic." She greeted him.

"Oh, hey you." He replied, leaning down to kiss her cheek.

She blushed and stepped away shyly, earning a chuckle out of him.

"Seriously?" He whined playfully, "Still shy? C'mon, it's a little late in the game to still get butterflies."

"We're in public, remember?"

"So? It's not like anyone looks at us anymore anyway." He shrugged, "We're losers together now, remember?"

"Fair enough." The chipmunk sighed, getting on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek in return.

He smiled victoriously before they began the long walk toward their shared English class. They chatted some here and there, and halfway down the hall his mind seemed to wander off like it had been so often lately.

"Sonic?" Sally spoke up, shaking the blue hedgehog's hand in hers lightly.

He didn't hear her, as all his attention had been dragged to the opposite end of the hall, where bubbly Amy had her arms wrapped around bashful Mighty, hugging him from behind the same way she used to surprise attack him.

 _'Them again?'_ He thought to himself, huffing out in frustration. _'Are they dating or something?'_

"Sonic?" Sally tried again, this time successful in gaining his attention…but only for a few seconds.

"Sorry Sal." He apologized, unlinking his hand from hers. "I've gotta go check something out. Meet ya' after English."

He then dashed off before she could even question the strange behavior. Once he was no longer in sight she sighed, definitely feeling the distance lately. Then she carried on to class by herself.

 _'I wonder what's got him acting so distant….'_ She thought to herself as she turned a corner, _'We haven't really argued strongly about anything, and we're so disliked by everyone they just leave us alone now. Hmm… Maybe his parents' divorce is getting to him more than he thinks. Next time I see him we should probably talk about it…'_

Suddenly, she stopped walking as her sapphire eyes picked up on a familiar figure just a few feet down the hall.

There, at his locker, was Ken.

Without much thought, her feet carried her to him, and her mind wandered back to something he had said yesterday before her mother's wedding began. She had been wanting to ask him what he meant ever since.

Once behind him, she got on her tiptoes and lightly tapped his shoulder. He jumped, a lot more startled than she assumed he would be.

In fact, he was so surprised by her sudden touch that he had dropped the half-opened backpack he had been sifting through in the locker.

"I'm so sorry!" She yelped apologetically, kneeling down to pick up the bag for him before he could say anything. "I'll get that."

"Wait, don't—"

He was too late.

She had grabbed the bag by one of the straps and lifted it off the ground. Her eyes couldn't help but wander to the opened zipper, wondering what he had been so jittery about looking at it for.

That's when her eyes widened in shock as she noticed it's contents.

Needles, tons of them, and medicine bottles with the labels ripped off them.

He immediately snatched it aggressively out of her hold and zipped it shut, all while the auburn-haired girl stared at him in utter shock.

"K-Ken?" She stammered, earning herself an upset glare from the monkey as he shoved the bag inside and shut his locker.

"Just leave me alone." He stated coldly, taking off toward their shared English class.

 _'He's…He's on drugs….'_ She thought to herself, watching him disappear down the hall. _'Is it…because of me?'_

* * *

Sonia the Hedgehog hadn't found the strength to get out of bed this morning, the weight of her bludgeoned and sore heart weighing down her body and spirit. So she stood in bed, watching with hollow jade eyes as her roommates filed in and out every so often between classes. She said nothing, just silently cried without drawing attention to herself.

The poor magenta girl had been through hell. From cheating boyfriends to body dysmorphia, and a slew of other troubles in between. She never could seem to catch a break, and never in her wildest dreams did she ever think Elias would turn out to be one of those troubles.

She bit her lip as she thought about how hard it must have been for him to have loved her all those years while she tried to ignore it, chasing after untamable boys like Knuckles and Shadow instead.

The thought only made her feel worse. She lifted her covers over her head and turned to face the wall, doing her best to think other thoughts, but they always came back to the same one.

The one about how wrong she had been, to keep his poor little heart on a string until it was convenient enough for her to return his feelings.

That's not how she meant it at all, but despite that, it's how it turned out. She had been unconsciously cruel to him, and it was just resonating with her.

"Sonia?" A soft voice called out in the dark of her room with the curtains drawn.

She shifted a bit, and lifted the pink blanket over her head to see Honey staring at her from across the room with sad eyes. The magenta girl immediately turned back to the wall.

She listened as the cat's heels hit the wood floor as she came closer and closer. Then there was a weight shifting on the bed, and a pair of arms snaked their way over the hedgehog in a careful embrace.

"I haven't heard from you since yesterday." Honey whispered sorrowfully, "I was worried about you."

"Why?" Sonia sniffled, "I'm…I'm so horrible."

"No you're not."

"Then why is Chaos punishing me like this?" The magenta girl wailed, turning around to lean into the cat's hug. "This school year has been utter disaster after disaster. It's my last year here…I just wanted it to be good. I wanted to fall in love and be happy…"

Honey looked down on the hedgehog girl with such sympathies, a side of her not very many people got to see. She clutched Sonia tighter, and used one of her hands to stroke back the crying girl's quills in a comforting manner.

"I'll let you in on a little secret." The cat spoke up after a few minutes of silence, "Earlier this year, I wanted those things for myself too."

"What are you talking about?" Sonia questioned, wiping her tears before looking back up at the cat. "You said it yourself, you've never been in love, or even wanted to be."

"I kinda lied." She admitted, making the hedgehog's ears perk up with interest. "When I said I've never been in love before…"

"You…You really fell in love once?"

"Yep….but it wouldn't have worked out." Honey sighed, smile fading at the bitter memory. "The circumstances were just too messed up."

"Was it Shadow?!"

"What? Of course not! This was way before him." She pouted, crossing her arms as Sonia sat up to listened intently to her tale. "The guy I fell for was already in a bad situation. We cut things off pretty quickly, but I couldn't help myself. Because it couldn't work with him, I promised myself I'd never allow it again. I vowed to never fall in love no matter what, because it hurt so much. So I kind of get a little bit of what you're going through…"

"Who was he?"

"You'd probably laugh and wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"What? So it's someone I know?" Sonia gasped, "I promise I won't laugh, Honey!"

"Fine." The cat sighed, turning to her with complete seriousness. Her playful demeanor out the window at this point. "The guy I fell in love with….was the music teacher, Ash Mongoose."

* * *

Outside, Scourge quickened his steps as he marched up the stairs to the main building and entered speedily. His sneakers made such a loud sound with every hard step he took to the ground. His teeth were clenched together tightly, and his fists were balled and stuffed in his pockets.

Staggering after his quick figure was Fiona, angrily chasing after him. He had been moving too quick for her feet to follow at a normal pace, and he had just nearly slammed the door in her face. Thankfully she had caught it in time.

"Scourge!" She yelled after him, not deterring him a bit. " **SCOURGE!** "

He said nothing, and did nothing differently. He just kept on fast moving, pissing her off even more.

Finally, she had caught up to him enough to reach out and yank his wrist.

"What the fuck is your problem?" She screeched before reaching out to grab him, "You've been acting so weird since the stupid wedding. What the fuck—"

As her hand encircled familiarly around his wrist in such an aggressive motion, the green hedgehog's mind wandered to a far off memory, one of the ones he tried to mentally block out and forget.

It was a childhood memory, a vague one of a purple hedgehog woman standing over him, beating him relentlessly as he cried and begged her to stop.

Out of sheer instinct and panic, he reeled his hand back and sent it flying across the red vixen's face. She felt it like a ton of bricks, staggering until she could no longer keep balance and fell. He looked down at her, surprised by what he had done as she cupped her cheek and began to cry.

Then he ran away. He ran down the empty halls as fast as he could, trying to keep up with the fast thoughts of his mind.

 _'What the hell is wrong with me?'_ He asked himself, running aimlessly as he took rapid breaths. _'Is it because…I saw her?'_

He tried to shake the thoughts out of his mind, but they just wouldn't leave. They hadn't left since he saw her. The purple hedgehog woman from yesterday…

The halls felt endless as he ran and ran until his lungs began to burn. It was only then that he stopped to take a breather. He found himself outside the nurse's office, and even thought about going in to ask Nurse Bernadette for some anxiety meds, but the sound of something familiar stopped him from doing so.

It was the sound of a radio playing.

His mind wandered back again to that ill memory.

The image of the purple hedgehog woman slashing his chest open as a toddler with that very same lulled sound of a radio playing in the background.

His blue eyes widened in a panic as he was rattled by the reoccurring memory once more. His body trembled violently as he took off into running again, trying to run from that painful memory.

After some time of unconscious running, he took the janitor's closet he knew was always open. He just needed a resting place, somewhere he could breathe and no one would see him so shaken.

He pulled on the string to turn on the dim light before he threw himself carelessly to the cement wall and began to gasp for air as if his life depended on it.

After a few moments of relief, the scars on his chest suddenly began to burn as if they were reopened. He clutched the wound beneath the leather jacket, sweat dripping from his brow as he tried to keep himself together.

 _'Why? Why do I feel like this all of a sudden?'_ He wondered, tears rolling off his cheeks.

* * *

After walking Amy to her English class and saying goodbye, Mighty took off down the hall on his own. He had a free period, and hadn't yet decided what to do with it. So he figured he'd walk around for a bit until Ray or Julie-Su called.

It didn't take very long for him to stumble upon the injured Fiona laid out in the middle of the hall by herself, and he didn't think twice about approaching her or kneeling beside her to help her up.

"Fiona? What happened? Are you okay?" He asked, taking hold of her forearm gently to help her up.

Of course she merely snatched herself out of his grasp and scrambled to her feet on her own, sure to not stand so close as she stared daggers at him while cupping her injured cheek.

"What do you care?" She hissed coldly.

"Fi…" He murmured, standing up himself to lock their gazes. "Regardless, you'll always be my foster sister to me, and I do care."

"…"

She stood quiet, but her angry scowl said all he needed to know. She's not budging, and she cares little to not at all for what he has to say.

So he decided to turn around and do the only thing she'd allow him to do.

Walk away.

And just as he was doing that, her voice rang in his ears once more.

"Are you happy now? Now that you're with that pink little slut." The vixen huffed, "You know she fucked Scourge and Sonic right? Maybe even his brother too from what I hear."

He simply turned around, surprising her with that sympathetic look he always seemed to wear.

"It's not nice to talk badly about people." He told her, "Especially when it's about things all in the past or things that might not even be true at all. Take care, Fi."

He then walked off, leaving the vixen to stare after him until he was no longer in sight. Tears rolled off her cheeks, but they were no longer due to the stinging sensation in her face.

She cursed herself, because even after all this time…she couldn't help but adore the armadillo same as always, and she hated it.

* * *

Mephiles descended one of the stairwells in the main building back down to the first floor, darting his reptilian eyes harshly down each end of the hall as it became more flooded with faces, but not the one he was looking for.

He knew she'd be here. Her English class was going to start soon, so she had to be in this building. That's what he kept telling himself internally as he shoved people while he searched high and low for his missing toy.

On his tail as usual was the fifteen year old troublemaker, Shard. He had his hands in his pockets casually as he laughed internally at how pathetic and desperate the older teen seemed to be.

Things got even worse when Mephiles suddenly ceased movement, causing Shard to bump into his back. He stumbled away before peering over the gray-striped boy's shoulder to see what he had stopped for.

It was Rosy, one of the lost souls he had captured, but found the will to break from his manipulative grasp.

She still kept up with the signature goth look, all black everything right down to the eyeliner and headband. Only now she wore the smile of a girl in the process of healing, and it only seemed to be wider when she wrapped her arms around a red-striped hedgehog before pulling him in for a kiss.

Shard couldn't help but break out into a slight grin as he watched Mephiles' fists ball up and begin to shake, and his teeth ground together as a low but audible growl of anger escaped him.

"Something the matter, Meph?" Shard mused in mock-curiosity, playing off the fact that he knew the older boy was still bitter about Rosy's departure, and now he was panicked that Blaze was starting to break away as well.

"It's nothing." The senior hissed, finally turning away to look in another direction. "Nothing at all."

As if on cue, Sonic and Sally had turned the end of the hall he had just coincidentally shifted his gaze to, making the gears in his mind shift as he re-prioritized things.

 _'I wouldn't' make the same mistake twice. I made sure to damage her even worse than Rose. She won't run, and if she does, it won't be very far. I shouldn't worry so much. My kingdom will not fall apart before I can take the crown for myself.'_ He thought to himself, eyes kept on the couple strolling casually down the hall. _'My main focus of the week should be tearing those two down to more nothing than they already are…'_

* * *

Breezie sat on her desk in the usual fashion. Her short, red dress high on her crossed legs as she tapped her painted nails on the mahogany desk impatiently. Her amethyst eyes scanned each and every student as they filed through the door one after another, mentally taking attendance so she wouldn't have to waste time. She had a devious scheme that she only had forty-five minutes to execute.

'Amy Rose is here, Silver the Hedgehog is here, Rosy Rascal is here, Storm the Albatross is here, Honey the Cat is here…'

Once the bell signifying class's start had finally ceased she began to internally panic. Everyone had come through the door today, even Blaze the Cat, but not the student she was hoping for.

Just as she was about to refigure an actual lesson plan in her mind, the sound of the door opening once more caused her to jolt back to reality.

It was Mina Mongoose, very tardy, most likely from getting distracted in another long conversation with the music teacher.

"Mina." Ms. Breezie greeted her with mock enthusiasm, "How nice of you to finally join us."

"Sorry." The mongoose girl apologized, "I got caught up in talking about an after school rehearsal with Mr. Ash. It won't happen again."

"You should hope not." The teal hedgehog huffed, strutting over to the mongoose's desk to slam a red slip on it, mortifying the teen.

" **WHAT?**! Detention!" Mina cried out, "Ms. Breezie, please don't. I promised Mr. Ash I could rehearse today—"

"Looks like you'll have to reschedule."

"But Blaze only came in two seconds earlier than me and you didn't give her a slip!"

"Two seconds earlier than the bell too." The cruel English teacher reminded her, "Now then, unless you'd like a detention for tomorrow, I suggest you keep your pretty little mouth zipped so I can get to the big project."

"Another project?" Storm perked up in his chair, "Didn't we just have one not too long ago?"

"That's true, but I figure since some of you did so poorly you could use the points." She explained, walking back to the front of the classroom. "Since this little project will be worth two whole letter grades."

The last statement elicited several reaction types. Gasps of disbelief from students who have never had such a serious project before, groans from reluctant students, and looks of confusion from those who didn't think it possible.

Kids like Blaze, Honey, and Storm who were just hanging on by a thread thought it a good thing, giving them a chance to boost their average.

Then there were types like Shadow and Rosy who didn't seem to care either way.

"This is such bullshit." Manic mumbled, just audible enough for only his deskmate to pick up on.

"What are you talking about, Manic?" The white hedgehog beside him rose a surprised eyebrow, "This could be your chance at boosting that _'F'_ to at least a _'C'_!"

"Yeah, but haven't you noticed that with Ms. B it's never really about the subject?" He pointed out, eyeing the devilish grin on the gorgeous teacher's face. "It's always some abstract project to get drama stirred up between us. This teacher's a legit sadist."

"That's…." As much as Silver wanted to say he was wrong, he couldn't, because the more he thought about it the more right Manic seemed. "So you don't plan on doing it then?"

"I never said that." The shaggy-quilled hedgehog chuckled, leaning back on his chair lazily. "Depending on what she wants us to do, I don't mind playing into a little drama for a good grade."

"Now that you've all taken that bit of information in, allow me to tell you about the project itself." The teacher spoke up once more, dragging a nail across every desk she walked by as she strolled casually around the room. "You have the remainder of class to write about the worst thing you know about someone in this room."

"What? That doesn't have anything to do with English though." Storm whined, "It just sounds like another ploy to get us to talk shit about each other like last time."

"You'll be assessed on your grammar and writing skills of course." Breezie replied nonchalantly, "It's just an interesting topic."

"Told you." Manic whispered to Silver, who nodded.

"Will we be picking names out of a hat and being all secretive about it again?" Honey asked curiously.

"Nope. This time, you'll do the opposite." The teal woman explained, "Instead of hiding the subject's identity, you'll be hiding your own."

"But, that means…" Sally trailed off, eyeing the teacher as she wondered if the hedgehog woman was even a real educator at this point.

"Yep. You have to write the subject's name, and keep your own identity a secret."

"But won't that cause trouble for the subject? Especially if someone makes something up about someone else just to get a good grade." Sonic piped up, making the teal woman turn his way.

"These papers will only be read by me this time. And as you know, I'm practically a living lie-detector. I'll know if it's made up, and that'll grant an automatic fail regardless of how interesting a lie—"

"Um, excuse me. Ms. Breezie?" Silver blurted out with hand raised.

"Yes?" She turned to him, annoyed by all the questions and comments wasting precious time.

"Why are our assignment topics always so…personal and quite frankly, drama-inducing?"

"Well, I'm the one who has to sit and grade these papers for hours on end. So of course I'd like to be entertained." She replied simply, going over to her desk to grab a stack of papers to pass out. "It's an easy pass if you apply yourself."

"More like if you throw someone else under the bus." Rosy grumbled from her chair.

"Just keep in mind that English is a mandatory class if you want to pass on to the next grade or even graduate on time. So I strongly advise you to use the rest of class time wisely."

Everyone began to look at each other around the room. Some debating on whose secret they'd spill, while some still debated on whether or not they could participate in such a cruel assignment.

The teal woman made it sound like such an easy choice to earn an easy grade, but in actuality, she had forced all their hands…

The rest of class was silent, as tension ensued with the knowledge that at the very least…one person in this class was going to betray another.

Breezie smiled evilly to herself as she watched Mina hard at work on the cruel assignment, unaware that all the teacher cared about was the one paper sure to come about the mongoose herself. Something she could use to her advantage.

Once the bell rang, everyone scrambled out of the class as fast as they could after handing in their papers. A great aura of shame and guilt casted upon each of them.

The teal woman wasted no time in flipping through them, skimming the papers for the rising popstar's name.

 _I've seen Ken Khan buying drugs and shooting up behind the bleachers a few times._

 _Blaze the Cat had sex with her best friend's crush last summer._

 _I saw Rosy Rascal cutting herself behind the electives building before._

 _Honey the Cat has had sex with a ton of people; guys, girls, and even a teacher._

 _Sonic the Hedgehog made a bet with my friend that he could record himself having sex with Sally Acorn to prove that he could. Which is probably why he's dating her._

 _Manic the Hedgehog once broke into a guy's house after running away with another boy._

Among them were a few blank papers those who were too good-hearted and mindful passed in rather than choosing oust a fellow classmate.

It took a good while of shuffling, but among the stack of papers submitted from over thirty-five students she had found the one she had been hoping for…and boy was it juicy.

 _Mina Mongoose had an abortion earlier this year._

"Oh Mina…" The devious teacher giggled menacingly to herself while alone in her classroom, "This certainly doesn't look good for a rising popstar, does it?"

* * *

 **Oh no! Poor Mina's secret has been discovered by the one person currently out to get her! Just what in the world will Breezie do with all these secrets? When is this bitch going to be fired?! Is she even a legit English teacher!**

 **Scourge has come face-to-face with a fragment of a memory he'd been trying to suppress all his life, and he's not taking it very well. Descending into a state of anxiety that's effecting his judgement and messing with his head.**

 **With the newfound confidence about having Wave and Storm on his side again, Jet has somewhat reverted to the cocky prick who holds himself up high as a king-much to the displeasure of those around him. Just where will this new chapter in his life take him and his team?**

 **In an attempt to better sympathize with heartbroken Sonia, Honey reveals that she had lied, and that she truly had fallen in love once before and understood the magenta girl's dilemma. The bombshell being that it was none other than the one teacher, and her best friend's current crush that she had a brief affair with early on in the year, Ash Mongoose! I sense another friendship tester coming our way...**

 **Sally's discovered Ken is on drugs, and thinks it's her fault. Little does she know, that the monkey boy has been on drugs long before her rejection. Just what is the story behind Ken's drug addiction?**

 **Knuckles now knows that Shade had been in cahoots with Thrash to tear him and Julie-Su apart for good. Will the cruel teenagers succeed? Or will this determined father throw a wrench in their plans somehow?**

 **Poor Tails is missing his group of friends, and it surely shows. Although his attempt to get everyone back together had failed, he managed to get some time with Blaze-who is doing better than ever these days. Can she reassert herself as the glue to put the pieces of their gang back together? Or are these little bunch finished for good?**

 **Fiona's still in love with Mighty, and she hates herself for it. She's trying so hard to fight the feelings, but will they prove too strong and lead her back to his side? And what of Amy Rose, his new companion?**

 **That's all I got.**

 **Special Note: Hey guys! I'm really happy to be getting back into this story after so long. I just wanted to let you know that we're coming up on the final arc! And we'll be diving into those darker topics again pretty soon (Rape, suicide, guns, etc) So just prep yourselves like usual.**

 **Also, I've started drafting a new story. It might be coming a long soon, so look for that when it's out!**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**


	76. Chapter 76

**WARNING: Drug use, taunting, slight nudity, mentions of abortion and guns**

* * *

 **Chapter 76: Pieces**

At the request of his devious partner in crime and current _'employer'_ , Nack the Weasel had woken up extra early.

The purple teen sat at his desk, typing a few passcodes for access to files he kept locked with one hand while he used the other to rub the tiredness from his eyes.

Standing behind him with arms crossed was Mephiles himself, taking advantage of the disoriented weasel's tiredness by leaning over to take note of each shockingly simple passcode.

"The post I wrote about the blue idiot the other day before we were interrupted, do you still have it?" He asked.

"Of course I do. I save everything on here no matter how insignificant." Nack replied, pulling up the note Mephiles had written the other day before his feline friend had walked in. "I only minimized it. Then I sorta just forgot about it."

"Good." The gray-striped boy nodded, looking up at one of the monitors where the post was currently being displayed.

"Look Meph, I don't know what you think this'll accomplish, but I can tell ya' it won't be much. I've written some mudslinging articles on Ole' Sonny before, and I can tell ya' there's nothing that boy can do wrong in these idiot's eyes. Sure they'll be upset for a few days, but then he'll come up with some moving speech or political stunt to get them swaying back in his favor. Same goes for the redhead. How do you expect something like this to kick 'em down for good?"

"I've taken everything into account. I've been studying both of them for quite some time these last few months." The hedgehog explained in his typical stoic tone. "This stupid school works like a vote, and the three of us are politicians they're waiting to elect."

"If it's like that then you're shit outta luck, 'cause ya' creep everyone out, ya' really unlikable, and a shit person." Nack pointed out with a shrug, "No offense."

"That may very well be true, but it doesn't matter."

"Doesn't it if we're talking politics?"

"Not necessarily." Mephiles chuckled, "You see, no matter how bad of a person I may be…It won't matter if I make those two look worse in contrast."

"And how do you plan on that?"

"I've noticed a few things about the morons of this school. For starters, they'll believe anything on your gossip blog, which is why I wrote this masterpiece up." The hedgehog pointed up at the monitor, making the weasel turn toward it to read. "And they seem to react negatively to two things in particular: Dramatic scandals like that walrus' suicide or that chipmunk's stand against LGBT harassment, and anyone who does wrong to the school popstar or the school sweetheart."

Nack directed his attention to the screen above him, where he read over the post Mephiles had written up, his eyes widening in shock. He leaned back in his chair, taken aback by such a character-bashing post.

"So you expect me to post this on my blog?" He questioned, "Is any of this even true?!"

"For the most part."

"Chaos, and I thought I was bad…." Nack exhaled, "Based on ya' little observations, this'll probably make him look worse than Jet!"

"That's what I'm hoping for."

"But what about the girl?"

"Once I get him, she'll be easy… Just post it and watch."

* * *

During her break time, Breezie decided to reside in her empty classroom. She sat at her desk, looking through the stack of papers the students of her fourth class had provided for her latest cruel and unusual assignment. She grinned evilly to herself as she read through them more carefully, taking in the juicy secrets one by one to burn into her memory for safe keeping.

 _'How amusing. All it takes for these kids to turn on each other is to dangle a grade in front of their face. I guess loyalty and integrity really is dead.'_ She thought to herself as she reached over to grab the white mug beside her and take a sip of the warm tea.

As she did so, the door to her classroom swung open, making a loud slam after colliding with the wall. The hedgehog woman jolted up, spilling the tea a bit as she sat upright and set the mug down. Her violet eyes widened in surprise to see the music teacher angrily stomping toward her, coming to a full stop right in front of her desk.

"Ash?" She mused in that mock-innocent tone he knew better than to believe anymore, "What brings you to the main building?"

"A few girls have come into my class practically crying over some assignment you made their class do that involved them outing personal secrets about one another." The heated mongoose scolded her, slamming both hands down on her desk as he glared harshly at her. "What's the meaning of this?"

"It's just an assignment to help me get to know them better—"

"Cut the shit, Breezie." He cut her off, more than aware of her true malicious nature.

"Fine. Truth be told, I was bored, and wanted something interesting to amuse myself with."

"More like you wanted to start drama like always."

"So what?" The hedgehog snarled, "If I wanted to work a boring job I would have been an office receptionist."

"This is wrong, Breezie, and you need to stop." Ash shook his head, unamused by her smug grin. "These kids are at a delicate age where the tiniest things could drive them over the edge in a second. Manipulating them and using them for your own amusement isn't right."

"Neither is sleeping with them!"

"What! I'm not—"

"Is that why you wanted to become a high school music teacher?" She stood up, pointing an accusing finger his way. "So you could be surrounded by these insecure teens who'd do just about anything for a man's attention? Girls like Mina Mongoose—"

" **IT'S NOTHING LIKE THAT.** " He shouted, cutting her off in the process. He then turned around, adjusted his glasses, and began the march out the door. "Keep the hell away from me."

She watched him go, an angry expression on her face as she gritted her teeth with such rage. Before he could escape, she called out after him.

"She's not as innocent as she seems ya'know. Same way Honey the Cat wasn't…"

He looked over his shoulder at her, his patience long gone. He couldn't stand when she brought up the subject, especially when it came to the yellow cat girl.

"Honey was a drunken mistake." He repeated for the billionth time to her, "And things aren't like that with Mina at all. She's a good girl just trying to make it through tough times."

"Good girl? Ha!" The cruel English teacher taunted, reaching out to grab one of the papers on her desk to hold out to him. "Good girls don't sleep around and get knocked up at sixteen. Bet you didn't know Ms. Good Girl had an abortion."

His ocean-blue eyes widened in disbelief at what was scribbled on the paper she held up. A victorious smile threatened to emerge on the hedgehog woman's face, but to her surprise he didn't seem as fazed by it as she thought he'd be.

"I know." He said, making her own eyes widen with shock, thus turning the tables on her. "And it's neither of our business. You shouldn't be so judgmental either, considering what kind of girl you were in high school."

"You bastard!" She cursed him for bringing up her past.

"Whatever. Just for the love of Chaos, leave the poor girl alone."

"If there's nothing going on between you, then why do you care so much?"

"Just…stop this." He shook his head, ignoring her question before finally reaching the door and exiting.

His little visit did nothing to deter her wicked scheming. In fact, it only infuriated her more, knowing that he'd go to such lengths for the mongoose girl. With envy as her motive, Breezie angrily grabbed all of the assignments she took from yesterday's class and locked them in the top drawer while she decided what to do with them next.

* * *

After a lonesome stroll down the hall, Silver had the pleasure of spotting his closest friend and current romantic interest, Gold. She was standing at her locker fishing out books when he walked over to greet her and lean against the lockers beside hers.

"So, are you sad about the snow being gone?" He asked, aware of the tenrec's childish obsession with the snowfalls.

"Of course I am." She pouted cutely, making his heart flutter. "It never snowed where I lived, but I'm excited for the beautiful flowerbeds and warm days spring will bring!"

"Well, that's good." Silver chuckled, "Spring is actually my favorite time of year."

"Oh, that reminds me, are you excited for the Crush 40 concert?" The golden-girl gasped, nearly forgetting she had given him both tickets to the event. "I know they pushed it back a few times because of the snow, but now it's just in a few days!"

"Well…I still haven't found anyone to go with." The hedgehog mumbled before picking back up in a positive tone, "But I still plan on going to bring you back that autographed CD."

"You're the best!" She cheered happily, setting the books back in her locker for a moment to throw her arms around him excitedly. "I hope you have tons of fun!"

"It'll be hard without there, but I think I'll manage once they start playing City Escape."

"Good! Now we better head off to science before Dr. Robotnik hits you with another detention for being tardy."

" **OH CRAP!** " Silver screeched, making the tenrec jolt up in fright.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"I forgot my science textbook back in my room!" He whined, grabbing at his abstract-looking quills. "He's going to kill me! I've gotta go back and grab it. I'll meet you there."

He then took off before she could say anything, making her giggle with his goofy running style. She then grabbed her own books and closed the locker.

As she made her way down the hall toward their shared science class, the black flats she had been wearing suddenly slipped against the white-tiled floor, causing her to go tumbling down and her books flying about.

"Ouch." She whined, sitting up to bring down her skirt before anyone could peek at her undergarments. "I'm so clumsy."

The tenrec then proceeded to crawl around the floor, grabbing one book after another. She soon noticed she couldn't find her science book, the one textbook she was desperate for at the moment.

She frantically looked around the hall until the sound of someone clearing their throat caught her attention and she turned around to see them staring down at her with a sincere smile while holding out her science book.

"B-Blaze?" The tenrec breathed in surprise, taking the cat's hand so that she could kindly help her up to her feet.

"Are you alright, Gold?"

"I'm fi-fine." The golden-girl murmured, scoping out the cat who seemed much livelier today. "You seem to look well these days."

"Thank you." Blaze blushed, excited that people were starting to notice the minor changes she's made both physically and mentally.

She looked on at the tenrec, recalling how much she couldn't stand her earlier this year, and all of the animosity that had built up between them. She even remembered that argument they got into when she was wrongfully trying to get Silver to change himself for her friends, and that awful slap she had delivered to the kind-hearted girl.

Unconsciously, her eyes wandered to the golden-girl's face, where she noticed a scar she had caused when her nails had collided with Gold's delicate skin.

Guilt pooled in her heart at the sight of it, then the self-loathing and regret kicked in shortly after, but she refused to let those negative feelings rule her and instead did the right thing.

"I'm sorry about that…" The purple cat mumbled sorrowfully, giving Gold a second to realize she was staring at the tiny scar beneath her eye.

"Oh this?" Gold inquired, touching the scar with the tips of her fingers. "It's nothing a little cosplay makeup can't hide."

"Still, it was a cruel thing to do, especially when you were only trying to help."

Gold couldn't help but stare in awe at the cat, the aura around her consisting of such empathy and sincerity. She could tell the cat was being genuine, and not putting up a façade of any sort for anyone anymore.

Right now, she was seeing Blaze the Cat for real.

The honest, tender-hearted, level-headed girl Silver used to swear his heart by.

"Something seems really different about you…" Gold stated randomly, quick to correct herself. "In a good way of course!"

"Well, it's probably the self-improvements I've been trying make." The cat giggled, "I was just on my way to Dr. Tikal's office for my therapy."

"That's wonderful, Blaze!" The tenrec cheers happily, tilting her head to beam that angelic smile the cat's way. "I wish you luck."

"Thanks. I wish you and Silver the best too, with your relationship and everything…."

There was a slight pinch in her heart upon saying it, but Blaze had grown to accept the fact that Silver seemed much happier with the tenrec girl, and swore to herself that she wouldn't interfere with the presumed relationship they had established in her absence.

Gold's eyes widened in surprise at the comment, and her pale face turned a deep red as well.

"Re-Relationship?!" The bashful girl repeated through stutters, "We aren't dating!"

"Really? Blaze questioned with a skeptical eyebrow raised.

"Of course not! Silver doesn't like me that way." She giggled sweetly, "He's had a crush on you since forever, remember?"

"Oh…well…" The cat stammered shyly, surprised to hear the tenrec say such a thing when she was so sure the hedgehog had moved on and forgotten her. "Well, you should get to class."

"You're right about that." Gold nodded in agreement, turning to scurry toward the science classroom a few feet away. "Silver and I are both looking at a detention. Bye Blaze!"

Blaze just watched her go until she disappeared into the classroom. She was confused by the tenrec's comment, but even so, a hopeful smile managed to find its way to her face.

* * *

The green hedgehog searched high and low within each building on campus, but he couldn't seem to find who he was looking for. He had ignored his classes and everyone around him since the wedding.

He felt like he was trapped in a void, a dark place he couldn't escape from in his own head. It got to a point where he couldn't tell what was really happening in the present and what was just a far off memory resurfacing in his mind anymore.

He walked swiftly, his leather jacket carrying with the wind behind him as he turned corners and took off up and down staircases.

Eventually he recalled how much the person he was looking for loved hanging around in the sketchiest place on campus.

Under the bleachers at the football field.

He quickly turned heel and changed direction, storming out of the main building and onto the grassy plains. His heart pounded with such a violent fierceness, and his palms were sweating while balled up in the pockets of his jacket.

He made no effort in hiding himself, making his presence known with a holler of the other teen's name before he even made it beneath the bleachers.

"Geoffrey!" He bellowed, finding the skunk sitting on a random crate beneath the bleachers.

The skunk turned to him, blue eyes overcome with an amused gleam at his appearance as a wicked grin crossed his smug face.

"Scourgey?" The white-haired teen mused wickedly, "Been a while since you came to visit little 'ole me, eh?"

"Only because I need something." The green hedgehog growled in a deadpan tone, stirring the skunk's curiosity.

"Been even longer since you've come to me for something." He remarked, leaping off the crate to stand toe-to-toe with his old friend, Scourge. "What'll it be? Drugs? Weed? Alcohol? You name it, I've got it."

That's when a cool breeze swept over them, and a chilling silence took over. Then the hedgehog looked him straight in the eye and said…

"I need a gun."

The skunk's taunting demeanor quickly disbanded, being replaced with a bit of fear mixed with confusion.

"I think I can be of service." He nodded, afraid of how the hedgehog might react if he didn't abide by the request. "But I need to know what you plan to do with it?"

"I've got a demon I need to face…" Scourge replied, clutching his chest tightly as he thought of the purple hedgehog he had come across at the wedding two days ago.

* * *

"That assignment Breezie had us do yesterday was such bullshit." Rosy huffed, rolling over in her bed to face her boyfriend.

"All of her assignments are." Shadow agreed, brushing a bubblegum quill from out of her face with his hand. "But talking shit in an essay is easier than writing a real book report."

"So you did the assignment?" She questioned, to which he nodded in response. "Who'd you throw under the bus?"

"Honey."

"Your old fuck-buddy?"

"Yeah, so?" The black hedgehog snarled, "She talked shit about me on the last assignment. I just returned the favor."

"Sounds fair to me." Rosy shrugged innocently.

"What about you?" He threw her question back at her, "Who'd you throw under the bus for an easy grade?"

"Same person as last time." The pink girl rolled her eyes, "That idiot monkey thought he could blackmail me into secrecy by threatening to out my cutting if I outed his drug habit. Unfortunately for him, I don't give much of a fuck."

"Cruel." Shadow responded, the pink girl sticking her tongue out at him. "Had no idea he was a junkie. Seemed like a nice guy with the way he carried himself."

"No one's a nice guy." She reminded him.

He sighed, not bothering to counteract the subjective statement by any means. Instead, he leaned over and kissed her, knowing she had been through so much in her life that no one must have seemed nice to her, but he was determined to show her differently with his actions.

The two had skipped class for the day, not caring much for their grades or attendance records like most students. Instead, they had laid in bed together all day, cuddling and talking about whatever came up.

It was nice and therapeutic for both of them, having someone to confide in that never made them feel judged. They knew the worst of the worst about each other, and even with that knowledge, neither of them felt any differently about the other. If anything, that openness they shared made them stronger.

After hours of just talking endlessly had passed, they had both lost track of time.

Rosy sat up, the blanket coating them falling at her waist to expose her naked upper-half as she leaned over him and snagged his phone off the dresser beside the bed. He grinned mischievously when her breasts made contact with his face, but she was quick to shyly pull the blanket back over herself and turn her back to him.

Usually she didn't care about such things as sex or being naked, but being with him she just felt so shy and embarrassed.

He leaned over her shoulder to watch her scroll through his phone, curious at what she was doing other than checking the time.

That's when he caught a glimpse of that group chat Tails had set up yesterday, the bitter one the black hedgehog forgot to close out of and delete.

"Wow…" She whistled, scrolling through the texts, "Your friends are shit."

"They're better than your friends."

"I have no friends."

"They…They aren't as bad as these text make them seem." He mumbled, doing his best to defend his dysfunctional group of companions.

"Hmm, I guess Manic's kinda cool." Rosy shrugged, thinking back to the two friends of his that she has formally met so far, that being the green hedgehog and white bat. "He's a little weird though, like…a nicer and more laid back version of Scourge. They kind of look alike too…"

"Well, that's a bit racist." Shadow laughed, "Then again, you and Amy look a lot alike too, and even have the same attitude problem. Hmmm, maybe all hedgehogs do look alike."

" **I DO NOT** look anything like that little hoe." The pink girl scoffed, turning her nose up in the air at the comparison.

Shadow then took a moment to himself, recalling how strange Manic and Scourge seemed to be when together or mentioned to one another. Curiously, he turned over the pink hedgehog to look her in the eye once more as he asked a question that appeared out of the blue to her.

"Did you know Manic and Scourge used to be best friends?"

"I heard they used to hangout when Scourge started coming to this school, but I don't know much about it considering I was hospitalized most of my first and second year here."

The red-striped boy nodded in understanding, recalling bits of the past his pink girlfriend had talked to him about that caused her to need hospitalization most of the time.

Then his mind wandered back to Manic, and all the secrets he felt his close friend had been keeping, wondering what could possibly be going on in that green hedgehog's head.

* * *

"S-Sorry to he-hear that the meetup wi-with your friends didn't go through." Ray told Cream as he held her free hand and gently led her down the steps of the main building and out toward the picnic tables by the fountain.

"I really wish that everyone would just get along and be happy again, but things are complicated between a few of us, and others are a bit preoccupied." The rabbit sighed, swinging her cane in front of her to make sure there was nothing in their way that she could bump into.

"That really su-sucks." The little squirrel boy sighed, squeezing her hand slightly. "Bu-But until you can get yo-your friends back together, you're we-welcome to hang out with us for as lo-long as you want."

Cream blushed nervously, having not hung out with anyone outside of her own group in so long. On top of that, she had this new disability diminishing her confidence.

The doctor had told her that the blindness was only temporary, but after a couple weeks, it seemed like he may have been mistaken.

She shook the dooming thought from her mind as she began to hear unfamiliar voices in the distance.

The rabbit girl took a deep breath as she began to debate with herself on having lunch with Ray's friends. She recalled how hostile and cold her own friends seemed to be toward outsiders being brought in, and the thought only made her more scared.

"Maybe I shouldn't…" She mumbled, ceasing movement so that Ray would turn to her. "I mean, I don't want to impose…"

"It's no-not like that." Ray assured her, tugging her gently toward the picnic table. "The Chaotix are really ni-nice, and love meeting new people. I've al-already told them a lot about you."

"The Chaotix?"

"Oh, that's ju-just a name we came up with for ourselves." He blushed, making her giggle slightly with his silly explanation.

Soon the two freshman had reached the table where the squirrel's friends were seated. He helped her slide into a seat before taking his own as he introduced her to his friends.

"Guys, this is Cream." He gestured toward her.

She waved shyly, a blush to her cheeks as she listened to Ray introduce everyone and describe their seating placement.

"Cream, sitting be-beisde you is Julie-Su. You already know her."

"Hi Cream." The echidna girl greeted her, knowing that she couldn't see.

"And beside her is Vector. Yo-You know, the sen-senior who's always throwing those big parties—"

"Used to." The crocodile corrected the young boy, making everyone at the table frown. "And it's nice to meet ya' girly."

"Beside him is Espio and his gi-girlfriend, Nicole."

"Hello." The couple spoke in unison.

"And si-sitting on this side of the table be-beside me is my big brother, Mighty."

"Hiya." The armadillo greeted the nervous looking rabbit.

"Then there's Ch-Charmy and Saffron from our art class." The squirrel finished, allowing the bees to greet her.

The group then commenced their usual antics. Julie-Su questioning Mighty on why he's been absent from their lunches lately, Vector poking fun at how much she sounded like a jealous wife, Nicole and Espio warning the crocodile about not getting on the echidna's bad side, and the bees giggling at the scene.

Cream stood silent, mostly just listening in. She could tell from the tone of their voices that there was no hostility between any of them. They all sounded so caring and laughed with such joy. Her heart began to hurt as she listened close, having not been around a group having so much fun together since her friends fell apart.

Beneath her bandages, tears began to brim her injured eyes as she felt like such an outsider looking in, and deep in her heart she just wished her friends could find their way back to one another and be as strong as Ray's group.

"Cream?" Mighty called out, making the rabbit straighten up her posture. "Are you okay?"

"Ye-Yes." She mumbled, obviously on the verge of tears. "I just…I don't feel like I really belong here."

"What are you talking about?" Julie-Su tilted her head, gently reaching out to take the rabbit's hand.

"Sh-She's just a bit nervous." Ray explained, "He-Her friends haven't really been hanging out, and sh-she's just nervous about hanging out with us because sh-she thinks she's imposing."

"Imposing?" Vector rose an eyebrow, turning to the rabbit although she couldn't see him. "Are you crazy, Girl? With how much Ray talks about you, you're practically already one of us!"

"Vector…." The shy squirrel mumbled in embarrassment.

"Don't feel that way, Cream." Julie-Su begged, squeezing the rabbit girl's hand gently. "We're very open to anyone who wants to hang out with us."

"Yeah!" Charmy cheered.

"Just a few months ago, Nicole was a complete stranger, and now she talks and jokes with us as if she's always been here!" Saffron added, gesturing toward the adorable lynx who nodded.

"It's true." Nicole replied, "They really are accepting and sweet people. They'll have you roped in before you know it."

"That's right." Espio agreed, "So please, make yourself comfortable."

They were all so sincere and accepting, showing no hostility toward her whatsoever. Not the way her group had when Blaze tried to bring Silver in, or the way she had been when Tails brought Cosmo in.

This group was so different from her own, but different in all the positive ways.

She soon found herself nodding with a happy smile, making Ray smile himself.

"Thank you for bringing me Ray…." She blushed, making the squirrel do the same with her sweet smile.

Mighty nudged the squirrel, offering him a wink of approval before getting up from the table.

"And just where are you off too?" Julie-Su called out after him.

"My friend just texted that her class is over, so I'm gonna go meet up with her!" He explained, jogging off toward the main building, "See ya' later!"

"Ugh." The pink echidna pouted, "He's always running off like that, and he never returns my texts or calls."

"You really do sound like a jealous girlfriend right now." Vector reminded her.

"Oh shut up." She scolded him, swatting his shoulder.

* * *

 _'What the hell is wrong with me?_

 _I see them practically everywhere…. Always together… And it makes me feel like utter shit._

 _I can't stand seeing her all over him._

 _But I'm **NOT** jealous! I can't be!_

 _I'm happy with Sally…._

 _Sure she's not nearly as outgoing or fun as Amy…but…_

 _I'm not jealous._

 _It's natural for me to be skeptical about who my good childhood friend is or isn't dating._

 _It's not weird.'_

For most of his walk down the hall, Sonic had been in deep thought about the ill feelings that seem to come out of him whenever he caught sight of the armadillo and pink hedgehog, but soon he was pulled out of his thoughts by a stranger feeling.

The strange feeling of not just one, but multiple people staring his way.

He blinked twice, making sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him as he realized **EVERYONE** in the hall had been staring directly at him for the first time since he's come out about his and Sally's relationship.

But these stares weren't the same ones of awe and admiration he used to get when he was cool…

They were cold, and hateful to a degree.

He darted his emerald eyes at everyone in utter confusion before he noticed someone familiar enough to approach.

It was Tiara Boobinski, captain on the cheersquad, an old lover, and conveniently the girl who seemed to always know just about anything that was ever going on around campus.

"Tiara!" He waved her down, getting the same distasteful look from her once she turned to see it was him calling after her. "You seem to always know about the drama going on around here, what's with the dirty looks I'm getting?"

"It's because you're a scumbag, Sonic." She replied, slamming her locker shut before throwing her bag over her shoulder and sticking her nose in the air.

"What are you talking about? I haven't done anything!"

"Oh really?" The mink scoffed, "Well, you should try reading Nack's blog sometime. Maybe it'll jog your memory."

"Ugh, whatever." The blue hedgehog shrugged, walking past her and down the hall.

He didn't have the patience to deal with her riddles, and just wanted to get away from the rage-fueled stares of everyone around them.

After turning the corner, he noticed familiar pink quills, and a hopeful smile stretched out on his face. She was alone, and for some reason, that made him happy. He wasted no time in scurrying to her figure, which stood at a locker she had just closed.

" **AMY!** " He called out, his frantic sprinting coming to a slow halt halfway down the hall when she turned to reveal her crying face.

He tilted his head in confusion as he began taking slow steps to her, the pain in her jade eyes evident as more tears spilled from them and hit the floor.

"What happened?" He asked as he got closer.

She didn't answer though, there was no time as her hand was grabbed and she was gently pulled away by the red-shelled armadillo she had been attached at the hip to lately, leaving Sonic in a world of confusion as more angry stares fell upon him in the hall.

* * *

Silver ran faster than he ever had in his entire life from the main building to the third floor of the boy's dorm. By the time he got to his room and opened the door, he was red in the face and completely out of breath. He took a second, resting his hands on his knees as he inhaled deeply and steadied his breathing. Once he felt good enough, he lifted his head to have his amber eyes met with the sight of Elias sitting by the window and staring blankly out at the campus grounds.

"Eli?" He blinked, tilting his head in confusion as he stared at the older boy's back. "Are you okay?"

"Not really…" The auburn-haired boy admitted, "After I sang at the wedding, Sonia came and told me she was in love with me."

"Isn't that…a good thing?" The white hedgehog questioned, recalling how the squirrel had the same feelings for Sonia as he did Blaze at the beginning of the year.

"It should have been, but I told her to fuck off…"

"Why would you do something like that?" Silver gasped in utter confusion, knowing Elias to be such a gentle and patient person.

"It's different with you and me, you know?" The senior explained without looking at him, "Blaze didn't know how you felt when she slept with Sonic…but Sonia knew exactly how I felt about her when she asked me to set her and Knuckles up in that hotel room…and she didn't even care."

"Elias…"

"I love her, but I'm tired of playing along to whatever tune she plays." He finally turned around to reveal the tears slipping down his cheeks, making the white hedgehog's eyes widen. "I guess neither of us will be getting that happy ending, will we?"

* * *

"Damn…" Manic sighed, a frown on his face as he scrolled through yesterday's group chat. "I remember when we were all happy-go-lucky and only teased each other to be funny. Now shit is just…all negative. Sonia didn't even reply at all…"

"Things change I guess." The bat girl walking beside him sighed. "Like Shadow blowing us off to go get laid."

"Do you think we'll ever be cool again?"

"Well, from what I read on Nack's blog, there's **NO WAY** Amy will ever forgive Sonic, Cream's found her own group, Sonia and Blaze are doing their own thing I guess, Shadow's just doing Rosy lately, Cosmo and Tails are just keeping to each other, and Knuckles is…"

"Right over there." Manic finished her sentence, pointing out toward the echidna digging through the bushes behind the girl's dorm.

"What the hell is he doing?"

"I have no idea."

The two watched as the red echidna frantically pulled up grass beside the building and looked all over the ground for something. Curious, they strolled up to him, taking note of the panicked look on his face.

"Yo, Knux!" Manic waved, making the teen cease his search to look their way, his eyes immediately falling over the bat beside him.

"Rouge…" He murmured, scrambling to his feet before dashing over to them.

He was out of breath, and covered in dirt. He stopped in front of them, the bat locking eyes with him as he began a desperate plea for help.

"I screwed up…" He admitted, frustrated tears brimming his violet eyes. "I screwed up again, like you knew I would, and I don't know how to fix it."

"I doubt you can." The bat replied coldly, although her heart ached with such pain at the sight of his disheartened face. "Not this time."

"Please…. I have to." Knuckles begged, stepping back to pull out the pink paper Lara-Su had sent him to give to the bat. "For my daughter…"

Manic and Rouge stared wide-eyed at the little note, both of their hearts breaking at the sight of the sad note written in a child's writing.

As sad as she felt for him, her pride wouldn't allow her to attempt to save him anymore. She pushed the note back to him and turned away shaking her head.

"You won't get any help from me."

"Rouge…"

Just as the snow-haired girl was ready to walk away, a hand fell on her shoulder and pulled her back. She turned, expecting to see Knuckles' pleading gaze once more, but was surprised to see it was her green hedgehog friend instead.

"If not for Julie-Su or him, let's do it for the kid." He told her.

"Manic…"

"Please Rouge…" Knuckles' voice tuned in next, "Imagine if you had a daughter…and how fucked up you'd feel inside if you let her down…"

"I don't have to imagine…" Manic blurted out, making both the echidna and bat look his way. His eyes widened once he realized he had let the sentence slip, but he was quick to throw them off. "I…I bet it feels like the worst. That's why I think we should help."

Thankfully, they both bought his statement and didn't press further on the matter. Rouge reluctantly agreed, figuring that she owed it to Julie-Su for the nightmare relationship she forced her into, and to Lara-Su for the years she had subsequently deprived the little girl of her real father. Plus, as much as it pained her to set him up with another, she loved the red echidna too much to let him drown in misery.

After explaining the entire situation about how Shade had manipulated him, and having Rouge explain her own history with the orange echidna girl, the three of them went to work at finding that giant emerald she had chucked out the window yesterday.

* * *

Cosmo gently patted her boyfriend on the back as they sat back in their usual spot behind the bookshelves in the library. The sad frown had been edged on his face since his failed attempt at reuniting his friends just yesterday.

He told the seedrian how awful it felt, and even showed her the hostile group chat.

The group had been such a strong band of friends when she first met them, but event after event had crumbled them to what they were now.

She felt so bad for the fox, aware of how deeply he cared for them all, and wished for them to just be the little family they used to be.

But there wasn't much she could do for him other than let him ride out the depression until he found acceptance with the new situation.

"I'm so sorry, Tails." She murmured, something she had been repeating over and over again because there wasn't much else she could possibly say to him.

"I just wish things could go back to the way they were." He sighed.

"I know it's hard, but sometimes people just drift apart in life."

"That can't be us." The little fox shook his head, "Blaze is back to her old self again, and that's a start. There's still hope for us all to go back to being one big family."

She admired his determination, but feared for the safety of his fragile little heart.

After reading Nack's latest blog post about the fox's hedgehog friends…she wasn't sure if his claims of reuniting his group could ever be realized…

* * *

"Don't whine." Honey commanded the magenta hedgehog as she dragged the other girl down the hall by the wrist.

"I don't feel like being around other people, Honey." Sonia complained, still emotionally distraught over the ruined friendship she had with Elias Acorn.

"I refuse to let you drown yourself in tears while you lay in bed all day." The cat shook her head, not lightening her grip on the hedgehog's wrist at all. "I know how you operate. You'll disappear off the face of campus if I let you go now, and as your new super-duper bestest kitty cat friend, I can't allow such a thing."

Sonia just sighed in defeat, knowing that it would be useless trying to convince the cat to let her go now.

Despite being completely uncomfortable and sad, she found herself smiling a bit, thankful to have someone as cheerful as Honey around to keep her from slipping into that dark place she often reverted to after a breakup.

The magenta girl didn't feel like attending class today, but the cat refused to let her wallow in sorrow within the confines of her dorm, so they compromised.

Today, Sonia had the displeasure of attending all Honey's classes with her instead, and currently she was being dragged to the raven-haired girl's music class. She was practically being dragged down the hall of the electives building, stumbling as she tried to keep up with the cat's rapid steps.

Sonia looked out toward the music room just a few feet away, jade eyes widening at the sight of the music teacher. Then she remembered Honey's secret about once being in love with him, and suddenly the cat's eager speed-walking suddenly made sense.

 _'I wonder if she still loves him…'_ She thought to herself before her eyes wandered to the student he was talking to, that being Mina.

"Jeez." Honey pouted, catching Sonia's attention although her eyes remained on the two mongooses. "Mina's here before me again! She never used to beat me to music class…"

Suddenly, the gears in Sonia's head began to turn as she watched how Mina batted her eyelashes and rubbed her arm shyly in front of the young music teacher.

A lightbulb began to go off in her head as her eyes widened with such a horrific realization, recalling all the times the mongoose had ditched her and the cat to go off in search of the music teacher herself.

 _'Mina… She's in love with Mr. Ash too?!'_ She thought to herself, looking to the seemingly oblivious Honey waving the two down and calling after them.

* * *

After putting away the tools to feed his drug addiction into that ratty backpack he had gotten from Geoffrey and shoving it beneath his bed, Ken fell back into the twin-sized mattress and sighed heavily to himself as he stared out to the ceiling.

The downside of being back on drugs was also being level-headed enough to feel all those emotions he had been suppressing since he saw the picture of his crush kissing some kid from class he couldn't stand.

Despite never having been a couple, he couldn't help but feel depressed about the chipmunk not choosing him, because he did invest all of himself into her way too quickly.

He couldn't help it. There was just something about the unpopular chipmunk with the unappealing fashion-sense that drew him in.

The way she talked so boldly, her courage, and virtuous nature. Everything about her personality just caught his complete attention. In his travels all around the world, he had never met such a genuine person. He was so overwhelmed, outright in love one could say.

"It couldn't have just all been an act." He murmured to himself sorrowfully, an image of the sweet chipmunk girl he met on his first day here flashing in his mind.

 **BEEP, BEEP!**

The monkey was soon jolted out of his thoughts by the sound of his cellphone vibrating violently on the dresser beside his bed. He quickly sat up to take the device in his hand, grimacing at the familiar picture of him and his childhood fox friend from back home before he reluctantly picked up.

 _"Li-Moon…."_ He greeted, knowing she'd be upset about him avoiding her calls lately. _"Hi…"_

 _"Ken…"_ She whined, " _Where have you been? Are you okay?"_

 _"I'm fine, I swear."_ He assured her.

 _"You haven't been returning my calls…."_ The red fox on the other line reminded him, _"Your father is very worried."_

 _"Tell him not to be, and that I'm completely fine."_ He told her, his voice drifting further and further into a somber tone _. "I've just been having normal teenage boy problems…. That's all."_

 _"Normal teenage boy problems? Like…a girl?"_

 _"Not anymore."_ He sighed, upsetting the fox girl on the other line.

 _"Oh Ken…."_

* * *

Due to hanging with Sonic so often during her free time of the day, and studying to keep up with classwork at night, Sally found her sleep schedule to be all scrambled up.

She was falling asleep everywhere! Even while sitting up in class sometimes.

So during her latest free period, she decided that instead of hanging with her blue boyfriend she'd much prefer a nap back in her dorm room.

After a half hour of some much needed rest, the chipmunk's phone began to buzz thanks to the timer she had set.

She quickly reached for it and turned the alarm off before sitting up to stretch and yawn. She felt a bit energetic after that, hopping out of bed to straighten herself out and get ready for her next class—one she was dreading very much.

"Ugh, I feel like we don't even learn anything in English." She groaned to herself, packing her backpack with the correct books. "And I know she's gonna give me an earful about not doing her latest and meanest assignment. Oh well."

Once she was packed and ready to go, the auburn-haired girl set out down the hall of the girl's dorm, intent on getting to her next class.

Caught up in her own thoughts, she hadn't noticed all the stares being shot her way as she made her way to the stairwell. Not until she started hearing hushed whispers and saw fingers pointed her way.

She ceased her walking to look around, noticing all eyes on her, which spiked her anxiety dramatically. She soon found herself immobilized and panicking, having not been the center of anyone's attention since the hype of her outed relationship with Sonic had died down.

She couldn't recall doing anything dramatic to deserve the attention recently, so she didn't understand what was going on at all.

After several agonizing minutes of being impaired, the chipmunk suddenly found herself being dragged back down the hall she came from. When her brain came to, she realized the hand encircling hers was a prosthetic limb belonging to her good friend.

"Bunnie?" She called out as the older girl pulled her into her dorm room and shut the door behind them.

Sally took a few steps back as she waited for the rabbit to turn around and address her with that sweet southern accent and kind smile that she was known for, but to her surprise the rabbit didn't.

Instead she wore a skeptical gaze and spoke with a delicate tone, as if she were treading dangerous waters.

"Sally-Girl…please tell me what's going around isn't true…" The golden-haired girl begged, confusing the chipmunk even more.

"What?" Sally rose an eyebrow, adjusting her glasses. "What are you talking about? What's going around?"

"I'm your best friend in the whole world alongside Antione, Nicole, and Rotor—Chaos rest his heavenly soul—I'm not gonna judge you, but I have to know." The rabbit pleaded, "I dislike that rich-brat probably more than you do, but this is just plain cruel—"

"Bunnie!" Sally interjected, " **I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!** "

"You mean, you haven't seen Nack's blog?"

"Who?"

Then Bunnie proceeded to reach into her pocket and pull out her cellphone to hand off to the chipmunk. She already had the infamous post pulled up on screen, allowing the chipmunk to read through it.

 _So I bet you've all long forgotten Sonic the Hedgehog and that chipmunk bitch who pulverized Mina Mongoose earlier this year? Rightfully so, because some new info on the eyesore of a couple is sparking a lot of controversy and angry torches of beloved Amy Rose's fanbase. If you didn't hate him before, you probably will now when you hear that he only got with the poor girl as a popularity stunt, then proceeded to **CHEAT** on her the entire time with Sally Acorn whom rumors speculate was a major slut at her old school, resulting in her abrupt transfer here. Sonic's also been seen around campus assaulting people who've tried to come to Amy's defense or confront the chipmunk on her wrongdoings, and has remarked on how 'easy' and pathetic she is. After Rotor Walrus' death, he also coincidentally reconnected with the walrus' for the soul purpose of gaining sympathy points and getting closer to the presumed slut, Sally Acorn. Taking advantage of the wrongful death of an unpopular boy, bullying and belittling his sweet ex-girlfriend in public… How far will one king fall before he hits the bottom? _

Sally's eyes widened in complete horror as she cupped her mouth in fear that her soul might jump out and escape her. She shook her head, handing back Bunnie the phone as she did her best to recollect her own thoughts.

"Sally…"

"No!" The redhead blurted out, tears peeking from her eyes. "None of that is true! I mean…we…we kissed one time while they were dating, but it wasn't romantic at all! It was an in the moment thing while we were arguing… Fiona must have said something…"

"No need for explaining, Sugah." The rabbit shook her head, "You know I'll always take your word for it but…Sonic's screwed up a one too many times with us to be granted the same circumstances. Antoine's furious about the Rotor part and actually believes it."

"What?"

"Yeah, and I don't know what to say because…I don't trust Sonic the way I used to."

"It's not true." Sally assured her, that bold tone resurfacing in her. "I know he's done some shady things, but he's different now. I've seen the better side of him, and I know he isn't anything like this stupid blog post makes him out to be!"

"I don't know Sally-Girl." The rabbit sighed, "For the time being, just keep him away from us… Things were less dramatic that way."

"Bunnie…" She murmured before tightening her fists in frustration.

Without even trying to reach out to the rabbit any further, Sally dashed out the door and back down the hall. Stares flew her way, but she didn't care. There was only one thing on her mind, and that was finding her boyfriend.

She didn't believe anything in that post, it was too cruel to be true, especially the parts about taking advantage of Rotor's untimely death.

Her tears blinded her as she ran from the third floor to the first, sparing not time for glances at those cursing her name beneath their breaths.

Her legs never stopped moving until she made it to the door of the building, but she never stepped out. Instead, she collided with someone who was just entering the building in a similar mess of tears.

Both girls staggered back, but were quick to regain their composure. Sally rubbed the knot on her head and winced in pain before looking out to the person she had mistakenly collided heads with.

Her sapphire eyes quickly went wide with surprise at seeing Amy Rose herself standing in front of her, rubbing the same spot on her own head as tears slipped down her cheeks.

She opened her mouth to say something, an apology or perhaps to tell the pink girl that nothing in that post was true, but the other girl was quicker with her tongue.

"I hate you." The pink hedgehog belted out before she could even say a word. "I fucking hate you. You ruin everything for me, everything."

"Amy I—"

" **JUST GO KILL YOURSELF CHAOS-DAMMIT!** " She screamed before shoving the chipmunk away to run upstairs to her room.

* * *

 **Have you ever heard a rumor about someone? Something awful yet so plausible that it had you look at them differently or second-guess wanting to get to know that person?**

 **You should never believe what you hear, not even if you heard it from your best friend in the world, or especially if you read it online somewhere.**

 **Remember this formula: Rumors lead to assumptions. Assumptions lead to judgement. Judgement lead to bullying. Bullying leads to… Well, that depends really…but it's never good.**

 **Throughout the story, Sally has suffered from rumors and bullying. It's sad, but it's something she's become accustom to. She knows how to handle it the best she can.**

 **Sonic on the other hand has always been popular up until now. He's used to love and admiration, not hate and belittlement. Can he really handle this new change?**

 **As you may have noticed, it's getting harder and harder for Manic to keep the situation that conspired between him and Mina a secret anymore, and those around him are getting more and more suspicious. Just how long until that cat is let out of the bag?**

 **Speaking of cats…and Mina…Sonia has pieced together everything in a shockingly short amount of time. Then again, she is one of two characters—the other being Tails—who have skipped an entire grade due to higher intelligence. She knows about Honey's first love being Ash, and now knows that Mina may have similar affections for the teacher. This raises the questions…Does she tell Honey? Will Honey even care? Does she confront Mina about it? Does Mina even know about what happened between Honey and Ash?**

 **Knuckles has once again realized he made mistake but this time the stakes are higher than they've ever been because now Lara-Su is involved. He's pressed his luck one to many times. Is there even any hope for him left?**

 **And Scourge…. The unresolved memories and feelings toward his mother that he's been suppressing for years have finally come to a boil, leading him to the decision to buy a gun and go face his past….**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Honey's true feelings!**

 **Blaze to the rescue!**

 **An ambulance is called!**

 **A gun on campus!**

 **Nudes leaked!**

 **Mephiles' victory!?**

 **And so much more!**


	77. Chapter 77

**WARNING:** **Gun, mentions of violence, sexual situations, and other sensitive topics.**

* * *

 **Chapter 77: Countdown To Chaos I**

"I can't believe you, you magnificent fuck!" Nack whistled as he leaned back his chair and stared at the hate comments flooding the recent blog post on Sonic. "He's got more dislikes than Jet at this point, and that bloody fuck actually made someone kill himself!"

"It's not over yet." Mephiles remarked, a big grin on his face as he too stared at the screen full of hate comments. "There's still one more thing I have to do before their house of cards crashes down completely."

The two seniors stood by the desk, rereading comments as they conversed on their wicked schemes. Leaning against the door behind them while tuning them out as usual was Shard, who had no interest in their cruel antics. He was solely there for the next fight, and nothing more. A lifestyle he was just too comfortable with, having not known much else, and seeing no better for himself at this point.

"Shard." He heard his name called by the gray-striped boy, instantly causing him to stand upright on instinct. "Go find Bark the Polar Bear and give him a not-so-kind reminder that he still owes me some money."

"Got it." The obedient teen nodded before turning around to open the door.

Just as he did, his eyes widened at the sight of Blaze standing right outside the door. He quickly shut it just before Mephiles could spot her, and was more than quick to scold her about it.

"What the hell are you doing back here?" He questioned in frustration, "He's still waiting for you to come back so he can fuck you up beyond repair. Do you honestly want that for yourself? Are you that stupid-"

"I came for you, Shard." The purple cat replied, locking her hazel eyes with his jade ones.

"Wh-What?" He stammered, mind wandering back to the time she had abruptly kissed him in the janitor's closet, making him turn away with a blush. "What the hell for?"

The cat looked down at her feet, not too sure herself why she had come to see him. Something in her just told her she should. She then picked up her head to look at him once more, sweet sincerity flooding her pretty eyes.

"I wanted to thank you again." She muttered, gripping the bottom of her shirt nervously. "You've saved me three times now."

"I told you its fine." He replied, his rugged nature preventing any sincerity of his own from getting through, but it didn't discourage her.

"Actually…" She spoke up again just as he had begun to walk away, "I thought that maybe we could go for smoothies in the café sometime..."

"Are you kidding? And have Mephiles see us and turn me to stone with those creepy Medusa eyes?" The DigItalian boy scoffed, "Not a chance."

"Then will you at least give me your number?"

"Why?"

"In case…I need it."

He had no idea what she was driving at, completely oblivious to whatever her intentions were, but she had such a hopeful gaze. One that he didn't have the heart to flat-out ignore.

"Fine." He sighed in defeat, holding out his hand for her to place her phone it. He was quick to add his number, then warned her to get away. "Just get the hell out of here before he sees you already. I've got shit to do. See ya."

He then walked off, waving his hand to her as he did so. All she could do was watch his back as he disappeared, a frown on her face as she thought back to the janitor's closet and what he had told her about himself.

How he saw no hope for himself whatsoever.

 _'I know you say you're bad, Shard, but to me…'_ She thought to herself, holding her phone tightly to her chest as a tear escaped her. _'You're a hero…and I want to do for you, what you did for me. I want to give you…hope.'_

* * *

 _'It was earlier this year actually. Mina was mostly busy with her career and junk, so I had a lot of free time._

 _And if it weren't for him, it would have just been lonely time I guess._

 _It started out innocent. The usual me, taking notice at how hot the music teacher was and simply fantasizing about getting my hands all over him._

 _I'd greet him so seductively at the door, but he always kept it professional with a kind greeting like any other._

 _I was intrigued. Teasing him was the best, especially when I was successful enough to get that adorable blushing out of him._

 _Soon I started staying after class for him._

 _No one stays after for music, especially when they aren't a musician. So it was usually just me and him._

 _It was a lot more difficult for him to keep up the professionalism when it was just him and me with all my sexual puns and innuendos._

 _He was a blushing mess most of the time, but remained an absolute gentlemen._

 _Somewhere along the line, staying after class with the music teacher soon felt like hanging around after class with a good friend._

 _He wasn't some old fart who bored me to death with lectures on music history._

 _He was a young gun full of energy who made me laugh and loved to show off his skills on electric guitar._

 _He kept me company on days I felt like I'd die from loneliness, he gave me kind words of wisdom I took to heart, and he even opened up to me about his own troubles._

 _Days passed by and we got closer and closer, something I wasn't used to at all._

 _I was used to just having sex with someone before putting in the effort to get to know them, but he was different._

 _Eventually, things he said began to make me blush! Me of all people!_

 _Things he did began to make my heart flutter, like leaning over my shoulder to point out a passage in a book or pulling out the guitar to serenade me jokingly in an empty classroom._

 _When he accidently let it slip that he had been dating the English teacher since high school I was mortified. I was so upset that I didn't stay after for a whole week!_

 _He obviously noticed and passed me a note during class asking why—which I rudely crumpled up and threw in the trash while making sure he watched._

 _I had grown so attached to him that it became really hard to just keep ignoring him. So I broke down and walked to his classroom after classes had ended for the day._

 _Before I could push the door all the way open, I caught a glimpse of him at his desk. He was so upset and to my surprise he was even drinking._

 _"Umm, Mr. Ash?" I called out, walking over to him with a confused look on my face._

 _He had obviously been drinking for a while before I came. He was pretty drunk."_

 _"Oh, if it isn't my favorite student." He smiled at me, making my heart jump although I know his overly-nice demeanor was mostly the alcohol talking. "Come to keep me company today? I've missed ya'."_

 _"Sure…" I nodded, setting my bag down on the floor before I hopped onto his desk the way I usually did when he sat in his chair, careful not to spill the bottle of liquor. "Is everything okay, Mr. Ash?"_

 _"You can drop the 'Mr.' part when no one's around ya'know. I'm only twenty-four." He chuckled, "And it's nothing much…just problems with the girlfriend."_

 _Ugh, it hurt so much to hear him even call her that! But I put on my best pokerface as I listened to him complain near endlessly about her. How she's always been such a stuck up, unappreciative, bitch with a record of constantly cheating._

 _His tale was so stressing, that even I couldn't help but snatch up the liquor bottle and take a few gulps, giving myself a pretty good buzz in the process._

 _"You shouldn't drink that." He warned, "I might lose my job."_

 _"I won't tell if you won't." I mused playfully, that blush coming back to his face the way I loved. "I'm a big girl."_

 _"Fine then." He agreed, sighing in defeat. "Give yourself a hangover to your own leisure."_

 _We stood there for what felt like a wonderful eternity for me, just talking and laughing about whatever came to our heads._

 _I was so tipsy I ended up leaning over and throwing my arms over his shoulders because I was laughing so hard at something that he said. He held me up, laughing along as I closed the space between us._

 _"You're such a nice girl Honey, and I really appreciate you keeping this lonely old man company all the time while his soon-to-be ex is out screwing half the city." He told me through drunken slurs, "I really wish I had met someone like you when I was in high school. You're gonna make some lucky boy very happy one day."_

 _His words were so sweet, his eyes were so captivating, and his lips were impossible to ignore. Before I knew it I was kissing him and all the feelings I had developed for him were coming together. He didn't push me away or try to stop me. He just sat there and let me take complete control of him, and of course I took complete advantage._

 _Kissing led to touching, and that soon led to us having sex right there on his desk in the music room._

 _Not the most romantic setting, but to me it was amazing._

 _I'm seventeen, the age of consent, and he wasn't that much older than me anyway. He planned on leaving Ms. Breezie for good, and I was completely in love with him. It didn't seem wrong at all, not to me._

 _But once he was sobered up, he made it clear that he didn't feel the same._

 _"What happened between us the other day was wrong, Honey, and I'm so sorry I took advantage of you." He apologized, confusing me._

 _"You didn't…" I assured him. "You were kind and gentle. I wanted it…"_

 _"It was wrong. I'm your teacher." He shook his head._

 _It soon became pretty damn clear to me that he didn't return my feelings. He was only drunk, and acting on impulse. My eyes became brimmed with tears at the realization, and he seemed to have noticed and pieced it together._

 _"Chaos, I'm such a piece of shit." He cursed himself, placing both hands gently on my shoulders as he gave me such a sincere look. "I'm so sorry if I led you to believe something was between us. I didn't mean to… I've been with Breezie since we were sixteen… I was just angry and wanted to get back at her I guess… I didn't mean to use you. I'm so sorry."_

 _I simply nodded in understanding, my heart actually breaking for the first time in my life._

 _He then rested his hand kindly to my cheek, raising my face so that I'd be able to look into those ocean-blue eyes again._

 _"Maybe…if the circumstances weren't so complicated…" He admitted before pulling away and leaving me all by myself in his classroom._

 _After that, I swore to never let my feelings get the better of me again…_

 _Just fuck people, and leave them. Don't make it any more or less than that._

 _I wanted to be free as a bird always, because the one person I wanted to keep me forever could never do that…_

 _Sometime shortly after that, I managed to snag Shadow…_

 _If I had to be honest with myself, I never really could fall in love again even if I tried…_

 _Because I still love Ash…_

 _And I'm secretly praying for the day we get another chance…'_

"Honey?" Sonia spoke up, getting the cat's attention as she looked up from the empty tray of food sitting in front of her.

"Yeah?"

"Are you alright?" The magenta girl asked worriedly, "You've been staring at your tray for a while."

"Oh, right." The yellow cat laughed off the awkwardness. "I was just thinking that I haven't gotten laid in a while." She added, making the hedgehog blush with such a bold statement.

"Oh…"

"Yeah, silly perverted me, right?" She remarked, erasing all the thoughts she had just been thinking from memory. "Jeez, where hell is Mina? She was supposed to meet us here twenty minutes ago! We should go check the music room."

"What?! Why?" Sonia's heart nearly leapt from her chest, making it difficult to hide the nervousness in her voice.

"Because she's usually there practicing lately." Honey shrugged, raising an eyebrow to her friend's jittering. "What's with the worried tone?"

"Oh…uh, nothing." The magenta girl lied, "I…I'm just scared we might run into…Elias…"

"Don't worry." The cat waved in dismissal, "He's been keeping a low profile himself these days from what I hear. Anyways, let's go! I've gotta give that mongoose a piece of my mind for her constant tardiness. She better have a damn good explanation for blowing me off all the damn time."

* * *

"What the hell is your damage lately?" Fiona scolded the green hedgehog after marching into his room only to find him with his back turned as he shuffled through a bag sitting on his dresser.

"Just leave me alone, Fiona." He replied, a bit of a pleading tone to his shaky voice. "I haven't been myself lately, okay? I just have something I need to do…"

"What?" The vixen questioned, confused by the tone of his voice. Still, she kept up the attitude, and even marched over to rest a cold hand on his shoulder, triggering that panicked feeling from him again. "I don't get it. What the fuck is wrong with you—"

"Don't touch me!" The green hedgehog yelped, swatting her away with one hand.

She took a few steps back, glaring angrily at him as he turned his head toward her. His face was damn near expressionless as usual, not even wearing that smug grin he was wildly known for.

He had been keeping her in the dark, and treating her with such hostility these last few days. She didn't like it, her sole reason for coming back to him being for the emotional stability he brought her through intimacy and physical contact.

"Scourge—" She began in that shrill voice that had recently been driving him up the wall, but was cut off when her boyfriend pulled out a black handgun from the bag and pointed in right between her eyes at point blank range.

She clammed shut, eyes widening in horror at the sight of the cold piece of metal. The vixen did her best not to panic as she raised both hands innocently in the air, heart racing as she saw nothing but pure coldness in his ice-blue eyes.

"I said leave me alone." He repeated, finger applying a bit of pressure to the trigger.

She gulped, nodding in understanding as she took gentle steps backward and toward the door very carefully. Panic and fear for her life swirled within the pit of her stomach as she reached for the knob, wondering where the hell he got a gun from, and worse…what he planned to do with it.

Once out of the room and thus his sight, she ran frantically down the halls of the boy's dorm, shoving a few people out of her way until she accidentally tripped and landed straight into someone's arms. She heaved with fright, tears unconsciously spilling down her cheeks as she did her best to catch her breath.

"Hey, Fiona?" The person who had caught her called out, making her lift her head to face him.

Her eyes widened as fear took hold of her again. It was innocent Manic, but she had mistook him for her violent boyfriend and became overwhelmed with fear. So much of it that she passed out from shock. She went limp in his arms, startling him and the black hedgehog standing beside him.

* * *

Once again Jet sat in that uncomfortable seat in Dr. Tikal's office. He stared down at his feet as he gripped his jeans tightly in an effort to compose himself. He had been seeing the counselor twice a day for a couple days, but this was certainly the most emotionally draining session they've had yet.

Today the echidna woman wanted him to delve back into that dark past he had been trying to forget. The abuse he suffered at the hands of his own mother, his father's abandonment, and his older brother's suicide.

It was difficult, but he managed to recount everything to the echidna woman before breaking down completely.

Dr. Tikal was mortified to hear such a heartbreaking tale. She couldn't help but cover her mouth and let her eyes widen as she imaged such horrors.

Guilt pooled in her heart as she thought of how she had nearly given up her job just refusing to see him, assuming him to be another ignorant homophobe hating without reason…

"With a troubling past like that…it's no wonder you think the way you do—"

"That's the way I **USED** to think…because my mom…and partly because of my dad…" The hawk interjected defensively, his tone trailing off into sorrow as he thought about his parents. "I didn't know any better…but nothing excuses what I did, and I know that now."

The first few times he came into her office she eyed him with such skepticism, finding it hard to believe people like him could change or even feel guilt, but over time he had opened up and shown a more redeeming side of him.

The green hawk lifted his hand to cup the necklace of Chaos he had become accustom to always wearing, his baby-blues falling to the floor once more as he thought of his situation and what everyone thought of him now.

"I understand why they all hate me..." He stated in such a sincere tone. "I just wish that someday the LGBT students could forgive me…"

"Maybe they will once you've shown them the better side of yourself." Tikal said, instilling hope into the young teen's weary heart.

He nodded in understanding, a weak smile crossing his face as he stood up from his seat to bid her farewell.

"Thanks again for seeing me as often as you do Dr. Tikal. I know no one around here is really accepting of my presence, so I very much appreciate any kind of support I get." He thanked her, "My friends are waiting for me outside."

* * *

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 ** _Rouge:_** _Please, it's a fashion emergency! Go back to our dorm and get my purse! I need my eyeliner!_

 ** _Julie-Su:_** _Why me? Text Sonia. She's always in the room._

 ** _Rouge:_** _You know she and I hate each other._

 ** _Julie-Su:_** _You and I aren't exactly gal pals either._

 ** _Rouge:_** _True, but we're certainly on much better terms than me and Little Ms. Perfect._

 ** _Rouge:_** _Just do me this one tiny favor Julie-Su._

 ** _Julie-Su:_** _Fine. I'll meet up with you in the library in a few._

 ** _Rouge:_** _Thank you._

The bat sighed heavily as she shut off the screen to her phone and shoved it into the black purse she had sent Julie-Su on a hopeless search for back at their dorm room.

She sat in the café with topaz eyes dropped to her lap as she did everything in her power to do away with that ill feeling of jealousy and sorrow in her heart about setting up the two echidnas although she knew it was for the greater good.

She was only able to stop thinking about how heartbroken she was when a hand fell upon her shoulder and she turned to see her green hedgehog companion flashing her that adorable goofy smile of his.

"You did a good thing." He assured her.

"Fucking up my nails digging through dirt and bushes to find that stupid necklace doesn't sound like a good thing to me." She smirked, lifting up her hand to reveal three of her acrylic nails were gone.

"I meant helping him despite your own feelings." The shaggy-quilled hedgehog chuckled, "You've really changed since the first time we met."

"I'm not the only one."

"Eh?" He rose an eyebrow, "Are you talking about how loner Shadow's suddenly got a girlfriend streak going on?"

"No, Goof. I'm talking about you." Rouge shook her head, pointing her finger to his chest as she tilted her head and eyed him skeptically. "I'm not sure what, but something's changed about you too. You certainly aren't the same lazy boy with no regard for anything around him that I first met."

"Well…I guess we're growing up?" Manic nervously replied, averting his gaze from her analyzing eyes as he stood up from the table. "Speaking of Shadow, we should probably get back to my dorm to check on them."

"Them? You mean, him and Rosy?"

"Kinda." He shrugged, helping her up before they began the walk to the exit. "Ya'see, earlier today in the dorm we bumped into Fiona having one of the craziest panic attacks I've ever seen."

"Fiona?" Rouge repeated, "What the hell was wrong with her?"

"Dunno. She just passed out in my arms before she could say anything. We didn't know what to do, so we lugged her back to our room and called Rosy since they were friends or whatever. She must've woken up and said something by now."

"Hmm…. I wonder what had her so shaken."

As the two made their way out of the main building to cross over to the boy's dorm they couldn't help but take notice of the loud engine roaring across the grassy plains in the parking lot.

They both turned their heads to see a black Hummer violently pulling out of its spot and burning rubber as it made a turn for the single dirt road leading into Metropolis.

Manic was quick to recognize the vehicle, having recounted so many times it served as his hangout spot back in the day.

"That was Scourge…" He mumbled aloud as they watched the car speed away.

* * *

 _'Something doesn't feel right about this….'_ Julie-Su thought to herself as she walked down to her room at the end of the hall, "Rouge doesn't text me for anything…and she never goes anywhere without her purse.'

The pink echidna had an eerie feeling something was amiss as she reached for the knob to her dorm room. For a moment she stood there in the hall, debating on whether or not she should open it.

 _'C'mon Julie, you're just being paranoid.'_ She scolded herself, pushing the door open before another skeptical thought could cloud her mind.

She walked in and turned on the light. She figured Sonia would be curled in her bed or Cream would be rummaging around trying to ready herself with no knowledge that the lights were off again, but to her surprise neither girl was there…but someone was.

"Knuckles?!" She yelped in fright once her violet eyes caught sight of him sitting on the edge of her bed, "How the hell did you get in here?!"

"Rouge gave the key." He explained, getting up from his position on the bed to walk over to her.

She shook her head, cursing herself for not trusting her own instincts as she cautiously backed away from him.

"Julie, I just want to talk—" He pleaded, only to be cut off by her voice while simultaneously being shoved away.

"Well, I don't." She refused, "Now leave."

"I'm sorry!" He wailed, "Please, just listen. It was all Thrash's fault! The phone call, Shade, all of it! He set me up!"

"So what?!" The echidna girl retorted angrily, "You still fell for it!"

"I…I didn't mean to."

"I don't care." Julie-Su shook her head once more, turning around to make a dash for the door.

Unfortunately for her he was faster, grabbing her wrist to cease her exit. She tried to wrench herself free, but his hold overpowered hers. All she could do now was turn around and face him once more, this time being met with his teary violet eyes.

"Believe me when I say you're the last person I ever wanted to mess up with…"

"I believe you." She nodded, "But you did mess up, and there's no fixing it this time. I told you I didn't want to play this game…"

"When he called and told me you were planning to take Lara-Su to see him behind my back it just got me so mad. I'm a dummy! You know I can't think right when I'm mad. I felt like you didn't trust me enough to tell me anything. I was paranoid, and it made me do something stupid!" He admitted, surprising her at how willing he was to take blame. Something he wasn't used to doing very much.

"It wasn't like that." Julie-Su mumbled, her own eyes tearing up at the melancholy atmosphere. "He threatened me. I didn't want to worry you, but on the drive there I changed my mind. I was gonna come home and tell you…but you were gone."

The two echidnas just stood there by the door as they took in one another's explanation, both of them feeling a bit guilty for not communicating their feelings well enough for the other to feel at ease.

After some time of just awkwardly standing there in silence, Knuckles reached into his pocket and pulled out the little note Lara-Su had sent him through his little brother and handed it off to her. Tears immediately began falling from her eyes as she undid the folds and read over the sad note her daughter had written in crayon, not having known at all that her daughter felt so affected by the situation.

"Please, Julie-Su…" Knuckles' voice called out, coaxing her to lift her head to see he had the green emerald necklace in the palm of his hand. "Take one last chance on me…"

She looked between the little note in her hands and the dirty looking emerald in his palm, debating and thinking about what his mother had told her just a few days ago.

To hold on, or to just let go…

He looked down at the pink girl with the most hopeful expression he's ever made, with his heart racing faster than the speed of sound as her lips began to part.

However, no words escaped her, and soon his hopeful expression turned into one of complete horror as blood began to drip from her nose and her eyes rolled to the back of her head.

"Julie-Su?! **JULIE!** " He screamed in terror as the echidna girl fell limp into his arms. " **SOMEONE HELP!** "

* * *

Due to yesterday's intense and unorthodox English assignment, most of Ms. Breezie's fourth class thought it best if they skipped for the day. Mainly in fear of what the teal teacher might make them do next or what she might do with those revealing assignments from last class.

Although Sally was one of the few students who didn't partake in the cruel assignment, she found herself unwilling to attend the class due to the more troubling matters arising for her and her boyfriend.

She had seen the blog post and heard the rumors spreading around like wild fire among the student body, and knew very well that the negative attention must be torturing the blue hedgehog's mind.

That's why she set out on a search for him, worried after several ignored calls and texts.

After searching all over campus and enduring those crude remarks and stares, she figured the hedgehog would get the same idea as her, and quickly turned heel toward the forest area lining the campus grounds.

She darted into the woods without a care, relieved to put some much needed distance between herself and the school as she sprinted down that familiar path.

Eventually she broke through the forest and stumbled out to the grassy plains on the other side where the couple's secret lake was located.

It didn't surprise her much that he was there, standing in front of the shimmering body of water with such a sorrowful expression.

"We haven't come here in a long while, have we?" She remarked, walking up to his side.

His gaze remained on the lake, not breaking to even spare a glance her way.

"I just wanted to get away from the bullshit." He mumbled.

"The blog post…"

Upon hearing those words he finally turned to look at her, irritation clear in his tone as he addressed her.

"You can't honestly believe any of that shit to be true."

"Of course not." The chipmunk assured him with a shake of her head, "But…the rest of the Freedom Fighters are a bit skeptical…"

The blue teen just let a sigh of angry frustration escape him before he kneeled down to scoop up a random rock to chuck at the lake, creating a rippling effect in its beautiful waters. Her heart broke at this sight, not a fan at all of that gloomy aura around him.

"Great. Just when I was starting to make everything right, being true to myself, and not worrying about being popular something has to go wrong!" He spouted off, kneeling down to pick up another rock to hurl. "Now everyone hates me more than ever again…and Amy too…"

"You aren't the only one…" Sally mumbled, kneeling down to pick up a rock to throw at the lake herself. "That post made me look pretty bad too, and she kinda told me to kill myself yesterday."

"Well, you're used to this kind of thing. I'm not. It's hard for someone like me to deal with this shit, especially when everyone used to treat me like a king around here."

"I understand." She assured him, grabbing his hand before he could chuck yet another rock. She held tightly, coaxing his eyes to wander to her own. "It must not be easy going from hero to zero just because of a stupid blog post, but I am here for you Sonic…"

His heart began to ease up at the sight of her sapphire eyes, even behind those stupid glasses he loathed so much. Her sincerity was always so genuine, and her virtuous nature was always so reassuring in times of stress like this.

She wasn't worried at all that everyone was calling her a slut thanks to a rumor. All she cared about was comforting him, and it surely showed.

He squeezed her hand back and offered her a weak smile, easing her worries just a bit.

"I love the way stupid stuff like this just rolls off your shoulders. Do you ever get mad at anything other than me?" He questioned playfully before leaning down to meet her in a gentle kiss.

"That's a good question." She giggled once they pulled apart, "If you let everything everyone says about you get to you, then you'll never be happy."

"I guess that makes sense…" Sonic nodded, rubbing the back of his head as his mind wandered back to all the hurtful things people had been accusing him of. He then turned back out toward the lake, admiring the peaceful scenery that always put him at ease. "If you don't mind, Sal, I'd like to have some time to myself. Just to get my mind together."

"If that's what you need." She nodded in understanding, turning back toward the area of the forest she had come from. "Text me when you get back to campus, okay? I worry about you."

"I will."

"Promise?"

"Yes, yes, yes." He chuckled, waving her off. "Just get outta here, you pest."

"Brat." She playfully pouted.

They both shared one final laugh after the typical banter before the chipmunk finally disappeared into the woods, leaving him alone with just his weary thoughts again.

Or so he thought…

Minutes after her footsteps had long faded, the rustling of leaves and snapping of twigs made his ears twitch, and he quickly turned around to see another figure emerging from the woods.

Sonic's eyes widened with shock, surprised to see anyone other than Sally in their secret sanctuary.

"Hello, Sonic the Hedgehog." The male teen who had emerged from the tree-filled area spoke in such a cold and cynical tone.

"Who the heck are you?"

"Just a helpful spectator, that's all."

His quills began to stand up as a random chill coated his body. The other teen was an older hedgehog with gray-stripes and creepy dark-green eyes.

"How do you know about this place?"

"I followed her." He motioned with his head out toward the area Sally had disappeared too, "She seemed too distracted to be discreet, and I was curious. It's a beautiful place, really. Didn't expect to see you here though, but it figures why you are all the way out here. That post was awfully cruel."

"…." Sonic could only bow his head in shame, the disheartened feeling of his sanctuary no longer being a place of escape thanks to this trespasser who was sure to tell others about it.

"I'd certainly be all the way out here if everyone on campus hated me as much as they hate you right now."

"I don't care if everyone hates me." Sonic shook his head, "I'd just rather be alone than hear their whining over bullshit that isn't true."

"Liar." The older teen stated bluntly, making the blue hedgehog's eyes widen. "You can't stand being hated, or this quiet and downplayed role you've been reduced to since that chipmunk came into your little world."

"That's not true."

"You miss being Mr. Popular, having tons of friends and adoring fans everywhere you went. It's just who you are, but she's seemed to make you forget that."

"You're wrong. I'm happy with her, even if that means I've gotta be a…loser." Sonic responded, talking more so to himself now than the stranger in front of him. "She's helped me stay true to myself."

"She's tricked you into repressing yourself." The gray-striped boy scoffed, crossing his arms as a wicked grin crossed his face. "You're not staying true to anything about you. Instead of being everyone's show pony, you're her own personal marionette."

"Just what the hell do you know about anything? I don't even know you."

"But I know you." He replied matter-of-factly, "The real you wouldn't be playing house with some losers while everyone talked shit to you…or let some goofy looking armadillo steal your number one fangirl."

An image of Amy and Mighty together suddenly flashed in Sonic's mind, bringing up that twisting pain in the pit of his stomach all of sudden. The other boy seemed to have noticed, and his grin only grew wider at the reaction.

"I…"

"It's not wrong for you to want to be the popular boy by any means. Everyone wants to be king after all…."

"I… I really don't like how things are right now." The blue hedgehog finally admitted, "What a loser I've become… So much that not even Amy looks at me anymore…"

"If you don't like it… Do something about it."

"What could I do? I chose this because I thought Sally would make me a better person… And with that stupid post, no one'll ever look at me the way they used to again."

"There is one thing you could do." The older teen sang, making the hedgehog raise his head with hopeful jade eyes.

"What? What could possibly get everyone on my side again?!"

"Jet might be a loser same as you now, but when he made that bet with you…he had some pretty popular connections that were looking forward to it, and willing to push him up the social latter for it."

"The…bet?" Sonic repeated, searching in his memory bank for the exact bet made between him and the hawk so long ago.

"That's right." The dark hedgehog nodded, "If you record yourself having sex with that girlfriend of yours like you said you would, I could have Nack boost you right back to where you were….as king of this school."

* * *

 **4 NEW MESSAGES**

 ** _Mighty:_** _Amy, are you okay?_

 ** _Mighty:_** _I haven't heard from you in a while._

 ** _Mighty:_** _Please answer…_

 ** _Mighty:_** _I'm worried about you._

The pink hedgehog hadn't left her room since yesterday evening. She stood in her pink pajamas, sobbing into her pillow with her blanket over her head. Her phone buzzed violently on the dresser beside her bed, but she couldn't find the motivation to do anything other than curl up and cry.

She was just getting over the blue hedgehog, and days were getting so much brighter for her, but that blog post had brought up old insecurities and memories she'd rather have forgotten. On top of that, now everyone's attention would be back on her and unconsciously reopening old wounds with their constant condolences and bringing up of the past.

The post said he had been using her for popularity, and sleeping around with the chipmunk the entire duration of their relationship.

Apart of her didn't want to believe he'd be so cruel, but the majority of her wouldn't put it past the redhead who had indirectly ruined her love life more than once.

The pink girl's teeth clenched together tightly as she balled her fists and heaved with rage at the thought of the girl named Sally Acorn.

 _'I hate her, I hate her, I hate her.'_ She thought to herself as image after image of the chipmunk sprang in her head, _'She's always getting in my way. When it came to Sonic, Scourge, and now this stupid drama might drive even Mighty away from me…'_

Within her thinking about the chipmunk, she recalled something extremely important, and sat up in her bed. She pulled the blanket off of her, wincing at the sunlight coming through the window by her bed as she reached over and snagged her phone off the dresser.

She reluctantly discarded all of Mighty's texts before going to a locked file in her photo gallery labeled _'Undercover Slut'_. After putting in the passcode, the file opened up an entire roll of nude photographs.

The one's of the redheaded chipmunk she had stolen from Scourge's phone.

Hate and anger were her motive as she selected all the photos and attached them to a post of her own on Nack's infamous blog anonymously.

 **IMAGES SENT**

Then the door behind her opened.

She shut down the screen to her phone and shoved it under her pillow before turning around to see it was Blaze. She wore such a worried expression as she came up to the hedgehog and spoke to her for the first time in a long time although they've always roomed together.

"I came to check on you…" The cat explained, taking a seat beside her. "I've heard about what's been going on with you and Sonic…"

"So you've seen the stupid post?" Amy mumbled, turning away in shame.

But the cat was quick to maneuver the pink girl's head by the chin to have their gazes meet once more.

"Yes I have." She nodded, "And I know you know none of it is true in the slightest."

"I…I don't know."

"I know you two have grown a bit apart these days, but you know Sonic better than anyone ever could." She reminded the sad girl, "Nack is just trying to stir the pot. Believe me, he's like that. Despite how things may seem now, Sonic cares a lot about you, Amy."

"It just hurts to think that all of that could possibly have been just a big joke, ya'know? Especially because I really did love him, and it makes me more mad to think about her." Amy growled, "That stupid girl has been nothing but an obstacle in the way of every good thing I try to do for myself this year."

"I understand that you're hurt and angry, but you can't let this get to you." The purple cat told her wisely, "All Nack and Mephiles want is a reaction. If you give that to them, then they win."

Amy looked down at her phone in her hands, letting the cat's words sink in before she finally turned to her and pulled her into a hug.

Blaze was surprised at the sudden action, but more than happy to exchange the hug. Then she began to hear light sobs coming from the pink girl.

"Amy?"

"I'm so happy that you're back Blaze… I'm going to need you more than ever…" She muttered between heavy sobs, "Because I just lit the internet on fire…"

* * *

" **NOOO!** " Fiona screamed at the top of her lungs as she began to flail around kicking her feet violently.

"Whoa, calm the hell down!" Shadow commanded, getting up from the chair beside Manic's bed to restrain the vixen.

She had finally come to, and unfortunately for Shadow his companion was still out doing something with Rouge and Rosy hadn't arrived yet.

"Let me go! Let me go!" She wailed, chest heaving with panic as she tried to wrench herself from his hold.

"I said calm down!" He ordered, finding it difficult to console her while she was swinging at his face.

Shortly after, Rosy had thankfully arrived in the room. She threw her bag down by the door and made her way over to the two where she helped Shadow hold Fiona down until she stopped resisting.

"What the hell did you guys do to her?!" Rosy snapped at her boyfriend.

"Nothing!" Shadow retorted defensively, "We found her freaking out about something in the hall before she passed out. We didn't know if she was tweaking out on drugs so we brought her here instead of the nurse. That's why we called you."

The two hedgehogs ceased their arguing to look down at the red fox who was still petrified.

"Fiona?" Rosy called out very calmly to the vixen, careful not to frighten her any more than she already was.

Her eyes weren't dilated, signifying them that she wasn't tripping on any substances, but something certainly did have her in a panic. The pink hedgehog reached over and cradled her cheek in a comforting manner, somewhat calming the girl with her touch.

"What's got you so scared, Fi?"

"S-S-Scourge…." Fiona finally spoke, tensing up at the mere mention of his name and the memory of that gun pointed at her face.

"Scourge?" Shadow repeated, looking over to his girlfriend.

"What about him?" Rosy questioned further, "Did he hit you? Rape you?"

"He…He…" She trembled once more, clinging to Rosy's arm and unknowingly making her wrist cuts sting beneath her arm-warmer. "He had a gun."

" **WHAT?!** " Shadow and Rosy blurted out.

Just then, Manic and Rouge had finally made it to the room. They looked at the other three in confusion, taking note of the mortified looks on both hedgehogs.

"What's going on?" Rouge questioned, eyeing her ebony friend curiously.

"She said Scourge has a gun." Shadow informed them, his crimson eyes quickly falling over to the shocked hedgehog beside the bat.

"What?!" The bat gasped, "Where the hell would he get something like that?!"

" **WHO THE HELL CARES!** What's more important is what the fuck he plans to do with it!" Rosy snapped, leaving Fiona's side to stand with Shadow, Rouge, and Manic. "We have to tell Principal Acorn and have her put us on lockdown."

"There's no point." Rouge shook her head, "We just saw him take off like a madman in his car."

"Still, we've gotta tell the principal so she can call the police—"

"No." Manic cut the pink girl off, making all three of them turn to stare at him.

"Are you fucking stupid?" Rosy snarled, "You don't know him like I do. He's a fucking lunatic who doesn't care about anyone but himself. He'll **REALLY** kill someone if we don't do something."

"We're not telling anyone anything." Manic shook his head, walking past her to go sit by Fiona.

"Look, this is serious. Whatever gay thing you have for him doesn't negate the fact that he's fucking insane."

"She's right, Manic." Shadow told the green hedgehog, who simply brushed them off.

"As far as we know, she could be lying." Manic shrugged.

" **I'M NOT LYING!** " Fiona shrieked, the terror in her eyes only making her claims more believable. "He's been so weird…ever since he ran into that purple hedgehog lady at the wedding a few days ago. Then today he got a gun from I don't know where."

"Purple hedgehog lady?" Manic questioned, mind scrambling in search of someone who fit that description.

"He's been so paranoid and won't let me touch him." The vixen added, "He nearly beat the shit out of me for turning on the little radio on my dresser last night."

"A radio…" Manic repeated once more as the gears in his mind began to turn.

Then suddenly a montage of clues flooded his mind. His eyes widened with both horror and realization as he stood up from the chair with mouth agape.

An image of Scourge talking to him about his parents, how his mother had brutalized him and abandoned him in an apartment to die.

An image of them back at that very apartment they broke into, standing in the kitchen as Scourge explained to him why he couldn't bear to turn off the little radio on the counter.

Then it finally came, the image of the framed picture they had found within his father's locked office.

The wedding photo of their father Jules…and their mother…Aleena.

The purple hedgehog lady….

"Mom!" Manic gasped lowly enough for none of the room occupants to hear him.

Without a second to spare, he dashed out of the room and down the hall.

"Don't tell anyone anything!" He ordered them as he ran out, "I know where he's going."

* * *

It had been a little over an hour since he left campus grounds, but that didn't at all stifle his panicked breathing or the rapid thoughts of his mind.

He gripped the steering wheel tightly, his foot a little too heavy on the gas pedal as his car flew down the highway beyond the speed limit.

Sitting beside him in the passenger seat was the gun he had got from Geoffrey.

And as his car made it further and further down the road, a sign overhead became more clear.

 _30Mins To Mobotropolis_

* * *

 **Okay, we are heading into dark terrain now! Well...darker than it has been. I think it's been long enough since our last major character death, haven't you?**

 **You'll have to forgive the awful upload schedule—if anyone is still reading this honestly. I had run out of pre-written chapters and had little access to the internet, but I've written a fresh batch just waiting to be released! I'm going to finish this story no matter what!**

 **Let's talk characters now…**

 **You can tell the story is nearing it's end because some of our oldest and most obscure plot points are circling back around! That bet between Sonic and Jet… Manic's subtle hints at Mina's abortion, and the dreaded climax of Scourge confronting his mother about his childhood trauma! Can your hearts even take it anymore?! Well I hope so…because what I have in store for this last arc might leave you breathless.**

 **Julie-Su… She's gotten a fair amount of screentime since her debut, and despite having so many secrets unraveled there's still so much untold about her. And with how ill she's been…will there even be a chance to even tell the rest of her story?! What do you think is wrong with Julie-Su?**

 **Throughout the story, Scourge has always been edgy and careless, unfazed by nearly everything, but a chance encounter with his mother at his principal's wedding has his entire personality turned on it's head. Seeing her has triggered him in a way where he can't function and it's driving him insane. Insane enough to buy a gun and do something crazy even…What'll happen when Scourge comes face-to-face with the woman who threw him away? Will Manic get there to save her in time? Or will…Manic be the one who needs saving?!**

 **Honey was an obscure character who's become quite major lately. At the beginning, all we knew about her was that she enjoyed a promiscuous lifestyle and loathed the idea of dating for real…and now we know why. It's her own personal coping mechanism for heartache, something a few teenagers go through. She wants someone she can't have, thus leading her to feel as though she can't allow anyone to hve her….because she still wants that person, Ash Mongoose…who is currently the object of her best friend Mina's affections.**

 **Speaking of Ash Mongoose. To clarify, he's not the typical 'creepy pervert taking advantage of his students.' He's actually a genuinely kind person with good intentions and a charming personality these young girls just can't get enough of. Although not much older than Honey or Mina—who are of legal consenting age—the taboos of a teacher-student relationship are about the only thing flawing any romances here.**

 **How will this messy taboo love-triangle pan out? I still haven't really decided that lol.**

 **Lastly, Oh Amy! You did not just leak Sally's nudes…**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Mina decides to confess her feelings to Ash at the worst possible moment!**

 **The nudes Amy leaked go viral around campus**

 **Mighty vs. Knuckles?!**

 **Blaze tries to reach out to Shard**

 **Something amazing happens to Cream**

 **Lara-Su's wish comes true**

 **Scourge confronts Aleena…but can Manic make it to them in time to stop what he has planned?**

 **Thanks to Mephiles, the bond between Sonic and Sally is completely shattered!**

 **Major family reveal!**

 **And So Much More! (It's kind of a long chapter)**


	78. Chapter 78

**SIDE NOTE: This chapter and last chapter take place all in one day!**

 **WARNING:** **Gun violence, leaked nudes, bullying, sexual harassment, brief mentions of child abuse and abortion.**

* * *

 **Chapter 78: Countdown To Chaos II**

After leaving Sonic behind at the lake to think to himself as requested, Sally found her way back to campus, returning to her room a tired mess. She had been running around all day, evident by the fresh scrapes on the heels of her feet thanks to the not-so-fitting shoes.

She wasted no time in kicking them off and walking right over to her side of the room. The chipmunk inhaled deeply before belly-flopping on to the twin-sized bed with a relieved sigh.

It was barely four o'clock in the afternoon and she was beyond tired.

"Thank Chaos my classes are over for the day." Sally muttered allowed to herself as she shifted into a more comfortable position, finding the heaviness of her eyelids too much to bear. "I guess a nap wouldn't hurt too much…"

It didn't take very long for her to fall into a sleep so deep she didn't even hear the cellphone she had placed on her dresser vibrate so violently with a barrage of messages that it fell to the floor and completely shattered.

 **94 NEW MESSAGES**

 ** _Unknown Number:_** _ **IMAGE SENT**_

 ** _Unknown Number:_** _I totally knew you were a whore!_

 ** _Unknown Number:_** _WHORE! Now it makes sense why you pick on innocent girls like Amy and Mina. You're jealous that you're used goods._

 ** _Nicole:_** _Sally where are you?!_

 ** _Unknown Number:_** _Nice tits. Can't wait to catch you walking around alone._

 ** _Unknown Number:_** _All that ass you're hiding in them ugly sweatpants!_

 ** _Elias:_** _Where the hell are you?!_

 ** _Antoine:_** _I swear on my life I did not look at the pictures. Bunnie is angry and I don't know if I can hold her back in strangling that weasel. Please return my text as soon as you can._

 ** _Unknown Number: IMAGE SENT._** _Dirty ass bitch._

* * *

Mina Mongoose had finally had enough.

Enough of the admiring, the pining, and bashful flirting.

It was time to act, and now that she was comfortable enough with herself again, she finally felt ready.

Ready to tell her music teacher, the man who had carried her out of the darkness and reignited her burning passion for music how she truly felt about him.

How she had truly fallen in love with him.

 _'Here we go…'_ The lavender-haired girl thought to herself as she took a deep breath, resting her hand firmly on the door to the music room where she was sure he'd be.

Although her hand was flat against the door, she couldn't find the strength to push it open. A deep blush coated her cheeks as her eyes widened, and her legs began to wobble.

 _'Seriously Mina?'_ She scolded herself internally, teeth grinding together as sweat began to bead on her forehead. _'You've performed on stage hundreds of times! Even at the ball drop in Soleanna_ _ **!—MOBIUS' MOST TELEVISED EVENT OF THE FREAKIN' YEAR!**_ _You can't possibly get stage fright over something so trivial…Get it together and open the freakin' door already.'_

After a brief mental battle with herself, she steeled her nerves well enough to push the door open. Her jade eyes sparkled like true gems when she saw him, but her admiring gaze quickly turned into a puzzled look once she saw what he was up to.

She strolled over to him carefully, watching as he opened drawers to his desk, took out various items, and put them into a cardboard box.

His ocean-blue eyes were so full of gloom behind his wire-framed glasses, and he moved so sluggishly.

It broke her heart to see him look so sad, so unlike the happy-go-lucky man she's come to know. Her gaze then wandered to the items the box, taking notice of how there were several bottles of alcohol in it.

"I…didn't know you drank…" Mina murmured allowed, finally making her presence known to him.

He merely spared a brief glance her way before returning to the task of emptying his desk out.

"Only when I'm incredibly stressed." He replied in such a melancholy tone.

"Why so stressed?"

"Because…" The older mongoose had finally ceased packing away his things to turn to her completely, eyes shockingly glossed over in what were seconds away from becoming fully-formed tears. "Everything is my fault."

"What do you mean?" Mina questioned, tilting her head in confusion.

"Everything… Your failing English grades, all of your unjustified detentions, and Breezie's stupid assignments! I…I'm ruining your life-"

"That's not true at all!" She cut him off defensively, clasping her hands together as she took a few steps closer to him. "You **SAVED** me from the darkest place I've ever been in my entire life! You made me feel so happy during a time where I wished I was dead! You gave me my life back, my voice, everything I thought I'd never get back…"

His eyes widened with realization, having not known at all the extent of his kind gestures, and how much of an impact he had on her. The bold statement was almost enough to make him smile…then he thought of his crude ex, and her cruel intentions.

"Breezie…She knows about your abortion. I don't know how, but she's threatening to reveal it." Ash explained, dropping his gaze to the floor as he cursed himself for putting the poor teen in such a horrible positon. "I can't let that happen. That's why I'm quitting my job here. I refuse to be the reason your career is tarnished. I'm sorry, Mina—"

" **I DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT ANYMORE!** " She screamed, jolting forward to take hold of his shirt collar and pull him down to her eye-level. "I just want you… I love you." Then she dramatically closed the space between their lips, capturing him in a surprise kiss.

They stood in that kiss very briefly, because they both felt the presence of someone else in the room. Once they pulled apart and turned toward the door, they were greeted by the sight of a horrified Sonia…and a stunned Honey.

* * *

After a whole day of ignoring his messages, Mighty grew quite worried for his newest friend and crush, Amy Rose. That's why he had set out to the girl's dorm after his final class, intent on finding her in person to make sure she was alright.

He knew she was the kind of person to dwell on things like Nack's post, or anything having to do with her ex-boyfriend in general.

He shyly maneuvered his way down the halls, dodging girls filing in and out of their rooms as he thought of the pink girl he was going to check up on.

 _'I hope she's not too broken up about this…'_ He thought to himself, _'It took forever to get her smiling again… If Nack ruined that, I might have to put my morals aside and beat him up. Maybe Sonic too. Hmm…Maybe she'd like that.'_

The red-shelled armadillo finally found himself standing in front of the door he believed to be hers. He stared blankly at it as he thought about what he could possibly say to her. Then he rose his fist to tap on the door…

 **INCOMING CALL**

But before he could do so, his phone rang.

He reeled back his fist to shove in his pocket, fishing out his cellphone. He brought it to his face, surprised to see a picture of him and Knuckles from their preteen years lighting up on screen.

 _"Hello?"_ He greeted, hearing nothing but panicked breaths on the other line. _"Uh, Knux? Did you pocket dial me by mistake—"_

 _"_ _ **JULIE!**_ _"_ The red echidna screeched on the line, making the armadillo wince in pain.

 _"What? Dude, calm down. I can't understand what you're saying! Speak slower!"_

 _"Ju-Julie…She was bleeding, and fainted."_ Knuckles explained the best he could, obviously in shock mode. _"I-I-I don't know what happened! One second we were talking and the next she was…she was…"_

 _"Where the hell are you?!"_

 _"Nurse Bernadette said she had to call an ambulance. It-It was something beyond her medical training or something. I'm in my car ready to go. They're taking her to Metropolis Hospital since it's the closest to the school, but I don't think I can drive like this. I'm fucking shaking."_

 _"Just take it easy."_ Mighty told him, panicked thoughts of his own stirring up. _"I'll call the guys and we'll all go together."_

 _"O-Okay…Hurry."_

Mighty then hung up the phone and dashed back out of the girl's dorm, forgetting why he had even been there in the first place.

* * *

"Yo-You…posted that girl's nudes on Nack's blog?!" Blaze gasped, eyes widened with utter shock as she tried to register what the pink hedgehog sitting in front of her had just said.

"I did it without thinking to be honest." Amy admitted, handing her phone over to the cat who scrolled through the mass of sexual photographs.

"Why would anyone take pictures like this?"

"Same reason someone would sneak around with someone who's already taken or steal someone else's boyfriend. They're a slut."

"How did you even get these, Amy?"

"While me and Sonic were on break and I was hanging around with Scourge I saw them on his phone. I sent them to myself as collateral."

Blaze continued to scroll through photos, believing them to be photo-shopped considering the chipmunk from their shared English class did not look at all this pretty in person. Alas, the photos seemed too authentic to deny, and claims of the girl being a _'slut'_ or _'fake'_ didn't seem so farfetched anymore.

Despite that, the feline felt as though no one deserved to have their privacy invaded this way.

"Amy… this is not okay." She shook her head, handing the upset hedgehog back her cellphone. "I know she's been a bother to your relationship with Sonic, but this was too much."

Amy quickly swiped her phone back, annoyed at how the feline wasn't blindly siding with her on this the way she would have back in the day.

During her time away, Blaze had taught herself to form her own opinions rather than just go along with others for the sake of wanting their friendship. She was no longer a slave to her insecurities and it surely showed in the way she carried herself these days.

"Well, if you ask me she did deserve it." The pink girl crossed her arms as she angrily defended her rash actions. "She messed around with Sonic on purpose while he was dating me according to that stupid post Nack made. Now with these pictures at least **EVERYONE** will really know what kind of girl she is, and she can quit it with that stupid, good-girl image she's been faking."

"Amy…" Blaze mumbled, disappointed that her friend hadn't grown up at all since she's been gone. "You could get in serious trouble for leaking naked pictures of someone."

"Not as long as no one knows I'm the one who did it." Amy corrected her, "And I trusted you enough to tell you because I know you'll keep it between us."

"But—"

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 ** _Shard:_** _Smoothies in the café is dangerous, but smoothies in the janitor's closer shouldn't be. You still up for that? Kinda getting tired of hanging around these losers._

The cat was caught off guard, not at all expecting the DigItalian boy to reach out to her after the coldness he had shown her earlier that day. She quickly responded with approval before standing up to leave.

"Nevermind, Amy." She replied before waving her goodbyes. "I'll talk to you later."

* * *

Nack sat back in his desk chair, whistling to himself as he grinned evilly at the several computer monitors set up in front of him. On each screen a different nude image of the redheaded chipmunk he had been scraping the bottom of the barrel for some type of dirt on.

"Ya' really are one magnificent fuck, Mephy." He mused, "I was wrong to doubt you in the slightest."

"I appreciate the compliments, although I have to admit that I didn't at all anticipate this coming out." The dark hedgehog that had once again been standing behind him replied, "However, it certainly makes the rest of the plan smooth sailing from here."

"Rest of the plan? What are you on about?" The weasel questioned, rolling his chair back as the hedgehog made his way to the keyboard and began another hateful and untrue post. "You've already got 'em down to the ground! Now ya' just beatin' a dead horse."

"Not quite." Mephiles replied, typing like a madman. "You still want that video, and I've got to make sure I completely bury her."

Curiously, Nack looked at one of the monitors where Mephiles' post was appearing.

 _Assuming most of you had read yesterday's post, I'm sure you're all aware of the rumors about Sally Acorn—the girl who savagely attacked Mina Mongoose earlier this year and emotionally tortured poor Amy Rose—being a big whore, resulting in her transfer here to Green Hill Academy. Well, now there is full on proof that her good-girl façade is merely that. A fake, a phony, a rouse to lure in men and create the perfect cover for devious antics. These images were leaked to us earlier today by several anonymous sources, presumably several different boys she has slept around with possibly here and at her old school. The most recent of the bunch possibly being from last week…meaning it appears that Amy wasn't the only one being used. Looks like Sonic was used by his own mistress as well. Karma's a real kicker._

"Last week?" Nack rose an eyebrow, "These are clearly from when she was younger. How's anyone supposed to believe that."

"These people are angry and already dislike the girl." Mephiles shrugged, "Plus…they're idiots."

"Hmm, good point."

Usually, Shard just stood behind them in silence, not concerning himself with any of the older boys' antics, but this time it was too much to ignore.

Because he knew that girl.

He had spoken to her, and even hung out with her on occasion.

He was one of the few people who truly knew who she was as a good person, and what really conspired between her and Mina Mongoose earlier that year.

He quickly averted his gaze from the nude pictures on the screens, a blush coating his face as he tried to push the images out of his head, and gritted his teeth in anger at how the mischievous seniors were desecrating her character with lies upon lies.

It soon became too much for him, and he walked out without them even noticing.

He took off out of the boy's dorm, aimlessly walking outside as he often did when he wasn't in Nack's dorm or beating people up for Mephiles.

During his walk for fresh air outside, his jade eyes caught sight of someone he hadn't seen in a while…

It was Nicole, and surprisingly, Espio was not at her side.

He couldn't help but stop and stare, longing to hear her laughter or see her smile, even just a glimpse. But an upset gasp escaped him as he saw her glance down at her phone and watched her shriek with horror. Tears brimmed her eyes as she clasped a hand over her agape mouth.

 _'She must have saw the post…'_ Shard deduced, watching her two close friends, Bunnie and Antoine lean over her shoulder, gauging similar reactions.

As much as he wanted to approach them, explain the little that he knew, and ease her obviously panicked heart, he couldn't bring himself to do so. Instead, he pulled out his cellphone and shot Blaze a text, hoping she could take his mind off some of the messed up things Mephiles had been dragging him into recently.

* * *

Upon request, Ray had brought Cream outside after classes to sit on the ledge of the fountain. Since winter had gone, the water had been turned back on, allowing the blind rabbit to dip her hand into the clear waters and feel the wetness on her fingertips.

Ray had described the scenery to her. That being the best he could do for her in the disheartening situation she was in, although his speech impairment probably wasn't the most refreshing narrative.

Still, she was grateful to him, more than he realized.

Despite having so many friends, none of them seem to be as patient and attentive to her as her locker-buddy had been since she had gone blind. She was sure it mostly stemmed from guilt, due to him being the sole reason she confronted Fiona Fox in the first place, but it still made her happy.

This school year had been one hell of a rollercoaster ride for the fourteen year old girl. Petty love triangles, rejection, tragedy, heartache, depression, and even suicidal thoughts, she had been through it all.

And right by her side through it all regardless of the circumstances between them…Ray had been right there all along.

Ironically when she had sight, it was so hard to see clearly, but while trapped in this dark prison of blindness…she felt as though she was seeing things clearer than ever before.

"Thank you for being so helpful, Ray." The rabbit girl smiled, pulling her hand from the water to rest beside the squirrel's on the ledge.

"N-No problem." Ray replied happily, "It's the ri-right thing to do, and I'm al-always happy to help."

"How can you be this way with me? Stay so kind to someone who's hurt you so many times this year…"

"Well, to be ho-honest, I'm new to romance… I'm no-not sure how it re-really goes." He shrugged, blushing as he turned away from her although he knew she couldn't see him at all. "All I kn-know is, at the e-end of the day…I st-still like you anyway."

Such a sweet comment had the rabbit blushing herself, and desperately wishing she could see his face again.

"I'm glad you do…" She replied shyly, calling his attention back to her so that he could see her leaning into him despite her lack of vision.

He had seen plenty of movies to know what she was going for. A kiss! An actual kiss! His heart raced with anticipation as he mimicked her actions and leaned closer.

The girl who had captured his heart upon first meeting. The girl he had put his heart out on the line for time and time again leaning in to kiss him. The obvious romantic tension that had steadily been building between them since the love square between them, Cosmo, and Tails had disbanded had been more than apparent.

This was his chance.

 **INCOMING CALL!**

But as luck would have it, that chance had been interrupted by a phone call.

They both reeled back as he fished out his phone, quick to pick up the call after noticing it was from Mighty.

 _"Mi-Mighty?"_ Ray murmured into the speaker with his hand covering it, _"I'm in th-the middle of something."_

 _"Whatever it is, put it aside for now. It's an emergency."_

 _"Em-Emergency? What happened?!"_ He yelped, making Cream's ears turn upwards to listen in.

 _"Julie-Su's in the hospital."_

 _"Wh-What!? Why!"_

 _"I don't know."_ Mighty told him, _"But we need to go now. We're all meeting up in the parking lot."_

 _"Okay."_ Ray nodded, _"I'm on m-my way."_

He then ended the call and quickly got to his feet. He turned to look at Cream, almost forgetting her blindness until he saw the loose bandages on her face.

"I've go-got to go." He told her, "I'll te-text Cosmo to come get you, okay?"

"Okay." She nodded, a little disappointed that they had been interrupted.

"Sorry about this, but it's im-important."

"I understand." She assured him.

He stood there for a few moments, debating with himself until he finally decided to lean over with his hand to her cheek and gently press his lips to her forehead before scurrying off a blushing mess.

She blushed madly upon realizing what he had done, but also realized how loose her bandages had become when he had his hand to her face. The wind soon picked up a bit harshly, finishing the unintentionally job of undoing the bandages.

They fell to her neck, allowing her to open her chocolate-colored eyes for the first time in weeks…

"I…I can see!" She yelped, hopping up to her feet as she took in the scenery with such joy.

* * *

After settling Fiona down, and sending her back on her way, Shadow, Rosy, and Rouge sat in the ebony hedgehog's room in utter silence.

Rouge sat on Manic's bed, her back against the wall and knees to her chest as she rested her chin on them, and stared at his green bedsheets.

Rosy was posted up against the wall by the door, arms crossed and a nasty glare on her face as a cigarette burned in her mouth.

Shadow laid in his bed, arms propping up his head as his crimson eyes rested on the ceiling and a series of curious thoughts clouded his mind.

Some time had passed since Manic departed from them with hardly any explanation at all, leaving the three teens very uneasy.

It didn't help that they knew the psychotic Scourge was carrying a weapon, and that their friend had gone after him alone.

"What the hell are you glaring at me like that for?" Shadow finally spoke up, breaking the silence that had been bestowed upon them since Manic left, returning the goth-girl's irritated scowl.

"You didn't even try to stop him." Rosy spat, "You just let him go chasing that lunatic on his own."

"There was nothing I could say to stop him even if I tried."

"So you're just gonna sit here and do nothing?"

"Not until he gets back." Shadow replied, sitting up to hop off his bed. "That's what he wants."

"That's fucking stupid, and we should just go tell the principal what's going on!" Rosy shouted angrily, stomping over to stand toe-to-toe with her boyfriend.

"I think so too." Rouge spoke up, making both hedgehogs turn to her. "Scourge is unpredictable, and has a gun, Shadow…"

"I trust him…" The red-striped teen replied, a bit of worry to his tone despite the statement.

"Yeah, and I trust Scourge will put a bullet in his head." Rosy remarked coldly, making the other teens in the room tense up at the horrifying thought, knowing that they had already once lost a close friend.

"Shadow…" Rouge pleaded, tears brimming her eyes as she sat up to stand with them.

"We can't." He refused, intent on trusting Manic's judgement despite his worry. "Besides, we have no idea where either of them went, and as long as they aren't on campus we don't need to involve anyone else."

"You're a stubborn piece of shit!" Rosy hissed, getting in his face. "And if this best friend dies…you'll have good reason to blame yourself this time."

Both Shadow and Rouge's eyes widened at the subtle yet painful jab at the passing of Maria Robotnik that left them speechless.

Fed up with his refusal to do anything for his friend, Rosy angrily stormed out, leaving him and the bat beside him to wallow in painful memories of regret and sorrow.

"Wh-Why did we let him go alone!" Rouge stammered, tears falling off her face and hitting the floor.

"Rouge—"

"I can't! Shadow I can't lose him!" She bellowed, "I can't go through that pain all over again…"

His only response was to grab her and hold her close, biting his lip to will away his own tears as he thought of the possibility that Manic might not return.

"Me either." He told Rouge, "He'll be fine though. He'll walk right back through the door laughing and annoying the shit out of his before we know it."

"I hope so…"

* * *

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 ** _Elias:_** _How's Alexis been?_

 ** _Megan:_** _She's been doing much better actually. Why do you ask?_

 ** _Elias:_** _I just wanted to know._

 ** _Elias:_** _Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something important._

 ** _Elias:_** _Can you do coffee tomorrow afternoon?_

 ** _Megan:_** _Sorry, I'm working all day until next week._

Elias just sighed in frustration, having not been able to get a hold of his ex-girlfriend since she attended the wedding.

He slipped the phone back into his pocket before turning the corner and entering his math class. Professor Charles was at the board writing equations, then he turned and greeted the squirrel who was too depressed to return the greeting the way he used to.

The prince swiftly took off to the other end of the classroom, grabbing a seat beside the window so that he could gaze out at the grassy lawns of campus and think to himself while more kids filed into the classroom and took their seats.

His eyes scanned every student walking around outside, some of the happier faces and couples leaving a bit of a bitter taste in his mouth. During his staring, he noticed two students sprinting across the field, capturing his gaze entirely. He squinted at the ant-like figures until he recognized them.

It was Honey, her hand encircled around the wrist of Sonia as she dragged the magenta girl toward the electives building.

The auburn-haired boy quickly averted his gaze from the window, finding the wounds too fresh at this point to see her in person.

He decided to look at the familiar faces around the classroom instead. That's when he noticed something odd.

Although the bell had rang, no one had taken their seats. Instead, the majority of the classroom were huddled around the desk of one student, that being Spike the Porcupine.

"I knew she was a total slut from the second I saw her!"

"Can't believe she's this hot though…"

"She is not hot! She clearly spent hours at the makeup seat and knows how to do camera angles that make her boobs and butt look bigger, that's all."

"Do you think she'd send me some of these if I asked?"

"You probably don't even have to ask. Slut."

It was hard to ignore all the commotion, especially when overhearing remarks like that.

Against his better judgement and policy against indulging in gossip, Elias stood up from his chair and walked over to the group. Of course their gazes turned to him and their eyes lit up like stars as they cleared a path for him.

"Hey guys." He greeted them nonchalantly, "What's the commotion about?"

"Well…." A mink girl by the name of Tiara sang as she bounced over to him, "Ya'know that new girl with the really ugly clothes and big glasses? Well someone just leaked her nudes online and their so raunchy!"

"New girl with glasses?" The prince repeated, feeling as though the statement was too broad for him to pinpoint who she was talking about, especially since he was acquainted with nearly all 500+ students on campus.

He then walked over to Spike and leaned over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of the images on the porcupine's cellphone screen, his eyes widening in horror as he recognized the girl in the photos.

 **SLAM!**

Before anyone knew it, Spike's desk had been flipped with him in it, and his phone was in the prince's hand. Spectators gasped, encircling the two so the math teacher couldn't break up the anticipated scuffle.

"What the hell, Bro!" Spike winced, scrambling to his feet in a rage as he demanded his cellphone's return. "Gimmie my fucking phone!"

"Where the fuck did you get these?!" Elias growled, slamming the phone right into the younger teen's face, making him stagger back and cup his nose.

"They were on Nack's blog!" Spike retorted angrily, blood dripping from his nose and on to the tiled-floor. "What the hell do you care anyway?"

"This is my **LITTLE SISTER.** " The squirrel shouted angrily before slamming the phone to the floor, shattering it to pieces.

Gasps echoed around the room as the prince stormed out of the classroom, shocked whispers heard behind him as he set off in search of his sisters.

* * *

Nicole and Espio had been enjoying the warming weather at one of the picnic tables outside until the chameleon got a phone call that had him spring from his seat.

"Is everything alright, Espio?" Nicole questioned, quick to notice how tense he had become after hanging up his phone.

"That was Mighty. Something happened to Julie-Su. She's in the hospital." He explained.

"Oh Chaos. Is she okay?!"

"He didn't say." Espio sighed, grabbing his bag. "I have to go though. I'll text you."

"Okay." The lynx nodded, standing up to give him a peck on the cheek before he took off.

She then sat back down alone.

The big-hearted lynx worried for the pink echidna she had become good friends with since her semi-integration into the Chaotix family.

Afraid of being consumed by worry, she decided to pull out her cellphone and contact her own friends, hoping they were out of class and able to come ease her mind a bit.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 ** _Nicole:_** _Hey you two, are you out of class? Espio had an emergency to tend to, and I really don't like sitting alone…_

 ** _Bunnie:_** _Awe, don't worry, Sugah! Where are you?_

 ** _Nicole:_** _Picnic table by the football field today._

 ** _Bunnie:_** _Lucky you! Antoine and I just got outta gym class. We're headin' there now!_

 ** _Nicole:_** _Thank you._

The raven-haired girl smiled happily to herself, thankful that she didn't have to spend the rest of the day alone with a head full of worried thoughts.

To pass time, she decided to scope out social media, wondering what news was going around campus about school events and sports, but on every site she went to there was only one thing trending.

It was a link to Nack the Weasel's blog.

A place she's never been.

A place she heard practically created the drama around Green Hill Academy.

She ignored the links, that is, until they became too abundant to overlook any longer. Despite her distaste for gossip she had tapped the link and released a barrage of images on her phone of her very own sister, making her eyes widen.

Not long after, Bunnie and Antoine had popped up behind her, peering over her shoulder to catch a glimpse at what she was looking at.

The coyote was quick to turn around and avert his eyes, having too much respect for both his friends and his girlfriend to gawk like a pervert. Bunnie on the other hand quickly snatched the phone up to get a better look, in utter shock at what she was seeing.

"What in the world is this, Nicole!"

"It…It was on Nack's blog…" The lynx murmured through the hand clasped over her agape mouth. "They're trending…"

"That slimy, disgusting, weasel!" The rabbit growled, teeth grinding together as she clutched the phone tightly. "Where the hell is Sally!?"

* * *

Back at the Hedgehog residence in Mobotropolis, Aleena sat alone in her living room, staring blankly at her cellphone.

It was usually around this time that her husband would call from base camp, but since the spilt she's often found herself just sitting there waiting for a call that would no longer come.

Despite the rockiness of their relationship, Aleena had been with Jules since she was sixteen years old, and he was her whole world.

Her life had been falling apart at the seams from her children to her marriage, and she was sure she had done nothing to deserve it…

But someone else felt like she deserved much worse…

 **KNOCK, KNCOK!**

The sound of a hard knock on her front door jolted her up from the couch. She quickly smoothed out her dress before rushing to the front door, half-hoping that Jules had come home to apologize and make everything right.

The purple hedgehog woman made it to the door, carefully getting up on her tiptoes to peer through the peephole, her jade eyes catching a glimpse of green quills.

"Manic?" She questioned aloud as she began undoing the front door locks, "What on earth are you doing home from school—"

As she opened the door to greet her son, her words were cut off by the barrel of a handgun being pressed to her lips. She gasped, but didn't dare scream in fear of alarming her attacker.

"Get in the house." The green teen ordered in a cold tone, terrifying the purple hedgehog who had already begun crying.

She was quick to recognize him.

She could recognize those ice-blue eyes anywhere.

Eyes like her own son, and husband…

"Sc-Scourge…" She whimpered aloud, raising her hands in the air defenselessly as he ordered her down on her knees, the barrel of his gun now resting at her forehead.

"Bet you never thought you'd see me again…" He growled, doing his best to seem in power although just being in her presence terrified him.

* * *

At Metropolis Hospital, all of Julie-Su's friends littered the waiting room area. Saffron, Charmy, Ray, and Espio calmly sat in chairs, rubbing one another's backs and offering reassurance to each other as they waited.

Not one to deal with anxiety all too well, Vector sat a few chairs away, leaning over with hands clasped as music from his headphones drowned out the rest of the world.

Mighty and Knuckles on the other hand were standing, the armadillo anxiously pacing back and forth as he drilled the echidna for answers.

"What the hell happened exactly?" Mighty asked for the hundredth time since they got there, tensions between the two running high.

"Like I said, we were talking and she just starts bleeding out her nose before she collapses!" Knuckles retorted a bit of hostility in his tone, "How many times are you gonna fucking make me repeat myself?!"

"What were you talking about then?" The armadillo replied, using the same amount of hostility in his own tone this time.

"Getting back together—"

"That's it right there, right?" Mighty growled, pointing an accusing finger toward the echidna. "Your bullshit's got her all fucked up!"

"What the fuck?" Knuckles retorted angrily, slapping the armadillo's finger away so that they could step toe-to-toe. "You're blaming this shit on me?!"

"Well she wasn't sick before she started dealing with your dumbass again!"

"How the fuck would you know anyway? You've barely talked to her since you've been dry-humping Amy's boots!"

"Fuck off!"

"No, you fuck off! Always talking that shit like you never mess up! Like you're so Chaos-damn perfect!"

"Guys…" Espio stood up from his chair, speaking in a gentle tone as he gestured to Vector for some help defusing the situation. "Let's take it easy—"

Sadly, the chameleon's attempt at keeping the peace proved useless as the echidna and armadillo both raised their hands in his direction like a stop sign, the two trying to intimidate each other with harsh glares.

"I swear to Chaos if it's your idiotic drama making her sick—"

"Swear what?" Knuckles barked over him, "What are you gonna do, Mighty?"

"Ya'll need to chill." Vector tried to cut in, only to receive the same silencing treatment as the chameleon beside him.

"Don't test me, Knux." Mighty shook his head in warning, "We're friends, but I'm not above beating the fuck out of you if you're stressing her out to the point where she's physically ill."

"If you wanna go outside we can go outside." The echidna huffed, "Don't talk like your tough shit if you're too much of a pussy to take the first swing."

"Oh I'll fucking swing!"

"Do it then! C'mon! Fucking swing!"

Both boys were in full on rage mode. Practically foaming at the mouth with balled fists just inches away from raising. Tensions were too high, and there was nothing the rest of them could do about it. Ray, Charmy, and Saffron closed their eyes as Vector and Espio readied themselves to pull the two apart, but before anyone could do any swinging the door to the waiting room opened.

Both boys took a moment to turn toward the door to see a little echidna girl entering with her grandfather.

"Uncle Mighty! And… Mr. Knuckles…" The little echidna with wire-framed glasses trailed off, surprised to see the red echidna at the hospital.

Like magic, the tension died out completely.

"La-Lara-Su…" Knuckles stammered, heart aching at the sight of the little girl he had caused so much misery.

Tears threatened her eyes as she made a rapid dash for the older echidna leaping into his arms to wrap hers tightly around his neck. It was such an overwhelming feeling to him, being able to hold her again.

"I knew you'd come back…not like my daddy…" She whimpered, clutching him so tightly he nearly choked.

The little girl wailed happy tears, sending a mental thank you to Mace for delivering her note as promised, thus making her secret wish come true.

"Excuse me." A nurse called out as she entered the room from the E.R. doors, "Julie-Su is awake and able to see you now."

"Thank you." Mighty nodded his thanks to the nurse, "Can you tell us what happened to her?"

"She's requested that we keep that information private, but you're free to ask her yourselves."

The armadillo nodded in understanding before following the nurse to Julie-Su's room with the rest of the Chaotix.

Her grandfather, Dimitri, had stood behind in the waiting area, thinking to himself about his granddaughter.

 _'Julie-Su… Eventually, you'll have to tell the truth… To them…and Lara-Su…'_

* * *

After a quick stop to the café and a bit of a balancing act, Blaze had managed to carry two large smoothies from the café to the janitor's closet. Using her foot to nudge the door open, she squeezed herself inside with both drinks.

"You could have knocked." Shard remarked, earning a pout from the frustrated cat who simply passed him his smoothie.

"How could I with my hands full?" She scolded him playfully, taking a seat beside him on the floor after closing the door. "I swear, you really are as dense as a robot."

"And you're as stuck up as a princess." He retorted in the snarky manner so typical for him, taking a big sip of the orange-colored smoothie. "At least you have a good taste in smoothies…"

"It's mango and passion fruit."

"It's good as hell."

"Glad you like it."

"Back in DigItaly, fruit was over-priced because it was so hard to grow in the war zone." The yellow-striped boy remarked as he looked at the cup with a weak smile. "My father used to bring me home a small cup of pineapple slices every day, even though they were so expensive… Just because I liked them."

"He was in the Great War, wasn't he?"

"What, are you doing research on me now?"

"No. Your last name isn't exactly common, jerk." The cat spat, "And we learn about Captain Metal in history class every year. He was the one who ended the war after all."

"Yeah…"

"I'm sure you're proud to have a father who made history."

"I guess…" The hedgehog shrugged, "I'd much rather still have him alive and a part of my life than in a history book though."

The comment made Blaze frown, the brief statement giving her a quick glance at the sad boy he was hiding behind that sassy and cold attitude.

"I kind of understand how you feel a little bit."

"Oh really? Why not enlighten me, Princess." He rolled his eyes, loathing how some people just liked to say they understood for the sake of saying something.

"Well, my father used to be a very active fisherman. He and my mom met on a pirate-themed cruise when they were younger. He was so strong, smart, and had a heart of gold so big he adopted my little sister after reading about her orphaning in the newspapers…" The memories of her father brought her such joy, then she recalled what he was like now, and her voice trailed off.

"Well? What happened to your old man?" Shard asked curiously.

"He had a stroke. It was random and no one knows why it happened. It was so severe that it cause permanent brain damage. He was never the same…" The purple girl sighed, "He can no longer move, or talk normally. My mom takes care of him full time."

"I…I'm sorry…"

"I know it probably sounds selfish to say since he's still alive…but sometimes it feels like I have lost him."

Noticing the tears threatening her eyes, the hedgehog set down his smoothie and scooted closer to wrap an arm around her shoulders, pulling her to his side in a comforting manner. She hadn't expected it, but she was thankful.

"Shard…"

"Don't make this a big deal." He stated harshly, "You were about to cry your eyes out. I didn't feel like seeing it so I pulled this stunt hoping you wouldn't make a mess of your poorly done eyeliner."

"You are a good person."

"Ugh, there you go. Doing the exact opposite of what I just told you!" He whined, releasing her from his hold to scoot away. "You don't know anything about me."

"I know enough to know you are better than what you think you are."

"Yeah right." He sneered, "If you knew what skeletons I've got in my closet, you'd be running for the hills too."

"You can't scare me out of thinking something I already know to be true." Blaze pouted, "You are a good person."

"Stop fucking saying that!"

"It is true. You aren't like Nack or Mephiles." She told him, scooting back to him to grab his face by the chin to force eye-contact. "You're just lost in a dark place you created for yourself."

"Get away." He snapped, swatting her hand away from him.

"You called me here for a reason."

"Smoothies—"

"Not for smoothies! You wanted to see if I've changed! To give yourself a bit of hope that you can do the same, right? Well you can, Shard. I'm your hope… I'm getting better and so can you!"

"You sure think highly of yourself." He replied, back to that cold tone. He then stood up, as did she. "I'm gonna go."

"You can close yourself off all you want, but I've already seen the better side of you more than once." She told him as he brushed passed her toward the door, hesitating thanks to her last comment. "I know what it's like to be lost in that place… And I promise you that you won't be able to push me away…"

"Can't push away someone who wasn't close in the first place…"

"If that's how you live your life than you'll always be lonely."

"You say that like I haven't tried." He growled, an image of the bashful lynx he used to be so close to coming to his mind. "Who cares if I have good intentions when every action I take is bad?"

"Not everything done in the dark should be frowned upon. If you're intentions are pure of heart than it doesn't matter what actions you take. You are a good in your own twisted way…"

* * *

Sonic stood by the lake for a while after Mephiles had vanished, leaving him to think over the questionable thoughts the older hedgehog had subtly implanted in his head.

The sun had begun to dip beneath the tree-lined horizon, really setting the melancholy mood as the blue teen continued to hurl rocks at the lake out of frustration.

He took the alone time to reflect on himself, and how he had come to this low point in his life.

From star-athlete and most beloved boy on campus to a nobody no one could stand.

 _'And for what?'_ Mephiles' voice rang in his head, sending chills down his spine. ' _To spend the rest of your high school days being made a fool of while hanging around a girl not even you really like? Just admit it, you only wanted her because she seemed unattainable and you wanted a challenge…now you're bored, and your reputation is ruined.'_

He dropped the rock he had been holding, bowing his head so that he could stare at the reflection of himself in the lake.

"Just shut up…" He growled allowed, pushing the dooming thoughts out of his mind.

He then turned heel and headed toward the direction of campus, pulling out his phone to send his girlfriend that text message he had promised her. However, once he opened his lockscreen he was surprised to see the absurd amount of texts flooding his inbox, none of which being from the chipmunk girl.

 **158 NEW MESSAGES**

 ** _Tails:_** _Sonic? Is this…your girlfriend?!_ _ **IMAGE SENT**_

 ** _Tiara:_** _Told you she was a slut. I heard she sent a different nude to almost every boy in our grade. You look so stupid. #TeamAmy_

 ** _Razor:_** _BOY! You fucked up! Amy was a fucking doll! Now you're just stuck with a used sex doll._ _ **IMAGE SENT**_

 ** _Bunnie:_** _Where the hell is Sally?! And I swear to Chaos if I find out you're the one behind his…It'll be the last time you ever pull a fast one on us again._

 ** _Spike:_** _So, how does it feel to know everyone on campus has seen your girlfriend's tits?_

 ** _Sonar:_** _Your girlfriend is such a whore. Can't believe you'd leave a girl like Amy for something like that…_

 ** _Trevor:_** _Send the cum dumpster my way when you're done with her._

 ** _Coral:_** _Ironic that the girl you cheated on Amy with was cheating on you with probably half the freaking school. Amy deserved better than you anyway._

"What the fuck is everyone talking about?" Sonic questioned aloud, scrolling through the messages until he finally got the urge to click one of the many links that had been sent.

As the images loaded up on screen his eyes grew wider and wider. Several images of the redheaded chipmunk began to come up like a sideshow, the next picture being more NSFW than the last…

His mouth fell open in utter shock, surprised to see such sexual imagery of the girl who'd hardly let him do more than kiss her.

Then he scrolled to the post on Nack's blog, reading over the passage of text until he became too enraged to continue.

It's one thing to write a post, but to have **ACTUAL PICTURES?!**

His heart raced as he fumbled with the buttons on his phone, calling the chipmunk for a desperately needed explanation.

 **VOICEMAIL**

 **VOICEMAIL**

 **VOICEMAIL**

 **VOICEMAIL**

 **VOICEMAIL**

The phone wouldn't even ring, just sent him straight to voicemail every time. After the fifteenth time he couldn't take the stupid automated voice anymore and just gave up, retiring his cellphone back to his pocket.

He ran both hands over his quills as he gritted his teeth and tried to convince himself something was amiss.

 _'This is bullshit…but those pictures are definitely real… This is bullshit…but she turned off her phone… Is she ignoring me? Too afraid to talk to me? Because these pictures are real… And she's actually been playing with my head this whole time?'_ It was a losing battle with the voice in his head, especially now that Mephiles had firmly planted the seeds of doubt deep within his conscious.

In a fit of anger he grabbed another rock from the ground and chucked it angrily across the lake with a growl of frustration before collapsing to his knees.

He peered at his reflection in the water once more, the rock he had thrown distorting the image of his face with a rippling effect.

He then extended out his right hand and pulled the gold ring off his finger, chucking it back into the very lake he found it in before turning back toward the school.

"She thought she could bring me down… Well she's got another thing coming." The blue hedgehog muttered, "Because King Sonic is making a comeback, and I don't give a shit if I've got to step on her to do it."

* * *

Back in Mobotropolis…

Much time had passed since Scourge had forced his way into Aleena's home and ordered her to the ground while he held his gun firmly on her forehead execution style.

The purple hedgehog whimpered as tears cascaded down her face and she took rapid, low breaths.

"Please…" Aleena begged for her life, the green teen glaring at her with such hatred. "You don't have to hurt me… There's a safe upstairs beneath my bed, and the keys are in the top drawer of my nightstand. There's at least three thousand in there—"

" **I DON'T WANT YOUR FUCKING MONEY!** " Scourge barked at her, reeling back the gun to painfully tap her forehead with it, terrifying her even more.

"Th-Then what do you want? Please… I'll give you whatever you want if you just let me go!"

She cried harder, her breaths becoming more uncontrollable as she panicked. He leered down at her with nothing but hate.

Then his ice-blue eyes darted around the interior of the cozy four bedroom home on the nice side of town. He took in the sweet aroma of freshly mopped floors, and gazed enviously at the happy family photos that littered every corner of the room, only fueling his anger more.

"I…" He began, voice shaking as tears brimmed his hypnotic eyes. "I want to know why…"

"Wh-Why what?!"

"Why I wasn't good enough… **TO BE A PART OF YOUR STUPID FAMILY!** "

"We… Your father and I... I just couldn't—"

" **YOU DID THIS TO ME!** " He wailed, cutting her off as he used his free hand to open his jacket to reveal the two nasty scars on his chest. "You left your own fucking son to die on the kitchen floor, in that shitty apartment, with that stupid radio lulling me to my grave!"

Her jade eyes soon became boggled with realization, and his finger began to press down on the trigger.

" **MOM!** " A third voice cut in along with the sound of the front door being pushed open.

Scourge quickly moved the barrel of the gun toward the door, aiming right at the intruder who turned out to be an out of breath Manic who quickly rose his hands defenselessly.

"How'd you find me?"

"We're brothers…" Manic gulped, all the pleading in the world in his desperate tone. "I know you, Scourge. I know you don't wanna do this—"

"Shut up and get the hell out of here, Manic." The older teen spat, turning the gun back on the purple hedgehog. "This is between me…and my mother."

"She's my mom too, Scourge." He cried out, "I can't let you do this… I know what she did to you was wrong…but I can't let you do this!"

"Watch me."

"You'll go to jail!"

"I don't care! I've already been living a nightmare anyway…and it's all because of her."

" **I'M BEGGING YOU, PLEASE DON'T DO THIS, SCOURGE!** "

"Don't worry, Mom." He told Aleena as he began slowly applying pressure to his trigger finger once more, "I won't abandon you like you did me. The next bullet's for me."

" **STOP!** " Manic screamed, lunging at the older hedgehog.

Unfortunately, Scourge was much quicker.

Quick enough to swing his arm back toward Manic and fire.

 **BANG!**

Aleena was mortified, clasping both hands on her mouth as she let out a bloodcurdling scream.

The room fell silent, the only audible sound being Manic caving to his knees.

His eyes widened in shock as he touched the side of his cheek where the silver bullet was a hair's width from grazing.

A warning shot so precise that it left the younger boy completely paralyzed with fear.

"Go Manic, before I really pop your fuckin' head off." Scourge remarked coldly as he turned the gun back on Aleena once more.

"I…I can't…move…"

"It's alright, Sweetheart." Aleena assured her son, in a tone that seemed much calmer than before. "Everything's going to be okay."

"Ma…"

"Don't worry…." She sniffled, turning back to stare Scourge directly in the eye. The action intimidated him a bit, but he stood his ground regardless. "He won't shoot me."

"You think so?"

"I know so…"

"And what in your fucked up head makes you believe you didn't fuck me up enough to really pull this trigger, **MOMMY DEAREST?** "

A brief silence fell upon them as Aleena took a deep breath and shockingly rose to her feet despite the gun being pointed at her. Then her next words practically shook the world to the two green hedgehogs.

"Because I'm not your mother, Scourge."

"Wh-What?" Scourge stammered in complete shock, "No. You're fucking lying!"

"I'm not lying."

"No, no. I know it's you! It has to be you!" He refused to believe her, not letting his arm down as he continued to point the gun on her. "I found your picture in my dad's drawer, with him!" He gestured toward the frozen Manic with his head.

"It…It's true, Ma." Manic murmured the best he could, still in a shock after a bullet nearly took off his head. "I know everything… You don't have to lie. It'll…only make him more…angry."

"Neither of you know anything, because no one knows except for me, your father, and…his real mother." Aleena explained, confusing both boys who looked at her for a better explanation.

"No. I remember you! Not a lot, but I remember bits and pieces." Scourge replied in denial.

"You are the son of one of my husband's mistresses…"

Manic and Scourge both dropped their jaws, completely shocked after having believed Aleena to be his mystery mother ever since they found the wedding photo of her and Jules in that locked up study.

"Your father had a bad habit of sleeping around in our high school days and throughout the earlier days of our marriage." She explained further, the subject matter being very touchy for her. "When we were about your age now, we were engaged. Among all the girls I had won his heart, and some of them didn't take too kindly to it. One of his more obsessive fangirls had tricked him into bed with her in an attempt to blackmail him into leaving me, that girl being your real mother."

With every bit of believable information that came, Scourge found himself lowering the gun more and more until no one was in immediate danger. Allowing Aleena to comfortably speak without so much fear.

"He tried to ignore her, but she used you as a bartering chip. Too afraid to tell me, and fearful that she might abort you as a last resort…he decided to secretly put her up in an apartment across the country in Moebius. He'd come back and forth between the two of us while I was pregnant with the triplets, playing house with her in fear of any harm being done to you. He always used to tell me he was off at military training, then I caught on to his lies and found out about you. He was afraid I'd leave him, so he cut off ties with you and your mother for good."

"So that's why….she hated me so much?" The angst-filled teen mumbled, touching the scars on his chest with his free hand as he recalled something his mother had once said while slicing his chest open. "I was just a pawn in her fucking game…but I wasn't enough to make him stay…"

"Scourge…" Manic murmured, finally finding the strength to get up off his knees.

"Who is she then?!" He spoke up once more, his tone more desperate than angry. "Who's my mom?"

"Her name is Bernadette the Hedgehog." Aleena admitted, "Your school's nurse."

* * *

After a long walk around campus to clear her head and settle her rattled nerves, Fiona had finally retreated back to her dorm room. The sun was just setting and it was about seven at night now. She shut the door behind herself and turned on the light, eyes quick to notice the chipmunk in her own bed, fast asleep.

The auburn-haired girl was still in her day clothes, and dry droll had coated the side of her face, signifying to the fox that she had been knocked out for a while now.

The vixen merely sucked her teeth, annoyed by bitter memories of the other girl's face from middle school days in Moebius.

She then began to strip down and change for bed. Getting into her shorts and tanktop before waltzing over to her bed.

 **SLICE!**

"Ow! What the fuck?!" She cursed, bringing her foot up to look at the damage.

Her pinkie toe had been cut by something. She looked around on the floor to see the chipmunk's cellphone in pieces everywhere.

"Stupid, bitch!" She hissed to herself as she plucked out the tiny shard of glass.

Once she found something to wipe and clean off the blood with, she was finally able to hop into bed.

Not one to be so quick to sleep, the vixen decided to pull out her phone and scroll through Nack's blog, wondering if he had any clue about what Scourge was doing. Thinking that he might have posted something, she wandered into the weasel's gossip world, only to be greeted by nude pictures of a redheaded chipmunk.

"Looks like you'll be in for one tough tomorrow." She said aloud, eyeing Sally who was in a very deep sleep.

* * *

 **So much craziness! This chapter was long enough, and I'm sure you'll let me know what you think in the reviews, but I'll touch upon things as briefly as I can!**

 **Sally has been asleep since her last chat with Sonic at the lake. On top of that, her phone fell off the dresser and broke! Meaning that she is completely oblivious to the drama going around on campus!**

 **It seems like Mephiles truly has won, because thanks to his manipulation and the power of social media, he has planted enough shit in Sonic's head to have him completely flip character and become a douchebag all over again! Oh boy…**

 **Oh no! Honey finally knows about Mina's thing for Ash…her own first and only love. Will we see another longtime friendship ending?**

 **Julie-Su's friends honestly and truly care about her a lot…but she's hiding something from them, and her grandfather, Dimitri did a pretty damn good job hinting at it.**

 **Lastly, that huge reveal that might not come as a shock to some of you, but to others it completely went over their heads! Yes! Aleena the Hedgehog is NOT the mother of Scourge the Hedgehog! His mother is actually Bernadette the Hedgehog, the school nurse.**

 **This was subtly hinted at several times from a very early point in the story. From Bernie's hatred of Aleena and hinted at relationship with Jules. You probably caught this if you were reading deep enough between the lines. Even during the Custody Arc, Bernadette reveals to Rosemary Prower that she has a son of her own that she gave up, but didn't want back.**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Espio, Vector, and Charmy get a little suspicious about Julie-Su and decide to investigate**

 **Sally finally faces the aftereffects of Amy's wrath…**

 **Mina vs. Sonia!**

 **Silver finally learns the name of the girl he has had brief but blissful encounters with throughout the year…in the worst way possible.**

 **Blaze tries to talk some sense into Amy about the aftermath of her hasty decision, but she regrets nothing…until Mighty gives her his opinion on the matter.**

 **And so much more!**


	79. Chapter 79

**WARNING:** **Nudes leaked, nudity, sexual harassment, mentions of guns, sex, and abuse.**

* * *

 **Chapter 79: Scandal**

She must have been absolutely exhausted, because Sally had fallen asleep around four yesterday only to wake up at six the following morning!

The chipmunk sat up with a bit of a smile as she stretched, feeling refreshed and energized after an absurdly long slumber.

"What're you smiling about?" A cold voice huffed, calling her attention to the other side of the room where she spotted Fiona putting on her black sneakers.

"Nothing." She replied, getting up to gather her things for a shower. "It just feels like today will be a good one."

"Yeah…right."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, you'll find out." Fiona rolled her eyes, "By the way, clean up the fucking pieces of your phone from the floor before I step on glass… **AGAIN!** "

* * *

 _'After calming Ma down and assuring her I'd be alright with him, I managed to convince her in letting me hitch a ride back to school with Scourge._

 _Her only condition was that he leave the gun behind. She even promised not to call the cops._

 _Surprisingly, he didn't put up a fuss at all. He took the clip out and just left the gun on the table by the front door before leaving._

 _The ride home was unbearably quiet. I didn't know what to say, but I just had to say something._

 _"Scourge… I had no idea. I swear—"_

 _"I know." He cut me off, "I only did what I did because I thought it was her. Sorry."_

 _He's never really been one for apologies. I knew that better than anyone. That meant something._

 _"Nurse Bernadette…Are you…gonna…"_

 _"Don't worry about that."_

 _"How can you tell me not to worry when you were just about to murder-suicide with my mom back there?!"_

 _"It's not your problem, what I choose to and not to do."_

 _"Of course it is! You're my fucking brother—"_

 _"Half-brother." He corrected me._

 _Chaos dammit, Scourge. It's the worst thing about you, and one of your greatest strengths. You know exactly what to say to hurt someone._

 _I stood shut again, at a loss for words when all I really wanted to do was cry, but I didn't dare._

 _Once we pulled up to the school it was around midnight. He shut off the engine once parked and stood in the front seat while I hurriedly opened my door to get out._

 _"Manic." He finally spoke up, making me turn around to meet his intimidating gaze._

 _"Yeah?"_

 _"Everything that happened tonight… Everything we heard… It's all a secret, got that?"_

 _"Isn't it always?" I snapped, slamming the door shut._

 _I hate keeping secrets!_

 _I fucking hate lying to people!_

 _Signing the papers for Mina's abortion, Scourge being our half-brother, and now this bullshit!_

 _How the fuck did I get stuck with so many lies to keep up with?_

 _I did my best not to get caught by Zector-who was patrolling around the boy's dorm. At least it wasn't Zonic. He woulda caught me for sure with how damn fast he is._

 _After sneaking into the building I was finally able to relax. While I walked on up the stairs toward my dorm I finally got the idea to check my phone._

 ** _68 NEW MESSAGES_**

 ** _Shadow:_** _Hey, what's going on?_

 ** _Shadow:_** _Manic?_

 ** _Rouge:_** _Is everything okay?_

 ** _Rouge:_** _Please call._

 ** _Rouge:_** _Reply._

 ** _Rouge:_** _Where'd you go?_

 ** _Shadow:_** _This was a bad idea. Come back, or at least call and tell me what the fuck is happening._

 ** _Shadow:_** _Manic, please._

 ** _Shadow:_** _I'm worried._

 _Shadow the Edgelord, worried? Wasn't expecting that, nor was I expecting to find both of my best friends passed out in my freakin' bed when I turned the lights on._

 _I was careful not to wake them while I quietly kicked off my shoes._

 _I feel so bad. I knew they were worried out of their minds, and not just because of the texts._

 _When I took a good look at their faces…they both had dried tears staining their cheeks._

 _I shouldn't have scared them so bad like that…especially after what they had been through with that Maria girl._

 _Instead of doing the logical thing which would have been sleeping in Shadow's bed. I crawled into my own bed with them, laying in between them like a child would with his parents during a scary thunderstorm.'_

Thanks to the lack of room and heat radiating from the three teens sharing the small twin-sized bed, they each found themselves waking up quite early.

They turned to each other, exchanging relieved glances before the green hedgehog could belt out some annoying comment.

"Welp, if we're going to get married we should probably get a bigger bed." Manic laughed, his goofy laughter making both friends pinch the bridge of their noses in annoyance as usual. "What do you guys think?"

"See?" Shadow sighed, looking over Manic to shoot Rouge a half-smile. "I told you he'd be back annoying the shit out of us before you knew it."

"Got that right." She giggled happily, swatting the green hedgehog laying between them in the usual playful manner.

"You guys are bullies."

"So are you gonna tell us what happened? Or try to make us forget about it so you don't have to explain yourself?" Shadow asked seriously, knowledgeable on the way Manic always seemed to brush things off with playful banter once they had become too serious a subject.

"Well, there's nothing to tell really." He lied, despite how much he disliked to do so, especially when it came to Rouge and Shadow. "Fiona lied about the gun. Scourge had just broken up with her again and she wanted to get back at him."

"Are you fucking kidding!?" Rouge shrieked angrily, sitting up to scoot off the bed in search of her shoes. "What a dumb bitch! She had me freaking out for no reason."

"Yeah…but it's nice to know how much you care about me, Rougeikku." Manic remarked playfully, adding kissy noises just to tease her.

"Shut up with that already! Amy doesn't even like Sonic anymore." The bat rolled her eyes before getting to her feet. "My first class doesn't start for another three hours. So I'm gonna go back to my dorm, take a nap, then fix up this makeup. I'll see you guys later."

"I've gotta call Rosy and let her know what's going on." Shadow sighed, getting up from the bed to retreat back to his own.

"Just because Rouge is leaving doesn't mean we can't still cuddle!" Manic whined at the red-striped boy who simply picked up an empty carton of cigarettes to chuck at the snickering goof.

"You're such an idiot." He scolded the younger teen, _'But…I'm glad you came back alright…'_ He added in his head.

* * *

It was still early when Tails got a call from his girlfriend practically begging him to meet her by the fountain for a surprise. Despite how tired he was, he came along anyway.

They sat on the ledge of the fountain itself, the water from the fountain creating such a relaxing sound that it had the two-tailed fox dozing off.

"Tails?" The seedrian beside him questioned, shaking him gently by the shoulder to gain his attention. "Are you okay? I know it's early, but you seem a little more tired than what would be considered normal…"

"Sorry." He apologized, using both hands to rub the tiredness from his eyes. "I was up extra late trying to keep Antoine and Sonic from strangling each other."

"Oh… Were they arguing about those pictures? I know your other roommate is a close friend of that girl…and she's Sonic's girlfriend."

"Yeah. Antoine accused him of being the one to leak the photos, and of course Sonic didn't take it very well."

"I see…" Cosmo nodded, turning away from him to drop her gaze to the ground. "So do you…think he did?"

"Huh?"

"Do you think…Sonic was the one to give Nack those pictures?"

"Of course not! He's my best friend!" Tails yelped defensively, "Plus…he seemed too upset about it to be the person behind it anyway. He was mad more than anything, really."

"Well, regardless of who she may or may not be…whoever did this is cruel."

"Yeah…" Tails agreed, a small part of him suspicious of his blue friend despite his own words. "So um, what's the surprise you called me out here for this early?"

"Oh! It's not my surprise." The green-haired girl brightened up, pointing out across the grassy field to a figure approaching them. "It's Cream's surprise."

"Cream?" He rose an eyebrow, turning in the direction that she had been pointing in to have his blue eyes spot the rabbit girl running toward them across the field as she waved them down. " **CREAM!?** What?! How is she? Where's her cane and bandages!"

"She doesn't need them anymore."

"What are you talking about?!"

"She can see again, Tails!" Cosmo squealed happily, both of them getting up to greet the rabbit. "Isn't it great?"

"I sure feel great!" Cream exclaimed once she had made it to the couple, joyfully batting her eyelashes at them.

"But…how?"

"I dunno! I guess the doctor was right. All I needed was time." She shrugged, turning to scan the vacant grounds. "I thought Ray would be here too after I texted him. I can't wait to give him the news."

"Is that him walking over here from the boy's dorm?" Cosmo questioned, pointing out toward a yellow figure coming their way.

Her newly-healed eyes lit up like stars as his figure became more and more clear. Her heart raced with anticipation and her cheeks began to glow a rosy pink.

All this time spent with no vision had left her yearning for the sight of anything, but most of all, it was seeing her locker-buddy's face again.

Now here he was, that image she had missed so much. His yellow hair flowing with the wind over his gentle blue eyes and his hands stuffed into that denim jacket he always seemed to be wearing.

She became so overwhelmed with happiness and couldn't wait it out. The rabbit immediately took off, her orange dress picking up just a bit with the wind as she ran toward the squirrel shouting his name, leaving Cosmo and Tails standing by the fountain with smiles on their faces at how happy their friend was.

" **RAY!** " She bellowed over and over again.

"Cr-Cream?!" The squirrel boy questioned with surprise as the rabbit girl leapt on to him. "You ca-can actually see me? Fo-For real?"

"Mhm!" She squealed excitedly, bringing out one of the biggest smiles on him that she had ever seen on a person.

She loved it, how genuinely happy he was for her, and how happy it made her to know that he cared so much.

It was obvious to Cosmo and Tails as well, and it was no surprise to them that Cream had took advantage of the wondrous moment to get on her tiptoes and close the space between their lips, giving Ray the Flying Squirrel his very first real kiss.

* * *

"Ahh, showers always make me feel so much better." Sally mused, turning the knob to stop the warm water from coming out of the showerhead above.

She then used both hands to wring the excess water out of her freshly washed auburn hair. Once that was done, she reached over to one of the two white shelves in the shower to grab her glasses and gently place them back on her face. Then she took the white towel hanging off the rack and wrapped it around her body before finally exiting.

It was nearly time for everyone to start getting ready, and that meant the girls would be swarming the showers anytime now.

Too embarrassed to shower or dress around anyone else, she hastily walked over to the counter by the sinks where she had set her clothes with the intent to dress quickly and leave before anyone could see.

However, with her phone broken and no wristwatch, she had misjudged the time. Just when she had scooped up her underwear from the pile of clothes she had brought, the door to the communal bathroom had opened and a slew of girls had pooled inside.

She blushed in pure embarrassment, mortified at how the girls stared at her with not-so-kind looks.

"Chaos, it's her!" Someone from the crowd of girls hollered, making the chipmunk blush even worse.

"The skank from the pictures is in here!" Another girl shouted.

"Pictures?" Sally rose an eyebrow.

Then one of the girls strolled up to her from the crowd, leering down at her like a menace. She was an orange echidna girl with violet eyes, a girl named Shade the chipmunk recognized as being the only female on their school's basketball team.

She circled around the auburn-haired girl like a shark, making her even more uncomfortable as she clutched her clothes closer to her chest.

"Why you look so shy for?" The echidna girl snarled, purposely bumping the chipmunk with her hip to make her tumble over a bit. "Wasn't too shy to spread your legs for a few pics."

"What are you talking about—"

"Funny how she's still trying so hard to play innocent right?" A mink girl by the name of Tiara piped up in the crowd, "Bitch, cut the act. You got caught!"

"Right? You aren't fooling anyone, Hun."

"But I don't know what you're talking about!" Sally yelped, standing back upright to walk out of the bathroom, but the crowd in front of the door refused to budge. "Just let me out, please!"

"Don't know what we're talking about?" The peppy mink huffed, "Do you live under a rock? Everyone's seen the pics! They've been trending since yesterday!"

"What pictures?!"

"These, you dumb bitch!" Another girl among the crowd shouted, holding out her phone with the provocative pictures on screen.

Sally's eyes widened in disbelief, making all of the cruel girls grin with satisfactory at her visible shock.

"Th-That's not me!"

"Yeah right! It's obviously you."

" **IT'S NOT!** "

"Oh really?" Shade piped up once more, gripping the towel wrapped around the chipmunk to tug off her.

Sally dropped her clothes to the floor as she began struggling against the echidna with the iron grip on her towel, screaming for the girl to stop as panic-induced tears rolled off her cheek.

"What are you doing?! **STOP IT!** "

"What's the matter? Can't get naked if there aren't any cameras around or something?" The basketball star remarked, pulling harder on the white towel despite the chipmunk's squirming. "You hear that ladies? Whip 'em out!"

Suddenly, the girls encircling the two began to pull their cellphones out and set them on camera, giggling maniacally at the auburn-haired girl's obvious discomfort and suffering.

The effects of her anxiety soon became worse, causing her palms to sweat and her body to tremble. This gave Shade all of the leverage she needed to rip the towel completely off of poor Sally, exposing her naked body to the laughing girls and their cellphone cameras.

She was mortified.

Her embarrassed blush worsened, as did her tears. Their cynical laughter and the clicking sound of their cameras only serving to make the humility and terror worse.

She quickly crossed her legs and covered her bare breasts with her hands to shield what little she could from view.

"Oh my Chaos! She really does look like that?!"

"I was sure she was using camera angles and photoshop!"

"There's no denying it now! She is a skank!"

As they taunted her with crude remarks, Sally quickly kneeled down to reach out for her pile of clothes—only to have Shade quick them all the way across the pink-colored bathroom. This caused the chipmunk to become frustrated, and her heartbeat to become even more panicked.

" **THAT'S NOT ME!** " She cried out once more, "Just let me go back to my room, please…"

"Not you? Are you seriously still trying to deny it?" The echidna laughed, pointing at the tormented girl's exposed body. "Your curves are exactly the same and there's no denying that weird looking birthmark on your thigh."

The auburn-haired girl became too overcome with anxiety to continue defending herself or trying to flee the bathroom. Instead, she backed herself into a corner and curled up on the floor, making the crowd of girls laugh even harder.

With no cellphone she could not call anyone for help…

All she could do was take their torment until they grew bored of her and kicked her clothes back at her to get dressed.

* * *

"I am very zorry to be calling you here zis early, My Love." Antoine sighed heavily, apologizing to his girlfriend for waking her up to come console him so early.

They were sitting on the edge of his bed. The southern belle had her hand on his back, rubbing in circles as she spoke to him in that soothing voice that had always served him well in troubling times.

"It's no problem at all, Sugah-Twan." She assured him, "I didn't get much sleep last night either… Plus, I was kinda hopin' to catch that blue blockhead on the way here."

"He swears he had no part in ze photos being put on ze internet."

"Well, we know betta than to take his word for anything at this point, don't we?"

"Oui." He agreed, "He also said she has not talked to him since yesterday either."

Bunnie frowned, mind wandering back to those disgusting pictures and the even more disgusting things she had heard about her dear friend floating around campus.

"I must've called her a hundred times last night, and when I went to her dorm Fiona wouldn't let in or even tell me if she was there or not..."

"Come then." The coyote said, standing up to his feet with a determined look on his face. "With all zis drama and fake photos she must be hiding from ze spotlight as she often does. We must find her."

"Ri-Right, Darlin'." Bunnie nodded, standing up to follow him out of his dorm room.

As he walked on in front of her, the golden-haired girl dropped her gaze a bit as she thought of something she would keep to herself in fear of how her boyfriend might react.

 _'Only…those photos might not be fake at all, Darlin'…'_

* * *

This was one of the more common days where Espio, Vector, and Charmy had synced class schedules while their other friends did not, meaning they shared the same free period.

With nothing to do, the three decided to huddle up in the crocodile's dorm because he was the only one of them who didn't have a roommate.

Espio stood by the door, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed as he thought to himself about the events of yesterday's hospital visit to Julie-Su.

Vector laid on his bed while he fiddled around on his cellphone, the twin-sized mattress being so small that his feet dangled off the edge.

Charmy sat in the corner at the crocodile's desk, one of his legs jittering with obvious anxiousness.

"Ya'll seen these nudes going around?" The crocodile asked his friends, phone held up above his face as he scrolled through the naked pictures of the redheaded chipmunk that had spread around campus.

"Oh…uh, yeah." Charmy murmured shyly in response, turning away from the other two boys in the room so they wouldn't see the embarrassed glow of red on his cheeks. "Some guys in my gym class were looking at them and showed me."

"Who knew that chick had a body like a pornstar?!" The crocodile whistled, "Now it makes sense why Sonic was trynna smash, right Es?"

"I wouldn't know, considering I refused to look at those."

"Eh? Why not? Just because you've got a girlfriend doesn't mean you can't look."

"She's my girlfriend's sister…so…I'd rather not."

Being the youngest and only fourteen, the bee was quite uncomfortable with the subject matter that the two older boys had seemingly no trouble discussing. In the hopes of changing subject, he decided to speak up about something more important than some random girl's nudes that had been occupying his mind.

"I hope Julie-Su is doing okay…" He blurted out of nowhere, his gaze dropping to his shoes.

"I'm sure she's fine, Charmy." Espio replied, the same worry having been on his own mind. "She certainly seemed well enough to scold Mighty and Knuckles on the ride home last night."

"Pshh, those two." Vector grumbled, recalling how his two hot-headed friends nearly killed each other in the waiting room.

"I was really scared." The bee mumbled, "What do you think that was all about anyway? Mighty doesn't usually get worked up for just anything."

"Well, it wasn't just anything." Espio shrugged, "He and Julie-Su are arguably the closest among our circle. He was worried about her and just had a freak-out."

"But to go off on Knux like that? Like, really?" The crocodile piped up, sitting up in bed to shoot both boys a skeptical glance. "I don't know about ya'll, but…I think there's a bit more to the story than we're seeing."

"Like what?"

"He thinks Mighty's in love with Julie-Su." Espio explained to the confused bee, "Right?"

"Hey, you're the one who said it!" Vector chuckled raising his hands innocently, "I was just thinking it."

"That can't be right." Charmy shook his head, "Ray told me Mighty had a crush on their neighbor back home! That Amy Rose girl everyone likes."

"Honestly, it's not that farfetched an idea. I mean, Mighty's always had trouble talking to any girl who isn't Julie, they've always kept in touch even during her move, and he seems much more protective of her than the average good friend."

" **EXACTLY!** " Vector agreed, clapping his hands in emphasis. "When he called to tell me Julie-Su was in the hospital he sounded a lot more shaken than Knux did, and he was the one there when she passed out."

"Speaking of that…what is wrong with her anyway?" Charmy questioned, looking to Espio who almost always had a solid answer.

"I don't know." The chameleon sighed, "The nurse wouldn't reveal any details, and Julie insists that she just hadn't eaten in a while, but that wouldn't explain the bleeding."

"Yeah. Saffron told me she's seen Julie-Su faint before, and thinks she's gotten a bit too skinny."

"I've noticed that myself."

"Same. She's also been extra dodgy. Like, she and I use to wrestle around and shadow box all the time, but she doesn't step to me the way she used to. Always saying her knees are sore or something like that." Vector added.

"She's hiding something…and I want to know what." Espio stated, turning to his two friends who nodded their heads in agreement.

"Are you saying it's time to do some detective work?!" Charmy exclaimed with excitement.

"On what's wrong with Julie-Su? Or if Mighty has a thing for her?"

"Both I suppose." The chameleon shrugged, "You could use training like this, considering your career choice." He added, walking over to the young bee to pat his head.

* * *

Although his second class was in session, Ash hadn't been doing much in the way of teaching. He sat at his desk with eyes glued to the notebook he was scribbling nothing in while his class did whatever they felt like.

Despite what happened yesterday, he still intended to quit his job before any more drama could ensue due to his presence.

For some reason he just couldn't think straight, his mind wandering back to what happened—mainly the kiss itself and the lavender-haired songstress' romantic confession.

Up until that moment, he had never thought of her as anything more than a student in need of a helping hand. His kind gestures and efforts to make her happy again were just that. They weren't any form of grooming in the hope of something happening between them—just as they hadn't been with Honey.

He was just a genuinely nice person with his students' best interest at heart.

So why is it that he hadn't stopped thinking about the mongoose girl since?

"Mr. Ash?" A heavenly voice called out to him, breaking his trance.

He looked up from his scribbling to catch her jade eyes, Mina Mongoose's eyes. There was a pink tint to her cheeks, and she rubbed her arm nervously.

They hadn't seen each other since, causing a bit of awkward tension to brew between them. He was quick to drop his gaze back to the paper, disheartening her a bit.

"I'm sorry." He apologized, making her heartbeat quicken. "I'm going to talk to Alicia about my leave when I get the chance."

Her heart nearly broke at the prospect. After her confession and that kiss, none of it did anything to change his mind.

Everyone in the room seemed to be engrossed in discussion or on their phones, allowing the lavender-haired girl's teary eyes to go unnoticed by everyone but him.

"I wish you wouldn't…" She whimpered, "If it's because of Breezie, I told you I don't care about that."

"It's not that anymore…"

"Really?!" She gasped, "Then…why?"

"It's…because of you, Mina."

"Be-Because of me?" She repeated in shock, "Because of what I said?"

"Yes…" He sighed, his gaze remaining on the notebook as his grip on the pen in his hand tightened. "I'm leaving because now that I know how you feel… I feel like I won't be able to stop myself from feeling the same if I stay any longer."

Her eyes widened as a shocked gasp escaped her and her heart threatened to pound right out of her chest.

"But I want you to…be with me." She whispered, "Wouldn't it make sense for you to just stay?"

"No."

"Why not?!"

"Because people know now… And if something like this were to get out they'd never hire me at a school ever again." He explained, referencing how Sonia and Honey had walked in on their kiss. "Besides, things are more complicated than you realize…" He added, looking passed her and right at the yellow cat staring their way.

Mina followed his gaze, leading her to look right at Honey who quickly turned away. She then turned back to the teacher, assuming she understood the implying statement.

"You're worried about Honey and Sonia, right?" She asked, making him look away from her once more. "Honey's my best friend in the entire world, she wouldn't tell a soul, and I'll talk to Sonia myself."

"It's just too much, Mina." He shook his head, "I'm sorry."

"We can make it work—"

 **RING!**

She was cut off mid-sentence by the bell, signifying the end of class. Soon everyone began filing out the door, waving and calling out their goodbyes to the music teacher as they went.

Leaving Mina and Ash to stare at one another briefly until she finally walked off toward Honey, who had speedily walked out the door.

* * *

Silver walked down the halls in a bit of confusion, noticing small groups of teens building up here and there to look at whatever it was people had on their cellphones. He swiftly dodged the hoards as he eyed them skeptically, wondering what all the hubbub was about.

 _'Hmm, maybe that Vector guy is throwing one of those crazy parties again?'_ He deduced, _'Hopefully I can get an invite this time…'_

Despite his curiosity, he brushed the thoughts off to focus on getting to his destination.

The café where Gold had texted him to meet her.

His mind soon wandered back to her, a subject it's been on constantly now. In her texts, she said that she was sitting with a couple friends, but that they were nice people. It caught him off guard and admittedly caused a bit of jealousy to run through his veins, always having assumed he was the only person at school she talked to-considering that she was his only friend of course.

 _'C'mon Silver, don't be such a freak. She's allowed to have other friends!'_ He scolded himself, _'At least…I hope she doesn't have a crush on one of them…'_

His thoughts soon began to get more and more insecure. Thankfully he had walked into the café and caught the attention of the golden tenrec. She quickly stood up to wave him down, capturing his attention the way she so often did.

"Silver! Over here!" She called him over excitedly.

He smiled and offered a wave of his own as he walked toward her and her friends.

He finally got to the table, scanning both the other boys seated beside her. One was an orange echidna boy with glasses, and the other was a shark boy with hazel eyes.

"Hi there." Silver greeted them shyly, taking a seat across from the tenrec and right next to the shark boy.

"Silver, these are my friends Cobar and Razor. They're president and vice-president of the LGBT club." She introduced the three, easing the white hedgehog's horrifying thoughts of her possibly having feelings for either of them.

"Hello." Cobar greeted him kindly, something the hedgehog wasn't quite used to. "Gold's told me a lot about you."

"Oh, heh, really?"

"Yep." He nodded, "She says you're a big 'ole SyFy nerd like her."

They all shared a laugh and began to make small talk that quickly turned into delightful conversations. Silver was so thankful, having not been this social in a while.

The only time conversation fell flat was when the echidna and shark ceased all speaking to exchange cold glares with three figures that had walked by their table.

Silver turned to face where they were shooting those nasty glares, noticing a purple swallow, gray albatross, and green hawk.

"Who are they?" He asked, oblivious to the bitter past between the two boys and those three.

"The girl's name is Wave." Razor explained briefly, "She used to be a part of the LGBT committee, but dropped us completely to hang around with…that monster."

"The other one is Storm." Gold explained next, "He's on the basketball team and also best friends with that…monster."

"Who's the monster? And what exactly makes him a monster?" Silver asked, genuinely curious.

"The one in the middle. That's Jet the Hawk…" Cobar remarked bitterly, "He used to terrorize the LGBT kids. He assaulted my boyfriend and drove him to…suicide."

The echidna then lowered his gaze to his lap, squeezing his hands tightly together as he repressed sorrowful memories of his late boyfriend, Rotor Walrus.

"That was your-I'm so sorry." Silver apologized, recalling how the school was in utter turmoil over the ordeal, and the little bit that he knew thanks to Gold who was also friends with the walrus.

Razor leaned across the table to gently rub his echidna friend's shoulder, assuring him that things were fine and the hawk would get his comeuppance one day.

It took a little bit, but soon the dynamic went back into better spirits between the four teens, and they were once again laughing and talking like normal.

Eventually, Silver couldn't help but notice that small groups of people were gathering even in the café to look at each other's cellphones.

He found it too strange to ignore any longer and decided to ask Gold and her friends about it.

"Hey umm, do you guys have any clue what's going on around here?" He asked the three of them, "Everyone keeps stopping to look at something on their phones."

The three exchanged confused glances before a metaphorical lightbulb suddenly went off in Razor's head. He snapped his figures, alerting the three of his realization before pulling out his cellphone.

"Oh! You guys haven't read Nack's blog? That Sally girl got her nudes leaked and was exposed as a hoe!" The shark whistled, unlocking his phone to pull up the images.

"No! Not the Sally who stood up against Jet when he was bullying us!" Cobar shook his head in disbelief.

"It can't be her." Gold added, "She seemed so innocent when I talked to her. She even gave me advice one time."

"Well then you got advice from a hoe, because this is totally her!" Razor exclaimed, holding out his phone to the echidna and tenrec who went wide-eyed at the images.

"Oh Chaos!" They both yelped, clasping their hands over their mouths.

"That really is her…" Gold muttered.

"Who the heck is Sally?" Silver finally asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

That's when Razor turned the phone his way, and his amber eyes caught sight of what everyone else was looking at, but none had even a fraction of the shock he did.

"Th-That's the girl… The singing girl from the auditorium!"

* * *

As usual, Nack and Mephiles were by the weasel's computer in his dorm room while their bodyguard hedgehog stood by the wall tuning them out.

"Incredible Mephy! Fuckin' incredible!" The weasel praised the gray-striped boy, stroking his ego with all the compliments for his masterful manipulation. "I've been going to this school four bloody years and I've **NEVER** come across someone who could stir up this much ruckus without being noticed."

"I have a habit of blending into the walls." The hedgehog smirked, "But that'll change soon enough… I've already begun making this school my playground."

"Oh! I forgot to show you this." Nack exclaimed upon remembering something interesting as he fished out his phone to pull something up and hand it to the hedgehog. "Shade caught the little slut in the bathroom and took a snap of her comin' out of the shower. A little side-by-side shot proves these pics are actually real!"

"How funny." Mephiles chuckled, handing him back the phone. "It seems like the tides are certainly turning in my favor. Whether or not Sonic decides to follow through with that little bet, both their reps are tarnished anyway."

"All hail King Mephiles."

"Did you honestly think it would turn out any other way in the end?"

"Given Sonic and the girl have always been game changers, of course I did. But this! There's no coming back from this for either of them."

Behind them, Shard glared harshly, but said nothing as always. He was simply a bystander to their mischief and wouldn't concern himself any further despite that being the right thing to do.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

He only lifted himself off the wall when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out to see a message from Blaze, eliciting an annoyed groan from him.

 ** _Blaze:_** _I can't lure you out of there with a smoothie offer a second time, can I?_

 ** _Shard:_** _Not if you're gonna try counseling me again._

 ** _Blaze:_** _I'm just trying to help you._

 ** _Shard:_** _I don't need help._

 ** _Blaze:_** _Yes you do. And I want to help you._

 ** _Shard:_** _Well I don't want help._

 ** _Blaze:_** _I'll keep trying anyway._

 ** _Shard:_** _Why? We're not even friends. You're nobody to me._

 ** _Blaze:_** _Because I know how bad it feels to be deserted by people you thought cared._

 ** _Blaze:_** _Like I said, you won't be able to push me away._

He simply rolled his eyes at her last text before shoving the phone back into his pocket, not wanting to deal with the prying feline any further.

Although, he did find her persistence a bit refreshing.

 **KNOCK, KNOCK!**

A loud knock sent all three boys jolting up in fright before their eyes flew to the door.

"Are you expecting someone?" Mephiles asked the weasel who stood up from his seat to go answer.

"Not really." Nack shrugged, reaching for the knob. "It's probably one of the girls afraid to get their nudes leaked next and want to bribe me."

He chuckled cynically before opening the door. To his surprise it wasn't a female or even a personal acquaintance.

It was an angry brother on a mission.

Elias Acorn had forced his way into the room, wrapping both hands around the weasel's neck as he pushed him back up to the nearest wall he could find, choking the fellow senior.

"What the hell?!" Nack wailed, doing his best to pull the squirrel's hands off with no luck.

"Where the fuck did you get those pictures of my little sister?!" He barked angrily, tightening his grip on the purple teen's throat.

"How do you expect him to answer while you choke him to death?" Mephiles mused, catching the prince's eye before he decided to ease his grip on the boy's throat enough for him to speak.

"I…I got…an anonymous email…" He spat out between pants for air, "I don't know…who had them…"

"Well you better take them the fuck down! **NOW!** "

"What would be…the point? Everyone's probably…already saved them…"

"I don't care." Elias shook his head, squeezing tightly once more. "Take. Them. Down."

With every coldly uttered word, the prince tightened his grip and even rose his arms, lifting the weasel off the ground. He kicked violently as he struggled for breath.

Not only was he caught off guard by the strength of the pretty boy, he hardly had any himself, being nothing more than a basement dweller on a computer most of his life. All he could think to do was turn to his sickly amused friend and beg for a save.

"A…Little help, Meph?" He managed to mutter out before Elias threw him across the room toward the desk, causing the weasel to knock over two of his computer screens.

"I suppose I could give you a hand." The reptilian-eyed boy shrugged, snapping his fingers for his lacky to come forth. "Shard, you know what to do."

"Shard?" Elias rose an eyebrow, turning his line of vision to the DigItalian boy who had been standing by the door. "What're you doing here?!"

"…" He said nothing, the shame evident in his eyes.

"Dammit!" Nack cursed, broken computer screen in hands as he coughed uncontrollably. "He busted my fucking monitor! You better make that mug of his not so pretty anymore, Kid!"

"You should go, Eli…" Shard warned his roommate, "I don't want to hurt you."

"Don't tell me you're actually a part of all this?!" The squirrel shook his head.

"Just go!" He begged.

The hurt, the horror, the shock! It was abundantly clear that Elias had the misconception that Shard was in cahoots with the two malicious senior's underhanded schemes, yet he still chose to stay quiet and deepen the dark hole he had buried himself in.

The auburn-haired boy looked so disgusted, shaking his head disapprovingly before stomping toward the door, but not before uttering words so painful the foreign boy nearly fell apart.

"If this is the kind of person you've decided to be then it's no wonder why Nicole wants nothing to do with you anymore."

* * *

By now it was practically impossible not to know about Sally Acorn's pictures going around campus—unless you were an adult of course.

Wherever you went you'd hear about it somehow.

Catching a few people whispering about it, getting the photos sent to you directly, or even catching groups gathering around to pass each other a cellphone. It was inescapable, and had everyone talking!

After shooting Shard one last message, the cat put her phone away and proceeded walking down the hall. She sighed, overhearing the whispers and dodging the small groups the best she could.

She knew what they were talking about. Hell, she was the first to know what was going on, and the only one to truly know why.

She did her best to ignore it, not wanting to involve herself in any drama after finally getting to a good place in her rocky life.

But then she caught sight of something that made her truly realize the severity of what was going on.

Down the hall, she spotted Sonic wearing one of the most sorrowful looks she had ever seen on his usually cheery face. He walked swiftly, obviously trying to avoid the crowd of people behind him hollering hurtful and taunting things at him, tugging at the tender heartstrings of the cat.

"Hey Sonic, your girlfriend's got some fat tits!"

"Yo! How bout we run a train on her? Judging by these pics she'd obviously be down for a few dicks at once!"

"Did you break up with Amy because that Sally bitch made your dick fall off with an STD?!"

It was just awful! Blaze wanted nothing more than to shew those jerks off and console the poor hedgehog who was obviously getting upset, but his speedy walking made it impossible for her to catch up at this point.

She balled her fists and took off, seeing as how there was practically nothing she could do for him.

A further ways down the hall, she had coincidently bumped into Amy—whom she hastily approached.

The pink girl was fishing for things in her locker when the feline approached her.

"Amy." Blaze spoke, causing the girl to jump a bit.

"Chaos, Blaze!" She breathed a sigh of relief, resting one hand on her chest while she used the other to close her locker. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"We need to talk."

"About what?"

"About how these pictures have everyone freaking out!"

"So?"

" **SO?** " The cat repeated in an irritated fashion, "I just saw a group of guys practically bullying Sonic all the way down the hall! And from what I hear, that girl was cornered in the bathroom this morning and berated until she cried!"

"Why should I care? Have you forgotten what he did to me? How she stole him from me?" The pink girl snarled, "They deserve whatever they get."

"As far as we know, all he did was break up with you. Everything you read on that stupid blog could have been a rumor!"

"He cheated on me with her! He told me himself that he kissed her while we were together!"

"Get the fuck off your high horse! You slept with Scourge hours before getting with him anyway!"

"Of course you'd side with the cheaters." Amy huffed, tears threatening her jade eyes if this conversation was to carry on. "Can't forget that you know a thing or two about backstabbing."

An obvious jab at the cat's infatuation with Sonic herself earlier in the year, and a critically effective move at making the cat feel like utter shit.

"Amy…"

"I don't want to talk about this anymore. Like I said, whatever they get, they freakin' deserve." She shook her head before finally storming off, "I've got to go find my friend, Mighty."

* * *

After attending a couple classes, Sonia and Honey finally found time to link up. The two girls were aimlessly walking down the pathways around campus.

The weather was nice for the walking, but from Sonia's perspective the cat didn't seem to care.

She frowned, staring at the disheartened look on the poor feline, naturally assuming yesterday's chance encounter with Ash and Mina to be the cause of her sorrows.

Honey was usually so cheerful. She should've been dancing around and going on and on about something silly or perverted, but she hardly had the energy to even smile or respond more than three words.

"Honey…" Sonia called out in a tender tone, "I know why you're upset. I'm not clueless. I know a thing or two about having your heart broken—"

"Heartbroken?" She replied, doing her best to put on a cheery façade although it just came off as even more sad. "Not me. I don't fall in love, remember?"

"Honey…we can talk about it."

"There's nothing to talk about." She waved in dismissal, purposely turning her head to obscure the hedgehog's view of her face. "He and I only fucked once…and it wasn't even that good."

"He was your first love."

"As if." The caught rolled her eyes.

"Honey."

"I'm gonna go, Sonia." The cat blurted out a little too desperately, picking up the pace to leave the hedgehog behind.

All she could do was watch the Lolita-dressed girl disappear from view through sympathetic jade eyes that were quick to notice the trail of tears she had left behind on the cement pathway.

She wasn't alone very long though, because shortly after she felt a hand fall on her shoulder. She jumped before turning around to see none other than Mina Mongoose.

"Where's she going? Off to see if any losers are down to fuck or something?" The lavender-haired girl remarked as she noticed their yellow cat friend fading from view.

The comment sent a wave of anger through the hedgehog, causing her to swat the other girl's hand off her shoulder.

Being so self-centered, the mongoose hadn't noticed her comment offended the magenta girl, and she proceeded with her casual talking anyway.

"Doesn't matter." Mina shrugged, turning her attention to Sonia, "I came to talk to you."

"To me?" She rose an eyebrow, "About what?"

"What you saw yesterday… Me and Mr. Ash…"

The subject made the hedgehog's quills stand, and she unconsciously darted her eyes to the direction the cat had disappeared in before turning her attention back to the oblivious mongoose.

"I've had my eye on him for a while now to be honest. I owe a lot to him." She began uttering her tale of the budding romance between her and their music teacher. "He's the only reason I'm as happy as I am now."

"And why do you feel the need to tell me this exactly?"

"Because he actually has feelings for me too, but he's afraid his career will go up in flames if word gets out."

"Well, teachers shouldn't be dating students."

"He's only six years older than me. It's not that big a deal."

"It's abuse of power." The magenta girl snapped.

"Think what you want, Sonia." Mina sighed, "I know Honey won't tell, but I need your word that you won't either—"

"You talked to Honey about this?!"

"Of course." The mongoose shrugged innocently, "She's my best friend. We tell each other everything."

"Really?"

"Well, duh."

"And what did she have to say about all this?"

"She's happy if I'm happy."

"I doubt that."

"Excuse me?"

"She clearly doesn't tell you everything."

"Listen, just because she's been coddling you for a few weeks doesn't mean you know her like I do." The lavender-haired girl growled, annoyed at whatever the hedgehog was insinuating. "Just give me your word you won't say anything so I can get the hell out of here."

"I'd wager that I know her better than you, considering the only voice you seem to be able to hear is your own." Sonia retorted, "Take that word you want so badly and shove it up your ass because I'm not giving you shit." She added, turning heel to walk off and find Honey.

Mina was astonished, having known Sonia to be such a sensitive girl she hadn't expected such a response. It enraged her and had her desperate enough to pull out her ultimate trump card.

"Hey, wait!" She shouted after the hedgehog, who made the grave mistake of looking back over her shoulder to listen.

"My mother…she was the lawyer who made your mom lose custody of your little brother." She reminded the magenta girl, making her eyes widen with such a vial threat. "And I'm sure it would be easy to rip another baby away from mommy if you cross me, especially since Manic already has a checkered past with the law."

"You…You bitch!" Sonia shrieked, "You can't threaten me like that, and what the hell do you know about my brother?!"

"More than you'd think." She replied coldly, "Don't cross me, Sonia. You'll regret it."

* * *

Julie-Su clenched her teeth and clutched two textbooks to her chest extra tightly, annoyed by the red echidna that had been following her around campus like a second shadow all day.

When she woke up, he was at the door to walk her off.

When she got out of class, he was right there by her locker.

Even when she came out of the bathroom! He was right there waiting for her.

"Ugh! Enough following me around, Dummy!" She finally lost her patience, turning around to berate the annoying stalker. "I told you I'm fine!"

"I just want to make sure." Knuckles mumbled, taking the books she had been holding. "You have a habit of overexerting yourself sometimes. I'll carry these."

"I don't need you to coddle me."

"I know." He sighed, "I just want to…"

She blushed a bit, but didn't let her guard down a little bit. This was Knuckles the Echidna after all, notorious heartbreaker who never seemed to learn his lesson.

"Ugh, just go away."

"Sorry, I'm not as easy to scare away as the other guys."

"Lucky me." She groaned.

She stomped angrily down the hall, sighing to herself as she listened to his footsteps behind her.

Although she'd never admit it, she appreciated the sentiment, and was glad to know he cared.

Halfway down the hall, the pink echidna suddenly felt her knees give out. She nearly went crashing to the floor face first, but thankfully Knuckles had dropped the books and caught her by the waist just in time.

He leaned her up against the wall for support, gently sliding her down so she could regain her composure. He took a seat beside her in the mostly empty hallway, calling out to her.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked, worry evident in his voice.

"I'm fine. Just a bit dizzy."

He watched her as she tried to steady herself on her own, noticing the shakiness in her arms and legs. Then his mind wandered back to the hurtful things Mighty had said in the waiting room yesterday.

"What's going on with you, Julie-Su?"

"I already told you. I just haven't been eating too good."

"That's bullshit." Knuckles shook his head, "Mighty's right, isn't he? I'm stressing you out so bad it's making you physically sick…"

"What? No!" She blurted out, turning to catch that horrifying look of anguish on the face of the boy she loved so much. "Knuckles…"

"I just… I feel so guilty." He confessed, bringing his knees to his chest as he stared at the floor. "I'm an idiot. I did everything I said I wouldn't, and probably put so much stress on you."

"That is true, but don't beat yourself up over it—"

"Of course I'm gonna beat myself up over it! I care about you so much! More than any girl I've known in my life…" He wailed out, making her eyes widen with surprise at such an emotional outburst. "And as much as I care about you…I care about Lara-Su even more…and I ended up hurting her too. Now it's over…"

"Knuckles…"

"Mighty's right. I should just stay out of your life…and hers." He shook his head, scrambling to his feet to get away. "It'd be best for the both of you."

"Wait!" She shouted after him as he began walking off.

She tried to get up on her feet, but it felt impossible with the pain going off in her knees. Even so, she willed it away with all the strength she had to get up. She staggered after him until she was able to link her arms around him from behind and bury her face into his back, surprising him with the sudden action.

"It's not over Knuckles…" She muttered into his back, tears escaping her as she pictured the little family she wanted to build together with him and their daughter. "I want to hold on to you… I want us to fix things… I love you."

* * *

As usual, instead of attending class Geoffrey was stowed away under the bleachers in the makeshift lounge area he had constructed for himself out of various items.

The skunk laid on the makeshift hammock he had created by tying a volleyball net to two ends of one of the bars holding up a set of bleachers. He hummed whimsically to himself as he ogled the naked pictures of the redheaded chipmunk he had pulled up on his phone.

"Oh how I miss that ass…" He sighed, delving back into his memory at how soft her auburn hair once felt on his fingertips.

Just before his hand could travel all the way down his pants, the crackling of twigs had jolted him upright. He turned around to see his newest and most profitable customer walk over to his side.

"Kenny!" He greeted the monkey, not bothering to hide the sultry image on his phone. "You run outta shit already? With the way you run me ragged I might have to start charging you double—"

"I'm not here for that." The other boy cut him off, blue eyes narrowed at the picture on the screen of the skunk's cellphone. "I just…I wanted to know if those pictures are real…"

"These?" Geoffrey questioned, using his free hand to swipe through all of the sexual images. "Of course they are. I can even tell you where they probably came from."

"So…she really lied to me…about everything?"

"You don't have a clue, do you?"

Despite all the evidence, Ken found it difficult to believe everything he knew about the auburn-haired girl was a façade. He didn't want it to be. He truly had fallen for the girl he had come to know, and if that was all fake…it would be too devastating. He needed to hold on to the hope that it was all a big misunderstanding.

He needed to talk to her…

* * *

Fiona hugged herself as she roamed upstairs to the dorm room she knew belonged to Rosy Rascal, an old friend. She hadn't talked to the goth-girl willingly since their falling out, but found herself unable to think of anyone else to go to at this point.

She was still shaken about having her psycho boyfriend point a gun at her, and was curious to know what Manic had figured out or if she knew anything at all.

It didn't take long for her to open the door, the two of them standing there in the doorway.

"What are you here for?" The pink girl questioned, crossing her arms.

"Did…Did you guys find Scourge?" She asked, stuttering as she struggled to find the strength to even ask about it.

"Manic told my boyfriend you lied." Rosy shrugged, "He said Scourge is walking around normally somewhere."

" **BUT I WASN'T LYING, ROSY.** " The vixen shrieked, "He pointed it at my fucking face."

The pink girl eyed her skeptically, taking note of the vixen's desperate and panicked eyes. She then shifted her weight to one foot, nodding in agreement to the other girl's statement.

"I know, Fi. Manic's clearly covering something up."

"Can…Can I come in?"

"No way." She shook her head, "I might believe you, and even feel bad for you, but that doesn't change anything between us. You abandoned me…remember."

"I…I didn't mean to treat you that way." Fiona murmured sorrowfully, "Please, I could really use a friend."

"You should know me better than that by now, Fi." The goth-girl sighed, inching the door shut in her face. "You've used me one too many times."

Then the door clicked shut, and Fiona was left standing alone in the hall. She willed back her tears and turned heel back downstairs to her own dorm.

It had been the only place she felt safe, up until she opened the door to see Scourge sitting right there on her bed. Even in the dim lighting, his piercing blue eyes seemed to radiate in an illuming effect that made him appear even more terrifying.

She nearly fell backwards at the sight of him, taking a few steps back toward the door for an escape if need be.

"Fiona…" He said her name aloud in a hush tone that sent chills down her spine.

"Wh-What are you doing here?" She replied nervously.

He then stood up from the bed and walked over to her, grabbing her wrists so that she'd quit inching her way back to the door.

"I came to say sorry…" He told her, leaving her absolutely stunned.

"What?!"

"I didn't mean to scare you." He admitted truthfully, "Or be that much of a dick to you. I've just been going through things…and I'm sorry."

"You…You don't say sorry…"

"Well, there's a first time for everything I guess."

She looked down, debating on whether or not she should just run for it. Then she looked back up at his face, captivated by those hollow blue eyes she had been staring into for almost four years. Suddenly all of her feelings of hurt and fear melted away to be replaced by that dependent feeling she had on him.

He took the moment to kiss her, officially reverting her back to that toxically in love state, making her completely forget he threatened to kill her less than twenty-four hours ago.

Once he pulled away from her she looked up to him and asked a question that had been weighing heavily on her mind since.

"What were you going to do with that gun?"

He bit his lip, debating on whether or not he should confess, but thought it best not to keep her in the dark too much. After all, she was the only stable relationship in his life right now whether he liked it or not.

"Have you ever wanted to kill your parents for what they did to you?"

"Of course. I've told you that." She nodded.

"Well, have you ever wanted to kill yourself more because they couldn't love you…and forever left you a fucked up mess thinking you never could be loved?"

"But…you are loved." The vixen assured him, cupping his face to bring him down into a kiss once more. "I love you…You're my king…" She added as they made their way to her bed.

Completely oblivious to the traumatized chipmunk silently crying in the closet as she hid from the world.

* * *

After brushing off her conversation with Blaze from earlier, Amy had composed herself well enough to go off looking for her armadillo friend—the only person who seemed to be able to make her smile at all these days. His company made her feel so positive and lively, and she was surely in need of it right now.

Ten minutes within searching for him, she caught sight of him sitting on the steps of the electives building across campus.

She quickly scurried over to him, ignoring anyone calling out to greet her so she could make it to him faster.

"Hey you." She cheered him, walking up the steps to take a seat beside him. "Sorry I didn't answer your texts. I was just…in a bad place."

"Hey you." He greeted her back, his smile warming her heart. "It's okay. I wasn't really available last night anyway."

"Why not?"

"My friend Julie-Su had to be taken to the hospital. I didn't get back to campus until around three in the morning."

"Oh."

"Yeah. She's alright now though." He nodded, looking out toward the hordes of students huddling over phones. A sight that had him rolling his eyes in annoyance. "And ever since I got back to campus all I've been hearing about is those leaked nudes."

"Yo-You heard about that?" Amy stammered in surprise.

"Of course I did. It's been sent to my phone like twenty times since I woke up this morning." He complained, "I get that people are angry, and don't like her, but it's really fucked up for some loser to do something like this."

"You really think that?" The pink girl asked, palms beginning to sweat nervously. "I heard they were leaked by other girls she had stolen boyfriends from…"

"Honestly, anyone who's willing to pull a petty move like this is disgusting and a scumbag no matter what the reason." He replied passionately, "If you've got a problem with someone you work it out amongst each other through words, not some idiot cyber war and character bashing."

"That makes…sense…"

"I just hope the sender gets ousted so I know which of the girls I should blacklist and never talk to again." He added, sending Amy's heart plummeting into her stomach.

* * *

 **Another long, emotional, rollercoaster ride of a chapter. Sorry for how long it is, and your welcome if you enjoy long chapters!**

 **Anyways, a few things to comment on here…**

 **Yay Cream x Ray is finally happening! That adorable cinnamon roll deserves some love, doesn't he?**

 **Julie-Su has finally succumb to her feelings and has decided to give Knuckles yet another chance at family life! He can't possibly blow it again…right?**

 **Scourge x Fiona? Really?! After last chapter's scare?! WTF?! Well, there's a crazy, messed up story behind that one…and it's going to be unveiled very soon.**

 **Now that Ash knows about how Mina feels…for some reason it's got him realizing his own feelings for her! Self-centered and in love, Mina's willing to do anything to get him to stay and be with her…and unfortunately for anyone in her way she's got more than just popularity on her side...she's got a mother who's just as grimy.**

 **Becoming the center of attention for a wallflower suffering from severe anxiety like Sally is horrible! Especially when the spotlight is casted on her due to a scandal like this! Now she and her (ex?!)boyfriend are being relentlessly taunted by their peers more than ever before. Can they pull through this together? Or has Mephiles really succeeded in pushing them both to the bottom on his way to the top?!**

 **Blaze has finally found her way out of the dark hole she had been trapped in for so long thanks to Shard's outreach… Now she's delving back into that dark place to reach out to him. Can she save him from despair, or is he just too far gone?**

 **Lastly, DAMN Amy… you fucked up…**

 **Mighty isn't like the dramatic douchebags she's got a bad habit of falling for. Something like leaking someone's nudes as retaliation doesn't impress him—it outright disgusts him.**

 **And if he ever found out it was her…**

 **Well then, we can all probably say bye-bye to that Mighty/Amy ship.**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Blaze enlists some unlikely help in her mission to get Shard out of his deep depression**

 **Scourge decides to pay a visit to Bernadette, and also finds out about the leaked pictures!**

 **Elias struggles with the stressful situations of his life**

 **A suspicious Rosy confronts Manic while their alone**

 **Charmy, Espio, and Vector's 'detective work' ultimately backfires in a comical way**

 **Sally searches for Sonic to explain things**

 **And so much more!**


	80. Chapter 80

**WARNING: Nudity, bullying, mentions of abortion and guns**

* * *

 **Chapter 80: Boiling Point**

Principal Acorn found herself buried in paperwork quite often, but there was the rare occasion that she managed to catch up with it and have a day of peace to do as she pleased.

Thankfully for her, today had been one of those rare days where she was able to put down the pen and even leave the office she was confined to almost all the time.

Her favorite thing to do with the free time was strolling around campus to admire the school she had built from the ground up, and interact with the students she's come to love as much as her own children.

It was a warm, sunny, spring day. The sky was a delightful blue with puffy, white clouds dancing around the bright sun.

The sound of flickys chirping and students laughing were the most notable sounds to her as she walked down the cement pathways connecting each building.

She waved hello to those who passed by, and even started up the occasional conversation with students who'd give the time.

Although everything seemed so peaceful…something still felt off to the chipmunk woman.

Wherever she went, she couldn't help but take notice of several groups huddled around cellphones and snickering in a mischievous way that made her uneasy.

Thankfully she had spotted a couple students she felt comfortable enough with to ask about the strange behaviors she had been noticing among the student body.

"Good morning Bunnie and Antoine." The chestnut-haired woman greeted the familiar couple as she strolled up to the picnic table they were seated at.

Both the coyote and rabbit paled a bit, but managed to keep up a decent pokerface for the principal.

"Howdy, Ms. Acorn!" Bunnie spoke first, an agonizingly uncomfortable feeling behind her cheery greeting.

"Or are we to be calling you, Mrs. Echidna?" Antoine questioned curiously, making the older woman blush shyly.

"Principal Acorn is just fine, Antoine." She mused, raising her right hand to flash them her gorgeous wedding ring. "It'd be a little too confusing for people to call me ' _Echidna_ ', don't you think?"

"Oui." He agreed.

"So what brings you outta the office today?" Bunnie piped up, wondering if the chipmunk woman had any knowledge of the pictures circling the school.

"Well, I had caught up with all my paperwork and decided to take a stroll." She explained, looking around at the groups loitering about. "I've actually been noticing a lot of students gathering together to look at something. Do either of you know what's going on?"

Both teens exchanged worried glances, knowing full well they were both horrible, **HORRIBLE** liars.

"Umm, well—"

Just as Bunnie was readying herself to reluctantly clue the principal in on the scandal, another staff member had approached them and unknowingly saved the day for them.

"Excuse me." Ash Mongoose spoke up as he approached the two teens and principal, "Principal Acorn, I need to have a word with you."

"Oh, of course Mr. Ash." The chipmunk woman nodded to him, turning to the coyote and rabbit to say goodbye. "Sorry to leave so soon, but this sounds important. I'll catch you some other time. Give the girls my hellos."

It was the most relieving feeling in the world, watching the chipmunk woman walk off with the mongoose man. They both breathed sighs of relief before looking back at each other while thinking the same thing.

 _'We have to find Sally and sort this whole mess out…'_

* * *

Almost immediately upon waking up Silver and Larry could feel the tension in the room.

Mornings tended to be rowdy with Elias scolding Shard about sleeping in while dragging him out of bed, or the latter teasing the former about something trivial like the way he brushed his hair so femininely.

But today there was no ruckus…

Just an unbearably awkward silence while the two boys glared coldly at each other, aggressively getting their backpacks ready.

Curious as to what had conspired between the hedgehog and squirrel, Silver looked over to his third roommate, only to see the lynx shrug his shoulders to signify his own confusion.

Too timid to ask about the tension, both Larry and Silver hastily readied themselves in silence.

Larry was the first to scurry off, followed by the upset Elias who was sure to shoot the DigItalian boy one more cold look before shutting the door behind himself, leaving the two hedgehogs behind.

Shard merely sucked his teeth in response, regretting not slugging the prince yesterday when Mephiles had granted him the opportunity.

 _'If this is the kind of person you've decided to be then it's no wonder why Nicole wants nothing to do with you anymore.'_ Elias' words harsh but very true words rang in his head over and over again, irking him to the point where he couldn't help but chuck his backpack to the wall on the other side of the room, making Silver jump with fright.

"Sh-Shard?" Silver stammered, reaching out to the enraged boy. "Is everything…okay?"

"I'm fine!" He snapped at the white hedgehog, stomping over to pick the bag up off the floor. "Just leave me alone."

He then walked over to the door with the intent of a dramatic exit, only to nearly collide face-to-face with the purple cat standing on the other side. Thankfully his reflexes were quick enough to signal his feet to stop moving.

It was Blaze…again.

Probably with the innocent intention of walking to class with him or to speak face-to-face at the very least. Unfortunately for her, she had caught him in a rather sour mood.

"You again?" He huffed in annoyance.

"Are you…okay?" Blaze questioned, taking note of his extra-aggressive demeanor.

"I'm fine, Chaos dammit!" The yellow-striped boy scolded her, shoving his way past her so he could get away. "How many times do I have to fucking tell you to leave me alone before you start fucking listening?!" He added as he was already halfway down the hall.

She watched his back as he stormed off, a sorrowful gaze casted upon him until her attention was called back to the doorway he had been standing in.

"Blaze?" Silver's voice called out, making the cat turn to meet his magnificent amber eyes.

It had been so long since the two of them have had any sort of interaction, making the moment all the more intense.

She was quick to break the eye-contact to drop her gaze to the floor, a great deal of shame at how she treated him still weighing heavily on her slowly healing heart. She wasn't quite ready to face him just yet.

"Sorry." She apologized, nervously twisting her white sneakers on the wooden floor. "I just came to check on, Shard."

"You know what's going on with him?" Silver questioned curiously.

"Sort of…" She answered, rubbing her arm shyly. "I was hoping to walk to class with him and talk, but he seems a little too angry to approach today…"

Something had definitely changed within her, and her old childhood friend was quick to notice it.

She wasn't the popular, sporty girl archetype following the clique she presented herself as in the beginning of the year.

She seemed much more humble and caring. A bit shy even.

Almost like…the Blaze he used to know.

The Blaze he had fallen for once…

"Well umm, maybe we could walk to class together." The white hedgehog suggested, rubbing the back of his neck shyly as he smiled innocently. "I'd really like to know what's going on with my roomie I mean…"

* * *

Ray and Mighty sat on the hood of the armadillo's car, enjoying the warm outdoors a bit before they had to lug themselves over to the main building for their first class.

The little squirrel's excited mood hadn't gone unnoticed by his big brother, and after a bit of clever prying he found himself telling Mighty about the events of yesterday.

About his newly formed relationship with the girl he'd been pinning after all school year, Cream the Rabbit…and about his very first kiss.

He had expected a fatherly reaction of a spoken congratulations and perhaps a pep-talk about dating. He hadn't at all prepared himself for the girlish squeals of excitement that escaped the armadillo, or for him to leap off the hood of the car to jump for joy.

"You got your first kiss! From the girl you like- **WHO IS NOW YOUR FIRST GIRLFRIEND!** " The red-shelled boy exclaimed joyfully, his enthusiasm making the little squirrel blush with embarrassment.

"Mi-Mighty… You're kind of embarrassing m-me…" Ray whined, sinking into his shoulders, "I was ex-expecting something like th-this from Matilda… Not you!"

"Heh, Sorry." He apologized with a big smile, "I'm just excited for you, that's all. I imagine Tilly's reaction will be even more ecstatic."

"I'm dr-dreading It." The squirrel admitted, cupping his hands over his face. "I mi-might not tell her for a while—"

"There!" Mighty exclaimed, tapping one last button on the phone he had pulled from his pocket moments earlier. "Just texted her about it."

"Dammit, Mi-Mighty!"

"You know we don't keep secrets." The armadillo winked, wagging his finger playfully at the embarrassed squirrel. "And you better pick up when she calls."

Upset was a feeling that Mighty made impossible no matter what irritating or embarrassing stunt he pulled, not when he flashed that jolly smile and reminded the little squirrel exactly why he looked up to him so much.

Instead of complaining, Ray simply smiled along with him.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

Suddenly, the phone in the pocket of his denim jacket went off, and he quickly started fishing it out.

"Is that her already?" Mighty questioned, leaning over to peer at his little brother's phone.

"N-No…" Ray murmured, that embarrassed blush returning to his face after opening the mystery message. "Someone se-sent me those pictures of that gi-girl again…"

"Let me see that." The armadillo commanded, taking the phone from the squirrel to delete the pictures and block the number they came from. "I'm so sick of this. Whoever did this is a real piece of fucking shit."

"Ye-Yeah. That poor girl…"

"If you get these again, delete them, and block whatever number they came from. We don't want to be a part of something like this, alright Bud?"

"Right."

"Well, you should probably head off to your math class." Mighty suggested, ruffling the squirrel's golden hair. "I've got a bit of time before gym, so I'm gonna go find Amy and see if she wants to hang."

* * *

Knuckles and Julie-Su walked down the hall hand-in-hand toward her locker all laughs and smiles. It was too early to discuss the idea of telling Lara-Su, but so far the second chance had been going well.

Concerned about her health, the red echidna found it hard to leave her alone for too long.

She didn't talk about it though, just carried on as normal... Something that bothered him a little on the inside.

"I told you I'm fine." The pink echidna whined, "You don't have to be by my side every second."

"Even if you weren't sick I'd still want to be." He replied, making her blush. "You act like it's a bad thing."

"You're such a dummy…" She murmured in response, turning away from him so he couldn't see her flushed face.

"I take it everything worked out between you two then?" A third voice called out to the couple.

They ceased their walking, acknowledging the snow-haired bat who stood in front of them with her arms crossed.

Julie-Su eyed Knuckles, who had nodded in response to Rouge's question. Then she looked back at the bat curiously.

"I knew you wouldn't have left the room without your purse!" She exclaimed, "You set me up."

"Well, I knew you were too stubborn to do anything about it yourself." Rouge replied with a shrug.

If she ever took the time to learn poker she'd be a natural pro. Her façade was impeccable, her sassy and confident front totally masked the emotional turmoil it caused her to see them roaming around as a happy couple again.

But as much as she hated it…she knew it was for the best.

"Thanks a lot, Rouge." Knuckles piped up, locking eyes with the bat who found it difficult to suppress the blush that threatened her own face while looking at him.

In the midst of their conversation, the three of them hadn't noticed a fourth person approach them until she made her presence known by popping the gum she had in her mouth.

At the same time, all three of them turned to be met with the wicked grin of Shade the Echidna, the girl that had caused them so much misery.

"Playing matchmaker for your ugly friend again, Rouge the Whore?" She sneered at the angry bat, "Some things never change—"

"Fuck off, Shade." Julie-Su huffed.

"Don't come at me like your bad when you can barely stand on your own two feet." The orange echidna rolled her eyes, making Julie-Su look downward to notice that her legs had begun shaking without her knowledge.

Rouge and Knuckles noticed too, both of them looking at her with such worry.

"Julie?" Knuckles piped up.

The pink echidna quickly began to panic, feeling as though she would collapse again at any moment, but she couldn't give Shade the satisfaction of seeing her look so weak. Despite the pain in her knees she did her best to stand her ground and return the other echidna girl's intimidating scowl.

"At the very least your daughter deserves a strong mommy, right?" Shade taunted, "Maybe once Thrash takes things to court and wins custody of her she'll have one." She added, gesturing to herself with her hands.

The comment enraged her, but the pain in her legs was growing too much for her to bear, and she could feel a trail of wetness traveling down one of her nostrils just like before.

"Go to hell." Julie-Su managed to choke out, snatching her hand away from Knuckles so she could dash away to the nearest female bathroom. "You and him both."

"Julie! Wait!" Knuckles called out uselessly, the pink echidna already out of earshot.

"Don't worry." Rouge spoke up, resting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I'll go make sure she's okay."

The bat then took off, leaving the red echidna alone to stare daggers at his basketball captain. She winked at him playfully before walking on, satisfied with Julie-Su's reaction.

* * *

After the traumatizing altercation with the girls in the shower, Sally found herself incapable of attending classes or even leaving her room for that matter. She stood inside the closet crying all night—even when Scourge and Fiona were having sex in the room.

Everyone had the false idea that she was forced to transfer to Green Hill Academy due to a promiscuous past, but in truth, she requested the transfer as a way of getting out of Moebius because of all the taunting and harassment she got there…only to have the cycle repeat itself here.

Eventually the vixen's on-again boyfriend had gone back to his own room, and she needed some fresh clothes for a shower.

She found the auburn-haired girl a blubbering mess curled up in the corner by the shoes.

Despite her hatred for the chipmunk, she dragged her out of the closet and helped her to her own bed.

"So the girls roughed you up in the showers, who cares? Get it together." She scolded Sally as she changed her clothes. "You need to man up, 'cause you won't be able to leave the room without someone talking about your titties now that they're out there."

Sally gave no reply or any indication on whether or not she had been listening at all. She just sat on the edge of her bed with knees pressed tightly together while she stared down at her lap, allowing Fiona to go on rambling until she was all done getting dressed.

"You better get ready too." The vixen added on her way out the door.

Then she left, leaving the chipmunk alone in the dark room with her sorrowful thoughts, but not for too long.

On the way out, Fiona had run in to Bunnie and Antoine, who had been hunting down their friend since those photos leaked. Their conversation was hostile but short as the vixen had finally told them of their friend's whereabouts.

The two wasted no time in opening the door, both relieved and uneasy to see the auburn-haired girl…knowing that there was to be a difficult conversation ahead of them.

"Oh Sally-Girl…" The southern girl murmured, kneeling down before her sad friend as she gently caressed her cheek. "We've been looking all over for you. You had us a worried mess."

"Sorry…" Sally managed to choke out, a bit relieved at having Antoine and Bunnie by her side. "I was hiding because…the girls…"

"I figured you would be in hiding, but why not return ze calls we gave?" Antoine questioned in a gentle manner.

"My phone fell off the dresser…and broke."

"So you didn't know about the pictures?" Bunnie asked.

"Not…until the girls cornered me in the bathroom…and…showed me."

Tears began peeking from her eyes at the memory, and she hugged herself. Bunnie looked over her shoulder at Antoine who nodded in understanding before leaving the room. The topic of nude pictures was quite personal, and he knew she'd be more open if there wasn't a male around.

Once he was gone, Bunnie turned her gaze back to the chipmunk, ready to ask the bigger questions.

"We'll get through this together, Sally-Girl. Don't worry." She told her friend.

"I just don't get how these got out…" Sally whimpered, "And everyone thinks it's actually me!"

"Sally…"

"Everyone is calling me a slut and all these other hurtful things! I wonder what Sonic must be thinking…"

"You don't have to lie to me, Sugah."

"Wh-What?" Sally gasped, eyes widening behind her big glasses as she looked at the rabbit in disbelief. "You…You think…"

"We use to go to swimmin' classes when we were little, remember?" The rabbit explained, "I've seen that birthmark on your thigh…"

"Chaos."

"It's alright." Bunnie assured her, "I'm not gonna judge you. I've sent my fair share of naked pics to my boyfriend too, but Antoine's got the decency and respect not to share 'em with a soul—"

" **IT'S NOT ME, BUNNIE!** " Sally screamed, standing up as she began searching the room for new clothes. "And if you—one of my closest friends—thinks I'd do something this indecent…I can't imagine what Sonic must be thinking. I have to talk to him."

"Sally, hold on a sec—"

"I don't want to talk about this anymore." She shook her head in refusal, quickly changing clothes in front of her friend. She saw no point in trying to be modest anymore, now that those cruel pictures taken in the girls' bathroom yesterday were surely on the internet by now. "I'm going to the payphones outside the library to make a call…then I'll find him."

Before the southern belle could call out to her yet again, the chipmunk was on her way out the door, passing by the confused coyote who felt absolutely sorry for her.

* * *

It brought on an agonizing feeling.

Listening to everyone whisper about how much of a whore his little sister was.

Watching people swap phones to gawk at the perverted images that had been going around.

And above all, not being able to find or talk to her. All while putting on a façade of normalcy for his mother and the rest of the school staff.

Elias gripped the strap of his bag tightly as he walked down a busy hall in the electives building. He was on his way to the boys' locker room to change for gym.

Behind that auburn fringe where blue eyes full of the utmost concern for his sister and absolute hatred for those snickering and belittling her around him.

He and Nicole had no luck in reaching out to her so far, their texts going unread, and their calls straight to voicemail. They had decided to meet up and go to her dorm room together for a little sibling intervention, but it had to wait until the day's classes were over, and time seemed to be moving way too slow.

Not even ten seconds after stepping into the boys' locker room did he see a printed out copy of one of the sultry images posted on the wall by graffiti text that read ' _Slutty Slutcorn, Call 4 Noodz_ ' accompanied by Sally's full phone number.

In a fit of rage, Elias stomped over yanked the photo off the wall, and tore it to pieces. Then he pulled a black marker from his bag and scribbled out the cruel message before exiting.

He stormed out of the building, stomping down each step as he gritted his teeth an anger.

Lost in his upset thoughts, he hadn't looked where he was going and mistakenly bumped into someone—and he didn't have the patience to be nice about it either.

"Elias…" She called out to him, looking up to him with those pretty, jade eyes.

It was Sonia, looking a bit distraught herself. His expression softened a bit, and he almost found himself spilling out his emotions of turmoil to his old best friend…almost.

"I'm kind of dealing with some shit right now." He remarked bitterly, "I don't have time for…whatever this is, Sonia."

"I just thought I could talk to you about something." She murmured sorrowfully, "I guess I as wrong though."

"Yeah, you were." The squirrel nodded, walking around her to carry on to his destination. "You're not the only person in the world with fucking problems right now."

He had misinterpreted the subject matter of her talk to be about her own problems—when she actually wanted to talk to him about the scandal surrounding his sister and what he must be feeling.

Then again, the magenta girl had never really asked about his problems before. She always talked about herself or her issues, ignoring the underlying issue of his unrequited love for her throughout their friendship. So it was only natural for him to assume such a thing.

She quickly shook off the painful feeling in her heart that his cold words brought her, scurrying up the stairs and to her next class fighting back upset tears.

* * *

"He thinks he's so awful that he has to hang around jerks like Mephiles and Nack." Blaze explained sadly as she carried on walking beside Silver.

"So you guys met through Mephiles?"

"Yeah…" The cat sighed, disgusted with herself for even having associated with her childhood bully. "I felt how he's feeling. After you and I broke up, I felt awful. I thought I was the worst person in the world, and needed to surround myself with negativity because that's what I felt like I deserved."

"Blaze…"

"In that time, none of my friends even tried to reach out to me…which made me even more sad. I felt like I was digging myself a hole that I would have never been able to make it out of…if it wasn't for, Shard."

"Shard actually helped you?"

"I was almost drugged and raped at a party Mephiles dragged me to on Christmas." She explained, eliciting a gasp of shock from the white hedgehog. "Thankfully Shard came to my rescue and even drove me home. I tried to get it together, but fell back into that dark hole. Then Shard came to my rescue again. It was thanks to his encouragement that I found myself breaking away from Mephiles, and I'm so very thankful. I just want to do the same for him…"

"I understand." Silver nodded, "And I'm sorry our falling out was the reason you got into that depression in the first place, Blaze. I didn't mean to cause you any trouble."

"It wasn't you, Silver. I was in the wrong for trying to change you…and even more wrong in trying to change myself for the sake of having friends in the first place."

"I just wish things had gone differently."

"Me too." The cat nodded in agreement before dropping her gaze back to her shoes, "No one should ever have to feel so low, and Mephiles only manages to make it worse. I want to help, Shard, but I don't know why he hates himself so badly, or how I could even fix it."

"It might have something to do with that girl he used to hangout with…"

"Girl?"

"Her name was…Nicole I think." Silver tried to remember, blanking on the name of the girl Shard used to talk about in the dorm for hours. "She's DigItalian like him. He had a **HUGE** crush on her, but things died down between them pretty fast. He doesn't talk about her anymore."

"I see." She nodded, "Then maybe I can talk to her…"

"It's cool of you to want to help him, Blaze." Silver smiled, admiring the feline as she rubbed her arm shyly the way she used to do so often when they were kids. "But be warned, Shard's a bit of a stubborn one."

"Boy have I learned that." She giggled.

The two then ceased their walking outside of the cat's history class where they waved their goodbyes to one another so he could walk off to his art class.

* * *

Today the nurse's office was completely empty, giving the purple hedgehog an opportunity to switch out the white sheets from the cots and mop the floors without interruption.

She hummed softly to the little radio that played on her desk as she brushed the mop across the floor, occasionally reeling on of her hands back to swipe the blonde bangs from her face.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

The sound of a phone chime going off caused her to stop all movement. Her phone was on silent and tucked away in the top drawer of her L-shaped desk, meaning that someone else was in the room.

She set the mop against the wall to walk over to the door, her black heels clicking loudly on the freshly-cleaned tiles as she moved.

"Is someone out here?" She mused as she turned the knob and pulled the door open, "I'm not busy if you need medical attention—"

Her tone suddenly went dead once she opened the door to see Scourge the Hedgehog had been standing quietly behind it.

His breath got caught in his throat at the sight of her, and she certainly cringed at the sight of him.

How could he have not known? All the years of hoping to catch his mother—his abuser—having been a complete waste of time because she had been here all along.

With him…in Green Hill Academy.

The nurse who couldn't stand him. The nurse who always refused to treat him, even when his injuries were quite serious. The very same woman who had inflicted those wounds on his chest and abandoned him at such a young age.

Was it fate that they were both here?

"I…I have a sore throat…" He managed to squeak out.

"Then take this." She stated coldly, obviously not in a speaking mood all of a sudden as she handed him a cough-drop candy. "Now get back to class."

She then slammed the door shut in his face without so much as another word, leaving him in an even more disheartened and fragile state than before.

He put the candy in his pocket as he went to grab his phone, annoyed at whoever had texted for getting him caught being a creep.

 ** _Mephiles:_** _It's been a while, don't you think? I recalled you being rather smitten with this girl once…and for good reason I suppose. She is rather appealing once you get her clothes off. **IMAGES SENT**_

"Oh shit…" Scourge hissed in anger, recognizing the photos to be the exact same ones he had stored in a password-protected folder on his phone.

* * *

As soon as her math class let out, Mina shot out the door like a bat out of hell. She didn't even care how high her skirt picked up with the wind as she sprinted out of the main building and darted toward the electives building to the music room.

The small groups exchanging the leaked photos prevented her from going full speed, forcing her to slow down or weave her way around them every so often.

 _'Ugh, what the fuck!'_ She screeched in her head out of growing frustrations, _'I've got more important things to do than you idiots passing around that skank's nudes! Get out of the fucking way, Chaos dammit!'_

When the mongoose girl finally reached the music room she wasted no time in wrenching the door open, heart racing with anticipation to see her teacher and to give him the good news about their secured secret.

But to her surprise he was not there smiling behind his desk the way he usually was. Instead, it was Principal Acorn standing in front of his desk with a disappointed look on her face.

Mina felt her heart sink as her eyes widened with a sorrowful realization.

"Oh, Mina." The principal greeted her, "You're here quite early. This class isn't supposed to start for another half hour."

"I came to see…Mr. Ash." The lavender-haired girl explained, desperately searching the room for any sign of the mongoose teacher with her eyes. "Where is he?"

"I was hoping to address the class as a whole when they all got here about it, but unfortunately Mr. Ash quit this morning."

" **HE WHAT?! WHY!** "

"He said he simply had too many underlying issues in his personal life to be teaching or looking after the boy's dorm." The chestnut-haired woman sighed, rubbing her temple. "We're already somewhat understaffed as it is, but don't worry about a thing. We'll put in a temp-replacement for male dorm adviser and this class until we find someone more qualified."

Mina had been teetering on the edge of pure rage and crushing heartache as she thought of the older mongoose up and abandoning her after everything…

Without another word to the principal, she quickly ran back out the door in a fit of tears.

 _'Dammit, dammit, dammit!'_ She screamed in her head, tears obstructing her vision as she began weaving through the crowds outside again. _'This is all that bitch's fault! Ms. Breezie… Things would have been fine if she hadn't found out about my secret. It was that stupid fucking assignment! I knew she had something up her sleeve with that… And I know **EXACTLY** who wrote about me.'_

* * *

"There he is…" Charmy squealed, pointing toward Mighty coming out of a classroom a few feet away from where he and his two friends stood. "And there's Julie!" He added, moving his index finger toward the pink echidna coming out of the classroom across from the armadillo's.

"What should we do, Es?" Vector questioned, looking down at the chameleon for some direction.

"This is the only class Julie has that isn't anywhere near Knuckles." He explained, watching as the armadillo made his way toward the echidna girl. "So it's the only time of day they get to be alone together. We should follow them."

The three kept their distance as they spied on their two friends down the hall. Mighty and Julie-Su walked side by side and talked casually, nothing too out of the ordinary. The crocodile and bee quickly became bored and nearly called it quits until the echidna girl tripped.

Mighty quickly caught her in his arms, sacrificing all the books he himself had been carrying just to keep her from falling. She appeared shameful at first, then soon became very defensive once the armadillo began speaking.

They were too far away to hear the full conversation, but got the gist of it by overhearing a few of the more loudly uttered words.

"Knuckles… Not here…" They could here Mighty's voice, "Talk to me…"

"Stop… I don't… There's nothing to say…" Julie-Su's voice bellowed.

She then snatched herself out of his arms and took off, leaving a disheartened looking Mighty to stare after her. He clenched his teeth and balled his fists angrily as he stared after her leaving figure.

"What do ya'll think that was about?" Vector asked the chameleon and bee.

"Whatever it was….it's something they'd rather not have Knuckles around for."

"What more could they possibly have to hide?" The crocodile whined, "We already know about Lara-Su now…"

"Maybe…they had something going on?" Espio suggested, watching the armadillo kneel down to pick up his books. "It would explain the secretive arguing behind Knuckles' back…but not why she's so ill these days."

"Mighty's too nice to do something like that to Knuckles…right?" Charmy piped up, exchanging suspicious glances with the two older boys.

They soon lost track of their surroundings within their conversation, failing to realize the armadillo had spotted them and made his way over to them.

"Hey guys, what're you doing all the way over here?" Mighty waved hello to them, making all three of them jump out of their skins. "Shouldn't you be in the electives building right about now?"

"Oh…uh, Sup Mighty." Vector greeted him, doing a horrible job of trying to not be suspicious. "We were just….dropping by to say hi!"

"Uh, hi?"

"You're a moron, Vector." Espio mumbled under his breath, slapping his forehead with the palm of his hand.

"What's this really about you guys?" The armadillo chuckled, not buying the crocodile's sketchy explanation at all.

"Nothing." Espio replied, "We just lost track of time."

"Charmy…is that true?"

"Mmm…" The bee murmured, toying with his fingers as he did his best to avoid the armadillo's gaze. He was the worst liar among them, and he knew that very well.

"Charmy…"

" **WE WERE TRYING TO PLAY DETECITVE BY FOLLOWING YOU TO SEE IF WE COULD FIGURE OUT WHAT'S GOING ON BETWEEN YOU AND JULIE-SU BECAUSE WE THINK YOU MIGHT BE IN LOVE WITH HER. WHICH IS NOT OKAY BECAUSE SHE AND KNUCKLES HAVE A KID TOGETHER—** "

"You think what?!" Mighty shrieked, turning red in the face at the bee's blurted explanation.

"So much for detective work…"

"I'm sorry, Espio!"

"Es…" Mighty yelped, turning to the chameleon. "What the hell is wrong with you guys!? **I DON'T** have a thing for, Julie!"

"Well, to be fair you've exhibited some rather strange behaviors when it comes to her." He explained, "Like difficulty talking to any girl other than her—"

"She's been one of my closest friends forever!" The red-shelled boy explained, "Of course it's easy for me to talk to her. Plus, it helps that she acts like a guy more than a girl."

"What about how you freaked on Knuckles at the hospital?" Vector piped up.

"That…that was just me overacting." He murmured in response, blue eyes dropping to the floor. "I know **EVERYTHING** there is to know about Julie-Su, even things I probably shouldn't. She's never had trouble telling me anything, but for some reason she won't tell me what's going on with her lately…and it bugs me. I just took it out on him, and I've been meaning to apologize the next time I see him."

"Oh…" Charmy and Vector nodded in understanding, but the chameleon was still a bit skeptical.

"So you don't know what's wrong with her either?"

"No…"

"And you don't have a thing for her?"

"Chaos no!"

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure, you dick!" Mighty whined, "Not…Not that it's any of your business, but…I was just thinking about maybe asking Amy Rose out…again…"

"The girl who ditched you on the roof?"

"Er, yeah…" He mumbled, "But this time it's different because we've actually gotten to know each other and stuff. Ray's finally with his crush after a couple rejections… I figured I could give it another shot with mine."

* * *

As usual, Shadow and Rosy had skipped class again to get some private time together as a way of apologizing to one another for the hostility during the gun situation the other day. The two hedgehogs were in Shadow's room, rolling around as they kissed half-naked on his bed.

Things were just about to get even heavier until the black hedgehog's roommate came bursting through the door without a curtesy knock.

Alarmed and embarrassed, the pink girl quickly leapt off her boyfriend and reached for the covers to pull over herself.

Annoyed at the interruption, Shadow quickly turned to glare at his green roommate tossing his backpack to the ground.

"Ever heard of knocking?" He grumbled, even more irritated by his friend's nonchalant shrugging.

"Duh, but it's my room." Manic replied, plopping down on his bed to pull off his sneakers. "Why should I have to knock?"

"Because someone might be naked in here…and still is!" Rosy piped up from behind Shadow as she used him for cover to put her bra and shirt back on.

"Well it's usually just Shadow, and I've seen his junk a lot more times than you have anyway." The green hedgehog snickered, "Besides, we were **ALL** supposed to be in English class together right now. And don't worry about me seeing you naked, Rascal. I got over my pink hedgehog chick phase a **LONG** time ago…"

"Well then why aren't you in English class like you were supposed to be when I told my girlfriend to meet me here?" Shadow grumbled.

"Ms. B left a note on the door that said she canceled today. Something about being sick or whatever. I have no idea. I'm just glad I don't have to be there."

"Heh, why's that?" The pink girl rose an eyebrow, "Did you screw someone over on that last assignment?"

"You have no idea…"

"Shit. Guess that means I'm stuck babysitting you until Rouge comes out of her class, huh?" Shadow sighed, standing up from his bed to make his way toward the door. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom. Try to not annoy my girlfriend to death while I'm gone."

"No promises."

"Ugh…"

The red-striped boy then vanished beyond the closed door, leaving the pink girl to stare at the green boy with eyes full of skepticism.

Looking at him was so weird to her. He looked so much like Scourge, and even acted just like him to some degree-only a lot less cruel. The way he laid back with his arms propping up his head, the way he stared so thoughtfully at the ceiling, it was all so eerily similar that she began to feel her skin crawl.

"Jeez, I know I'm hot, but you're dating my bff." The green hedgehog snickered, breaking his staring at the ceiling to catch her brown eyes with his blue ones. "What's with the gawking? I haven't even done my makeup yet."

"You're an idiot! And I wasn't gawking." Rosy retorted, a blush to her face as he chuckled at her irritated demeanor. "I was just wondering something."

"Like what?"

"Why are you lying for him?"

"What are you talking about, Girly?"

"Scourge." She stated bluntly, making him tense up a bit. "I know Fiona isn't lying. So why did you tell the others she was?"

"She did lie. He didn't have a gun."

"Bullshit." She shook her head, "I've known Fiona a long time. You bet I can tell when she's lying, and this wasn't one of those times."

"…"

"You've got a lot of secrets, don't you Manic?"

"Doesn't everybody?"

"Not as many as you do…"

"You're probably right about that." He sighed, turning his face back toward the ceiling with a frown.

"So what is it then? Why are you protecting him?"

He hated secrets so much. It took so much effort to keep them hidden, and lately he had been wearing thin. Not just with Scourge, but with everything! His heart was growing heavier by the second with guilt and he felt like he was going to break at any moment if he didn't get something off his chest.

Which is probably why he chose to out Mina about the abortion on Breezie's last assignment.

A risky move considering Isabella Mongoose had threatened him into a corner, but the little bit of relief it gave him to just write it down on paper was worth it to him.

He wondered how better it would feel to actually say it out loud.

To say everything.

He turned his head back to the goth-girl still eyeing him from across the room. She might not be the right person to confide in…but…

" **MANIC!** " A voice shrieked angrily, practically shattering the glass windows along with both hedgehogs' eardrums.

He quickly sat up in bed to look toward the swung open door. His eyes widened in shock, expecting to see his roommate only to find that it was his ex-girlfriend angrily stomping into his room.

"M-Mina?" He murmured in disbelief, having not associated himself with the mongoose ever sense the abortion.

Rosy watched from across the room in confusion as the lavender-haired girl stomped her way over to the green hedgehog's bed and pulled him up aggressively by the collar. Their noses were practically touching as she glared down at him with jade eyes full of fury.

 _'Is she gonna hit him?!'_ The pink girl thought as she readied herself to lunge over and pull them apart if need be.

"I know it was you who told Breezie about my secret!" The mongoose screamed in his face, spittle flying from her foaming mouth as she clutched his collar even tighter. " **YOU'RE THE ONLY OTHER PERSON WHO KNOWS!** "

"I…I didn't mean to…"

"You fucking asshole! You screwed everything up for me again!" She scolded him, shoving him away so he'd go tumbling off his bed and on to the floor."

"Hey! Leave him the fuck alone!" Rosy blurted out, leaping out of Shadow's bed to step in between the two.

Now that she had made her presence known, the mongoose was no longer in a talking mood or a fighting one for that matter. She exchanged cold glares with the pink girl before looking passed her and down at the pathetically hopeless green hedgehog looking back at her from the floor.

"If I can't fix things...you'll pay for this, Manic."

* * *

Ash sighed heavily to himself as he lugged two large boxes stacked on top of each other full of his belongings toward the parking lot where his car was waiting. A frown seemed permanently etched on his face as he glanced back at Green Hill Academy one last time.

 _'I love my job and helping students out through troubles…'_ He thought to himself as he opened his trunk to dump the two boxes carelessly inside _. 'But this is what's best for everyone…for Mina…'_

He then slammed the trunk shut and walked around toward the driver's door, and just as he was getting his keys out of his khaki pants he noticed a figure leaning against his car.

"Honey…" He breathed in surprise, taking a few steps back as she stood upright and shot him an intense glare.

"You sure seem like you're in a hurry to get out of here." She stated with a bit of hurt in her otherwise strong tone.

"I promised Principal Acorn I'd vacate the premises before nightfall after I resigned." The mongoose man explained, using his index finger to push his glasses up on the bridge of his nose as he avoided eye contact with the cat.

"Resigned? You mean you're going for…good?"

"Yes. It's for the best. I've caused too much trouble just by being here, and it's better if I leave now before anything unruly can occur…again." He murmured, thinking about the intimate encounter they once had in his music room while intoxicated.

"…" The cat said nothing, just stared at him with those big hazel eyes so full of angst and sadness. So unlike herself.

"I'm sorry, Honey." Ash apologized once more as he began reaching out for the car door handle.

"What about, Mina?" Honey spoke up just before he could pull the door open, "You're just gonna leave her a mess like the other boys did that I'll have to fucking clean up?"

"Honey…"

"Just stay and be with her. You like her don't you? It's not that hard to keep a secret around here… Sonia and I won't say anything."

"Despite what feelings I may or may not have for Mina, in all good conscious I just can't do that—"

" **WHY NOT?!** " The cat shrieked angrily, stomping over to shove him back from the door. " **WHY DOES EVERYTHING HAVE TO BE SO COMPLICATED WITH YOU?** "

He was surprised to see the tears rolling heavily off her face, and so much hurt behind her teary eyes. It made him feel so guilty, only reassuring him that leaving was truly for the best.

"You think I've forgotten how you really feel, Honey?" The teacher blurted out, making the cat's eyes widen in surprise. "You honestly don't think I know about how I ruined your views on sex and relationships? You don't think I feel guilty about that? You both were my students. If I were to stay it would only hurt both of you."

Her tears only seemed to fall faster as she took in his words. She didn't know he even cared about how she felt, he seemed to carry on so naturally after all, and deep down she knew he was right.

"I don't care." She finally spoke up again after a long pause.

"What?"

"I said I don't care!" She repeated louder, "I want Mina to be happy regardless of how I feel about you because she's my best friend. She never has to know we were ever even a thing…"

"I'm sorry. I just can't stay." He shook his head, finally wrenching the car door open. "With me gone, you two won't be targeted by Breezie anymore, and you won't have to keep such an uncomfortable secret. Goodbye, Honey."

But—" Just as he was about to get into that car and just as she was about to speak out against it, yet another figure approached.

"Did someone say my name?" Her voice called out in a taunting sing-song tone, making both of them look over their shoulder to see none other than the vial English teacher strutting over to them in that devilish red dress.

"Breezie." Ash grumbled, glaring at the giggling hedgehog.

"What are you two up to out here?" She mused cynically, glancing between the upset mongoose and teary-eyed cat. "Planning to run away together without even telling poor, innocent, little Mina? Or should I say…the baby killer?"

"Shut up."

"You know about that?!" Honey gasped, surprised the cruel teacher had any knowledge of her friend's deep, dark secret. "How?!"

"You'd be surprised at how quick kids are to throw each other under the bus for a lousy grade." Breezie remarked coldly, crossing her arms as she leered down at the cat. "And she's not the only one who was thrown under the bus."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Let's just say…I'm not the only one who knows your secret affair with my lovely ex here…or that your good-girl appearance is a cover for some scandalous sleeping around."

"That's enough Breezie." Ash cut in, "You've got what you wanted. I'm leaving Green Hill Academy, so there's no reason for you to terrorize these girls anymore."

He then hopped into the car and slammed the door shut. Honey was devastated, tapping her hands against his window even as he backed up the car. However, the pleading and protesting was futile, because he just took off and left her in the dust.

"Hmph, good riddance." Breezie smiled, turning back toward the school with a wicked grin. "No one breaks up with Breezie the Hedgehog and gets away with it…"

* * *

Ever since the naked pictures of the chipmunk had been floating around, the bullying had not only escalated on her end, but also on her boyfriend's as well.

It seemed wherever he went there was someone around the corner just waiting to tease him about it, or laugh at him.

Without any proof that the photos were fake, the blue hedgehog couldn't even defend the chipmunk. And the fact that he hadn't heard from her since the leak only caused him more frustration.

The taunting was unbearable enough when he was the target of online rumors, still getting used to the idea of people outright hating him based on lies and misconceptions.

But this level of taunting proved too much for him to handle.

With every second of cruel teasing he became more and more bitter, allowing Mephiles' dark seeds to bloom in the depths of his strained heart.

All he could think about was how to get them to stop, how to get them on his side again. These dooming thoughts lead him closer to Mephiles' solution.

 _'He'd make Nack take back those things on the post…and write something that'll get everyone to like me again… and all I'd have to do is…get Sally…to sleep with me on tape…'_

He exited the main building with his head hung low as a means of not drawing attention to himself, although it proved worthless. He was easy to notice, a trait he really used to like.

Desperate to get away from it all, he took off to the only place he felt safe anymore.

The Lake of Rings…

He was careful to lose the crowds before taking off that way, afraid he might make the same mistake the chipmunk had by revealing the secret place to an outsider.

Once he was there, he tossed his bag to the dirt and plopped down in front of the lake. He ran a frustrated hand through his blue quills as he stared out at the still waters, debating on what to think anymore.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

Half-hoping that it would be Sally, he hastily dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

 ** _Unknown Number:_** _It's Mephiles the Dark. Thought I'd let you know someone docked your number on Nack's blog for people to harass you even more. It seems you're safe nowhere these days, doesn't it?_

 ** _Unknown Number:_** _Things seem hopeless now, but don't forget I gave you an out…_

Sonic gritted his teeth as he felt eerie chills down his spine. In both panic and frustration he nearly chucked his phone to the lake like a rock, but was stopped after hearing twigs crackling behind him.

He quickly set the phone down beside him to turn around and saw Sally standing behind him with a look of concern.

"Sally?!" He yelped, scrambling to his feet. "Where the fuck have you been? I've called you a hundred times!"

"I'm…I'm sorry." The chipmunk stammered, dropping her gaze to the ground as she rubbed her arm. "My phone fell off the dresser and broke while I was asleep. I had no idea what was going on until yesterday…"

"What is going on exactly…"

"You can't really be asking that!" Sally wailed, lifting her head to reveal her teary eyes. "You know none of that is true! They made it up just like the stuff they made up about you."

"…."

"Bunnie and Antoine don't even believe me…." She murmured after his uneasy silence, stepping over to rest her head on his chest as she cried. "But you believe me, don't you? You know I wouldn't…do things like that…"

 _'Do I?'_ The cold voice in his head remarked coldly although on the outside he wrapped his arms around her and gave zero indication of his disbelief. "Of course I do, Sal."

"I feel so bad. You've probably been getting harassed so much worse because of this. I'm so sorry, Sonic."

 _'You will be sorry…very soon. You lying tramp.'_ That evil voice in his head replied, yet he still kept up his façade on the outside. "It's fine. Like you said, all we really need is each other. If I have you… I can handle anything."

"I love you…"

 _'Liar…'_ He thought, "I love you too, Sal."

As he held her tight by the lake they so often ran away together to, his jade eyes rested on the ground beside them, staring at the cellphone camera lens with malicious intentions…

* * *

 **I think I'm gonna have to play devil's advocate:**

 **I bet you're all judging the fuck out of Sonic right now…but you should stop right there and think about things from his point of view before you write him off as a complete idiot. A few days ago he was targeted by Nack and Mephiles who wrote a very inaccurate and exaggerated post regarding him and Sally. This led to constant bullying by the very people who used to praise him—and bullying is something he really isn't used to…meaning he doesn't know how to handle it the same way Sally does since she's so used to it. When you're in a low place, it's easy for some fucked up people to get in your head…and that's exactly what Mephiles has done. He's put it in Sonic's head that this can all go away if he does this one simple task…and Sonic's just desperate enough to believe him. Why not believe in Sally you ask? Well, when the post was about him it was merely hearsay…there was no photo evidence, and Sally has made the grave mistake of avoiding the topic all together with no real explanation other than to deny it.**

 **This just begs the real question… Are the pictures real? And if they are…why did Scourge have them?**

 **You're all probably judging the fuck out of Elias for blowing off Sonia like that too. Well, it's like this: Elias Acorn is a usually sweet and patient character, always putting everyone else before him—evident by how he helped Sonia try to get with Knuckles even though he was in love with her, and how he still plans on marrying Megan despite not being Alexis' real father—Anyways, right now he's in full-big brother mode, and he is outraged over the ridicule of his sister. The stress of the situation is causing him to become very hostile and even act out of character. Yet again, on part Sally's fault for not explaining the situation to anyone upfront.**

 **But yeah, that's all I had to say for that. Let's talk about the more endearing characters of this chapter!**

 **Sweet Honey. She's trying so hard to get Ash to stay. Not for herself, but for Mina. Like a true best friend, the cat has pushed aside her own feelings for the teacher so that her best friend could have a chance at happiness. Unfortunately it seems both girls have lost to the cold Breezie…or have they?**

 **Silver and Blaze have finally had a run in! And it went better than anyone could have expected. Like Gold, he has noticed a drastic change in her, one for the better. And this time the choice was her own, not some half-assed change in the hopes of winning him back, but a choice she made to get better because someone made her feel like she could—that person being Shard. And now she'll stop at seemingly nothing to help him out of that pit of despair he saved her from.**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **We learn the sad truth about Ken's drug addiction…**

 **Ms. Breezie comes face-to-face with a new challenger!**

 **Mighty finally builds up the courage to ask Amy out a second time!**

 **Scourge is out for blood…**

 **An unlikely couple reunites!**

 **Blaze has a horrifying realization**

 **And so much more!**

 **Question: I'm sure with all the craziness lately that your opinions have changed on some characters. So who's your current favorite and current least favorite?**


	81. Chapter 81

**WARNING: Bullying, male hitting female, nudes, mentions of abortion, self-harm, and drug use.**

* * *

 **Chapter 81: Suspicious**

"You're honestly one of the last students I thought I'd ever see here." Dr. Tikal sighed as she frowned disapprovingly at the boy seated on the chair in front of her desk.

"I suppose there's a first time for everything." The boy replied somewhat coldly, his sapphire eyes fixed on the broken clock on her desk.

"You're very lucky Professor Charles decided to send you here instead of calling security on you." She added, hoping to get some reaction out of him. "Starting fights and even destroying the property of other students! You could be expelled for such things. You're just shy of graduating this year, why would you want to ruin that?"

"With all due respect, Dr. Tikal repercussions for anything I do tends to be the last thing on my mind. Just because I don't flaunt my privilege doesn't mean I don't have it." The auburn-haired boy remarked sharply, "I am the principal's son after all."

"Elias… this isn't like you at all. What's gotten into you these days?"

"Just going through some things." He sighed with the roll of his eyes, "I'll be sure to pay Spike and the other boys back for breaking their phones. Can I go now?"

"I'm here to listen if you need to talk. Maybe I can be of some assistance."

"I doubt that, and these aren't the kind of problems talking to a psychologist can fix."

"Just give me a chance—"

"I've got class soon." He cut her off, standing up to his feet to make a speedy exit.

She frowned watching him go, a lot more shocked to hear about someone like him going through troubles than he seemed to realize.

As he walked out, Officer Zonic walked in, turning to look back at the frustrated squirrel before looking back to the disappointed counselor.

"Any luck?" He asked her, getting a sad shake of the head in response.

"No. He's very troubled, but refuses to speak about it." The orange echidna sighed, "It seems like a lot of the kids have been acting this way recently, but no one will say anything…."

"I know what you mean. I've noticed some suspicious activity going on lately too."

"Suspicious like how?"

"A lot of the kids have been reprimanded for gathering in small groups throughout the campus grounds and the use of phones at inappropriate times. Their chatter seems to turn into hushed whispers whenever we take down the halls as well."

"That does sound odd." Tikal nodded in agreement, standing up from her desk to stroll by the window and look outside. "You and the other security guards should take a more stealthy approach when patrolling. Teens have a habit of hiding their mischief if they're aware of adults lurking around."

"Roger that." Zonic replied, "We'll get to the bottom of this."

Once outside of Dr. Tikal's office, Elias was finally able to pull the vibrating cellphone from out of his pocket. He didn't bother checking the caller ID, just answered the call as he made his way out of the building.

 _"What?"_ He snapped at whoever was on the line.

 _"Umm… Eli?"_ A familiar voice called out nervously, making his eyes widen with surprise _. "Is this a bad time?"_

 _"Megan. Sorry. No It's not a bad time at all."_ He assured her, feeling a bit embarrassed by the outburst. _"Is everything alright? How's Alexis…"_

 _"She's doing okay, just growing out of her clothes quicker than mommy can replace them is all."_ The squirrel giggled on the other line, bringing a slight smile to the prince's face. _"I was just ringing you back about that coffee you wanted to grab together. I've got this afternoon off from work."_

 _"Really? That's perfect."_

 _"But don't you have classes today?"_

 _"Eh, I was actually looking for an excuse to get away from campus."_

 _"Why's that?"_

 _"Just… issues."_ He sighed, _"Anyways, I'm on my way now. I should be there around noon."_

* * *

 _'After telling Knuckles I'd go make sure she was okay, I ran after Julie-Su._

 _I caught her in the bathroom, standing over the sink with a horrifying amount of blood dripping from her nose. She was woozy, swaying in front of the sink as she struggled to focus on herself in the mirror._

 _If I hadn't been there she would have definitely fallen over and cracked her head on the pink-tiled floor._

 _I ran up behind her and helped her stay steady on her feet._

 _"Julie-Su…"_

 _"I'm fine, alright?" She snapped, wrenching my hands off her waist with such pathetic strength, so unlike the tough girl who'd threaten to beat me into next week. "Get off."_

 _"It's pretty damn obvious you're not okay."_

 _"I just bumped my nose on the door when coming in." She assured me, probably one of the lies she had learned to tell expertly while in that abusive relationship with Thrash. "It's not as bad as it looks."_

 _I just stood there and watched her clean up. Frowning as she dabbed paper towels to her bloody nose, thinking to myself about how all too used to doing such a thing seemed to her…and how it was my fault she even knew how to cover up such things._

 _"Whatever's going on with you…you can tell me, Julie-Su." I finally spoke up, making her turn toward me with surprise._

 _I swear I could see hope in her eyes, that she was almost going to tell me, but something held her back._

 _She turned back toward the mirror, balling her fists on the counter as she took a moment to think._

 _Then a single tear slipped down her face._

 _"I can't burden you with another damn secret, Rouge…" '_

Rouge sat on her bed as she watched Julie-Su get ready as if nothing were wrong.

It confused her and worried her all at once.

Sure they weren't friends, and were in love with the same boy, but the bat felt completely responsible for the echidna being battered by her ex-boyfriend.

She couldn't help but wonder what more secrets lied behind the echidna girl's locked heart.

"Hey!" Julie-Su hollered, snapping the bat out of her trance "Stop staring at me and get dressed. You're gonna be late, idiot."

"Sorry, mistook your flat-chest for a boy's." The bat snapped sarcastically to mask the uneasy feeling in her heart. "But what are you getting dressed for anyway? You don't take morning classes today."

"My grandfather is coming with Lara-Su to pick me up for an appointment today." Julie-Su explained as she grabbed her purse and made for the door. "Tell Knuckles I won't be around campus today if you see him."

"Why not just text him yourself?"

"Because I'm sick of turning on my phone to have some random girl's nudes implode my inbox."

"Chaos, I nearly forgot about that shit." Rouge rolled her eyes after finally being left alone in the dorm room she shared with three other girls. "Amy's probably having a field day with that one. Maybe I should chill with her today."

* * *

Instead of attending morning class like usual, Mina found herself sitting alone in the school parking lot—the same spot Mr. Ash's fancy, midnight blue car used to sit specifically.

The mongoose sat with her legs brought to her chest, arms encircled around them tightly as she bowed her head in utter sadness, lavender locks freely falling over her face.

She didn't even care enough to keep up her typical happy-go-lucky popstar persona.

All she cared about was the fact that Ash had taken off without even saying goodbye to her.

She's always been in the limelight, putting on a pretty smile for the world no matter what was going on behind the scenes. It was quite rare that she ever let anyone see the real her, and it was even more rare that the real her didn't scare someone off.

And when Ash Mongoose approached her crying in the hall that day, when she had confessed all her sins and all her troubles…he didn't get scared off.

He stood there with her. He listened, heard, and helped her through the darkest place she had ever been in her life. He didn't judge or ridicule her for anything—even the abortion choice. He took the time to mend her fractured heart, and help her regain that confident voice she had lost in that dark place.

He was like a knight in shining armor that had come to rescue her like a damsel in distress.

That's why she fell in love with him.

That's why it hurt so much to know he was gone.

 **23 NEW MESSAGES**

 ** _Mina:_** _How could you just go like that?_

 ** _Mina:_** _You didn't even say goodbye to me._

 ** _Mina:_** _Ash…_

 ** _Mina:_** _Please call me, text me, anything._

She clenched her purple cellphone tightly as more frustrated tears escaped her. He hadn't replied to any of her calls or messages, and it was killing her.

"Mina…"

Her phone nearly slipped from her hand as she jumped in fright upon suddenly hearing someone call out to her, assuming she had been alone in the parking lot.

She quickly whipped her head around to see her best friend standing behind her with a sorrowful look of her own.

"I'm sorry…" Honey murmured, averting her gaze from the sad mongoose to look off in the distance. "About Mr. Ash leaving."

"It's not your fault." The lavender-haired girl sighed, making the cat standing behind her cringe with guilt. "This is all Manic's fucking fault. If that idiot hadn't put my abortion out there none of this would have happened."

"It's not entirely his fault though… Breezie's the one giving those fucked up assignments, and she's the one out to get us because of Ash-and now that she's got dirt on us there's no stopping her."

"Us?" Mina questioned, turning around to raise an eyebrow at the cat.

"Wh-What?"

"Why would she be out to get _'us'_ because of Ash?"

"Well…uh…because you and I are close." Honey thought up an immediate lie on the spot, "She's pissed that Ash and you had something going after he dumped her, and she wants to tear you down. She thinks getting to me will hurt you too."

"Chaos…" Mina gasped, standing up to her feet to walk over to her feline friend so she could rest a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry that petty bitch is dragging you into this, but I promise I'll get her before she gets us."

"How do you expect to do that? She's a teacher."

"So? My mom's a lawyer." The mongoose stated with confidence before her tone fell into a more sympathetic one. "You're my best friend, Honey. I won't let you get hurt because of me."

Honey nodded in understanding as she exchanged smiles with her best friend since childhood, but internally she was crying from the guilty feeling in her heart.

* * *

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 ** _Blaze:_** _Hey, I've been trying to text Shard, but he's fallen back into the habit of avoiding me again. I was thinking we could meet somewhere and figure out who that girl he used to hang out with was and maybe track her down and talk to her?_

Silver glanced down at his phone briefly before gently sliding it back into his pocket. He made a mental note to answer the purple cat's text once he got to class, but right now he was a little too preoccupied weaving his way through the groups in the hall with his tenrec friend.

He felt ill every time he had to walk around a group of students leaning over a cellphone with those Chaos awful nudes pulled up, finding their actions to be so disgusting and shameless.

He couldn't help but wonder about that auburn-haired girl he had encountered several times earlier in the year, thinking about how embarrassed and sad she must be.

 _'Poor girl…'_ He thought to himself, _'I wonder where she's hiding now.'_

"Silver!" Gold yelped, calling the white hedgehog's attention back after his mind had drifted off into space again.

"Uh, yeah? Sorry." He chuckled, blushing in embarrassment at being caught spaced out yet again by the beautiful tenrec.

"I asked you who texted you just now." She giggled, making his face even more red.

"Oh, it was just…Blaze."

"Blaze?"

"Yeah. She just wanted to know if we could meet up to talk about something."

"I didn't know you two were hanging out again."

"We're just trying to help someone out." He assured her quickly, "And it's just been as friends…"

"C'mon, Silver." The golden girl giggled once more, swatting his shoulder playfully. "I know you better than that!"

"And what do you mean by that exactly?"

"I know you're in love with her, Silly!" She exclaimed, "The last time I saw her she seemed much better, so I give you my total approval to give romance another shot."

"But… I'm not in love with her anymore." He sighed, gulping as he steered closer and closer to saying something he had been wanting to say since they kissed beneath that mistletoe. "I'm actually in love with someone else…"

"Really?! Who?"

His throat felt so swollen, and his palms began to sweat. It was now or never, and he knew that.

Just as he opened his mouth to speak and words began to form, his confession was interrupted by the sound of obnoxious laughter coming from down the hall.

They both turned toward the sound on instinct, surprised to catch a glimpse of the relentless abuse Sonic the Hedgehog was suffering.

The blue hedgehog was shoved into a locker by a big senior, and a crowd of other students had encircled around him hollering hurtful things at him—mainly about the leaked photos of his disliked girlfriend.

"Poor guy…" Gold frowned, turning away because she couldn't handle seeing such cruelty. "But…after how I saw him treat you… I can't say that I feel too bad."

"What goes around comes back around." Silver agreed, although unlike Gold, he stared at the scene with a bit of satisfaction.

* * *

After a harsh verbal tongue lashing, and threats of having a staff monitor their every move, Rosy and Shadow reluctantly trudged to their English class.

Unlike everyone else in that class who were worried about the teal teacher forcing them into another wicked game of sorts, the two were indifferent toward the situation, not caring about what others thought of them.

They had each other, and that's all they needed to be content.

They fit like two disfigured jigsaw pieces that didn't quite go with the rest of the puzzle.

His presence brought out the shy, innocent girl in her—the girl she was before the mysterious falling out between her and her first love, before the forced abortion, and before Mephiles had run her mental state into the ground.

With him she smiled, laughed, and even blushed. The negative voices in her fragile mind kept away, replaced by his voice constantly reassuring her that he cared and even loved her. The urges to hate herself and harm herself were practically nonexistent with him at her side.

Sure there were moments where her mind traveled back to that dark place and those dooming thoughts, but he was always there to call her back from it all.

For the first time in her whole life she felt safe, cared for, and loved.

She had a similarly positive effect on him as well.

He found it so hard to reach out to anyone—let alone open his heart to them. The tragic suicide of his first love and closest friend that he was forced to witness had traumatized him to a point where his heart had frozen over almost entirely at one point.

He thought he could never feel or love again, and the failed attempts with Honey and Sonia had only confirmed those weary thoughts.

Then Rosy Rascal mysteriously appeared in his life.

Someone just like him. Someone broken by the past and lonelier than they let on. Someone with walls built sky-high.

She was so different than any girl he'd ever known.

With their similar dark sense of humor, outlook, and opinions it wasn't much of a shock for them to wind up together like this.

Unlike the girls before her, he didn't have that desperate urge to save her. He felt that they were on equal ground.

They were saving each other.

From dwelling in the past, from the insecurities they had developed in tragedy, but above all…loneliness.

Ever since getting together it was rare to find them apart because they just loved being together. They talked about anything and everything, and they had learned one another's mannerisms and quirks down to the tiniest detail.

That's how he was quick to figure out something was off about what she was asking while they walked to class.

"How well do you know Manic exactly?"

"He and I have been close friends for almost two years now." The black hedgehog explained as the couple navigated their way through crowds in the hallway. "I know him well enough for the time…sort of. He doesn't really like to talk about himself personally."

"Right…"

"What's with the sudden interest in my roommate anyway?" He asked, raising an eyebrow to her. "Don't tell me you plan on leaving me for him."

" **WHAT?!** As if!" She yelped, blushing at the humorous smirk on his face.

"I only left you two alone to go to the bathroom for five minutes yesterday…"

"It's nothing like that, idiot." The pink girl grumbled, accidentally bumping into someone. "It's just…I feel like he's got some crazy skeletons in his closet that have me kind of curious about him is all…"

"Imagine feeling like that for two years." Shadow sighed, disappointed that Manic still hadn't opened up to him about anything.

Again, Rosy had mistakenly bumped into yet another student who had just been standing with one of those tedious crowds disrupting traffic flow in the hallway.

Growing increasingly annoyed with getting hit in the shoulder, the temperamental hedgehog ripped her hand out of her boyfriend's to yank one of the students from a random crowd aside.

"I'm so sick of this shit! What the fuck is **SO** important that you morons have to stand in the middle of the fucking hallway to look at it!?" She questioned aggressively as she snatched the phone from the terrified fennec's hand.

"Rosy!" Shadow scolded her.

Just as he was about to reach out to pull her away by the shoulder he was stunned.

She had dropped the cellphone and ran, shoving anyone in her way as she disappeared abruptly.

Curious, Shadow leaned over and picked up the fennec girl's phone. On it were nudes of his blue friend's girlfriend…

* * *

"Hey look! Slutty Slutcorn has come out of hiding!"

"Yeah, hiding behind the bleachers to give blowjobs."

" **WHORE!** "

"Yo, send some nudes my way!"

"Flash me! I'll give you three dollars!"

Despite the hurtful things being said about her, Sally did her best to carry on down the halls. If it wasn't for the threatening announcement of anyone missing Ms. Breezie's class again she would have been back in her dorm beneath her covers.

She wore black pants, blue running shoes, and an over-sized blue sweatshirt with the hood pulled over her face. She did her best not to stick out, but it was hard to go unnoticed when everyone had those photos pulled up on their cellphones and were purposefully searching for her to laugh.

"It's not me…" She kept mumbling beneath her breath every time some snide comment was uttered.

"What was that, Skanky?" Tiara Boobinski questioned, close enough to the chipmunk to overhear her mumbling. "You're still claiming it's not you?"

"It's not!" Sally restated, much louder about it this time as she shot the taunting mink an annoyed scowl.

"Obviously you haven't seen the new pic."

"New pic?"

The brown mink then took out her cellphone and held it up to the auburn-haired girl with a new picture pulled up.

It was a side-by-side of one of the nudes that had been leaked and a snapshot of her after Shade had torn her towel off the other day.

"See?" Tiara scoffed, "Exactly the same. So please save your breath."

The chipmunk's face immediately flushed with embarrassment upon seeing the image of herself after the incident in the bathroom. Tears began to build up in her eyes, but she didn't want the cruel girl to get the satisfaction of seeing them. So she shoved the mink into the lockers beside them and rushed off, only to encounter even more cruelties along the way.

"Where you going, slut?"

"Lift up your shirt!"

"On your way to steal someone else's boyfriend?"

 **SLAM!**

Someone had outstretched their leg on purpose for her to trip, sending her face-first to the white floor. When she lifted herself off the floor there were tears and blood dripping from her face, and she even began to whimper.

"She's probably crying because there's blood on her face instead of cum."

"When hoes try to be all innocent it's kind of gross."

"Bet she's used to being on all fours like that!"

" **SHUT UP!** " A new voice sounded in her ears, one that seemed to be defending her rather than berating her like the rest.

When she looked up she was surprised to see an old friend standing in front of her like a defensive wall between her and her harassers. She watched as he shewed off the cruel teens, then turned around to reach his hand out to her.

"C'mon." He told her, pulling her up off the floor and into an empty classroom nearby. "No one's in the history classroom at this hour, and you look like you could use a break from these jerks."

Once settled in and calmed down, the auburn-haired girl finally found the strength to speak.

She sat in a desk by the closed door while he leaned against the desk in front of hers, looking down on her with the utmost pity.

"Th-Thank you, Ken."

Her tears were real, just like her hurt and discomfort with the things going on. When she told Tiara it wasn't her in the pictures he was there to hear it, and recognized her truthful tone.

She fidgeted nervously in her seat, bringing down the hem of that gigantic sweater as if it wasn't already long enough.

"There's no need to thank me." He assured her, turning back toward the door to make sure no one was staring through the small window.

"I can explain—"

"There's no need for that either." He added, turning back to her with a caring smile. "I know better than to believe anything that's said around here, especially when it comes to you, Sally."

"Y-You do?"

"Of course." The monkey chuckled, making her smile just a little bit. "What I don't understand is why your…boyfriend isn't out here defending you right now if he cares at all."

"Sonic does care!" The auburn-haired girl assured him defensively, "He's just…going through the same thing too."

"Still, he could at least walk you to class to make sure no one's pushing you around like this." Ken remarked as he pulled a white cloth from his pocket and handed it to her so she could clean the blood still dripping from her nose.

"Thank you." She said again as she took the cloth and wiped her face.

She then got up and discarded it in the wastebasket by the teacher's desk before hurriedly walking toward the door.

She seemed in a panic, that was obvious, but he couldn't understand why. It was just him and her now, like how it was before she began dating that damn blue hedgehog.

"Why're you so nervous right now?" He called out before she could open the door, "Did I do something to make me an outsider to you?"

She bit her lip as her hand hesitantly rested on the knob. She didn't look back at him either, just spoke into the door itself with her back turned to him.

"I'm…just uncomfortable with being alone with you like this…"

"Why? We used to be alone together all the time." He stated, confused at how she was acting with him after he had saved her like this. "Is your boyfriend drilling your head with nonsense about me—"

"I'm just uncomfortable with being around someone abusing drugs, Ken." Sally cut him off, her comment making his eyes widen.

A long silence fell upon them before her ears picked up on the rustling of a backpack zipper being hastily undone, then a series of bottles and such hitting the tiled floor. Curious, she looked back to see the monkey boy had opened his backpack and spilled it's contents-most of which being medicine bottles and needles.

"That's what you think of me?" Ken mumbled, hurt audible in his tone. "A loser on drugs who can't be trusted."

"Well, look at all this…" The chipmunk gestured to the countless needles littering the floor, "What am I supposed to think, Ken?"

"So what, you think I got hooked up on drugs because you didn't return my feelings and started dating that idiot?!"

"…"

"You honestly think you mean **THAT** much to me?!"

"Ken…"

"Well guess what? You do!" He hollered, making her brows raise. "But I've been doing this way longer than I've ever known you."

"H-How long…"

"Since birth."

"What?"

"My father, Lau Khan is the greatest MMA fighter in the world. Ironically, his son was born with a disease that causes muscle weakness." Ken frowned, looking down at the needles on the floor as he explained his dark secret. "I've been on steroids for my medical problem since I was born. If I don't take them, my muscles would begin to deteriorate and I might even die…"

"Oh Ken…" Sally breathed, clasping both hands over her mouth in shock at his story.

"I hate taking them. They cause mood swings and make it hard for me to sleep. I don't want to take them, but my body can't function right without them. I've tried to quit because it's so embarrassing. I've nearly killed myself twice trying. That's why my dad and Li-Moon call to check up on me so often."

"I had no idea."

"I was going to tell you someday, when I was actually ready…"

"I'm…I'm sorry."

Guilt pooled in her heart at having thought the worst of him, even when he had just proven to her that he believed in her despite what was going on about her.

"Let's just get to English before we get in trouble…" He sighed, picking up his needles and medicine bottles to throw back into his backpack.

* * *

 _"It'll be fi-fine, Mighty."_ Ray sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with one hand as he used the other to hold his phone. _"J-Just ask her already!"_

 _"Easy for you to say. You've got the girl!"_ The armadillo pouted on the other line, _"What if she says no again?"_

 _"You gu-guys hangout way too much to be ju-just friends at this point."_

 _"I guess, but—"_

 _"Ju-Just shut up and go ask her al-already!"_ The squirrel scolded him, _"And do-don't call back until you do."_

Then he promptly hung up on the older boy before putting his phone away. He smiled to himself, hoping that things worked out for his older brother just as they had with him.

"Who was that, Ray?" Cosmo asked.

The yellow squirrel then looked up to peer at the seedrian and fox sitting across the café table from him, and then he looked toward his new and first girlfriend sitting beside him.

"It was ju-just my brother, Mighty." He explained, scratching his cheek shyly. "He's go-going to ask out Amy."

"Amy? Amy Rose?!" Tails yelped.

"Y-Yeah." He nodded, "They've be-been hanging out a lot lately, and he's liked her for a wh-while now."

"I hope she says yes!" Cream squealed, jumping in her seat. "She could use a good guy in her life—no offense to our friend, Sonic of course."

"It'd be nice to see her with someone who'd make her happy and bubbly again like before." Tails agreed.

While Cream and Tails seemed absolutely on board with the idea, Ray couldn't help but notice the uneasy look on the seedrian's face.

"S-Something wrong, Cosmo?"

"Oh, it's nothing." She waved her hands in dismissal.

"What is it, Cosmo?" Tails asked, "You aren't happy about Mighty and Amy getting together?"

"It's not that I'm not happy about it, it's just that…I sense a bit of trouble."

"What's the trouble with that?" Cream chimed in.

"It's just that I'm worried for Mighty because I think…Sonic and Amy may still harbor feelings for each other."

The green-haired girl then blushed in embarrassment at the abrupt laughter coming from the three teens at her table.

"Oh you don't have to worry about that." Tails waved in dismissal.

"Right." Cream nodded, "Sonic and Amy absolutely hate each other at this point."

"Ri-Right. There's no need to worry ab-about, Mighty at all." Ray added, "He'll ge-get the girl this time for su-sure!"

* * *

 _"It's been really bad today."_ Nicole mumbled into her phone as she glanced at all the students laughing at the photos on their phones, _"Sally won't even talk about it."_

 _"I thought you were going to stay in your room today._ " Elias sighed on the other line, the sound of horns honking in the background of his call.

 _"I was, but I have a huge exam for Dr. Robotnik today…"_ The lynx murmured, bowing her head as she walked past crowds whispering such cruel things about her sister. _"Everyone is being so awful..."_

 _"Does Mother know anything yet?"_

 _"I don't think so. None of the staff seem to have a clue."_

 _"Of course not. Everyone at Green Hill Academy is good at keeping secrets…"_

 _"Where are you? I hear cars."_

 _"I couldn't handle it today."_ The prince sighed, _"I'm on my way to Metropolis to see Megan. I just needed to get away for a bit."_

 _"I understand."_ Nicole nodded, _"As soon as I'm done with this exam I'm going back to my room."_

 _"Hey, don't worry."_ Elias pleaded _, "When I get back, you, Sally, and I will sit down and sort this thing out."_

 _"What if Mother finds out…"_ The raven-haired girl questioned, " _Would Sally have to go back with Father?"_

 _"I won't let that happen, not just when we got her back. Just give me some time to come up with a plan, alright?"_

 _"Okay, Eli."_

 _"I gotta go."_ He replied, _"Stay safe. I love you."_

 _"Love you too."_ She replied, pulling the phone away from her ear to hang up. _"Goodbye."_

She then slid the phone back in her purple tote as she carried on with walking across the grassy plains of campus to the main building.

She had been in her room most of the time, unable to hear the harsh comments or see the inappropriate photos of her sister on the many cellphone screens visible throughout campus grounds.

Bunnie and Antoine had come to visit her, and told her about Sally's poor reaction to them. It worried her enough to track down the chipmunk herself once, only to get brushed off in such an unusually cold manner.

Ever since she had come back into their lives, the lynx couldn't help but notice the strange changes within her older sister. She seemed much more closed off, and way more secretive. So unlike the girl she used to know.

 _'And those nasty scars on her face…'_ The raven-haired girl thought to herself before the feeling of someone tapping on her shoulder jolted her out of her thoughts.

She turned around to see a white hedgehog she had never seen before and an oddly familiar purple cat.

"Excuse me." The other feline spoke up, removing her hand from the lynx's shoulder respectfully.

"Yes?" Nicole asked, turning their way. "Can I help you?"

"My name is Blaze the Cat, and this is my friend, Silver the Hedgehog." The purple girl explained, gesturing to herself and the boy beside her. "We're friends with, Shard Metal."

Nicole's heart instantly plummeted into her stomach at hearing that name for the first time in such a long time. She immediately looked away from the two, thinking back to only the bitter things she remembered about the other DigItalian student.

"I see…"

"I just wanted to know why things went south with you and him. From what I hear, you used to be good friends." Blaze explained, "Knowing this might help us understand more so we can help him."

"Help him?" The lynx turned back to the cat with an eyebrow raised, "Is he in trouble?"

"It's kind of hard to explain." Silver interjected once he realized Blaze couldn't figure out what to say to that.

"Well, he and I were good friends actually. Then his behavior got out of control and I didn't like it. I know he meant well, but the way he went about things was too brutish. Despite that, I wanted to remain friends with him because he is truly kind deep down." Nicole explained, a million more pleasant memories of the yellow-striped hedgehog clouding her mind until the darker ones began to resurface. "Then I began dating my boyfriend, Espio the Chameleon, and things between us started to change."

"You mean, he was jealous?" The white hedgehog questioned.

"Extremely. They were so hostile toward each other, even when Shard began dating someone else. Unrequited love is difficult, I understand that, but threatening bodily harm was just too much."

"He threatened you?!"

"He threatened to hurt my boyfriend." Nicole replied, looking over to a shocked Blaze. "But you knew that already, didn't you?"

"N-No." The cat shook her head, "What would make you think I did?"

"Because I remember who you are." The lynx said, making Blaze's eyes widen even more. "You were the girl who delivered the threatening letter to me that one time."

A sudden gasp escaped Blaze as she recalled the same memory, finally able to recognize the lynx. Silver merely tilted his head in confusion, staring at the shocked Blaze while completely oblivious to her thoughts.

"I have to head over to Dr. Robotnik's class now." Nicole murmured as she moved past the two.

She then vanished behind them.

"Blaze?" Silver called out, resting his hand on the cat's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

To his surprise, tears suddenly emerged on her face as she began crying softly.

"It's my fault…"

"What? What're talking about? And why are you crying, Blaze?"

"I'm the one who ruined Shard's friendship with Nicole…" She muttered through tears, the white hedgehog quickly embracing her as a means to stop her tears. "When I was hanging around Mephiles he made me do really bad things… Giving Nicole a fake note was one of them…"

"Don't cry, Blaze." Silver pleaded, holding her tighter. "We'll have to talk about these things a little later though. We've got English, and we can't skip out anymore."

* * *

Ms. Breezie's English fourth period class was the largest one on campus, consisting of over forty-five students. Despite that, right now it was the quietest place on campus!

Everyone was forced to attend, but said nothing. Each student stood as still as a statue in their seats, afraid to make any sort of movement or sound.

Sally Acorn sat all the way in the back with her head down and blue hoodie up.

Sonic the Hedgehog and Ken Khan sat at their shared desk, looking in opposite directions from one another.

Shadow the Hedgehog sat next to worried Honey the Cat as he stared at the empty seat where his girlfriend, Rosy Rascal should have been.

Manic the Hedgehog glanced over at Mina Mongoose across the room with worry, while Silver the Hedgehog stared straight at the back of Blaze the Cat's head with concerns of his own.

Amy Rose sat up front by the purple cat, smirking at the blue hedgehog's stressed demeanor.

"My, my, we sure are quiet today." Ms. Breezie mused as she scribbled down names for attendance. "If only Rosy Rascal were here it would be a full house."

There were no replies to her whatsoever, students absolutely terrified of getting on her bad side. She simply strutted around the room rambling to herself as they listened.

She had all the power in the room and she loved that feeling so much, but what she loved more than that feeling was…entertainment.

The teal hedgehog woman walked over to her desk and opened the top drawer. Her hand then emerged from that drawer with their latest English assignments—the revealing secrets they had all spilled on one another.

"Remember these assignments? I've been having a hard time grading them because I'm not sure most of them are valid." The cold teacher mused, watching as some teens began to sweat nervously. "I was thinking we'd all go through them together as a team and discuss who made up what for a grade—"

" **WHAT?!** " Manic shrieked, leaping up from his seat to slam both hands on the desk. "You said they'd be confidential."

"I did say that, didn't I?" Ms. Breezie nodded, "Well, there's been a change of plans."

"So you're gonna out who wrote about who and what they wrote about?!" Storm the Albatross questioned nervously, having been one of the many students who threw someone under the bus for what seemed like an easy A.

"Doesn't that sound like fun?"

"No!" Silver stood up, "That was supposed to be personal. Outing all that information will have drama skyrocketing even more around here!"

"And why worry yourself with that, Darling?" The teal teacher asked, walking over to rest a tender hand to Silver's cheek, making him blush immensely. "You were one of two students who didn't participate."

"It's…It's just wrong."

"Sit down, Sweeite." She ordered, which he reluctantly followed.

"Anyone else need to combat my decisions?"

Silence ensued once more, making the teal woman smile with victory as she strolled up to the stack of papers rested on her desk, picking up the first one very slowly.

This gave the mongoose girl in the first row just the right amount of time to spot her name on that paper. It was a premeditated move. Breezie obviously wanted to see her panic, but to her surprise the lavender-haired girl didn't break a sweat.

"Let's start with a terrible thing Mina Mongoose has done." She spoke aloud once more as she flipped the paper over in her hands, hoping hearing her name would rattle the mongoose in some way. "Outed by Manic the Hedgehog…"

The only one who seemed to be grinding their teeth in a panic was Manic himself, but that wasn't what she wanted or cared to see.

She wanted to rattle Mina Mongoose—the little tramp who stole her man—she wanted to see that little bitch squirm, but shockingly the girl was not moved in the slightest.

 _'You've forced my hand, Little Trramp.'_ The hedgehog woman thought to herself as she cleared her throat to utter the mongoose's secret loud and clear.

 **KNOCK, KNOCK!**

But just before she could, there was a knock on the door.

Then Officer Zespio entered the room, having all heads instantly turn to him.

"Excuse me." The officer stated, "Forgive the interruption, but you have an important visitor."

"Important visitor?" Breezie rose an eyebrow, setting the paper back down as she hopped off her desk and strolled over to the chameleon. "I'm in the middle of a class. Can it wait?"

"Not this woman." Officer Zespio shook his head, "She's requested to see you right away and believe me, this isn't the type of person to brush off."

"Fine." She sighed, "Sit here and cover for me then."

He nodded in agreement as she walked by him and out the door toward the main office. Her sharp, red heels clicked loudly against the white-tiles as she huffed out in annoyance, having not expected an interruption like this.

 _'Who the hell could be so damn important? And what the hell would they want with me? We were just getting to the juicy part…'_ Breezie thought to herself as she opened the door to the main office.

She then spotted a mongoose woman dressed in a gray pantsuit holding a briefcase on her lap. She had long, vibrant purple hair that fell straight down to her waist. Her eyes were a deep blue color, and the devilish smile on her face seemed more vicious than friendly.

"You must be Ms. Breezie." The mongoose woman mused, standing up to walk over and tower over the hedgehog with the extra few inches of height she had on her, extending her hand out to shake. "I'm Isabella Mongoose, the best lawyer in the country, and one hell of an angry mother. Mina Mongoose is my daughter."

She spoke with such class, but at the same time each word felt like a venomous whip. The teal woman couldn't help but let out a chuckle, finding the older version of her student to be much more amusing.

Instead of cowering or gulping with fright, Breezie simply took the mongoose's hand and shook it with pride.

"Charmed." Ms. Breezie gave an intimidating smile of her own, "I'm one hell of an angry English teacher myself."

"How interesting." Isabella nodded, turning to the fox receptionist. "Rosemary, be a dear and tell someone to cover for Ms. Breezie. I'm treating her to a late lunch to discuss something."

"I'm so-sorry Isabella, but we're very understaffed in the teacher department right now and—"

"Just do it, Hun." The mongoose cut her off in a more commanding tone, exercising her authority as another intimidation tactic. "If Alicia's got a problem with it, give her my private number."

* * *

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 **Mighty:** Hey, how did English class go?

 **Amy:** So weird. That gay security officer was our temp while Ms. Breezie stepped out.

 **Mighty:** Oh, Zector?

 **Amy:** No, the other one.

 **Mighty:** That's Zespio.

 **Amy:** He had no idea what he was doing lol.

 **Amy:** It was pretty funny.

 **Mighty:** Lol, I bet.

 **Mighty:** So what are you up to now?

 **Amy:** That was my last class for the day. I figured I'd just go back to my dorm and hang around.

 **Mighty:** That's cool, but you know what's cooler?

 **Amy:** What?

 **Mighty:** Meeting up with me in Professor Charles' math classroom.

 **Amy:** How's that cool?

 **Mighty:** There's no one in there for the rest of the day. So we could use protractors as pistols and play cowboy.

 **Amy:** You're such a dork! But I'm totally in.

 **Amy:** I'm right next to that class anyway.

 **Mighty:** I'm across campus, and not quite out of gym yet.

 **Mighty:** I'll meet you there in 10 minutes.

 **Amy:** K. Don't keep me waiting too long!

The pink girl giggled sweetly to herself as she put her cellphone away and took off toward the empty classroom. She practically skipped down the hall with glee, always excited to see the adorable armadillo for some silly hangout.

"Hi Amy!"

"You look gorgeous!"

"Hey girl! Love the shoes!"

"Looking beautiful as always, Amy!"

"Be my wife!"

The positive feedback from everyone she passed by in the hall only made her feel even more energetic. Like how a queen feels when parading the city to have her royal subjects praise her.

After sometime of walking and a bit of stair climbing, the pink hedgehog found herself standing in front of Professor Charles' empty classroom. She opened the door and walked over to the nearest desk to rest her bag upon.

Then she walked over to the display case where the teacher had some interesting things displayed that had caught her attention.

While examining them, she suddenly heard the door creak open behind her and slam shut, making her jump before she turned around.

"Mighty! I thought you were on the other side of campus—" Halfway through her sentence she had realized it wasn't her armadillo friend at all.

Her eyes widened with fear as she stared back into the blue piercing ones of the hedgehog stomping angrily toward her.

"Scourge?! **AAHHH!** " She yelped before the green hedgehog sent a painful slap across her face, one with so much force behind it that it sent her stumbling backwards.

She cupped her cheek with one hand as she waved the other to steady herself. The tears his slap had sparked didn't deter him. He got closer again and grabbed her by the pink collar of her shirt, raising her off her feet to get in her face.

"You stupid bitch." He growled at her, "I know you were the one who leaked those pictures."

"I-I-I didn't!" She whimpered, shaking her head. "It wasn't me."

"Don't play stupid with me, Pinky." Scourge scolded her, shaking her by the collar to intimidate her. "You stole them off my phone when I caught you snooping around."

"Okay, okay." Amy confessed, tears streaming down her face as she kicked out her feet in the air. "Just don't hurt me anymore… I just wanted to get back at her for stealing Sonic from me…and for ruining what we had going…"

"You're pathetic." He scoffed, practically throwing her back so she'd go crashing to the floor with the desk behind her. "I should have known that when you so easily let me stick my dick in you."

She tried to grab onto the desk to stop the fall, but without it being bolted to the ground it simply flipped over with her. Her head bounced off the tiled floor, making her cry out in agony. Then the desk came crashing onto her fragile little body, causing even more pain. Then she began to really sob and wail, loud enough to alert the armadillo boy who was coming down the hall to meet with her.

Mighty quickly busted into the room upon hearing her cries of pain, shocked and outraged to see Scourge standing over her fallen figure.

" **GET AWAY FROM HER!** " He shrieked, charging at the green hedgehog he had faced once before.

He threw a punch, but the hedgehog was quick to get out of the way—knowing full well that a single punch from the armadillo could land him a hospital stay.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Mighty bellowed as he became frustrated with not being able to make contact with the hedgehog. "She's a girl!"

"She's a lying bitch who definitely needed a slap or two."

"You bastard!"

"Whoa!" The green hedgehog smirked, just barely dodging another attack. "You almost had me that time. Why so mad? Don't tell me you like this slut?"

"Stop talking like that about her!"

"Sorry, just surprising is all. That a standup guy like you would be dating the asshole who leaked nudes to get back at a girl that stole her ' _ex_ '."

" **YOU** —wait. What did you just say?" Mighty stammered, ceasing movement to shoot the hedgehog a genuinely curious look.

" **SCOURGE NO!** "

"Yeah, you heard me." Scourge nodded, pointing toward Amy who had gotten up to her knees on the floor. "She's the one who sent those pics around to humiliate that girl."

"A-Amy…" Mighty murmured, turning to the pink girl with shock. "You, you're the one who did this to that girl?"

"I…She…I…It wasn't fair! She's been ruining my life!"

"No. You did a pretty damn good job of that all by yourself, Pinky." Scourge snarled at her, turning toward the door to leave. "And you'll **DEFINETELY** regret messing with her…"

Once he was gone, it was just Mighty and Amy. She got to her feet and reached out to him, but he just stood frozen staring at the ground.

"Mighty?"

"I brought you here…to ask you out again…"

"You did?!" Amy gasped, heart racing as she rested her hand on the armadillo's shoulder gently. "Even after I said no that time before?!"

"We didn't really know each other like we do now…" He mumbled, "I figured now that we did, and now that we've hung out so much, you'd have fallen for me…."

"I have, Mighty." She assured him, going in to hug him. "I have fallen for you."

Unfortunately, her hug had ultimately been rejected with him coldly pushing her away. Her jade eyes widened with disbelief as she looked back at his face through teary eyes.

"I thought you came to ask me out?"

"I did…" He sighed, turning to her with the most disgusted look a male could ever give a female. "But how could I date someone who'd do something this awful?! How could I even be friends with someone like that?!"

"M-Mighty… You don't get it!"

"You're right, I don't get it, and I don't want to." Mighty shook his head, stepping away from her and toward the door. "Do me a favor and **NEVER** come near me again, Amy."

Then he left….

Leaving the pink hedgehog to scream and cry in agony.

After finally outrunning some bullies, Sonic found himself roaming the halls alone again. He breathed a sigh of relief, thankful for the quiet moment of peace although he knew more taunting was waiting at every corner.

He hated what his life had become, all thanks to Sally.

Just thinking about it infuriated him.

But why hadn't he dumped her the second he saw her? Well, it's because he has come too far, and had only one hope at redeeming his old reputation—the legacy he had going as king of everything before he ever even knew she existed—and that was getting that sex recording to Mephiles.

He had decided upon it after several sour encounters throughout the last few days, putting whatever morals he had developed in the time spent with her aside.

He just wanted all of the hate to stop, and this seemed to truly be his only out…

While deep in thought, he had come back to reality after passing by a classroom where he could hear faint crying. He quickly backtracked his steps toward the math classroom—his uncle's classroom to be specific.

That's definitely where the crying was coming from.

He couldn't help but turn the knob and walk in, only to see a crying Amy slumped over the floor.

Without even thinking he tossed his bag to the floor and ran to her, worry in his veins as he kneeled down beside her and called her name.

"Ames?!" He breathed, making the female hedgehog lift her head up.

That's when he noticed her now purple-colored cheek, and she began to cry even more.

"Chaos…" He added, reaching out to gently caress her bruised cheek. "What happened?!"

" **WHAT DO YOU CARE?!** " She screamed in his face, swatting his hand away. "Just go away!"

"I care a lot actually." He snapped back at her before settling down in a more gentle tone. "Who did this to you? Was it that Mighty kid?"

"No…" She murmured sorrowfully, "But he and I aren't friends anymore…"

"Did something happen?"

"He found out that…that I was the one who leaked the pictures of your girlfriend." Amy confessed, surprising the blue hedgehog even more. "I just read Nack's post about how you cheated on me and used me… I wanted to get back at her for stealing your heart from me…"

"How did you get pictures like that of her?!"

"I…I got them from Scourge's phone when we were seeing each other."

"Scourge's phone…" Sonic repeated, envy and even more resentment toward his chipmunk girlfriend stirring up inside him.

"I'm sorry, Sonic. I know it was wrong to do…but when it comes to you I do crazy things…"

"But Amy, you didn't have to do that…" The blue hedgehog whispered, lifting her chin to bring her face closer to his. "Because she never really stole my heart from you in the first place."

Then he closed the space between their lips and gave her a shocking kiss! Her bruised cheek hurt, but she couldn't pull away. Instead she threw her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss, thankful to have him back in her arms like this after so long.

The boy she's always loved…

Her true love, or at the very least what felt like her true love.

Sonic the Hedgehog and Amy Rose… Together again.

* * *

 **BAM! And so the drama escalates, but the climax hasn't set in just yet! Hold on to your seats, because things are about to get even darker.**

 **I'll never condone a male striking a female for anything, but I can't sit here and pretend like Amy didn't deserve a slap in the face for her idiotic and irrational behavior. She's done a terrible thing out of pure assumptions and jealousy. While she's out here being praised, she has no regard for the awful abuse Sally is suffering because of her. And to top that off…she's got Sonic back…and he's got fucked up plans of his own in store for the bullied girl. Will Sally ever catch a damn break in this story?**

 **Remember that envelope Mephiles had forced Blaze to deliver Nicole way back? The one with pictures of Shard street fighting back in the day with a fake threatening note that resulted in the lynx officially terminating their friendship? Blaze does now, and she feels absolutely horrible about it, blaming herself for taking part in the scheme that sent Shard over to the dark side. She's been doing such a good job of redeeming herself lately. Is this something she can fix? Or will she have to live with the guilt forever…**

 **We had all misjudged Ken as a bitter drug user. In truth, he's got a muscle disorder only remedied by chronic steroid injections. It embarrasses him to the point where he tries to hide it, and even tries to quit although it's lethal for him to do so. Unwilling to go to the nurse and explain his predicament, after running out of the supply he had brought to campus with him he goes to Geoffrey for steroids periodically.**

 **Lastly, HOLY SHIT! BREEZIE THE HEDGEHOG VS. ISABELLA MONGOOSE?! Two of the most cruel and antagonistic characters in the story going head-to-head! Who will come out on top?!**

 **Also, just had to add this fun fact: A lot of complaints go out to characters like Gold the Tenrec and Cosmo the Seedrian for being 'boring'. And well, you're right. They're meant to be that way actually. They represent the kind of people in real life who don't go out of their way to get involved in drama unless it can't be helped unlike most of the other cast members. This probably makes them a snooze to read, but it's meant to be part of their character.**

 **It's been a while since I've updated the relationship chart so hear you go:**

 **Relationship Statuses**

 **Sally and Sonic: DATING (ONE-SIDED NOW)**

 **Sonic and Amy: AFFAIR**

 **Shadow and Rosy: DATING**

 **Tails and Cosmo: DATING**

 **Ray and Cream: DATING**

 **Julie-Su and Knuckles: DATING**

 **Mina and Ash: MUTUAL CRUSH**

 **Shade and Thrash: DATING**

 **Fiona and Scourge: DATING**

 **Sally and Ken: CRUSH (ONE-SIDED)**

 **Bunnie and Antoine: DATING**

 **Espio and Nicole: DATING**

 **Gold and Silver: CRUSH (ONE-SIDED?)**

 **Mighty and Amy: OVER**

 **Knuckles and Rouge: CRUSH (ONE-SIDED)**

 **Sonia and Elias: CRUSH (ONE-SIDED)**

 **Honey and Ash: CRUSH (ONE-SIDED)**

 **Hmm… A lot of people seem to be in relationships or looking to get into one. We might have to start shaking some of these relationships up again…**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Isabella realizes she has come face-to-face with her greatest foe yet**

 **Elias changes his mind on why he wants to marry Megan**

 **With a little help from the internet, Rouge makes a chilling discovery on what might have Julie-Su acting so strangely**

 **Scourge comes face-to-face with Sally for the first time in a long time, and their conversation only raises more suspicions**

 **Sonic and Amy do their best to hide the affair they've begun for their own personal motives**

 **And so much more!**


	82. Chapter 82

**WARNING: Sexual harassment and sexual tones**

* * *

 **Chapter 82: Every Action In This World Will Bear A Consequence**

 _'I just couldn't handle all the drama going on around campus, and the fact that Sally refused to talk only frustrated me more. I needed a breather, even just for a minute._

 _I'm happy that Megan called when she did. Chaos knows what I would have done if she hadn't. I was practically on the brink of losing my mind._

 _After a bit of a drive, we met up at a coffee shop in Metropolis. She even brought little Alexis along with her._

 _I didn't realize how big a baby could get in such a short amount of time. She seemed much healthier than the last time I saw her, but her clothes were fitting a little too tight, and appeared to be ratty hand-me-downs from a thrift store._

 _Megan explained that she was still in a financial struggle, and that Joss—her father—was still refusing to see them or help them out whatsoever._

 _Her clothes were just as ratty. Color drained from them and holes at the sleeves. She had bags under her eyes from an obvious lack of sleep which she tried to hide behind a bit of dollar store makeup. Her legs seemed to be in pain as well, probably from all the running around she had to do without a car of her own._

 _It broke my heart honestly, and made me feel a bit shameful for complaining about my own troubles when she was going through the worst that real life had to offer without help from anyone at all._

 _After a bit of back-and-forth she finally caved and allowed me to take them shopping at Metropolis Mall._

 _Words can't describe how happy and relieved she seemed at just being bought a simple pair of shoes for her and the baby. She thanked me endlessly on the car ride home, even when I told her there was no need._

 _Looking at her falling asleep against the window in the passenger side and the slumped over asleep toddler in the backseat had me thinking about so much…_

 _I remember how angry I was when I found out she had tricked me into thinking Alexis was actually mine. I was so infuriated I didn't even give her a chance to explain anything at all._

 _I hated her because I felt like I was being robbed of my future…the one I dreamed I'd someday share with, Sonia._

 _My feelings for Sonia at the time clouded my perception of her, and made it so easy to walk away from them._

 _I guess now that I don't have those rose-colored glasses clouding my mind or the weight of any lies between us I'm able to see what a wonderful person she truly is._

 _She was desperate to trick her dad because she knew he'd disown her. She didn't mean any harm. All she wanted was to create a happy life for her baby…even if she had to compromise her morality and lie in order to make it happen. It just proves how loving a mother she is._

 _Once GPS had taken me to her address, I gently shook her awake. She was so groggy, but forced her lids to open anyway. She seemed a bit paranoid at first, but quickly relaxed once she noticed she was still in my car._

 _We both got out, and she immediately went to the back to unbuckle Alexis from the carseat she had fallen asleep in. She was careful not to wake her._

 _This gave me some time to look around to try and pinpoint which house belonged to them, but from what I could tell there were no houses in sight._

 _"Where's your place?" I asked, taking the bags of clothes I had bought them so she could carry the baby with more ease._

 _"Over there in that building." She replied, pointing to the very sketchy building a few feet away._

 _As bad as the outside looked…the inside was even more awful. The white halls were stained yellow, the stairs were rickety, and bugs swarmed all around us._

 _I was even more surprised to follow her going down the stairs and realize that they lived in the basement of this disgusting place._

 _She ordered me to set the bags down once she had opened the door. She then passed me the baby and told me she was going to go turn on the light._

 _There were no windows, so she rummaged around in pure darkness until she clicked on the lamp sitting on a few stacked boxes in what I assume was supposed to be a living room of sorts._

 _It was small, very small. The lack of windows and piles upon piles of boxes everywhere didn't help either. And what little furniture there seemed to be was just as ugly and rundown as the place it resided in._

 _"Sorry about the mess." She whispered, taking the sleeping baby from my hands. "I didn't expect you to come over. I'm just gonna go put her in her crib."_

 _She then left me alone to explore a bit. There was a small living area combined with half a kitchen, two tiny bedrooms, and a small bathroom off to the side_

 _Aside from the one light in the living room and the light she had clicked on in what I assumed to be the baby's room, the tiny place was drowned in darkness, bugs, and rundown furniture._

 _How could anyone live like this? With a child no less…_

 _That's all I could think every time a fly landed on my neck or I spotted a broken baby toy on the floor._

 _"Hey, Elias." Her voice called out quietly as she suddenly emerged behind me._

 _"Yeah?"_

 _"I just got a text from my boss." She explained as she rummaged around for her work uniform, "I got called in because someone's sick."_

 _"You got called in at this hour?" I questioned, "What about, Alexis?"_

 _"I'm going to call the babysitter. It's nine at night…damn. She'll probably charge me extra for the nightshift." She pouted as she whipped out her cellphone and began pressing buttons._

 _"You know, Megan…my mom would really love to see her again." I blurted out._

 _"But...doesn't she know Alexis isn't—"_

 _"No. She doesn't know." I cut her off, already aware of what she was about to ask. "And I don't ever plan on telling her."_

 _"I…I don't understand."_

 _She looked at me so confused. Her head cocked to the side, making her chestnut hair fall over her shoulder like a waterfall as she batted her lashes at me while awaiting a response._

 _That's when I explained my true intentions behind taking her out._

 _"I've actually been trying to take you out for a reason, Megan." I explained wholeheartedly, "At first, I wanted to marry you out of obligation after seeing you at my mother's wedding, but after spending the day with you I've come to realize…maybe that's just what I actually want for myself."_

 _She was surprised, and I could tell she was skeptical about my sincerity._

 _"What about, Sonia?" She questioned, the sorrow clear as day in her once chipper tone._

 _"I've finally let her go." I reply, the image of that magenta girl washing away in my mind.'_

"Eli?" Silver called out, waving his hand in front of the auburn-haired boy's face until he came out of whatever place his mind had drifted off to.

He blinked a few times before looking around to see he was back in his dorm room, and to catch a glimpse of the DigItalian boy he had some harsh words with a few days ago hastily walking out of the room.

He sucked his teeth in disgust at the idea of Shard hanging with lowlifes like Nack and Mephiles, and how he might have had something to do with the nudes of his little sister being leaked.

* * *

Ray was quick to get ready and dash out of the boy's dorm to meet up with his older brother. Excitement made his heart beat rapidly as he jogged over to the red car in the parking lot where they usually met up in the mornings.

He couldn't wait to tease the armadillo about getting with his crush the same way he had when he found out the squirrel had finally gotten with the rabbit girl he had been after all year.

A big smile crossed his face at the thought of them both happy in relationships with the girls they had fallen so hard for, and how happy it would make sweet Matilda to bring them home for future holidays and family events.

Once close enough to spot the red-shelled boy leaning against the hood of the car, Ray decided to call out to him in that same mock-girlish tone he had given him before.

"M-Mighty!" He sang playfully, "Ha-Have you to-told your little sister a-about your new girlfriend? Or sh-should I give her a call fi-first?"

Then the little squirrel fully came around the car to stand in front of the armadillo, surprised to see he bore no smile at all.

The mood suddenly took a downward spiral from playful to serious in a matter of moments.

"I don't have a girlfriend." Mighty stated bluntly, his voice unusually cold.

"Di-Did she reject you again?" Ray gulped, heart breaking for the armadillo he only wished happiness for.

"No." The armadillo shook his head, "But I don't want anything to do with her ever again."

"Wh-Why not?"

"Because it was her."

"Wh-What was?"

"She was the one who leaked those nudes of that girl." Mighty grumbled standing upright to walk away, "Let's just never talk about her again, alright? I'm gonna head over to class. See ya later."

Ray then watched with a sorrowful expression as Mighty took off across the field with his head hung low. He hated seeing the older boy so sad, especially when he knew deep in his heart that someone like Mighty the Armadillo deserved nothing but happiness.

 _'Fiona was right about that girl all along…'_ He thought in his mind, _'I wonder where she is now…'_

* * *

Despite just waking up not too long ago, Manic found himself sitting up in bed with a freshly rolled joint in his mouth. He brushed off his roommate's comment of it being too early for smoking, finding the act a bit relieving for the extreme amount of stress he had been feeling lately.

"It's too early to smoke, but not too early to blow up your girl's phone?" The green hedgehog retorted, raising a questioning brow at the other hedgehog pacing the room with phone pressed to his ear.

"Fuck off." Shadow grumbled back, pulling his phone back to shoot his girlfriend another call. "I haven't heard a thing from her since she took off on me."

"Yeah, yeah." Manic rolled his eyes before allowing them to fall on the voluptuous bat girl sitting with a laptop at the foot of his bed. "And what about you? Isn't it a little too early to be scoping out Victoria Secret's online store?"

"Fuck off." The bat snapped, typing away on the laptop. "I'm not shopping."

"Then what are you doing exactly?"

"Knuckles' girlfriend has been acting strange and I'm trying to figure out why."

"I thought you didn't like her."

"I don't."

Once again, Manic just rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the other hedgehog who was still pacing around and calling his girlfriend.

"What happened to Rosy yesterday anyway?"

"I have no idea, and it's pissing me off." Shadow replied as he redialed the pink girl's number once more.

"Even if you do get a hold of her, you know Zonic will make it impossible for you to meet up with her, right? The penalty for skipping class yesterday was close supervision from security." Manic reminded him.

Shadow gritted his teeth in anger thanks to being reminded of the fact, and it didn't help that his call had been ignored again. He was starting to get anxious.

Beside them, Rouge ignored their presence to focus on her laptop screen where she had logged into WebMD. She moved the cursor toward the bar where she curiously typed in the symptoms she had noticed in the pink echidna girl lately.

 _Dizziness_

 _Fatigue_

 _Loss of appetite_

 _Weakness_

 _Weight loss_

 _Nosebleeds_

 _Joint pain_

Once she pressed the enter key on the search bar her topaz eyes widened in horror at the recommended sources the website had provided…

All of which relating to…Leukemia.

Horrified by the thought, the bat slammed the laptop shut and made a dash for the door.

"What's wrong, Baby Girl?!" Manic called after her.

"Shadow's pacing is annoying me." She lied, "I need some quiet."

She was thankful they hadn't noticed the shakiness in her tone or pressed on the matter. As she took down the hall she rested a hand on her chest and thought of the possibility that Julie-Su's secret might truly be…

"Cancer…"

* * *

 **CALL REJECTED**

 **CALL REJECTED**

 **CALL REJECTED**

"C'mon Shadow, leave me the fuck alone right now!" Rosy grumbled angrily to herself as she ignored her boyfriend's calls and set her phone to silent.

She then cracked the door to her room slightly open to peer out at the blue hedgehog in a security uniform patrolling by her door.

After skipping English class, Ms. Breezie had followed through on that threat she had sent everyone and remanded anyone who had skipped her class to security supervision for the next week—that being just Rosy herself.

Rosy was forced by the blue officer to her class then back to her room, only allowing her five minute bathroom breaks and fifteen minutes for lunch and dinner.

She found it incredibly annoying and bickered with him quite a bit whenever she got the chance.

From the crack in the door she watched him closely, gauging for a window of escape.

There was someone she wanted to see…and it wasn't her boyfriend, Shadow.

The opportunity was granted when Officer Zonic noticed some girls breaking code of conduct down the hall and left his post to chase after them.

The pink girl quickly sprinted down the hall to the stairwell, and was out the building before he knew it. She jogged across campus, bubblegum quills bouncing up and down behind her as she slammed her boots hard against the ground.

She made her way to the parking lot and snaked her way between cars until she found what she was looking for.

Scourge's hummer.

She walked up to it, putting her hands against the tinted windows to peer inside.

He and Fiona had been making out in the backseat, a sight that sent a wave of anger over the pink hedgehog.

She slid the steel-toed black boot off her left foot and slammed it hard against the window, shattering the glass over the two teenagers.

"What the fuck!" Fiona shrieked as she jumped off the green hedgehog, both of them turning to see the angry girl open the back door.

"My fucking car!" Scourge shrieked, more worried about repairs to the big truck than about the glass possibly cutting the vixen beside him. "What the fuck is the matter with you, Psycho?"

" **SHUT THE FUCK UP!** " Rosy screamed at him, putting her shoe back on her foot. "Get out of the fucking car."

"What's your problem, Rosy?!" Fiona questioned, only to have her presence completely ignored by the both of them as they went off on each other.

" **I KNOW IT WAS YOU WHO LEAKED THOSE FUCKING PICTURES!** "

"It wasn't."

Infuriated with his lies, the pink girl took it upon herself to drag him by the leather collar of his jacket out of the car. He fell onto the lot, but was quick to jump up and push her away.

"Stop lying!" She yelled at him, rushing him with a barrage of punches he hardly felt when her tiny fists collided with his chest. "I know they came from you."

"Quit touching me." He ordered, grabbing both her wrists to fling her away once more. "Your stupid doppelganger stole them off my phone when we were fucking. I didn't leak shit. Are all pink hedgehogs this fucking stupid and delusional?"

Suddenly, an angry Fiona jumped into the mix, hopping out of the car to stomp toward him to grab him by the jacket collar herself.

" **THOSE PICTURES WERE ON YOUR PHONE?!** " She screamed in his face, getting no response out of him.

She was furious, knowing full well that they were. The vixen then stormed off in a fit of upset tears, leaving the two hedgehogs from Moebius to stare one another down.

"You ruin every girl's life who comes into fucking contact with you." Rosy spat at him, "And for what? Because your mommy didn't love you enough—"

"Shut your fucking mouth." He retorted angrily, the mere mention of his mother sending him into a rage. "Before I shut it for you. I'm not above beating the shit out of a girl. Especially an ugly one like you."

"You're the evilest person I've ever met. Something worse than any devil." She shook her head, "And I hope someone sends you back to hell where you belong."

Before he could make a snide remark of his own, Officer Zonic had dashed over and apprehended the pink girl who had escaped his custody. He scolded her, then asked if something had happened there. They both shook their heads in response before the blue hedgehog dragged her back to the dorms, Scourge glaring coldly at her the entire time.

* * *

Back in Mercia, Rob O'Hedge was in his home office on a Skype conference call with a few investors looking into helping him expand his already flourished business.

This left his sweet wife to watch over their child downstairs.

The echidna woman sat on her knees with the toddler on the wooden floor of the living room. She encouraged the little echidna boy as he struggled to stack his blocks into a tower.

He grew frustrated and cried every time it fell, but then he'd giggle and smile once she stacked it back up to where it was.

"Remember Jon, just because you cry and get upset doesn't mean I'll stack the blocks up for you every time." She warned the happy baby, "Eventually you'll have to learn to be strong and restack the blocks on your own."

Being so little, the words clearly went over the cute baby's head. Still, these were lessons she wanted to instill in him early so she wouldn't have to deal with another Amy Rose running around the house in a few years.

 **INCOMING CALL**

The sound of Rob's cellphone chiming loudly beside them on the couch jolted both of them up, causing the baby's block tower to go crashing down once more, making him cry all over again.

"I'll be just a second, Sweetie." Mari-An assured him as she got up from the floor and went rummaging in the couch for her husband's phone. "It might be important."

She then lifted the phone to her face, only to be greeted with a number she couldn't recognize. Curious, she answered the call anyway.

 _"Hello?"_

 _" **ROBBIN! HELP! PLEASE, CHAOS. YOU HAVE TO HELP!** "_ The voice on the other line screamed so loudly the speakers nearly popped.

It was Amy's mother and Rob's aunt.

 _"Mrs. Rose?"_ Mari-An called out to her, surprised the woman had found a way to call despite having no phone privileges in the psych ward whatsoever _. "Did you steal this phone—"_

 _" **PLEASE!** Amy is in grave danger!"_ The woman screeched on the other line, _"The devil's wrath is approaching. His dark minions whisper to me in the night! I see visions of his twisted eyes. **HE'S COMING FOR HER!** " _

_"Amy is just fine. She's at school with all of her friends. I promise there isn't need to worry."_

 _"He's there with her! I see visions of her bathed in blood. Robbin is the only one who can save her from him—"_

In mid-sentence, the line had cut. The echidna woman set the phone back down, assuming one of the nurses' at the hospital had finally caught her.

She sighed, ridding herself of the chills brought on by speaking to the mentally ill woman. Once composed, she turned back to see that Jon had ceased crying…and rebuilt his tower of blocks all by himself.

"Mari-An?" Rob called out before appearing in the doorway with a smile, "The investors agreed to my terms. The call's over so I thought I could treat us to lunch."

"That's wonderful, Dear." His wife nodded, although her distraught face said something different. "I'll get the baby ready."

"Is something wrong?"

"Not at all."

"Oh. Well, were you speaking with someone? I heard your voice when I was coming downstairs."

"Nope" She lied, loathing whenever his aunt got into his head and caused paranoia in the house. "Just talking to the baby is all…"

* * *

 _'It's not like my Sweet Mina at all to call me during my work hours…_

 _I knew something was wrong the second I heard my little angel sobbing her heart out on the other line._

 _She was so upset I could hardly understand her._

 _Apparently some teacher had been messing with her and even threatened to reveal that…mess…I had cleaned up for her._

 _Of course I'd pay a visit to this woman on the very same day, hopping in my car the very second my angel called for me._

 _Meeting this…Breezie…was quite interesting to say the least._

 _As a defense lawyer I've faced many, many, many foes, but none like this woman._

 _"Mina tells me you've been threatening to release private information on her." I brought up the topic as we sat at a coffee shop, "I'm sure you understand the legal penalties with outing such information, and I'm sure you wouldn't dare if you knew who I am."_

 _"I'm very aware of who you are Mrs. Isabella Mongoose. A simple google search told me that." She replied, sipping her tea as she eyed me across the table._

 _"Then why would you even risk it?"_

 _"Because I'm not afraid of the legalities in the slightest." She shrugged, "If you were to take it to court we both know she'd expose herself and her career would be flushed down the toilet before it even takes off."_

 _My darling Mina was right…. This woman is a bitch. A bitch who knows her shit._

 _Usually people cowered in their boots at the mention of court being brought into the equation, but this woman showed no fear._

 _"So what do you want to make this all go away then?" I sighed, seeing no other choice but persuasion at this point. "Money? Things on your record to disappear?"_

 _"I can't be bribed. This is purely for my entertainment." She explained with a wicked smirk, "To be frank Mrs. Mongoose, I want nothing more than to see your bitch of a daughter drown in a bucket of her own tears."_

 _"You're even colder than I am."_

 _"Glad we could have this chat." She nodded, getting up from her chair. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to work."_

 _Just as she was on her way out the door, I called after her._

 _"Be warned…I'm the queen of wicked games." I told her, "If legal solutions or bribery won't work I'll go out of my way by other more 'unconventional' means to secure my daughter's future."_

 _"Bring it…Old Hag… " '_

"Old Hag, huh?" Isabella mused aloud to herself as she sat in her office and typed away on her computer, thinking back to her not-so-pleasant conversation with Breezie the Hedgehog. "This woman has no clue what I'm capable of…and **I CAN'T WAIT** to bury her."

On her computer screen, she had pulled up Breezie's criminal, juvenile, and medical records. Even the things that were sealed away. Looking for any sort of ammunition for the war that was to come…

* * *

Cream and Cosmo walked down the hall toward their next class together. The seedrian looked out for the rabbit, guiding her in the right directions to avoid the obnoxious crowds as she gazed down at her phone screen.

"Ray hasn't texted me back." She told Cosmo, "I asked him if Mighty and Amy got together. He must not have seen him to ask yet."

"Well, if you're that curious maybe we could ask." The seedrian suggested, pointing out toward Amy standing at her locker. "Amy's over there."

"You're right!" The rabbit exclaimed, both of them picking up their pace to reach the hedgehog putting away books. " **AMY!** "

The pink girl then turned to the two, surprised to hear anyone calling out to her.

"Oh, hey guys." She greeted them, turning her attention back to the mirror in her locker where she did her best to make sure the bruise Scourge had given her was covered up with makeup.

"So did Mighty ask you out last night?!" Cream asked, getting right down to it because she was too excited to even make small talk.

For a second, Amy's mouth fell into a frown—something only Cosmo seemed to have noticed.

"Y-Yeah…" She stammered slightly in reply, another thing caught by the seedrian. "But I rejected him."

"But why? He's so good to you…"

"I just wanted to stay friends honestly."

"Are you sure?" The rabbit questioned, making the hedgehog turn to raise an eyebrow at her. "Because those hickeys on your neck tell a different tale."

Cosmo's gaze soon fell to the hedgehog's neck as well, and she noticed the love bites that seemed to travel from her neck all the way down to beneath the collar of her pink shirt.

Embarrassed, Amy quickly used her hand to shield her neck and blushed as she looked away from both girls.

Thankfully she didn't have the displeasure of explaining herself or the hickeys as she was magically saved by the bell.

* * *

After the hostile conversation with Rosy, Scourge found it difficult to attend classes or even focus on anything. All he could think about was how she claimed he ruined every girl's life he came into contact with…and how chillingly accurate the statement seemed to be.

Coming to Green Hill Academy was his way of erasing his past, wanting to put as much distance as he could between him and any memories of Moebius, but having triggering flags like Rosy Rascal and Fiona Fox around ruined the point entirely, because all they did was remind him of where everything went wrong…

The only thing he couldn't bear to part with were the pictures on his phone.

Those private images that were only meant for his eyes…

Treasures from the girl who was once his true queen. The girl who had lit him up in the dark. His very first and only love…

Now exposed for the world to see.

It infuriated him just to think about all the guys probably jerking off to her or even just looking at something that was supposed to be his and his alone.

He cursed Amy Rose a thousand times over in his head for pulling such a stunt, and regretted all the time he wasted on her just for some fun.

Suddenly, his mind was pulled from that angry place when his eyes caught sight of auburn hair just a few feet away from where he was coming from.

It was Sally down the hall, standing with her back toward the lockers as a group of boys were trying to unzip her jacket against her will. She tried to shove them back, but they just kept coming at her. She cowered at the sight of hands grabbing at the white zipper resting on her chest, tears forming behind her thick glasses as she wished them away.

"C'mon!" One boy whined, "Show me what you got for real!"

"Are you even wearing anything underneath that thing?"

"Stop wiggling around!"

"If you won't show me, then can I squeeze 'em?"

"Please stop touching me!" She yelled at them, "Leave me alone!"

In a panic, she closed her eyes tightly and cringed at their cynical laughter, hoping her boyfriend—who was deathly late for their meetup—would come swoop in and save her.

 **SLICE!**

With her eyes shut, she heard their demeanor suddenly change. From laughing hysterically to shrieks of pain and shocked gasps. She assumed Sonic had come to the rescue and shoved them away from her. The thought gave her the courage to open her eyes and turn back to them.

To her surprise, her boyfriend was not there at all, and one of the boys who had been trying to assault her had blood dripping from a fresh cut on his face.

Instead of a blue hedgehog standing in front of her, he was green, and outstretching his arm with a pocket knife dripping blood pointed at the boys. He glared coldly at them, intimidating them with those insanely blue eyes of his.

"What the hell man?!" One of the boys wailed in a panic.

"When a lady says don't touch…you don't touch." Scourge warned them, flicking the blade so that the blood of their friend could splat a bit on all their faces. "Especially this girl."

They were outright terrified, but the boys got the message and quickly fled with their injured friend to the nurse's office.

Scourge then sighed and concealed the pocket knife in his jacket once more before turning around to greet the timid and somewhat startled chipmunk with an apology.

"I'm sorry about what's been goin' on." He sighed, rubbing the back of his head as he turned his gaze elsewhere. "It's kinda my fault—"

"I know it is!" Sally scolded him, breaking his heart a bit with memories she had no idea she was even bringing up. "You're the only one who could have done this! Do you even know how horrible people have been treating me?!"

"I didn't send them out."

"I thought I had explained things clearly to you the last time we talked."

"Don't worry." He assured her, beginning to walk away as he did so. "I'm going to make it right. I promise."

He then took off down the hall, leaving a sad Sally to stare after him.

From the opposite direction of the hall, Sonic had just turned a corner and spotted the two in conversation.

He had no clue what she was doing talking to him, but recalled Amy telling him the pictures she had leaked came from Scourge's phone. It irritated him, not knowing quite what was up between the two, but he loathed the little that he did know. That's for sure.

After putting on his best fake ignorance look, he strolled up to her casually and played his role as boyfriend.

"Sorry I'm late Sally." He apologized, "I got held up by Robuttnik."

"It's alright." She sighed, breaking her gaze from Scourge's back to look at him.

"Was he bothering you?" Sonic asked, gesturing with his head at the green hedgehog.

"No." The chipmunk shook her head.

When she went to look at her boyfriend, the auburn-haired girl was quick to notice the purple marks on the blue hedgehog's neck, eliciting a shocked gasp from her. He tilted his head in confusion before she pointed at the marks with her index finger.

"Di-Did someone assault you?" She questioned worriedly.

Once he realized she had been pointing to the hickeys Amy had left upon him in the classroom last night he quickly rested his hand over the love bites and shook his head.

"No. I just fell on something in gym." He lied, repressing the images of the pink girl straddling him and planting rough kisses on him.

* * *

Shard walked outside in silence, but found it difficult to zone out with the persistent tapping of heels behind his own footsteps. He didn't have to turn around to know who it was. He was fully aware of the purple feline that had been tailing him all morning.

"Go away."

"Shard…"

"Stop following me, Princess." The DigItalian boy sighed, not bothering to turn around as he stood on the pathway toward the electives building where his gym class would be taking place soon. "I'm not in the mood."

"I just want to talk to you."

"Don't want to. Bye."

"Please…"

"No."

"Shard—"

" **ALRIGHT!** " He wailed, caving as he turned around to come face-to-face with Blaze the Cat once again.

He grumbled in annoyance as she stepped closer timidly and fiddled with her fingers. She kept his gaze with a sorrowful expression as she thought of the words she had come to say, obviously drawing a blank in her mind.

Truth be told, she didn't expect him to give her the time of day again.

"Well? What's so damn important that you won't leave me the hell alone?" He spat, tapping his foot impatiently as he awaited an answer.

She then dropped her gaze to the cement pathway between them, thinking back to what Nicole the Lynx had told her, and the realization she had about how her actions had effected Shard's life so negatively as a part of Mephiles' scheme.

"I talked to Nicole…"

"You what?!" Shard shrieked, eyes widening at the mention of the lynx girl. "What for?!"

"Silver told me you used to be really close, then suddenly stopped talking." Blaze explained, intimidated heavily by his upset demeanor. "I thought if I knew what happened between you it would give me some insight on how to help you—"

"I've told you a hundred times I **DON'T** want your fucking help." The hedgehog scolded her angrily, "Don't go snooping around and bothering people I don't even talk to anymore for nothing."

"I…I'm sorry…" The cat apologized, hanging her head in defeat as she turned heel to walk away, but then her ears picked up on his voice piping up once more.

Despite how angry he was about Blaze involving Nicole…he was nonetheless curious about how the lynx felt and thought about their destroyed friendship.

"What did she tell you anyway?" He questioned, glancing away as Blaze turned back to him with a confused look.

"Well, she said that you were upset that she chose Espio the Chameleon to be her boyfriend and not you." The purple girl explained, "She said she tolerated you for the most part because she cared so much about you and knows how kindhearted you really are."

"Yeah right." Shard rolled his eyes, "If that's true then why aren't we friends anymore? She thinks I'm scum just like everyone else."

"She said you sent a note threatening to harm her boyfriend out of jealousy—"

" **THAT'S A FUCKING LIE.** " The hedgehog snapped, making the cat cower in fright with the harsh tone of his voice. "I didn't threaten that idiot. He came at me in the café that day and I was just defending myself. That's all that happened."

"I know." Blaze nodded in agreement, heart breaking as she steered closer to the truth. "The letter was a fake."

"What? What do you know about that letter?!"

"The truth is…that I…I'm the one who delivered it to Nicole in the first place." She confessed, making his eyes widen in shock. "I didn't know what was inside it, I swear. I had no idea what it was even for until Nicole told me what was inside it yesterday. Then I just…put the clues together."

"Put the clues together to discover what exactly?"

"It was Mephiles' way of persuading you into the dark so he could pull you down into that deep hole of despair you're trapped in now."

"…"

"You wouldn't feel so low if I had been strong enough to resist hanging around him or doing whatever he asked… You and Nicole would still be friends… Everything wrong with your life right now is because of me…"

Tears suddenly ruptured from the cat's face and her breathing picked up rapidly until she was full on sobbing in front of the hedgehog. She didn't know what his reaction was because she didn't dare lift her head to face him.

Not even the words he spoke conveyed any sort of emotion at this point.

"Well then…He's got what he wants. I'm officially a puppet on his string whether I like it or not. I've done so much wrong that there isn't any point in trying to unbury myself anymore." He replied coldly, remembering the disgusted look on Elias' face when they last spoke. "Every action in this world will bear a consequence, and sometimes the consequence is burdened on someone else…"

"I'm going to fix this, Shard!" The cat yelped, finally lifting her head to face him with sheer determination in her hazel eyes. "I swear I will…."

He shook his head, not believing a word she said despite how determined she appeared. Then he turned his back to her and took off without another word.

* * *

Sonia and Honey sat at one of the picnic tables by the fountain, both of them chowing down on a salad as they talked. With a bit of prying, the magenta girl had managed to get the cat talking again. She seemed distressed, but in a much better mood than the last time they chatted.

"When Mina approached me to keep her and Mr. Ash a secret she said that you gave her the okay." Sonia explained, eyeing the cat across the table curiously. "Is that true?"

"Yeah." Honey nodded in confirmation before stuffing a forkful of salad in her mouth. "I told her I was happy for her…"

"Were you really though?" She asked, "I know you say it was whatever, but in truth he was your first love…and the only one from what I gather…"

"Of course I wasn't happy about her being with him…but I was happy that she was happy."

"Ya'know, she kinda threatened me with her lawyer mom when she asked me to keep the secret." The magenta girl grumbled, stabbing at her salad as she thought of the vicious mongoose's threat.

"Hehe, that sounds like her alright."

"You say that so nonchalantly!" Sonia pouted at the giggling cat, "How can you want someone like her to be happy? Or even hangout with someone so bitchy when you're so…sweet."

"I want her happy because she's my best friend, obviously." Honey shrugged, "Mina's a very complicated person. She's like a rubix cube. There are so many sides to her, and it's hard to put together the full version of her without getting intimidated and quitting."

"Well, it's hard to want to get to know someone who flip-flops in personality. I used to think she was such an angel when I didn't know her at al."

"Well, when you've got a bigoted army dad and a high-strung, cut-throat lawyer for a mom, it's hard to decipher good behaviors from bad."

"I guess so."

After finishing up the salad, the cat got up and tossed her empty plate in a nearby wastebasket. Then she strolled over to the hedgehog and said her hasty farewells.

"Mina's still upset about Ash leaving. I left her back in our room a little while ago. I'm gonna go check on her. I'll see ya' later."

* * *

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 ** _Mighty:_** _Are you in your dorm?_

 ** _Julie-Su:_** _Yeah. Knuckles just left._

 ** _Julie-Su:_** _Why?_

 ** _Mighty:_** _I need one of our venting sessions._

 ** _Julie-Su:_** _Well, you know my door is always open._

 ** _Julie-Su:_** _The other girls aren't back yet. So it's a good time._

 ** _Mighty:_** _I'm on my way._

The armadillo boy found it difficult to focus on anything other than the abrupt ending of his newfound friendship and possibly forming relationship to his longtime crush, Amy Rose.

He found himself questioning if he had been too harsh on her and too rash with the decision of completely severing ties with her, but the answer was always the same, and when he had explained everything to Julie-Su she had confirmed it as well.

It was the right thing to do.

As much as it hurt him, he had to cut all ties with her before he could be swept into the chaos himself.

He and Julie-Su laid beside each other on her tiny bed, shoulder-to-shoulder as they both stared out at the ceiling and talked.

"Sometimes people aren't as sweet as they appear, Mighty." The echidna girl sighed, "Just because she wears pink doesn't mean she's innocent."

"I just feel bad…" He sighed in response, "I left her crying on the classroom floor after Scourge the Hedgehog just slapped the hell out of her."

"Good. She deserved it for doing such a screwy thing." His friend snarled, shifting on the bed to get more comfortable. "What does Scourge have to do with anything anyway?"

"Dunno. He said she stole the photos from his phone though."

"Wow… I've got a few classes with that girl. I'd never expect her to be taking nude selfies…for a loser like that no less."

"Maybe they were dating. The point is…those were supposed to be private, and leaking them for revenge about a boy is just wrong."

"Sounds like something Shade would pull." Julie-Su grimaced, "Maybe she and that Amy girl should be besties."

"I'm just so disappointed, Julie…" Mighty sighed, turning to face her with a sad frown, "I thought I'd finally snag myself a girlfriend."

"I thought you were happy just doing you?"

"I was at first. Then Tilly put the idea in my head…and Amy and I were growing so close…I thought that…something would come of it."

"Oh, poor Mighty." She sighed, cradling his cheek as she used the same motherly tone on him that she used on her daughter. "Your time will come, and your first girlfriend won't be a wolf in sheep's clothing like her. She'll be someone who's wholehearted and worth it."

"Giving advice like that when you're dating a complete idiot." He pouted playfully, her gentle hand to his cheek suddenly pinching his face. "The nerve of you."

"We can never have a moment without you ruining it, can we?"

"Probably not."

The two then laughed together as he tried to wiggle out of her grasp, causing him to fall on the floor beside her bed.

Hanging around her always put a smile back on his face no matter how low he was feeling. It just felt good to have someone to go to no matter what, and that's how they've always been.

In the midst of a playful pillow fight, there was the sound of the door swinging open. They both turned to see Rouge the Bat strolling in, eyeing both of them curiously.

"Fun's over I guess." Mighty chuckled, standing to his feet to make a speedy exit. "See ya' later Julie. Thanks for talking to me."

"No problem, Mighty." She hollered after him as he disappeared behind Rouge, "Text me!"

The bat said nothing, didn't even spare a greeting. She simply shuffled along quietly to her bed as she stole the occasional glance at the echidna girl. She studied her with such focus, images of the word ' _cancer_ ' flashing in her mind every so often.

She bit her lip and forced the thought away as she watched the echidna girl carry on as if nothing at all were wrong. She seemed like her old self.

"You're quiet today." Julie-Su spoke up, making the bat jump slightly. "No bitchy remark about how my shoes don't match my shirt?"

"No, they match." The bat spoke up, using her sassy exterior to once again mask the distress she felt. "But those pants and that jacket look like a really tacky combo. Didn't your mom teach you how to dress yourself?"

Julie-Su frowned upon the mention of her mother, having stowed that memory away long ago. She wasn't really upset by the comment, knowing that Rouge couldn't have possibly had any knowledge of her mother's death since she never spoke of it to anyone other than Knuckles. It just surprised her.

"I didn't have a mom…"

"What?"

"She died when I was four or five." The echidna admitted, "I don't really know anything about her besides her name, Mari-Su."

"I…I didn't know…" Rouge frowned, all of the tomboy echidna's mannerisms and more masculine qualities suddenly making sense. She was raised by a single father.

"I know. I've never really talked to anyone other than Knuckles about it. I don't even know why I'm bringing it up now." Julie-Su sighed, darting her gaze to the framed picture of her and Lara-Su when she was born.

"How did she die? If you don't mind my asking…"

Julie-Su hesitated as she thought for a moment, finding it difficult to utter the word aloud. Despite being much older and more knowledgeable, that childlike fear of the monster who took her mother remained embedded in her heart even today.

"Leukemia…"

* * *

It was late at night when Sonic finally got the text signal to head out. He stealthily managed to dress himself and slip into his shoes without disturbing Antoine or Tails from their slumber. He slipped out of the boy's dorm completely unnoticed by the crocodile patrolling the halls, and darted his way across the grassy plains toward the football field.

It didn't take long for him to spot pink quills in the distance.

He was quick to make it across the field and over to her, immediately closing the gap between their faces without even a greeting.

She was startled, but happily returned the kiss once she realized it was him.

After a minute or two of exchanging kisses and smiles, she took him by the hand and led him beneath the bleachers—the very first place they had run off to together.

"Look." Amy whispered to him, pointing toward the makeshift hammock beside a few crates. "Someone built a little hangout spot back here."

"Wow, that's pretty cool!" Sonic exclaimed, walking over to push both hands down on the hammock to test its weight limit. "Now neither of us have to worry about getting grass stains on our clothes."

"Why would we have to worry about that?" She rose a skeptical brow at him, "Did you assume we'd be laying on the ground tonight?"

"Well, it's more difficult to do it standing up the whole time." He smirked, walking over to caress her face with both hands. "But if that's what you're into…"

"Just shut up and take me already." She pouted, a blush already burning on her face as he chuckled at her.

He then kissed her once more and slowly eased her onto the hammock they had discovered beneath the bleachers.

Unlike the spontaneous sex in the classroom yesterday, tonight they took it slow thanks to no immediate worry of anyone out to catch them at this hour.

He hadn't seen much action at all since getting with the auburn-haired girl. Something he felt particularly strange about considering the nature of those photos and the rumors plaguing her abrupt transfer to this school.

Out of respect he never pressured her, but that doesn't mean he wasn't persistent. She'd shut him down every time though, not going much farther than mere kissing. The lack of intimacy took a bit of a strain on him, considering he was a frisky little creature.

Aside from deep, meaningful conversations there wasn't much they had in common at all. She was a high-strung bookworm who preferred going unseen, and he was a loud-mouthed, party boy who wanted all the attention he could get.

To put it bluntly… He knew she was good for him…but she absolutely bored him at the same time.

Now with the discovery of these photographs and his suspicions of her and his green nemesis…he had come to the conclusion that she was simply toying with him, purposely trying to downscale him for her own amusement like Mephiles had implied.

And those thoughts overtaking his rational side are what made it so easy for him to decide upon taking Mephiles up on that offer…

And to sleep around with Amy Rose…

His little fangirl.

The girl who's always been there.

The one who made him feel like king of everything no matter how wrong he was.

She knew him so well, and never left him unsatisfied. She was so fun to be with, and he found himself coming back to her time and time again no matter what hurdles were between them.

"Have you told anyone about us?" He asked her after rolling off her to lay beside her.

"No…" She admitted, cuddling up to the side of him. "I figured we could keep it hush for a little while. I don't need everyone judging me and up in my business again. At least not now…"

"Yeah, you're right." Sonic agreed, "It's better if we wait a little while."

"So we are getting back together?"

"We practically already are…"

"And when will you tell her that?" The pink girl asked, "I don't want to play mistress."

"Soon. I promise." He assured her with a kiss to her forehead, "I just need to do something for Mephiles…"

"Mephiles? That kid from my math class?"

"Yeah…"

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 ** _Sally:_** _I know you said you couldn't hangout at the lake tonight because you weren't feeling well, but I came by myself anyway._

 ** _Sally:_** _I'm sorry about everyone giving you trouble all over again because of me._

 ** _Sally:_** _I really appreciate you standing by me regardless. I hate to admit it, but I was so sure you'd assume the worst and abandon me after we've come so far in our relationship. Even though we had a rocky start and we're complete opposites…I'm happy we're together. I love you, Sonic._

* * *

 **Oh poor Sally… You literally have no clue what your 'boyfriend' has in store for you or what he's doing behind your back with his infamous ex—who just so happens to be the person who leaked those photos ruining your life.**

 **And poor Rouge too! She seems to be a much better detective than Charmy, Espio, and Vector, because she's piecing together some pretty scary stuff about Julie-Su and what she's hiding from her friends.**

 **Breezie's a real tough cookie if coming face-to-face with the notorious Isabella Mongoose didn't send her running for the hills. Both women are playing with fire…and someone will definitely get burned in the end.**

 **Rosy Rascal, Fiona Fox, Geoffrey St. John, Scourge the Hedgehog, and Sally Acorn… There's so much history and mystery behind the kids who hail from Moebius… We've seen the gist of each of them, but not the entire picture. That's a hint to keep an eye on these ones. They definitely reveal more than you realize.**

 **To be honest with you guys, writing Julie-Su and Mighty scenes are some of my favorites, and at one point I did consider pairing them up but it just didn't work out in my head the way I wished it would have. They have such a close friendship they feel like they can tell each other anything no matter how insignificant or extreme. That's why he's so frustrated with the health issues she refuses to talk about…because it's the ONLY thing he doesn't know about her.**

 **Special Note**

 **Someone asked if I ever thought about doing a prequel to Green Hill Academy. The answer is no! I've never even thought about doing one, but the idea sure is interesting. I just don't know who else would be interested in that. Maybe a collection of one shots staring several different characters before the events of this story? And maybe even the history of their parents? That's a thought.**

 **However, I did mull over the idea of a possible _SEQUEL_ to this depending on how I leave it off. The ending is still up in the air, and largely depends on who ends up together permanently—which I still haven't decided upon for  SOME characters.**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **The war between Isabella Mongoose and Breezie the Hedgehog ensues!**

 **Rouge debates whether or not she should tell Knuckles about her suspicions**

 **Mighty and Fiona have a heart-to-heart**

 **Amy and Sonic have been doing an awful job of keeping their affair a secret. Have they really been caught already, and by who?!**

 **Zonic and Tikal finally figure out what's going on with the students!**

 **Blaze tries fulfill her promise to Shard and fix things**

 **And so much more!**

 **Fun Question: If you could only choose ONE character to have a good ending and ONE character to have a bad ending, who would they be and why? This might be helpful in the deciding the fate of some characters.**


	83. Chapter 83

**WARNING: Nudes, harassment, physical assault, and some other stuff.**

* * *

 **Chapter 83: Behind Our Masks**

 _'The sky full of gray clouds shooting down cold raindrops that tapped the earth's surface with the force of bullets, creating a harsh sound in the somber silence plaguing the world._

 _I'm dressed in all black from my heels to my hairclips, even sporting all black makeup—something I'd never do._

 _I look around some more, and notice that everyone is dressed in black. Even the umbrellas amongst the crowd I was submerged in happen to be black._

 _"Rooge…" A voice calls out to me, "We have to go…"_

 _I look down to see Lara-Su squeezing my hand._

 _"Go where?" I ask as she leads me through the crowd of bodies in black._

 _"We have to say goodbye to Mommy."_

 _"What do you mean—"_

 _Once we emerged to the front of the crowd…I saw the wooden coffin at the bottom of a six foot hole._

 _I wanted to run, but Lara-Su's grip on my hand seemed so powerful that I couldn't break free, and my legs wouldn't listen to me as they carried me forward anyway._

 _I watched as Knuckles threw the big, green emerald necklace into the hole, the gem clanking against the wood. He then walked off with tears streaming so violently down his face that the rain could not mask them._

 _Then Lara-Su pulled me up along with her, forcing me to stare down at the coffin in the ground as she threw a red rose into the hole._

 _"Goodbye Mommy…" She whimpered before falling to her knees sobbing._

 _Her wails of anguish and sorrow growing so loud that no other sound in the world existed._

 _Just the painful cries of a broken toddler with a dead mother…'_

" **NO!** " Rouge screamed at the top of her lungs as she sat up in bed, sweat dripping off her forehead as she tried to steady her panicked breathing.

She looked around, recognizing her dorm room and the three other girls fast asleep in the other beds. Thankfully, her scream had gone unheard, leaving the girls in their blissful slumber.

She sighed heavily, her topaz eyes coming to a stop on the echidna girl in the bed opposite of hers. Her tossing in bed helped ease the bat's heartbeat tremendously.

"It was just a nightmare…" The bat told herself as she sunk back down onto her mattress, "Just a nightmare."

Unfortunately, after being so rattled she never found herself going back to sleep. Instead, she laid there until the magenta hedgehog's alarm clock went off in the room, signifying all of them that it was six and they needed to start getting ready.

The snow-haired girl attended classes like a zombie, not even bothering to meet up with her hedgehog friends the way she did every morning. She took in nothing around her, not the sights or the sounds. Her mind was in a whirlwind of traumatizing thoughts pertaining to her suspicions—something she just couldn't get off her mind.

Sometime after her second class she spotted her roommate and ex-boyfriend across the hall she was walking down.

The pink girl seemed to be covering her face with her hand as she scolded the red echidna who looked more concerned than upset. She then stormed off to the nearest bathroom, leaving a sorrowful Knuckles reaching out to her desperately.

It tore the bat's heart in two, so much so that she found herself strolling over to him.

"What happened?" Rouge asked, a strange and unusual amount of sympathy in her tone.

"Everything was fine. We were laughing and just walking when she started bleeding from her nose again." He explained, leaning up against the lockers as he ran a stressed hand through his dreads. "I asked her what was wrong…"

"Did she tell you anything?"

"No." He sighed, "She just freaked out on me and ran off. I'm so worried about her…I just want to know what's going on…"

Rouge's gaze suddenly fell to the white tiles as she bit her lip in contemplation, wondering whether or not she should tell him about her suspicions. Then the bell rang and he quickly said his goodbyes before she could say anything at all.

* * *

During his walk to class, Ken noticed an anxious Sally standing by her locker. He frowned at how she stared sorrowfully at her feet, allowing passing students to hurl insults at her and even shove her.

It was hard to believe this was the same bold girl he had watched stand up to one of the most vicious bullies on campus once, or the same girl who had given such an admirable anti-bullying speech that it practically eradicated most of the LGBT harassment that was going on at the time.

He felt so sorry for her, knowing full well that she had to endure way more hate than she deserved, chalking most of the blame up to her boyfriend of choice—concluding that associating herself with him left her open to more drama than she would have liked.

She never had to deal with any of this overtop craziness when it was just the two of them.

"Sally." He greeted her after casually strolling up to her, coaxing her to lift her head and meet his tender smile.

She quickly looked back down in shame, recalling the bitter moment in the classroom where her cruel assumptions had practically forced him into revealing his disease.

He seemed to have noticed, and was quick to say something that would dispel that shame.

"About what happened in the classroom the other day…you don't have to feel bad about that." He assured her, making her raise her head once more. "I was honestly going to tell you…"

"Yeah, but you didn't want to tell me that way." She murmured in response, "I'm really sorry."

"It's fine. To be honest, I'm kinda glad you know." The monkey sighed, "It feels a bit relieving that I managed to tell somebody… I haven't even talked to Dr. Tikal about it or even the nurse…"

"Then how have you been getting your medication?"

"…I…came with a few months of supply." He stammered, thinking up a decent lie to cover for the skunk that was smuggling steroids in for him.

Truth is, due to his condition worsening he had used more than what was expected, and ran out a few weeks ago. Too ashamed of his disease to tell either the school counselor or nurse, he had been getting his drugs from Geoffrey St. John—a fellow senior and transfer student who had some rather questionable connections.

"Anyway," He changed the subject, "It's almost time for third period. Want me to walk you to your class?"

Although their classes were in completely different buildings at this time, he couldn't help but offer to escort her, fearing for her safety as she roamed the halls by herself.

To his surprise and dismay, she rejected.

"No thanks." She shook her head, "Sonic and I were going to walk to class together."

"There's three minutes until the bell rings, Sally."

"I know. He's just running a bit late."

"He seems to be doing that a lot." Ken grumbled, "A real boyfriend would be right at your side to protect you with all the shit going on—"

"And **I AM.** " A third voice called out, cutting into their conversation. Suddenly, Sonic had emerged and quickly wrapped his arm around the chipmunk's waist as a way of taunting the monkey he disliked so much. "Her real boyfriend that is… C'mon Sal."

The blue hedgehog then whisked the auburn-haired girl away, leading her down the hall with the monkey staring at them with pure envy in his blue eyes.

Something was off, and he knew it the second he noticed the pink lipstick on the blue hedgehog's white shirt…

* * *

Today was one of those days where Cobar the Echidna just couldn't find the strength to put on his fake smile and carry on like normal.

Instead of going to class he ordered a taxi, taking a silent two-hour ride to the graveyard where Rotor Walrus was buried.

After coming so many times he didn't even have to have his eyes open to weave his way down the path to where he knew his former lover was buried.

Once he stood in front of the walrus' headstone, he was finally able to let his true emotions out. He caved to his knees as tears dripped out from beneath his glasses and heavy sobs began to escape him.

He encircled his arms around the stone, imagining it to be the jolly walrus who had been torn away from him far too soon.

It had nearly been three months, but to him it felt like just moments ago. Everyone else on campus had seemingly moved on, but not poor Cobar.

Behind his façade of a smile was a young man in utter pain at the loss of someone he loved. With every beat of his heart came a painful sting at no longer being able to greet the walrus boy in the halls or turn to see his cheery smile.

That pain was only amplified by the fact that Rotor didn't truly get the justice he deserved as Jet the Hawk—the ringleader who had orchestrated the brutality that drove him to suicide—had his life sentence overturned, and was roaming around a free man.

 **CRACKLE!**

The snapping of twigs behind him suddenly alarmed the echidna boy, causing him to jump up in fright. He quickly turned around to spot someone creeping up on him.

"What are you doing here…" He hissed, standing up to wipe away his tears before glaring harshly at the figure standing across from him. "Wave."

The swallow simply darted her gaze to the grave behind him, allowing her tough exterior to soften in its presence.

"Same as you." She replied softly, tears welling up in her eyes at the name engraved forever on that stone. "To grieve the loss of someone I cared about…"

"Yeah, _'care'_ you say….while you walk around defending the person who forced him into this hole." Cobar spat bitterly, pointing down at Rotor's grave.

"I didn't come here to fight with you. I didn't even know you still came here."

"Of course I do!" The echidna shrieked, " **I LOVED HIM!** "

"I know…" Wave nodded, understanding why he was so upset with her. "He loved you too. He always used to tell me…"

His upset demeanor suddenly softened, both of them drowning in memories they shared with Rotor when he was still alive. The wind blew hard, rustling the trees as they both dropped their gazes to the stone.

"I miss him every day…" Cobar murmured softly.

"I do too…"

"Wave…" He spoke up once more, turning to face her. "I'm sorry. I fully acknowledge and understand that you're in a hard place, having been close with both of them, but so long as you stick by that monster's side…you and I will **NEVER** be what we once were…"

"I understand, Cobar." The swallow nodded, rubbing her arm a bit. "What Jet did was awful, regardless of the awful things that drove him to do it. If only you knew half of what I know…you'd realize Jet isn't the heartless monster you think he is…and he is trying to change."

"He can try all he wants. Nothing will ever change or make up for what he's done…"

* * *

Mina stood by her locker in the hall, staring blankly inside as she pretended to shuffle things around to give the illusion of being busy. Truth is, she didn't want anyone to stop and talk to her. All she wanted was some quiet time to mourn the music teacher's departure.

He still hadn't returned her texts or calls.

She found herself going through manic episodes of depression and anger, unable to even attend that class anymore or focus on anything else.

It felt like a breakup before even beginning, and it was eating her up inside.

Never had she ever fallen so fast and hard for someone who wasn't even trying.

She was at least grateful things would settle down now that she had her mother putting a muzzle on that snobby English teacher who had been a main component in ruining what could have been with the handsome mongoose man.

Amidst her dreary thoughts and shuffling of books, one had mistakenly slipped from her grasp and landed at her feet. She bent down to retrieve it, but then realized she was kneeling in the shadow of someone standing in front of her.

"Don't you look adorable graveling on the floor?" The teal woman in the red dress mused as she leered down at the surprised teen, a cynical gleam to her amethyst eyes.

Mina was baffled that she even had the gull to approach her after she had her mother intervene. Alas, she had no idea that the hedgehog woman was incredibly unfazed by the fierce lawyer.

She couldn't find words to speak with her dry throat. The lavender-haired girl just stared up at the English teacher with that fear she had wanted to see.

"Your mother and I had a lovely chat, but I'm sure the outcome is not what you intended. I'm still here, and I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." Breezie laughed manically.

"I…I…" Mina stammered, panic rising as she realized her mother had failed in deterring the teacher from revealing her secret.

"Don't worry so much just yet though, Sweetiepie." The teal woman added quickly, wagging a finger to the girl on the floor as she shot her a playful smile. "I'm a big gambler, and I'd love to raise the stakes by playing with your mommy for a bit. It'll be quite entertaining."

* * *

After morning classes, Mighty didn't feel like grabbing lunch. Instead, he went back to the parking lot to mope around his car.

This was usually around the time he'd go pick up Amy from whatever class she was in and drag her to lunch with him.

He sighed heavily as he leaned against the hood of his car, staring blankly up at the sky as he thought about how lonely he truly was.

Sure he had two loving siblings in Matilda and Ray, and an awesome group of close friends with the little gang known as Chaotix, but he didn't have anyone to share these wonderful things with in the romantic sense.

Being so preoccupied with raising his younger siblings due to the lack of parental figures in their lives, he hadn't ever pondered the idea of a girlfriend or any sort of romance for that matter. All this time he was so focused on giving his brother and sister his all, and now that they were getting older and more self-sufficient he was starting to realize what he had been missing out on.

Getting so close to Amy was such an eye opener. Although about two and a half years older than her, he felt so much younger.

Eighteen but so shy and blushful in her presence. She always used to tell him it was cute, even though it embarrassed him to no end.

He was just coming out of his shell with her…

Then he found out what kind of person was really behind that adorable pink façade.

A petty, self-entitled brat who'd go out of her way to ruin someone's life for a bit of self-satisfaction.

Someone the armadillo couldn't fathom associating himself with let alone falling for.

 **CLANG!**

Suddenly, the horrendous sound of metal meeting glass had the armadillo jumping out of his red shell. He leapt from his spot on the car and darted his eyes left-to-right until he caught sight of the vehicle at the very end of the lot with its lights going off.

Without thought the armadillo ran down the lot toward it for inspection, coming across none other than Fiona Fox swinging a metal pipe at the black Hummer's windshield like a madwoman. Tears rolled off her red cheeks as she shattered the glass once more.

"Fiona!" Mighty called out, rushing over to yank the pipe from her grasp. She resisted the best she could, but he was far too strong for her to play tug-of-war with. "What the hell's the matter with you?!"

She quickly averted her gaze from him, opting to stare down at the cement as tears dripped off her face. He frowned at her before peering over to see that the car she had been striking belonged to that scummy boyfriend of hers.

"Did something happen with your boyfriend—"

"He's **NOT** my boyfriend." She cut him off angrily, "And honestly I'm starting to think he never was…"

His heart broke for her. He always hated seeing her cry ever since they were kids. He tossed the pipe away with a clang to the cement before stepping closer to her until he was finally able to reach out and touch her rust-colored hair.

"Where's the bow I gave you?" He whispered, making her eyes shoot open.

After their last bitter altercation she had discarded the yellow ribbon she used to always where, and had no idea where it was now.

He then surprised her by patting her head gently the way he so often did when they were young and stuck in the same shitty foster home. Her heart nearly melted then and there, especially when she looked up to see his pleasant smile, but her mind refused to believe in his sincerity.

"Don't touch me." She snapped, swiping his hand away. "Your pink whore-friend might get all bitchy and leak my nudes too—not that I'd give a fuck."

Mighty frowned, a bit taken aback by the fact that the vixen who had warned him about her knew such a thing.

"So you know about that…" He murmured sorrowfully, resting his arm back by his side.

"Of course I do. Bitch stole them off my boyfriend's phone while she was fucking him behind her boyfriend's back."

"Why would he have those pictures on his phone anyway? You and Scourge have been together for a while, and neither of you have ever dated anyone while broken up."

"Because I was never enough for him obviously." She pouted with such sorrow to her tone, "That's why he just couldn't leave that bitch in the past."

"Well, you deserve better than him, Fi. He's always been a loser."

"Just what would you know about anything?"

"For starters, I know that you are enough…and definitely more than he deserves." Mighty replied knowingly, making a blush appear on the fox's face.

"Since you're so smart then…do you know that you're way more than that stupid, pink bitch deserves?"

"That's exactly why I've just decided to walk away from her. There's no point in trying to build something with someone who's so beneath you." He nodded, turning heel to walk back toward campus. "And you should walk away from him too, before he can pull you down with him anymore than he already has."

* * *

The two youngling couples had once again regrouped after their morning classes. Today they had decided to reside in the seedrian's dorm room since her roommates were off somewhere.

Cosmo sat on her bed beside Cream while the two boys sat on the floor in front of them.

They conversed on how their morning classes and tests had gone, exchanging many laughs and jokes as usual.

It's hard to believe just weeks prior these four were involved with a war of hearts, and even more surprisingly had settled things faster than their older friends.

Being so observant, the yellow squirrel's very brief disheartened frown from time-to-time didn't go over the seedrian girl's head the way it did their significant others. She could tell something was bothering him, and the concerns she had drove her to speak up on the matter.

"Ray, is something wrong?" She asked, gentle blue eyes staring down at him from atop her bed.

He looked up, surprised she had asked such a thing out of a blue when he thought he was being so stealthy about hiding his feelings. He turned away from the gang, concerning the other two in the room as well.

"Ray?" Cream murmured, worried for her boyfriend. "What's the matter?"

"It's no-nothing, really." He assured them.

"C'mon." Tails chimed in, "When Cosmo thinks there's something wrong…then there's probably something wrong."

Once he realized none of his friends were going to let up, he decided to sigh in defeat and turn back toward them. He brought his knees to his chest as he fixed his eyes on the floor, thinking back to how sad his brother was yesterday…and how he had been avoiding him all morning.

"It's ju-just…Mighty's really sad…"

"Sad?" Cosmo questioned.

"Why would he be sad?" Cream tilted her head in utter confusion, "He and Amy are boyfriend and girlfriend now, aren't they?"

"She said she rejected him, remember?" Cosmo reminded the rabbit.

"Yeah, but that was obviously a lie." The brown-eyed girl shrugged, "You saw those hickeys."

"Th-That's not true." Ray spoke up, making all heads turn his way once more. "Mighty cu-cut her off be-because he found out she was the one wh-who leaked those naked pictures of that gi-girl."

"What?" Tails yelped, both girls' eyes widening with shock.

"He sa-said she wanted to get revenge or something." He continued, "He said he wa-wants nothing to do with her anymore."

"You're wrong." Cream stated bluntly.

"Cream…" The green-haired girl beside her pleaded.

"You're definitely wrong!" The rabbit shouted stubbornly, hopping off the bed to stand over her boyfriend. "Amy might have a bit of a mean streak but she would **NEVER** stoop to something like this!"

"Cream's right." Tails nodded, standing up beside her as they both towered over the yellow squirrel. "We know her a lot better than you or your brother. He must be getting his information wrong."

"M-Mighty wouldn't assume things about anyone." Ray defended his brother.

"I don't want to hear any more of this." Cream shook her head, rushing out the door.

"Cosmo…" The fox turned to his girlfriend who had been trying to settle them down since they began bickering, "You've spent time with Amy too. Why are you just sitting there and letting him say things like that? You know she's already been through enough with that stupid blog post Nack wrote."

Cosmo simply dropped her gaze to her sheets, confirming that she believed Ray might be right. Upset by her reaction, Tails too rushed out of the room after the rabbit, leaving the poor squirrel and seedrian sitting in her room.

"I'm sorry about them, Ray." She apologized to him, getting off the bed to sit beside him on the floor. "They're good friends with her…and don't want to believe she'd do something so cruel…but I know you're telling the truth…"

"Cosmo…"

"Yeah?"

"Before Cr-Cream ran off…she said Amy had hi-hickeys on her neck…"

"Yeah… She did."

"Mi-Mighty's barely even kissed a gi-girl before…"

* * *

Tikal sat behind her desk with hands clasped together and eyes fixated upon the green hawk spilling his heart out to her. During their first few sessions he was so cold and closed off, but over time he had come to trust her enough to speak about some of the most intimate details of his life.

He confessed about how the physical abuse and mental manipulation of his mother normalized his hatred for the gays, and how his gay father's abandonment only solidified that intense hatred.

The worst of it seemed to stem from his brother's suicide by hanging, and to be a mere child when he found the dead teen hanging from the ceiling fan by a belt.

It was hard to believe someone's life could be so awful, and he was only fifteen.

Despite her positon as a gay woman, she found herself sympathizing with him. Knowing his past didn't justify his actions, but it helped her to understand.

His beliefs were not his own. They were drilled into him by force from a bitter woman who couldn't accept the truth of her husband's sexuality, and by the man who allowed his children to remain in such an environment despite unintentionally creating the problem.

"How are you progressing these days, Jet?"

"Nothing's changed, really." The hawk sighed, "Everyone still hates my guts, but I've been keeping a low profile."

"I see." The doctor nodded.

"I've stopped taking my mother's calls." He murmured, toying with the cross on his necklace.

"Is that a good thing to you?"

"To me, it's the first step in moving on my from my past, and letting go of the things she taught me that I learned were never true." He explained, "I don't want to be known as the kid who hates gay people or the kid who made that gay boy kill himself… I want people to know who I really am…not what my mother made me…"

"That won't be easy, Jet." The echidna warned him, "Not everyone is so understanding, but I'm sure if you put in the effort…you can make things happen."

Once she had finished her statement, the little clock on her desk rang, signifying the end of their session. He sighed, loathing how quickly these sessions seemed to go by when they got to talking so deeply. This was his mini escape from the hatred beyond the door.

He wished her well before walking out the door, allowing the blue hedgehog who had been standing on the other side to enter. She stood up from her chair upon seeing him, walking around the desk to greet him by the door.

"I don't know how you can stomach being in the same room as him…" Zonic grumbled, eyeing the hawk as he took down the hall alone.

"His situation is far more complicated than any of us would have ever realized." She replied sorrowfully before shaking off the feeling, "Anyways, have any news?"

"Sort of…" He sighed, closing the door to give them some privacy. "I left Zector to watch Rosy Rascal so I could come talk to you about it."

"What is it?"

"The other day, Zespio stealthily approached one of the groups crowding about in the halls. He informed me that he had caught a glimpse of what some students had been looking at on their phones."

"And?!"

"He thinks it was a naked picture."

"Really? That's all." The echidna woman laughed, "And it here I thought it might be something serious."

"Well…it might be more serious than you think…"

"How's that? There just curious teens looking at naked photos online."

"We have reason to believe the girl in the images is underage…and is possibly a student here."

" **WHAT?!** " Tikal screeched, " **WHO?!** "

"He didn't get a good enough look at the image to make an ID."

"So then confiscate their phones!"

"Even if we did, it's illegal to search their phones on our part unless we have full evidence of illegal activity…" Zonic reminded her, "And you and I both know these kids wouldn't breathe a word about anything even if they knew it."

"So…we can't do anything…"

"Not until someone comes forward." He shook his head.

* * *

Once again Isabella Mongoose was stowed away in her office, sitting at her desk with a mug of coffee in one hand and the other typing away on her computer. She sipped on the mug cautiously, careful not to smear her pink lipstick.

Her darling daughter had called again, sobbing like a baby over the phone as she explained how the teacher had threatened her in the hall.

This call led to the mongoose putting her actual work aside to do some more snooping on the teacher, looking for some sort of leverage to get the cruel woman off her daughter's back.

So far her investigation was going nowhere.

 **RING, RING!**

Eventually her office phone rang, forcing her to stop her personal search to tend to actual work.

 _"Metropolis Law Firm, Isabella Mongoose speaking."_ She greeted, the voice on the other line quite familiar to her.

 _"Hello Mrs. Mongoose."_ The person on the other line replied _, "It's Thrash the Devil. We spoke about you representing me in the custody case I put in papers for."_

 _"Oh Thrash, how are you?"_

 _"I'm doing alright. I'm out of the hospital, and found myself an apartment in Mobotropolis."_

 _"Does it meet the requirements I told you about?"_

 _"Yes. It's a decent-sized two bedroom on the good part of town."_ He assured her, _"I've even painted one of the room's pink and bought a toddler bed for it."_

 _"Great."_ Isabella mused, her attention more so on her computer screen than the teen on the phone with her. _"I'll put in my own paperwork, then I'll have someone serve Julie-Su the Echidna with a court order sometime this week."_

 _"Thank you so much."_

 _"No problem. We'll be in touch about payments and…"_ The mongoose suddenly trailed off as a wicked idea popped up in her head. _"Wait a minute…"_

 _"Is there something wrong?"_

 _"No…it's just…I'm sure paying me in full would be tough on you…especially if you're going to have complete custody of your little girl soon."_ She mused, a wicked grin emerging on her face. _"How about I cut the price in half if you do me a favor?"_

 _"Sure. Whatever ya' need."_

 _"Well…there's this teacher at Green Hill Academy…"_

* * *

Ever since the leak of those pictures, Nicole found it difficult to carry on around campus like normal. It was hard for her to see people ogling those disturbing images around the halls, and hear the awful things being said about her poor sister who still refused to speak on the matter to her, their older brother, and their group of friends.

That's why apart from her dorm room the only other place she seemed to be besides classes was the library—specifically in the far back isolated by shelving.

It disheartened her boyfriend Espio to see her isolate herself, but he understood how unconfrontational and passive she was to most situations.

Like the attentive boyfriend he was, the chameleon visited her in her room with food when she refused to go to the café, and sat with her in the library whenever she wanted to go. He also escorted her to her classes, careful to shield her as much as possible from the cruel students mocking the auburn-haired girl whenever he could.

"Sorry about not being able to hangout with you and your friends so much these days…" The lynx murmured as she sank into her chair a bit, "I just can't stomach walking around campus and knowing what everyone's saying…"

"I understand, and so do my friends." Her boyfriend assured her, resting a gentle hand to her shoulder. "I'm surprised this thing is still relevant honestly."

"I'm not." Nicole replied, jade eyes falling to the table between them. "Just because it involves Sally. It feels like everyone around here just loves to hate her."

"She is quite the phenomenon around here." Espio nodded in agreement, "One minute they love her, and the next they hate her twice as much. I've never heard of a more controversial character."

"What's even more upsetting is how most of the reasons they hate her are based on misconceptions…like what happened with Mina."

"She should just get behind this and say something. It's better than staying quiet and feeding the rumors."

"I know, but she doesn't want to, and I have no idea why not…" Nicole sighed, "She won't tell me anything…"

"Nicole…" Espio reached out to her, but she moved away from his hand.

"When we were younger we were inseparable. She used to tell me everything." The raven-haired girl whimpered, "Then our parents got divorced and she was sent away with Father… It feels like she came back from Moebius a completely different person than from who I used to know."

"…"

"I…I want to go back to my room." She mumbled before standing up to go.

"Nicole, wait." The chameleon called after her, his reaching out pointless as she was already on her way out.

Nicole dashed out of the library as fast as her feet would carry her, the purple flats she wore sliding against the white tiles as she rounded corners and moved down the halls toward the exit.

With every cellphone her jade eyes happened to fall upon, she cringed. The snickers and whispers only seemed to make her heart pound harder, and she soon became lost in her own thoughts.

An image of a six year old Sally popped into her head. A girl with short, auburn hair and a big, cheery smile. Then an image of the returned sixteen year old Sally snaked its way into her mind, distorting the previous image until it vanished completely. The auburn-haired little girl was grown, her smile was lost, and her once flawless face was disfigured with a series of tiny cuts.

She had no answers, just questions; tons and tons of questions.

 **SLAM!**

She was lost within her mind until the force of another slamming against her broke her free of her own spell. She stepped back and rubbed her forehead before opening her eyes to meet the hazel ones of another feline.

"I'm sorry." She apologized.

"That's alright." The purple cat assured her, mimicking her action of rubbing her head. "I wasn't watching where I was going either. Are you okay? You seem distressed."

Nicole bit her lip and looked away, doing her best to keep those frustrating thoughts at bay so she could carry on a decent conversation with the cat—at least for long enough to get away without alarming her.

"I'm fine." She assured the cat, "I was just lost in thought is all."

"I've been looking for you actually. It's pretty ironic that I ended up bumping into you like this…so literally."

"Looking for me?" The lynx rose an eyebrow, "What for?"

"Well…it's about Shard again…"

"Shard…" Nicole repeated, thinking about how the DigItalian boy would probably tear the head off of every person he saw with a cellphone or heard utter a single word about her sister…just so she would feel more comfortable around campus.

He was always so irrational and aggressive that it seemed like a plausible thing.

"Nicole…" Blaze spoke up, pulling the lynx out of her thoughts once more. "I know that letter is a big reason in why you decided to end your friendship with him, and the fact that I helped deliver the thing makes me sick to my stomach. That's why I feel so responsible for what's happening to him."

"What's going on with him?"

"He's just so…lost right now…" The cat frowned, tightening her balled fists as she thought of the older boy who had such a hold on, Shard. "And it's all because of that fake letter!"

"Fake?"

"Yes."

"I…I don't understand…"

"The letter was a fake. A senior named Mephiles forced me to give it to you because he knew you'd break Shard's heart by ending your friendship, and that would make Shard easy prey for him to manipulate." Blaze explained the best she could, "I know this because…he did it to me…"

Nicole was in complete astonishment, having never heard of the illusive Mephiles or of his wicked schemes before. Then she thought of Shard, and how out-of-character sending a threatening letter seemed in hindsight when he was the kind of guy who made his opinions loud and clear no matter how unpleasant.

"…"

"I know if he had you back in his life then he'd have no reason to play along in Mephiles stupid antics." The cat added, such a pleading to her tone. "Please, Nicole…give him a second chance or at the very least just talk to him."

"I…I don't know, Blaze."

"Please, he's—"

"I need to go now." The lynx cut her off, walking around her to dash to the exit door a few feet away.

A disheartened Blaze just stared after her. Her words didn't seem to move the lynx or encourage a change of heart, leaving her to feel a bit hopeless.

* * *

Ash Mongoose had hung up his khakis and button-up white shirts in exchange for more casual street attire of blue jeans and gray T-shirts.

When he returned to his apartment in Metropolis it didn't surprise him to see that Breezie had left the place in complete disarray after he kicked her out. His TV had been smashed, all the food in the fridge had been rotting on the kitchen floor, and his clothes had been pooled into the tub and doused in bleach. The psycho ex-girlfriend had even tagged _'Fuck You'_ in paint all over the walls, and destroyed the couch with a kitchen knife.

He sat there every day since he had left his wonderful job at Green Hill Academy, ignoring the mongoose girl's countless messages and calls. He stared blankly at the graffiti on the wall, feeling so defeated by the teal woman.

He had been dating her since high school. Back then, he was a bit of a loser band geek, and very unpopular with the ladies. Imagine his shock when one of the most beautiful girls in school took an interest in him.

Back then it seemed like every nerd boy's dream come true, but about seven years later…it was obvious that she had much crueler intentions, using his insecurity to secure her a good future with a guy who'd do whatever he had to keep her because he didn't think he could ever do better.

 **48 NEW MESSAGES**

 ** _Mina:_** _Ash…I miss you…_

 ** _Mina:_** _I can't believe you just left._

 ** _Mina:_** _I told you I loved you._

Eventually, he had to stop looking at his phone because just reading her name began to have such a painful effect on his heart.

He had to leave without saying goodbye to her, because he knew in his heart that if he looked at her face he'd come up with any reason to stay close to her.

It was so strange how his intentions were to just make her feel better during a time of need, her feelings unbeknownst to him the entire time—and his own feelings lying dormant until he knew of hers.

Back in December he would have said she was a student in need of some help and it would be true, but now if he said she was merely a student in need of help he'd be lying, because she had become so much more than that.

She was a girl he had fallen for without even knowing it, a girl who just so happened to be years younger than him, and a student of his…

What made this different than his encounter with Honey the Cat? Just the simple fact that this wasn't some drunken mistake on his part.

The feelings he had for Mina weren't driven by alcohol or a desperate need to get back at his toxic girlfriend.

They were real feelings, ones that he had just began realizing when she professed her love for him

Not that any of it even mattered now…

* * *

"A darn shame I don't have the Little Tramp's class today or tomorrow." Breezie mused aloud to herself as she strutted along the pathway outside to the parking lot without a care in the world. "Oh well, at least I got to scare the shit of her this morning, haha."

She chuckled evilly to herself as she made her way to her rented car—seeing as how the music teacher wouldn't be lending her his anytime soon.

Once she had made it to the brand new vehicle, her laughter quickly ceased to be replaced by a furious cry of anger.

" **WHAT THE FUCK!?** " She screeched, dashing over to inspect the car more closely.

All of the windows had been smashed in, and every tire had been sliced to ribbons.

She snatched up handfuls of her wondrous curled quills in her hand, threatening to tear them off her head as she thought of the hefty security deposit going right out the window.

In her many years of torturing others, gambling debts, and all around enemy making…it should have been difficult to pinpoint the culprit of something so extreme.

But then she took notice of the red ticket on the dash and picked it up to read.

 _If you had spent more time in science class than you did on your knees you'd know that hedgehogs are prey to the mongoose._

 _-Izzy_

"That fucking bitch!" The teal woman growled, crumpling up the red paper in her hand.

* * *

Ever since his last talk with Sally, the green hedgehog had nothing more on his mind than fulfilling his promise of making things right. That's why he had been tracking Amy all day long, looking for a window of opportunity.

He watched her carry on from class to class all rainbows and smiles, as if she hadn't completely destroyed the life of another person. She waved to anyone whom she came across, handing out makeup tips, and cracking jokes with anyone who gave her time.

He couldn't fathom why she was even popular in the first place. He had spent enough time with her to know she was a complete airhead with a personality like sandpaper. Alas, she was cute and knew how to make herself seem interesting on social media….which is all that matters in this day and age.

It didn't matter how snobby and bratty she truly was…her follows on Instagram and Twitter were through the roof.

It didn't matter if she was mean to someone…her white-knights would attack them until they were silenced.

It didn't matter that she was the cause of Sally Acorn's current suffering…she's popular and the other is not, therefore only one of them mattered.

After what felt like hours, his opportunity had finally presented itself. She had said farewell to a group of cheerleaders and took down a rather vacant hallway in the main building. He followed her, watching as she kept looking around suspiciously before finally entering what he believed to be a classroom.

When he got closer, he realized it was actually that infamous janitor's closet that seemed to always be unlocked.

The green boy tilted his head in confusion as he reached for the knob. Before opening it, he gently rested his ear against it, listening to the sound of whimpering.

He figured she had gone in there to cry…probably about the armadillo he had exposed her to.

His intentions were to simply force her to admit the truth on camera so he could send her confession to all the followers who would otherwise never believe she'd be so cruel.

Scourge then opened the door, the light from the hallway flooding the otherwise dark room to reveal a sight he hadn't expected.

Instead of seeing a sobbing pink hedgehog crying on the floor he was greeted with the sight of a moaning, topless, pink hedgehog sitting on top of a blue hedgehog with his pants down.

"You've got to me fucking joking…" Scourge blurted out as soon as his eyes fell upon the two.

They both gasped, the pink girl quickly rummaging around for her shirt to shield her breasts while simultaneously hopping off of her blue lover to pull her skirt down. She stood up and backed up into a corner, face burning red as she glared at the green hedgehog in the doorway.

"Get the hell out of here!" Sonic bellowed, pulling up his boxers and pants before standing up to his feet to shoot Scourge a glare himself.

"Are you serious right now, Blue?" The older boy huffed, stepping closer until he was nose-to-nose with the blue hedgehog, towering over him with his extra few inches of height. "Cheating on a good girl with the slut who's ran both of you through the mud? How pathetic can you get?"

"Back off." He replied, shoving the green boy back a bit as a helpless Amy quickly threw her shirt back on in the corner. "You don't know what you're talking about, and it's none of your business anyway."

"What's your mom gonna think about her _'Little Hero'_ when she gets wind of this bullshit?"

"Definitely better than whatever the hell your mother thinks about you!"

Scourge's breath instantly got lodged in his throat at the remark, but he was quick to recover from it. He balled his fist, debating on whether or not he should just slung the younger male.

"You're nothing but a loser just like, Dad…"

"What did you just say?"

"Nevermind what I said." He retracted his statement, instantly realizing he had spoken without thought just then. "So, you're just leaving Glasses to the wolves? Looking to fuck your way back into good graces with Pinky here?"

"What do you care?" Sonic questioned, "Isn't it great? You obviously wanted her so fucking bad, right? Well now you can have her! Probably score some more whore pictures of her for your collection—"

 **BAM!**

" **AAAHH!** " Amy screamed at the top of her lungs as she watched Scourge punch Sonic square in the jaw, rendering him unconscious before he collapsed to the cold floor, his head bouncing off the tiles.

She quickly rushed to his aid, kneeling down beside him to sit him up so she could inspect the injury. He was bleeding from what seemed like everywhere; his nose, lip, and forehead.

"Sonic?" She called out to him, tapping his cheek gently with her hand to wake him up, but got no response whatsoever. " **SONIC!** "

"Calm down." Scourge scolded her, calling her attention back to him. "He's passed out, not dead…unfortunately."

"You're a fucking asshole!" The pink girl retorted angrily, setting Sonic back down gently to stand toe-to-toe with the hedgehog who had slapped her the other day.

"Look who's talking." He countered, making her red in the face with anger once more. "You'll get yours eventually. Everyone will know that you're phony real soon. Now get him to the nurse before he bleeds to death."

* * *

 **All the tea is spilling over for everyone!**

 **Sonic and Amy have been doing a horrible job at keeping their affair so it's no surprise that they've been caught so soon, but to be caught by Scourge….that kinda sucks.**

 **Both Elias and Nicole have been struggling with carrying on around campus with the drama centering around their recently returned sister, Sally—whom has been avoiding them, Antoine, and Bunnie since the ordeal began. They've both been handling it differently, with Elias acting out a bit and Nicole hiding herself. With such a thing weighing on her already heavy heart of course the last thing she wanted to deal with was Blaze's persistent pleading to rekindle the friendship she had ended with Shard due to the fear that fake letter instilled in her.**

 **Oh Blaze, maybe Shard is right…and this is just something you can't fix…**

 **Thanks to Dr. Tikal's proposed tactic of a stealthy approach, Officer Zespio had discovered what had the students acting so strangely with their phones. Now the counselor and security team know about what's going on….but due to legalities there is nothing they can do unless there is a complaining witness willing to give them the identity of the girl in the photographs.**

 **And the onslaught between Breezie and Isabella continues, the infamous lawyer recruiting a not-so-missed Thrash the Devil in their war. How will Breezie retaliate? And just how far will this thing go? Will Isabella triumph once again, or will Mina end up paying the price for her taboo affair with Breezie's ex?**

 **Awe, Mighty, always such a sweet one. Even amidst his own heartache he still finds the positivity in him to give Fiona some much needed encouragement…and it's for that very reason why she's still so in love with her old foster brother.**

 **Oh man, you guys are in for one hell of a ride…again…**

 **Special Note**

 **Also, I'm so happy to see I'm getting reviews almost as frequent as I used to before my hiatus! It's really encouraging…and thank you to those of you who take the time to answer the chapter questions! It really helps with the writer's block.**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **We take a look at how Jules and Aleena got together in high school…and the first time she ever discovered Scourge's existence.**

 **After days of digging, Isabella finally finds something she could use to silence Breezie….for possibly ten to fifteen years… but would she really go that far?!**

 **A pretty risqué chapter with much stronger sexual content than usual. You have been warned.**

 **Oh Sonic…you did NOT just fucking do that…**

 **And so much more!**


	84. Chapter 84

**WARNING: Pretty STRONG sexual content this chapter, harassment, nudity, and the list goes on**

* * *

 **Chapter 84: Love & Lies **

After a warm, morning shower and terrorizing her young roommate until she ran off, Shade the Echidna found herself all alone in the dorm room she shared with the insanely annoying, Relic the Pika.

She hummed a soft tune to herself as she discarded her towel at the door and began rummaging around her half of the room for lotion and a hairbrush.

Being so athletic and prideful, the orange girl didn't care about walking around freely in the nude. She knew her body was perfect, and cared little to nothing about what people thought of her.

It didn't even bother her that the curtains were not drawn over the two large windows that were clearly visible by the boy's dorm across campus—and to everyone walking about outside.

Even spotting a creepy, black and white skunk hiding in the bushes staring up at her didn't deter her from putting on a bit of a show while applying her body lotion.

She spun around, swayed her hips, and even squeezed her chest while winking in his direction as she did so, amused by his pitiful peeping antics.

"Fucking pervert." She huffed allowed, finally fed up with his intrusion enough to close the curtains herself.

She then put on her lacy black underwear and plopped down on her bed. She ran her fingers through her hair a couple times before finally picking up the brush to go over it with the tedious task of removing any trace of the braids she had in before.

 **INCOMING CALL**

The echidna suddenly ceased her brushing to crane her head over to her pillow where her phone was gently rested with charger attached.

Once she spotted an old picture of her and the devil she had recently rekindled a romance with from their younger days light up on screen she was quick to discard the brush in replacement of holding the phone to her ear.

 _"Baby!"_ She squealed excitedly, loving whenever she got the chance to speak with him _. "I've missed you. How's everything going?"_

 _"All according to plan, Babe."_ The devil assured her, _"The lawyer says Julie-Su will be receiving court papers any day now."_

 _"Good."_ She grumbled, thinking back to the last time she saw the other echidna girl _. "She thinks her world is gonna be all cakes and smiles again because she and that idiot Knuckles are working it out, but they have no idea what they're in for...thanks to the shit they put us through…"_

 _"Oh I love it when you talk bad."_ Thrash mused, _"Did you do that thing I told you to do yesterday?"_

 _"Yup. I completely destroyed Ms. Breezie's car, and left that note just like you said."_

 _"Good. Keep fucking with her. My lawyer said the more miserable that lady is then the less I'll have to pay."_

 _"Can do, Baby."_ Shade assured him, _"I'll talk to you soon. I love you."_

* * *

It was early, classes hadn't started yet, and not too many people were out and about on campus yet. Sally decided to take advantage of that by cautiously making her way from the girl's dorm to the main building where payphones stood against the entrance door.

Elias had bought her a new cellphone days ago while in town with Megan, but the only drawback to it was how it couldn't make long distance calls like her old one. So she was forced to come out and spend two quarters at the school phones.

She stood up against the brick wall by the phones, too paranoid to have her back turned toward anywhere people might be walking by.

Her toes were turned inward, making her blue and white tennis shoes touch at the tips. Although it being a bit of a warm spring day in the final days of January, she opted to wear long, unflattering gray sweatpants and an over-sized white hoodie anyway.

She would have much preferred some shorts and maybe a tanktop beneath a long cardigan, but with all the rumors floating around and the harassment she had to deal with she didn't dare think to show any skin no matter how hot the weather was getting.

Her shoulder-length auburn hair was concealed beneath her hood, only allowing her bangs a bit of freedom as they wisped across her cringingly large glasses.

With one hand she held the yellow payphone while the other was brought up to her face where she nervously bit her thumb. She darted her blue eyes left-to-right anxiously, noticing a crowd of people approaching.

"Pick up this time…please…" She begged in a hushed whisper as she listened to the endless ringing of the phone in her ear until that cursed automated voice message system greeted her once again after another failed attempt at calling.

She sighs to herself in frustration, hanging up the phone with a dramatic slam before noticing the group that had been approaching were staring at her and laughing.

"Calling your pimp for another nude photo session?"

"Look at that slut!"

"I read about a girl like her once. You guys remember that, right? That nerdy chick from Spring Hill Academy who moonlighted as a pornstar!"

The chipmunk growled, having had enough torment for a lifetime in her short amount of time spent at Green Hill Academy.

She quickly took off without glancing back at them, their laughter ringing in her head until she was finally able to put some much needed distance between them.

Her classes didn't start for another half hour, giving her a bit of free time to do nothing with.

She had been avoiding her siblings, knowing full well that they'd have questions, and she didn't want anyone harassing Antoine or Bunnie for associating with her. Plus, she felt like none of them believed her when she denied the photos in the first place.

These days, it felt like the only safe havens she had were Sonic and the lake they shared together.

She took a seat out in the grassy plains against a more obscure side of the main building. She rested her back against the bricks as she slid down the wall.

She began to pick blades of grass out of the ground until the shining of gold on her finger caught her attention. That's when she raised her hand up to see the golden ring Sonic had given her, the one he had found at the lake; and unbeknownst to her, the very same ring his father had given to her mother so many years ago…

Seeing the shiny piece of jewelry brought her such relief and happiness, reminding her that at least one person believed in her.

 _'To stay with me even though everyone's saying such mean things…'_ She thought to herself with a smile, _'He's definitely not the douchebag I remember him being before... He's wonderful…How could I ever let him know how much his support means to me?'_

* * *

Instead of meeting up with Sonia to grab a coffee in the café before classes started like usual, Honey had decided to stay with Mina for the morning, leaving the magenta girl to venture off around campus alone.

After making her way to the café to grab a coffee herself, the hedgehog couldn't resist the urge to go walking around outside to enjoy the wonderful weather.

Spring just so happened to be her favorite time of year. Not only were the flowers blooming, but all of her favorite fashion trends were coming back into style!

It rook a bit of a pep-talk in the mirror before she was able to wear her orange tubetop and pink short-shorts without obsessing over how her figure looked.

Thanks to disturbing amount of purging earlier in the school year she once looked like nothing more than a bag of walking bones, but these days she appeared to be getting to both a healthier weight and mindset with the help of counselor, Dr. Tikal and current close friend, Honey the Cat.

She let her jade eyes fall to the cement pathway as she sipped her coffee and thought of the cat and mongoose she had become accustom to hanging around these days, wondering how Honey could console her about her very own first love.

Between watching their messy love triangle pan out, her failed relationships in the past, and the bitter end of a longtime friendship due to romance coming into play, the magenta hedgehog had pushed aside romance entirely in favor of focusing more on her studies to get through her final year at Green Hill Academy.

She was back to being top of every class, and found herself much more relaxed without worry of the drama being involved in romantic relationships seemed to bring her

While taking in the beautiful landscape of the school during her walk, she happened to spot some very familiar looking quills. She quickly turned her matching orange wedges in that direction and walked over to inspect more closely. A smile crossed her face as she recognized who they belonged to.

"Manic!" She squealed ever so girlishly, strolling over to set her coffee down on the picnic table he was seated at alone so that she could give him a proper hug and sit down herself.

"Hey, Sis." He returned her hug, watching her as she plopped down beside him. "What's got you out here so early? You're not exactly a morning person…"

"I could ask you the same thing." She pouted playfully in response, "Honey and I were supposed to meet up for coffee but she canceled on me last minute."

"Hanging around, Honey? The girl who…Shads cheated on you with?"

"Heh, yeah. I almost completely forgot about all that." The magenta girl waved her hand in dismissal, "That's in the past. She and I have actually become real close since then. You'd know that if you weren't always missing in action."

"Hey, it's a big campus. I haven't seen much of, Sonic or anyone else either." The shaggy-quilled boy shot back with a smirk, "And if you're so willing to forgive and forget with Honey, will you and my baby girl eventually become besties too?"

"Me and Rouge? Now there's a laugh!" Sonia rolled her eyes.

The two siblings sat there for a while, recounting past events of each other's lives that the other had been absent for. Like her falling out with Elias, his shockingly high grade in English, and everything in between—Well, at least everything except for the many secrets he was withholding.

Eventually the magenta girl had steered the conversation into something she was curious about.

Something Mina had said to her…

"Manic, how well do you know, Mina Mongoose?" She asked out of the blue, making his eyes nearly bulge out of his head as he quickly looked away.

"Mina? Well…uhh, she went to the same elementary school as us…" The green hedgehog shrugged, playing it cool as he did everything to keep his sister in the dark. "She's got my English class, and she's pretty hot…"

"Oh…"

"Oh what?"

"It's just…with the way she was talking to me yesterday I figured she knew you personally."

"Wh-What would she say to make you think something like that?"

"Well, she knew about your legal issues from the past…" Sonia explained, "Those records are sealed and neither me, Tails, nor Sonic would ever tell anyone about it."

"Of course she does!" Manic yelped out anxiously, making her eyebrow raise a bit in suspicion. "Her mom's a lawyer, remember?"

"Yeah…" She nodded, finding his behavior a bit odd. "It was just weird…"

"Why would she bring me or my problems up to you anyway?"

"Oh, no reason. Just…came up in a chat." The magenta girl waved her hand dismissively once more, opting to keep the mongoose's threatening statement and relationship to the music teacher a secret, just like she wanted.

* * *

"So, no luck in getting Nicole to give him a second chance, huh?"

"Not at all." Blaze sighed, hazel eyes falling to the wooden floor of the girl's dorm beneath her feet. "You wouldn't believe how fast she ran off after I even brought up the idea…"

"I'm sorry, Blaze." The white hedgehog who had been walking beside her stated, resting a sympathetic hand on her shoulder.

"I just feel so bad." She murmured, ceasing their walking to just stand in the otherwise empty hallway by her dorm room. "Part of the reason he's so screwed up is because I helped send that stupid note."

"Hey, at least you're trying to make things right." Silver consoled her, making her upturn her head to meet his sheepish smile. "It's actually…really admirable."

"You think so?"

"Yeah." He nodded, "It reminds me of how you were when I first met you… When you saved me from Mephiles trying to break all my fingers."

They both laughed at the memory, one of their first memories together to be specific. Then their laughter died down until they were just staring at one another, and soon the shy blushes appeared on both their faces.

"Well, I've uhh, got history." The white hedgehog murmured shyly, rubbing the back of his head. "I should get going."

"Right." The cat nodded in understanding, waving him off as he walked away. "I'll see you around."

He waved back, but carried on forward, allowing the cat to watch his back and smile without worry of him catching her blush.

He never seemed to change. Always that nerdy, shy, lovable goofball she felt so happy with.

She was grateful that they had reconnected a bit despite all that she had put him through in her pursuit for what she believed to be a necessary high school experience. In truth, all she ever really needed was that one true friend, not the horde of casual friends TV shows glorified.

Her friendships with Sonic and the gang however were not all superficial. She had grown to care for them like any other. Only from now on she had sworn to stay true to herself, and if they didn't like that then she knew where she stood with them.

Once Silver had vanished down the hall she quickly made her way into her room, spotting a joyful Marine sitting at the edge of her own bed.

The raccoon was startled by the sudden intrusion, but relaxed once she saw it was merely her older sister strolling in. Her joyful mood suddenly sky-rocketed at seeing the cat's happy smile—a sight she treasured to no end.

"What's that look for?" The raccoon squealed, crawling to the edge of her bed to stare at the cat plopping down on the one opposite to hers. "Did something happen with ya' and Silver?!"

"Nothing like what you're probably thinking." Blaze smirked, looking down at her lap with an even bigger smile. "Just feels like he and I are getting close again, that's all."

"That's **AMAZING** , Blazey!" Marine bellowed with such joy, clapping her hands. "I just knew you'd find ya' way back to each other…just like in all my fanfictions."

* * *

 _'I was new to the school, transferring in mid-year due to my father having us relocate for his work._

 _At first I was upset and scared even, but no less than the very second I walked through the doors did I unintentionally conquer as the new girl._

 _People approached me, got to know me, and adored me._

 _I was gorgeous, but humble._

 _I was a tough athlete, but sweet._

 _And I was smart, but fun too._

 _It didn't take long for me to make friends with nearly everyone except for those pesky delinquents they used to call 'The Freaks', or their rebellious ringleader, Alicia._

 _I could have had anyone I wanted…but no one caught my interest in the slightest._

 _No one except for him._

 _Jules the Hedgehog._

 _He was just as popular as me if not more so. A devilishly handsome blue hedgehog with eyes a shade of blue so vibrant they were captivating._

 _I remember asking everywhere about him, just wanting to know anything I could about the boy in blue._

 _Through the grapevine I had discovered he was a rambunctious athlete with a kind heart, and a bit of an attitude that tended to land him in detention quite frequently. He lived in a decent neighborhood in Mobotropolis with his brother, Charles the Hedgehog, and was best friends with a girl named, Bernadette the Hedgehog…something I wasn't too happy to hear._

 _I also heard that despite his disposition as a school athlete his real dream was to become a musician, and that he used to play his guitar in the café every day._

 _One day, I was sitting on the windowsill of a large, bay window that overlooked campus grounds. I was admiring the pretty flowers down below when I heard someone call out to me._

 _Imagine my heart attack when I saw Jules himself strolling over to me, guitar strapped to his back, and wearing that gorgeous smile that would eventually be passed down to my two sons._

 _"Hey. Pretty Girl." He greeted me, coming closer until he was standing over me, staring down at me with those captivating blue eyes that had me so hypnotized._

 _"Oh, umm…Hi…" Is all I managed to squeak out._

 _"I heard you've been asking around about me."_

 _"Well, yes. Uh, I…I'm sorry!" I apologized, my pale face going red with embarrassment._

 _I shut my eyes tightly as I wished myself away. Then I heard his chuckling and opened them to see that he had his hand rested against my cheek and was tilting my head up so that I'd meet his gaze once more._

 _"If you're so curious about me…why not just find out for yourself?"_

 _Shortly after that encounter we began dating._

 _We were the definition of a power couple._

 _Everyone loved us together._

 _I loved us together._

 _It was a dream come true._

 _A blissful few months._

 _Until it all began to fall apart._

 _Being the catch that he was, of course there would be the typical jealous girls who'd do anything to tear us apart…and there were **SO** many…_

 _Isabella Mongoose._

 _Clove the Pronghorn._

 _Alicia the Chipmunk._

 _Lara-Le the Echidna._

 _And the list goes on…_

 _But none of them were as persistent and extreme as, Bernadette the Hedgehog._

 _From the very first day he had introduced me to his little best friend as his girlfriend I could tell she had wanted me out of the picture. He told me he had friend-zoned her completely, seeing her as nothing more than the girl who lived across the street from him and his brother, but it wasn't like that to her._

 _She had convinced herself he was in love with her and just didn't realize it quite yet._

 _Apparently, I was an obstacle in her way._

 _She was so obsessive and possessive of him, and those odd behaviors quickly escalated when the scandal broke out about his numerous affairs, specifically his secret relationship with the school bitch, Alicia the Chipmunk._

 _I was mortified to find out about everything, and it caused a lot of insecurities and depression on my end to find out that my picture-perfect boyfriend was far from what I thought._

 _Shortly after everything came out and he was forced to choose between me and her, he thankfully chose me._

 _I loved him. I had hope that we could work it out…_

 _Then Bernadette knocked on my door one day. It was pouring rain, and despite not liking her in the slightest, I swallowed my pride and stood out with her on my porch to talk._

 _It was raining heavily, the raindrops bouncing off the tin roof as we stood below, staring at each other._

 _"Stay away from him." She warned me, making me roll my eyes with her pathetic intimidation tactics._

 _"I won't, Bernie. For the last time, he doesn't have those sorts of feelings for you. He never did, and he never will. He's said so himself."_

 _" **THAT'S NOT TRUE AT ALL!** "_

 _"It is." I told her, lifting my left arm to extend my hand out so that the ring he had gotten me could shimmer beneath the porch light in front of her. "He asked me to marry him yesterday."_

 _"There's no way he'd do that…"_

 _"He's quit messing around with all those girls…even, Alicia." I assured her, "He chose me."_

 _"The only reason he chose you over Alicia is because she's pregnant with Max's kid."_

 _"That doesn't matter." I shook my head, "The point is that he chose **ME** , and wants to be with **ME**."_

 _"But you aren't pregnant with his baby."_

 _"So?"_

 _" **SO?!** " She repeated louder, wrenching her baby-blue trench coat open to unveil her slight baby bump. "I **AM** pregnant…and it's Jules' baby… So stay the fuck away from him."_

 _She then stormed off my porch, leaving me standing there with a completely dumbfounded look on my face._

 _I cried all night, and avoided all his calls. I was so angry and upset, thinking that I had officially lost him to her._

 _About a week or so later…I had found out that I was pregnant too…'_

Once again, Aleena sat in the living room of her home back in Mobotropolis all by herself again. This time she oddly had the gun Scourge had voluntarily left in her lap, staring blankly at the metal object as she thought of the first instance she had heard about her children's half-brother nearly seventeen years ago.

She clenched her teeth together tightly as she balled her fists in anger at the bitter memories.

 **INCOMING CALL!**

Then the sound of her cellphone vibrating on the coffee table before her jolted her out of thought and back to reality. She looked over to see her ex-husband's picture lighting up on screen.

She pouted, setting the gun off to the side of her in favor of reaching out to the cellular device.

 _"Hello, Aleena."_ The army man greeted formerly, unsurprised by the bitterness in her tone.

 _"It's been a while since you've called."_ She huffed coldly, _"You know I hate that."_

 _"I'm not obligated to check in with you."_ He reminded her of their divorce, _"I just want to know how the kids are doing. Is Sonia doing alright with her health? How's are Sonic and his little girlfriend doing? Is Manic working on those grades?"_

 _"How are the kids? Manic's grades? I'll tell you about the fucking kids!"_ The purple woman angrily screeched into the speaker, sending shivers down the blue hedgehog's spine on the other line with her shrill voice. _" **YOUR** bastard son nearly killed Manic and I!"_

Down at the army base in Moebius, Jules stood out on the balcony wide-eyed in shock, staring out to the nearby city he had tried to raise his other child in secret for the better part of three years so very long ago.

 _"Scourge…"_ He mumbled aloud, making his ex-wife scream even more violently through the speaker.

* * *

In the auditorium of the electives building, Mina Mongoose had unfortunately found herself bombarded by the entire cheersquad, the group begging her endlessly to sing for the pep-rally they wanted to have for the basketball team.

"Oh please, Mina!" Tiara, captain of the cheerleaders begged. "It's been so long since you've gotten up on stage, and your voice would totally pump up the team before their final match!"

"I don't think so…" The mongoose declined, only to get moans of sorrow and more pleading gazes in return.

Normally, she'd be all for something like this, but she hadn't been herself again since Ash's departure a few days ago. All of the motivation he had given her was lost, along with that angelic singing voice she had just been rediscovering.

She had actually pulled out of all the gigs that had been requested of her from her performance at the New Years Balldrop in Soleanna, much to her mother's dismay.

She just didn't have the drive…not with all the crushing disappointment weighing her spirits down again.

A few feet from the mongoose and horde of cheerleaders stood her feline friend, Honey. She pouted upon hearing the lavender-haired girl deny the request, knowing full well that she was just too sad about the things going on to find the energy to do the thing she loved most in the whole world—that being singing on a stage.

Honey that Cat had been standing by Mina Mongoose nearly all their lives. The mongoose was always at her happiest singing her heart out on a stage. It broke her heart to see Mina look so defeated, to watch her go through so much in one school year…

As fate would have it, while her back was turned to the door, an irritated Breezie had strolled on in.

She was angry about the long, smelly bus ride she was forced to take to work due to the car incident, and this morning she had come back to her desk completely ransacked…conveniently having those revealing assignments completely destroyed by whomever the culprit was.

Upon hearing that notorious sound of tall heels click on the floors, Honey turned around to see the teal woman standing beside her. The cat glared coldly, loathing that cynical look on the woman's face as she took pleasure in the sad frown plastered on Mina's from afar.

* * *

Scourge groaned to himself as he ran his hand across the hood of his destroyed Hummer in the parking lot, about damn near ready to cry at the condition Fiona had left it in after assaulting it with a pipe while he was away.

"Fuck…" He whined, wondering how the hell he was going to pay for repairs, and who was going to pay for fucking with his car!

In the midst of his mourning, he suddenly heard the sound of shoes loudly smacking down on the cement parking lot behind him.

Before he could turn around completely, both of his wrists were grabbed and his head was slammed down on the black hood.

"What the fuck!" He shrieked angrily, trying to wiggle around to free himself up until he felt the cool steel of handcuffs enclose both wrists.

"Scourge the Hedgehog," Officer Zonic stated loudly in his ear as he lifted him up off the car and forced him to walk toward the main building. "You've been remanded to a week in the detention center for assault."

"Lucky me…" The green boy grumbled with a roll of his eyes.

The officer then led him to the detention room on the first floor of the main building by the front office. Once inside, the cuffs were taken off and he was forced into a seat by several familiar faces, most notably Rosy Rascal, Geoffrey St. John, and Shard Metal.

He rubbed the soreness from his wrists, thankful that he didn't have to wear the cuffs any longer. He then looked up to the blue officer expecting some sort of lecture about legalities for what he's done, but nothing could have prepared him for the blonde nurse storming through the door beside him.

The green hedgehog felt his heart sink along with him into his seat as the angry woman stomped over to him. She stood on the opposite side of his desk, gazing down at him with a look he vaguely remembered being terrified of as a young toddler.

"I'm so sick of having students in and out of my office because of you! First a boy comes in with a serious cut on his face, then sweet, Sonic is wheeled to me unconscious! What is the matter with you!?" She scolded him.

"…" His voice became lost in his throat as he stared the woman who had abused him and left him for dead in a rundown apartment straight in the eyes. He felt like a small child again, and it made him sick.

"Your mother should have raised you better." She added, pulling back to walk away.

He balled his fists tightly in his lap beneath the desktop as his teeth began to grind together at such an ironic comment coming from her.

"Yeah…" He nodded, making the purple woman turn back at him briefly in the doorway. "She should have…"

The nurse then turned her back to him once more, seemingly unmoved by his response. He stared after her until she was completely out of sight before he let out a long sigh of relief.

"What a bitch, eh?" The skunk sitting in the seat beside him whispered.

Scourge ignored the comment, finding the skunk beside him to be just as an annoying presence.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Scourge questioned, hoping to change the subject to something other than his bio mom.

"Just got caught peepin' at the girls again." Geoffrey sighed, a big grin crossing his face.

* * *

After getting her more important tasks out of the way, Isabella found herself back in the chair of her office while on the phone with her current co-conspirator.

 _"You did tell her to leave my note on the car, didn't you?"_ She asked the purple devil on the other line, laughing as he told her all about how he had his girlfriend driving the English teacher up the wall.

 _"Just like you asked."_ He assured her, _"And my girl even busted into her classroom this morning and burned every single paper in her desk, just like you wanted."_

 _"Wonderful. Thank you so much, Thrash."_ The mongoose smirked, _"I've taken about 60% off your bill. You've been a great help to me, and I've sent off the court order to Julie-Su. She'll be receiving it sometime tomorrow, and court will be sometime in the next two weeks."_

 _"No Mrs. Mongoose, thank you."_

 _"Alright then, have a good day."_ The lavender-haired woman then hung up her office phone and leaned back in her chair with a smirk.

Unfortunately, her moment of peace didn't last very long as the phone rang once more. She answered quickly with the usual office greeting.

 _"Hello my friend."_ The hefty sounding man on the other line mused.

 _"Judge Nega."_ She greeted, _"To what do I owe this pleasure?"_

 _"Well, I looked into that favor you asked of me, and I think I might have found something of interest to you."_

 _"Do tell."_

 _"It seems like the Breezie woman you've been looking into does have some skeletons in her closet the way you presumed."_ The man explained, the sound of flipping papers being heard in the background of their call _. "Apparently there were numerous reports from the last school she was working at before Green Hill Academy about her having relations with a male student."_

 _"Go on."_ She urged him.

 _"The problem is that none of these allegations were ever confirmed. The school simply let her go because of the rumors themselves. Therefore, this can't be tried."_

 _"So why are you telling me this instead of something I can use?"_

 _"Because there is potential. You see, in these countless reports it's been stated that there was another faculty member who had witnessed the sexual encounter. If you can get him to confirm the allegations, then you have yourself a trial, My Dear."_

 _"Leave it to someone as brilliant and conniving as yourself to come up with such an idea."_ The mongoose mused, _"I'm glad you took me on as your apprentice when I was young."_

 _"Of course."_

 _"So what's this witness' name so I can track him down and set this whole thing up?"_ Isabella asked excitedly, _"When I told you I wanted this woman out of my hair…I meant it."_

 _"His name is Ash Mongoose."_

* * *

Elias sighed to himself as he exited his art class and entered the hall. He had his bag slung over one shoulder as he walked briskly, doing his best to not overhear the comments about his little sister among the crowds.

He had half-hoped that this fiasco would die down quickly, but it only seemed to be growing with more rumors popping up each day.

It frustrated him to no end, but nothing was more frustrating to him than his sister's dodging around the subject whenever he tried to bring it up. All he wanted to do was help her, understand her, and try to fix it, but she wouldn't budge.

Things were getting blown out of proportion quickly, and he was stuck in a hard place. He feared that alerting his mother of the situation would force her to relocate Sally back to Moebius with their father and other sister.

He didn't want that at all, but he knew she'd be more helpful in stopping all this.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

Thankfully with his phone occupying his attention he didn't have the fear of overhearing vial things.

 ** _Megan:_** _Hey you!_

 ** _Elias:_** _Is it too dramatic to say that these constant messages are literally keeping me from going insane here?_

 ** _Megan:_** _C'mon, Robotnik's class isn't that bad. Lol_

 ** _Megan:_** _Anyways, I need a **HUGE** favor!_

 ** _Elias:_** _Ask away._

 ** _Megan:_** _Were you serious when you said your mom would, Alexis?_

 ** _Megan:_** _I've got a surprise shift today and I need a quick babysitter who won't charge me my entire paycheck._

 ** _Elias:_** _Well, you're in luck._

 ** _Elias:_** _Grandma's babysitting services are free of charge._

 ** _Megan:_** _You're a life saver._

 ** _Elias:_** _Lol, I'll tell my mom._

 ** _Megan:_** _Awesome!_

The prince smiled to himself, imaging how relieved and overjoyed the squirrel girl must have been by such a simple gesture. He also found himself strangely excited to spend time with her and the baby again.

* * *

After receiving a text from Julie-Su that Lara-Su was down in the office with her grandfather waiting for her and gave him permission to see her, Knuckles abruptly ran out of his math class. He was so excited to see the toddler again that he just couldn't wait out the fifteen minutes until class was up.

He definitely earned himself a detention from Professor Charles, but it was worth it once he opened the main office door to see the little echidna girl sitting at the table coloring with some crayons the receptionist had offered her.

She was just as excited to see him if not more, dropping her purple crayon to run over and leap into his arms.

"Mr. Knuckles!" She squealed excitedly as he spun her around.

"Hey there, Kiddo!" He greeted her before gently setting her back down on her feet, kneeling before her as he ruffled her pink hair up.

"I missed you."

"Awe, I bet I missed you way more."

"Wanna color with me?" The little girl offered, handing him a green crayon off the table. "Grandpa says Mommy is in music class. I like music."

"Heh, I like music too." Knuckles smiled, crawling over to the little coffee table she had her paper and crayons laid out on. "Sure I'll draw with you until she comes."

It was a joyful fifteen minutes of him just spending time with her after being apart for a bit. It warmed Dimitri's heart just a bit to watch the two, reminding him of happier days of his own about raising his daughter, Mari-Su the Echidna.

Then a more painful memory of his deceased daughter crossed his mind. One of her during her last days before Leukemia had claimed her life.

The final memory of being in the hospital room with her while her frail body laid in that hospital bed with her heart monitor's green line moving less and less until it finally flat-lined.

He had watched as his daughter spent her last moments begging her sobbing husband, Luger the Echidna to carry on and give their daughter the best life he could.

"Lara-Su." Julie-Su's voice called out, pulling her grandfather out of the memory. He turned his head away from Knuckles to stare at her smiling in the doorway.

Then the toddler left the table to leap into her mother's arms.

"Mommy! Mr. Knuckles was coloring with me." Lara-Su giggled, looking back to the red echidna. "He's not so good at drawing in the lines."

"Hey…it's harder than it looks!" Knuckles defended himself playfully as he strolled up to the two.

"Well, we're going to be late for our appointment, and Grandfather Dimitri is probably tired of waiting around so say goodbyes." Julie-Su told her child, who frowned.

"You'll come over to color again, right?" The little girl asked him, puckering her bottom lip for crying if he were to decline.

"Sure." He nodded, making her smile once more.

"You should come with us!"

"I don't think so, Hun." Julie-Su shook her head.

"But Dr. Quack gives me lollipops. He'll give you one too."

"I said no, Lara." Her mother stated more sternly, making Knuckles a bit uneasy. "We have to go now."

Julie-Su then turned to her grandfather, nodding at him that they were ready to go. The elder echidna then stood up and walked out of the room first, followed by her and the little girl she had in her arms.

* * *

After another long day of pretending to be okay, Mina was finally able to return to her dorm room and take off that mask she had to put on for the rest of the world.

Nicole was already fast asleep on her side of the room, leaving the mongoose and cat to ready for bed alone.

Once again, Honey gazed sorrowfully at her poor friend as she lifelessly kicked off her purple heels, undressed, and flopped onto her bed without a care.

The cat did the same, slipping out of her clothes and into her pajamas before slipping beneath her own covers. She stared at the ceiling in the dark for a bit, eventually falling asleep to the sound of the lavender-haired girl's hushed sobs.

Beneath her blanket, Mina was curled into fetal positon, tears dripping off her face as she pulled on her beautiful hair to the brink of tearing. It was so frustrating to suffer in silence, and to have the weight of Ms. Breezie's threats weighing on her at the same time.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

Her phone was on silent, but the screen suddenly lighting up in the dark caught her attention. She wiped her eyes with her wrist before reaching out to grab it.

She had no idea who it would be. It was damn near midnight.

 ** _Ash:_** _Come to the music room._

Her eyes nearly bulged out of her head upon reading that name. She quickly sat up, using her phone as a flashlight to search for her clothes in the dark. Without a second thought she quickly and quietly redressed, escaping her room and the girl's dorm unnoticed by the girls sleeping beside her and the officers patrolling the outside of the building.

With her frantic movements it didn't take long for her to make it to the music room, and she couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the male mongoose leaning against his desk.

"A-Ash?!" She whispered in the dimly lit classroom, "Is this for real?!"

He then lifted up his head to shoot her a weak smile that made her heart leap out of her chest.

She quickly dashed over, nearly tripping in her heels as she jumped onto him, wrapping her arms around his neck so tightly.

"I know I said I'd leave but…" He murmured, returning her hug with just as tight a grip. "I couldn't stay away…"

"I've missed you." The mongoose girl cried out, tears rolling down her cheeks as she reeled back to look him in the eye.

He brought his hands up to her face, dabbing away her tears with his thumbs before rolling them gently across her cheeks.

"I needed to come back and tell you…I'm in love with you, Mina." The ex-music teacher whispered, "It took being away from you for a few days to realize how empty I feel when I don't see you. I'm sorry I left you, I'm sorry I made you so sad."

In response she simply lifted herself off her tiptoes to crash her lips on to his, and this time he didn't pull away so fast. He returned her kisses, and even followed her lead when she began to remove his shirt, then his pants.

He didn't care anymore. Not that the age difference was so prominent, not about Breezie's threats, or about anything else. All he cared about was the girl in front of him; keeping her close, loving her, and being with her in this very moment despite the possible dangers.

Once both their clothes were off he laid her on the desk and got on top of her. Moans of bliss from her filled his ears with every trace of his fingers and placement of his kisses.

She was on cloud nine, practically begging for more with every second of his teasing play.

It completely went over his head that this place he decided to make love to her in was the very same place he had drunken sex with her feline friend a few months ago…

* * *

Mina wasn't the only girl sneaking out of the girl's dorm tonight with some rather unlady-like intentions.

Having been caught by Scourge just yesterday didn't deter Amy or Sonic from their steamy affair as the two were back on that hammock beneath the bleachers once again.

The two hedgehogs were ferociously making out with no shirts to shield them from the cool air. Although the bruise on his cheek caused an immense pain in his face, he was enjoying himself far too much to care.

Her hands were lost in his blue quills as his groped her breasts while they exchanged hungry kisses.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

Things were just getting hot and heavy when his phone went off, forcing him to pull away from her to reach into his back pocket. She huffed in frustration at no longer being the object of his attention, and the disappointed look on his face made her even more upset.

 ** _Sally:_** _Can you come out to the lake right now?_

 ** _Sonic:_** _I don't think so. I'm really tired._

 ** _Sally:_** _Please? I want to spend some time with you without people making fun of us._

 ** _Sally:_** _And I know it's silly, but I've been feeling pretty lonely these days…_

 ** _Sonic:_** _Fine. I'll be there in a few._

 ** _Sally:_** _Thank you._

"What is it?" Amy asked once he began pulling away from her to search the ground for his shirt and sweater.

"Tails needs me back in the room." The blue hedgehog lied as he threw his top back on. "Sorry."

"Ugh, really?"

"Sorry," He apologized again, leaning over to kiss her. "We'll pick this up later. Now get your cute butt back to your room without getting caught, kay?"

"Fine." The pink girl groaned, reluctantly putting her own clothes back on.

Then he began the jog back toward the main building, detouring to the forest adjacent to it without Amy being able to notice. He used his cellphone as a light to creep through the forest of trees, finally coming out to the clearing by the lake a few minutes later.

He hoped running would cool him off after such an intense make out session, but it hadn't at all stifled his horniness. At least he could explain away his flushed face with the intense run, but definitely not the tent in his trousers.

Thinking fast, he managed to tie his sweater around his waist before the chipmunk snuck up on him with a hug from behind.

"Holy shit!" He screeched upon contact with her, finally turning around to see her giggling behind him. "You scared the shit out of me."

"Chaos, your face is so red." She remarked, "Did you run all the way out here?"

"Well, when you call…I run." He smiled, playing it cool although lately he found it difficult to stand in her presence with all of the negative thoughts he had about her stuck in his head.

She blushed at the smooth line, stepping closer to perch herself on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on his lips. A bold move on her end, being the first time she ever initiated one herself.

"What was that for?" The blue hedgehog questioned.

"It's a thank you, for sticking by my side through this crazy mess." The auburn-haired girl blushed, "But now that I think about it…It's kind of a lousy thank you since we kiss all the time anyway… I just don't know how else I could let you know how grateful I am to have someone like you."

With those words, the way she was standing so close to him that he could feel the warmth of her body, and the painful erection Amy had left him with, the window of opportunity here hadn't gone unnoticed by the desperate hedgehog at all.

"Well, I think I know…" He replied after a paused moment of thinking, rubbing her forearm gently as she tilted her head at him.

"Like what?"

"I mean, we've been dating almost three months now." Sonic murmured, raising his hand to push a stray strand of auburn hair behind her ear. "Maybe we could…take things forward?"

"You mean….sex?"

Her face instantly went red upon realizing what he was implying, and her famous anxiety started to rise at the idea. She looked down to the ground between them as she fiddled her fingers nervously.

"I understand if you don't want to." He assured her, obvious disappointment in his tone. "I just figured…you'd like me enough by now—"

"I do!" She exclaimed, desperate to let the hedgehog know how much she adored him and appreciated him. "It's just…"

"It's okay. I get it." He spoke up once more, stepping away from her to begin the journey back to campus. "The kiss was just fine. I'll see ya' tomorrow."

She bit her lip as she looked down at the ring on her hand and thought to herself. It's true, they had been dating for almost three months, and to her knowledge he had been nothing but faithful, supportive, and caring to her.

She claimed this was her first relationship ever, and that she wasn't sure what the wait times for such things were, but she was sure that she wanted to make him happy for all that he's done for her.

If only she had known that everything was not as it seemed with him when she turned around and called after him.

"Wait!"

He stopped walking to look back at her over his shoulder, and his eyes widened when he saw her nodding in agreement to what he had requested.

Then he walked back over to her, gently helping her to sit down beside him before he finally began kissing her in a much more passionate way than he had ever done before with her.

Shortly after, he reeled back to gently pull the glasses off her face.

Due to those photos he figured she'd look a ton sexier without them, but nearly yelped in fright upon seeing the nasty scars she had underneath that he had forgotten all about.

She was quick to notice his sudden pause, assuming he thought ill of her face. She reached out for her glasses, but he tossed them out of her reach before cupping her face.

"Don't worry." He whispered, "You're beautiful…"

He then kissed her again, this time gently laying her down beneath him on the grassy plains of the clearing by the beautiful lake.

While she was occupied by the intensity of the foreign feelings his rough kisses and roaming hand brought her, he had expertly used his free hand to click the camera app on his phone and leaned the device against the tree beside them.

With that out of the way, he was able to freely focus on the task at hand.

You'd think with how she was acting in those images floating around campus she'd be more open and with the assumed history with Scourge, he had no doubt she was experienced.

And he went on believing that…

Even as with every piece of clothing he discarded from her she still tried to cover herself up out of embarrassment.

Even as she laid there like a stone obviously without a clue of what to do.

Even with the resistance he felt, the cries of anguish that escaped her, and the pained tears that rolled down her cheeks when he entered her.

All of it caught on tape through the camera lends of his cellphone.

* * *

 **Okay, as of now you have my full consent to absolutely hate Sonic…but not really. Think of it from his perspective. His judgement is almost completely clouded by his ego, the doubt Mephiles has put in him, and all the questions Sally just wasn't willing to answer for him. Like about the nude photos or her relationship to Scourge. What he's done is fucking terrible, but it doesn't make him a bad person. What he chooses to do with this video is what will determine his worth as a person…which might end up with him being a bad person so this paragraph might be totally pointless…or not…possibly. Yeah, go ahead and hate on him lol.**

 **Anyways, it seems a lot of situations are finally reaching their peak, and it can either get better or horribly worse in these situations from her on…so buckle up kiddies.**

 **-Julie-Su's secret is definitely taking a toll on her, making her lash out and act out of the ordinary more and more. Will she ever tell her friends what's up? Or will it be too late when they find out?**

 **-Manic has been struggling with keeping secrets of his own. He's at his breaking point, having already nearly slipped with both Rosy and Sonia. Just who will be the one he confesses all of his woes to? Rouge? Shadow? Or someone he doesn't know very well at all?**

 **-The Breezie vs Isabella fight is on and getting even more grimy and heated by the second. Isabella has discovered some very useful mud she could sling in her favor, but will this witness comply? Better yet, how will she feel once she finds out this grown man is now seeing her sixteen year old 'angel'?**

 **-Tensions are ever so high now that Scourge is aware of his true mother's identity, and the fact that she's walking around on campus so freely. How will that situation play out along with the trouble his little phone has caused Sally? What's with those two anyway?**

 **Well, aside from these worrisome thoughts, there's stuff to look forward to…depending on who you're rooting for I guess.**

 **-Blaze and Silver are slowly but surely getting closer and closer once again in a much more positive and natural way than the times previous.**

 **-Elias is seemingly over dealing with ex-friend Sonia and the perpetual heartache her selfish desires and false ignorance had caused him and is now finding himself falling for Megan the Squirrel for real!**

 **-Knuckles is once again righting his wrongs and is attempting to rebuild the trust little Lara-Su and him were creating before a miscommunication sent him spiraling back to the bottom.**

 **-And if it's your cup of tea…Sonic and Amy are back together…sort of…**

 **Anyways,**

 **ONLY 15 CHAPTERS LEFT**

 **So aside from the numerous drama and trigger warnings, I've got to remind you that it's almost over! So make your opnions known in the reviews about what's going on, what you want to see! The faster reviews come, the faster the chapters!**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **The war between Isabella and Breezie only seems to get more catty when Isabella goes to pay Ash a visit and Breezie decides to give Honey's mother a call**

 **Despite being under Zonic's lockdown, Shadow decides to pay Rosy a visit to ask about her odd behavior. He then learns something a bit shocking…**

 **Manic and Rouge finally snap under pressure at keeping such awful secrets.**

 **A couple break up, a couple officially reunite, and another GHA student loses their virginity!**

 **Sonic searches for Mephiles to deliver that video…**

 **And so much more!**


	85. Chapter 85

**WARNING: Bullying, minor violence, suggestive scenes and dialogue, and mentions of sensitive topics such as cheating, cancer, abortion etc.**

* * *

 **Chapter 85: Bold Moves**

You'd think after an hour or so drive to and back from Green Hill Academy in the dead of night that one would be too tired and grumpy to function so early in the morning, but that couldn't be further from the truth in the case of, Ash Mongoose.

Despite rolling back into his driveway at four or five in the morning, the ex-teacher was up at a shocking seven o'clock in the morning, and wearing a smile that could light up the whole world.

He felt so free and happy thanks to throwing caution to the wind to pursue a very risqué and taboo relationship with former student, Mina Mongoose.

The raven-haired man stood at the gas stove in his kitchen with one hand lightly shaking the gray pan over the flame to spread the pancake batter evenly as the smell of blueberries filled the air while his other hand was occupied by the cellphone he held up to his ear.

Mina's heavenly voice sang through the speaker, making his smile widen and heart flutter with every word.

 _"Last night was the best, Ash!"_ She cooed on the line, the shuffling of her clothes being heard in the background as she readied herself for class back on campus. _"I'm happy you came back for me…"_

 _"I'm happy I did too, Mina."_ He replied sweetly, setting her heart ablaze with his tender and honest tone.

 _"Any chance you'll come visit me again tonight?!"_

 _"I don't think so…"_ He sighed, _"The trip took up **A LOT** of gas, and I'm kind of jobless at the moment." _

_"Ugh. Well then how long do I have to wait to see you again?!"_

 _"I'm honestly not sure."_

 _"But I miss seeing you every day…"_

 _"I know. I miss seeing you every day too, Mina."_

 _"You should just get your job back from Principal Acorn."_

 _"It's not that simple…especially with Breezie still there."_ Ash reminded her, much to her dismay. _"Our relationship can't get out. It'll ruin both of our futures…"_

 _"I know."_ The teen whined, _"I hate that bitch. Even now that you're gone she's still threatening me, even threatening Honey too! There was literally no point in you leaving because nothing's changed—"_

 **KNOCK, KNOCK.**

The mongoose man jumped slightly at the loud knock coming from the front door. He turned his head in that direction to make sure his ears hadn't misheard something, then a second knock came. After flipping the pancake he had been making and turning the stove down a bit, he walked over to the living area of his apartment where the front door was.

 _"What was that?"_ Mina asked over the phone, her ears catching the sound as well.

 _"Someone's at my door."_ He explained, _"Hold on for a second."_

 _"Okay."_ She replied before he gently set the phone down on the table by the torn up couch.

Then he made his way to the door and opened it up, his eyes widening in surprise as they were met with the sight of none other than, Isabella Mongoose herself.

She stood in the doorway with a smirk, her lavender hair swaying as she tilted her head and extended her hand out for him to take.

"Ash Mongoose I presume?" She greeted as he took her hand and gave it a firm shake.

"Yes?"

"I'm Isabella Mongoose, defense attorney from Metropolis Law Firm. I have no doubt you've heard of me before."

"O-Of course." The raven-haired man nodded nervously, sweat immediately beading on his forehead. "Is th-there something I can help you with?"

"Actually, there is." She nodded, sifting through the briefcase bag she had strapped on her shoulder to pull out a headshot of, Breezie the Hedgehog. "Do you know this woman?"

"She's my…ex." Ash replied with a bit of a pause, uncertain of what was going on.

Isabella's smirk grew even wider at the remark before she peered passed him into his apartment, noticing the graffiti on the walls and destroyed furniture he hadn't gotten the chance to clean up.

"I take it she isn't too happy with you, is she?"

"You have no idea…"

"Well, Ash Mongoose I have a proposition for you." The stern woman mused, a sickly excitement to her voice.

"And what would that be?"

"A chance at revenge." The older woman laughed maliciously, sending chills down the mongoose man's spine. "You see, Breezie has been taunting and threatening my darling daughter, Mina for quite some time-and I tolerate **NO ONE** who even remotely hurts my little angel."

"Revenge?" Ash repeated nervously, the idea sounding quite appealing, but scary as well. "What would I have to do?"

"Nothing dangerous. You'd just need to testify that you witnessed her fraternizing with underage students at your old workplace when I bring up the charges."

"You're going to charge her for that now, even though it happened forever ago?" The male gasped a bit, "Isn't that a bit extreme?"

"Nothing is too extreme when it comes to my precious, Mina." Isabella remarked honestly.

Ash bit his lip as he curled his fingers on the door frame in thought. Something like this would definitely ruin more than just a career—it would destroy Breezie's life completely!

Despite how tempting the offer seemed, the kind-hearted man couldn't fathom destroying another person's world just to keep his at ease—although his young girlfriend and mother in law had no issue doing so.

"If you don't mind…." He finally spoke up after a long silence, "Could I have some time to think it through?"

"Of course." She nodded, handing him her card before turning heel to take off. "I'm on a timer so you have a week or so to think it over. Contact me with an answer as soon as possible."

"Right…" He agreed before finally being able to shut his front door and turn back into his apartment.

He sighed in relief, finding the older mongoose's presence to be so intense and intimidating.

He nearly forgot he was on the phone until he heard the sound of Mina's voice call out through his speaker.

 _"Hello?"_ She questioned, _"Ash? Are you still there?!"_

 _"Yeah, I'm here."_ He answered after scrambling over to snatch up his phone.

 _"Who was it?"_

 _"It was…your mother…"_

* * *

This morning Mina had told Honey to go on without her, promising that she was feeling okay enough to be left alone. This gave Honey the chance to catch up with Sonia for their morning coffee and chat today, something she hadn't been able to do much recently due to her constant consoling of the broken-hearted mongoose.

It felt nice to be with Sonia, just talking and laughing without much care for the drama that had been consuming her life these days.

After walking Sonia to the dreaded English classroom of Ms. Breezie and waving goodbye, the yellow feline felt the vigorous vibrations of her cellphone coming from her bra.

It was quite early—too early for a booty call from one of her many lovers. Curiously, she fished the device out and peered at the image on screen, surprised to see the loving smile of her eccentric mother lighting up.

Due to their busy schedules as fashion designers who constantly traveled, she didn't hear much from them during her stays at Green Hill Academy, so of course she was quick to answer with such delight.

 _"Mommy!"_ She squealed with such joy, leaning up against the wall by the English classroom.

However, that joy was quickly dissolved by the heartbreaking sound of her mother's so out-of-character angry tone.

 _"Don't 'Mommy' me young lady!"_ The older woman scolded her, forcing Honey to hold the phone away a little so her eardrums wouldn't bust. _"You're in **A LOT** of trouble."_

 _"What's the matter?"_ Honey murmured sorrowfully, genuinely confused at why her mother was so angry with her.

 _"I just got off the phone with your English teacher this morning."_ Her mother explained, making the teen's eyes widen with horror. _"And do you wanna know what she told me? She told me you're not only failing her class, but also in danger of being held back your final year!"_

 _"Mommy, please. I can explain—"_

 _"Explain what? How you've been cutting class to meet up with boys?! You didn't think she'd share that? Do you know how embarrassing it is for me as a parent to hear about my daughter being more focused on boys than her schooling?!"_

 _"That's **NOT** the truth, Mommy!"_ Honey cried out. It wasn't. She only skipped English because she was afraid of the teal woman, never to go meet any of her lovers. _"I—"_

 _"Just wait until your father hears about this when he gets back from, Mercia."_ Her mother snarled, _"We don't ask much of you at all, Honey. We've given you so much freedom and have never been stern with you, but that's changing here. You're seventeen years old, nearly eighteen! It's time you start growing up."_

 _"…"_ It was a losing battle and she knew that. There was no point in trying to defend herself. Breezie had already dug her claws too deep into the cat's oblivious mother.

 _"If you don't pass this class or graduate this year, then you'll have no place under this roof any longer. Do you understand that?"_

 _"I…I understand, Mommy."_ Honey whimpered, tears brimming her eyes as she thought of the dark future ahead.

Her mother was so angry she didn't even bother to say goodbye. She just hung up and left the cat in a mess of tears in the hall.

Honey's parents had always been loving and understanding, it was so hard to hear about possibly being disowned by the parents she loved so dearly because of the cruel English teacher's deceit.

And as if on que, Ms. Breezie had strolled to the doorway of her class to peak her head out and grin maliciously at the sobbing cat.

"Oh Honey…" The teal woman mused, earning herself a harsh glare from the upset girl. "You should get to class now."

"I...I hate you." Honey growled before storming off, praying that the teacher hadn't done anything to harm her mongoose friend any further.

* * *

It had been another sleepless night for Rouge. More nightmares had plagued her, same as the ones she had the night before only they seemed to be getting much darker and grim.

Her class wouldn't be starting for another half hour or so, but she was already out. Due to her tiredness, everything about her was sloppy. Her makeup, her clothing, and even her precious hair.

She sat at one of the empty picnic tables by the fountain outside, her head resting in her hand as she did her best not to let it fall onto the table with how tired she was.

"Damn, Baby Girl…." A familiar voice called out to her before a pair of familiar arms snaked around her shoulders and a head was rested in the crook of her neck. "You look like you got hit by a truck."

"I feel like I got hit by ten trucks…" Rouge murmured, the green hedgehog releasing his hold on her before taking a seat beside her.

"You didn't come to our room this morning." Manic rose an eyebrow, "Everything alright?"

She bit her lip as she focused her eyes on the wooden table, thinking back to that word that popped up on her computer search bar numerous times.

 _Leukemia…_

Then a barrage of memories pertaining to Julie-Su's odd behaviors and symptoms played like a movie reel through her mind until the final image was one her mind had constructed itself.

An image of poor Lara-Su and Knuckles staring down at a tombstone.

"Rouge?!" Manic yelped, using her actual name to emphasize his concern as he snapped his fingers in front of her face. "Hey!"

She immediately jolted back up out of her grim thoughts, turning to him with a look of terror she couldn't deny.

"Rouge, what's happening?" He asked again, this time with much more worry to his tone.

She looked over to him, wondering what to say.

"Don't you hate keeping secrets from people you love, Manic?"

His eyes widened with shock at the snow-haired girl's words, and his chest instantly tightened. A million thoughts raced through his mind as he pondered an answer.

"W-Wouldn't anyone?" The green hedgehog replied nervously, gripping his pants tightly as he turned away from her a bit.

"But…" Rouge began as she thought of her two dearest friends, "With the way you, I, and Shadow are, we don't have to have secrets at all. We're so close…we've seen the worst and best of each other. Shouldn't we be able to tell each other anything?"

"I guess so…When you put it like that…" Manic murmured, thinking about all of the secrets he had been withholding from his two best friends, wondering if now would be a good time to get a horrible weight off his already heavy heart.

With the way she was phrasing her words, he figured someone had told her about Mina's secret abortion, and that this was her way of getting him to speak out.

And he almost did…until the bat spoke up first and he instantly stopped himself from spilling his own secrets.

"I think Knuckles' girlfriend has cancer…"

* * *

As soon as the bell rang, Sonic speedily dashed out of his hated science class—of course carrying a red detention slip Dr. Robotnik had given him for his constant disruptions.

He didn't care much for it though, crumpling the piece of paper in his pocket before taking down the bustling hallways.

People still glared and hurled harsh insults his way, but it didn't bother him the way it had been these last few days because he knew it was finally going to come to an end.

The blue hedgehog then pulled his cellphone from his pocket and stared briefly at the camera lends on the back, recalling the video he had taken just last night.

The one he had promised Mephiles in return for good press in Nack's infamous blog.

He gripped the phone tightly as he thought of the chipmunk the video was sure to harm. The girl who had the most negative effect on his social status, but the most positive effect on his behavior and mindset.

Thinking about the auburn-haired girl used to fluster him so bad. Her innocent nature and genuinely kind demeanor was something he thought so endearing, but that was all ruined by those promiscuous nudes found on Scourge's phone; destroying the girl next door image he had of her and thus his feelings for her as well.

With Mephiles' taunting at the lake, he had planted the idea that Sally was a fraud and that she was just taking him for a ride all along, and with all of these secrets surrounding her…it no longer seemed so farfetched.

In fact, it seemed more plausible than all of this just being a convenient misunderstanding.

He just missed his old life. The one he had before he met her. Sure it was mostly a show for everyone else, but it was easier than dealing with haters and ridicule.

He missed being adored, saught after, and cheered on.

He was so tired of being the underdog, teased, and humiliated.

It was time to take his throne back as king of everything.

Playing loser was finally over for him.

Through the crowds, he spotted the dark senior a few feet down the hall accompanied by his DigItalian friend, both of them leaning against the lockers as bodies shuffled about around them.

Sonic nearly cringed as his bright-green eyes met the disgusting dark-green ones of, Mephiles. The senior then grinned, and extended his hand to curl his fingers in a _'come forth'_ motion that the blue hedgehog obeyed.

It suddenly felt like the longest walk of his life as he shuffled his way through the crowd and toward the malicious older hedgehog.

In the midst of that long walk, a part of him just wouldn't let him go all the way.

Halfway toward the malicious senior, his red shoes had turned heel and he found himself steadily walking down another hall and away from Mephiles, still clutching his phone tightly.

 _'I can't do it…'_ He scolded himself, _'There's gotta be a better way than some underhanded bullshit like this… C'mon Sonic…Mom calls you 'Little Hero' for Chaos' sake.'_

Moments later, the blue teen jumped out of his skin at the touch of someone grab his forearm. He turned to be met with the baby-blues of, Tails Prower.

"T-Tails?"

"Is everything okay, Sonic? You don't look too good…"

"Uh, I'm fine. What's up? Everything alright?"

The fox's gaze soon fell to the white tiles beneath their somewhat matching shoes, mind wandering back to what, Ray the Flying Squirrel had said about his good friend, Amy Rose the other day.

It was something that had been bothering him, something he wanted Sonic's opinion on.

"Well, it's just…Cream's boyfriend said that he thinks Amy's the one who leaked those pictures of your girlfriend. I know he's lying though, right? Amy would never do something that messed up. She's Amy! Mobius' sweetheart."

" **OF COURSE NOT!** That kid's obviously lying." Sonic snorted, covering for the pink girl although he knew she was guilty. "And Sally's **NOT** my girlfriend anymore. I dumped her as soon as I found out those pictures were real and from Scourge's phone."

"Really?!"

"Yeah." He nodded, "Matter of fact, Amy's actually been helping me through all this despite all the lies Nack wrote about me cheating on her and using her in that first post."

"That's so noble…and sounds a lot more like the Amy I know." Tails smiled, relieved to hear Ray's theory be debunked…

* * *

Fiona had left the room a long time ago, leaving Sally to occupy the double all by herself once again. She didn't get back to the dorm until early morning, and hadn't gotten much sleep either. So she decided to skip a day of classes once again.

The auburn-haired girl laid on her side in the twin bed, wearing a plain, gray T-shirt, and some checkered, black and white pajama pants. Her hair was messy with some twigs and leaves still caught in it from being on her back in the grassy plains by the lake.

Wrapped between her arms was a tattered, old, stuffed-Chao doll she adored as a little girl.

She squeezed it tightly as she shifted in bed to get comfortable, but found it hard to do so with the immense soreness between her thighs, the pain being a constant reminder of what had happened last night.

How she had let Sonic the Hedgehog take her virginity out by the lake.

The chipmunk was unsure of how she felt about it. Movies and books led her to believe that the occasion would be one she'd look back on with fondness, a romanticized moment she'd cherish for the rest of her life.

But whenever she thought back to it, all she could think about was how much it hurt, how rough he had been, and how he had left her to walk back to campus alone immediately after the deed was done.

She ended up staying at the lake alone hours after he had left her behind, staring out at the shimmering waters as she held her knees and continued to cry silently.

 _'Was it supposed to hurt so much? Did I do alright for my first time? Did he like it?'_ She wondered to herself as her sapphire eyes remained on her new cellphone that rested on the pillow beside her. _'He hasn't called or texted since…'_

* * *

 ** _Silver:_** _Hey Gold! Was wondering if you wanted to come over to my dorm to watch this new robot movie that Netflix just put up._

 ** _Gold:_** _Sorry, can't today. Something awful just happened._

 ** _Silver:_** _Awful? What happened? Are you okay?_

 ** _Gold:_** _I'm fine. It's Cobar who isn't._

 ** _Silver:_** _Did something happen to him?!_

 ** _Gold:_** _He just called me and said that Jet walked into the LGBT club room._

 ** _Gold:_** _He's freaking out so Razor and I are going to go comfort him._

Silver sighed to himself as he exited out of the messaging app. He felt sorry for the echidna boy, having to deal with the person who killed his boyfriend just walking around campus so freely.

Like the kind-hearted person he was, the white hedgehog immediately pondered the idea of going to help the tenrec and shark console him, but opted against it as he felt that it wasn't his place. They had only briefly talked a few times and weren't exactly on friend-levels.

With nothing to do for the next hour, and all of his roommates being away, Silver once again found himself all alone.

He loathed watching movies alone. He was the kind of person who preferred to watch and commentate with another person than just awkwardly watching in silence—which is pretty ironic considering he found himself all alone quite frequently.

"The struggle of being a friendless loser." The white hedgehog sighed to himself as he scrolled through the very scarce amount of phone numbers on his phone in search of companionship elsewhere.

Then his phone highlighted Blaze's name, his most frequent contact as of late.

The picture of her on his phone forced a small smile to cross his face, and a glimmer of hope to spark in his heart as he began texting her.

 ** _Silver:_** _Hey, are you busy?_

 ** _Blaze:_** _Not at the moment. Why?_

 ** _Silver:_** _I was just wondering if you'd like to watch this new robot movie that Netflix put out today._

 ** _Blaze:_** _Really, robots?_

 ** _Silver:_** _I can literally hear the disapproval in your text…._

 ** _Silver:_** _So is that a no?_

 ** _Blaze:_** _Of course I'll come watch a robot movie with you._

 ** _Blaze:_** _As long as we watch a sports movie afterward._

 ** _Silver:_** _Deal._

He was so relieved to have the cat come save him from loneliness, and thrilled to have such nostalgic conversations like this with her again. Tides between them certainly had begun changing…but his heart still clung to the tenrec regardless.

* * *

 ** _Amy:_** _What are you doing?_

 ** _Sonic:_** _Just hanging out with Tails._

 ** _Amy:_** _Can you ditch him?_

 ** _Amy:_** _All of my roommates are out and I miss you…_

 ** _Sonic:_** _No can do. I've got class in five minutes._

 ** _Amy:_** _C'mon! I know you can be really fast._

 ** _Sonic:_** _There are some things I'd prefer to take slow ya'know._

 ** _Amy:_** _Ugh, you suck._

 ** _Sonic:_** _Actually, I'm pretty sure that was you the other night._

 ** _Amy:_** _OMC shut up! Lol_

 ** _Sonic:_** _Just hold off until tonight, alright?_

 ** _Amy:_** _I'll try…_

 ** _Amy:_** _It's just hard not to think of you._

The pink hedgehog blushed madly as her conversation with her secret blue lover grew dirtier and dirtier by the minute.

This secretive angle their relationship had was enthralling and sexy, but she'd be lying if she told herself she didn't miss the romantic outings and fairytale relationship they had once before.

As days went by and they got more and more comfortable being back together, she found herself wanting to go back to that king and queen status they once had.

She fell back onto her bed with an adoring sigh, staring at the ceiling as she thanked Chaos at how good things ended up turning out for her after her irrational actions and struggles within the school year.

"Amy?" A voice called out beyond her closed room door, forcing her to sit up and stare at the door. "Can I come in?"

"Cream?" The pink girl rose an eyebrow as she watched the door gently push open and the little rabbit teen come strolling over her way with a somewhat sad look. "Are you okay?"

The young teen dropped he gaze to her shoes as she rubbed her arm nervously, a question weighing heavy on her mind, but her voice struggling to even ask such a thing.

Amy noticed the unusual extra shyness, quickly crawling on her bed to get closer to the rabbit standing by the edge.

"It's just…" Cream began, looking away from her good friend's gentle jade gaze. "My boyfriend said that Mighty said that you were the one who leaked the nudes of Sonic's girlfriend to get back at her. Is it tr—"

" **HE'S A LIAR!** " Amy bellowed angrily before the rabbit could even finish her sentence. The hedgehog then noticed how much she had startled the poor rabbit, and eased her voice. "Mighty's just making things up because he's mad that I rejected him."

She felt guilty about lying, especially when it came to Mighty who had been nothing but kind to her in the few weeks they had spent time together, but with that friendship destroyed she saw no other option to cover up than throw him under the bus.

"If you rejected him, then who gave you those hickeys Cosmo and I saw?" Cream questioned, pointing to the pink girls neck where prominent hickeys still remained.

Amy bit her lip as he face turned red with embarrassment once again. The relationship between her and Sonic was supposed to be secret, but she couldn't think of what else to say.

"Well…Sonic and I…we….we got back together." She explained, the statement only being partly true. "That's why Mighty's going around and saying those things."

"But…what about that post Nack wrote about him cheating on you and using you?"

"Those were lies made up by that chipmunk girl to drive us apart. She wanted me to hate him so that I wouldn't take him back because she wanted him for herself."

"Wow…" Cream breathed, disgusted by the things Amy had drilled in her head about both Sally and Mighty. "That's so awful! If you and Sonic are happy together then you shouldn't let people tear you apart with their lies and jealousy like that."

"We're going to try our hardest this time…"

"Well, you both have my blessing." The rabbit cheered, relieved to hear Amy's side of the story although most of it was absolutely false.

* * *

Rosy sat on her bed in her single dorm room wearing the most dead expression a living creature could make. The lamp on her dresser was dim, providing enough light for her to see, but not enough to make things not look creepy.

Due to still being under the watchful eye of Officer Zonic, she wasn't allowed to loiter around between classes for another couple days, being remanded to her room during any possible free time.

She hadn't seen Shadow or anyone she associated with in a while outside of seeing Scourge and Geoffrey in the detention room after class hours, not that she cared much.

Her mind was preoccupied with angry thoughts and memories she had been trying all her life to suppress just boiling over.

Memories of Moebius…

 **KNOCK, KNOCK.**

The pink girl was jolted out of her thoughts by the sound of knocking. She turned to the door only to realize that isn't where the knocking was coming from. Then she turned to the window across the room and saw a hand tap the glass.

She got off her bed and strolled over, opening up the window to peer out to see her boyfriend had shockingly scaled the wall of the building all the way up to the third floor where her room was.

"Are you nuts?!" She screeched, only to have the red-striped boy shove her aside to leap inside.

He picked himself up off the floor and dusted himself off in silence.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" She scolded him in a hushed whisper, "Zonic I standing right outside!"

"Well, you've been ignoring my calls and texts." Shadow remarked, a tinge of annoyance to his tone. "So I had to come find out what the hell's going on."

"What are you talking about?"

Shadow then turned to lock his gaze with the goth-girl, his ruby eyes intimidating her a bit as his tone took a more serious route than what it already usually was.

"Why did you act that way when you saw the nudes of that girl?"

"I didn't act any way—"

"Don't give me the run around, Rosy." He sighed, "I know you better than that."

"You think so?"

"I know so." Shadow challenged, watching as she turned away and began rubbing the spot on her arm covered in self-harm scars. "So tell me the truth…"

"The truth?" She repeated, staring down at the floor as her mind was flooded with memories once more. "The truth is I know that girl… The auburn-haired girl from the rich side of Moebius."

"She used to live in the same city as you?"

"She didn't just live in the city, she ran it." Rosy corrected him, turning to him with the most serious look he'd ever seen on her. "They called her _'La Reina'_ …The Queen."

* * *

 _"Hello?"_

 _"Hey Meg, it's me."_ Elias greeted once the squirrel girl picked up her phone.

 _"Oh, Eli!"_ She squealed happily, making him smirk as he leaned against the brick wall of the main building while standing around on his cellphone. _"How's Alexis? I hope she didn't give your mother too hard of a time."_

 _"Oh she's fine and was no trouble at all."_ He assured her with a chuckle, recalling how ecstatic Alicia had been when he brought the baby girl to her after so long. _"Mother loved having her so much that she pretty much called me into her office just now to beg for another night with the baby."_

 _"Haha, really?"_

 _"Yeah. I thought I was in some sort of trouble when I got called down."_

 _"Elias Acorn in trouble? What possible trouble could Prince Charming ever get himself into?"_ Megan laughed.

Elias then thought about how he had been acting so out-of-character around campus since the leaked images of his younger sister came out. How cold, cruel, and even violent he had been. The thought washed away his cheerful smile for a moment, but it was quickly called back by the squirrel girl's soothing voice.

 _"Well, I guess it would be best if Alicia could stay with her one more night since I'm working anyway."_

 _"Great."_ The auburn-haired boy nodded, _"She'll be happy."_

 _"But do you mind coming down here anyway to give me a ride to work?"_ She asked with such a pleading tone, _"The app on my phone says all of the buses are shut down due to a disturbance downtown. I know it's so much to ask, but I can't be late anymore. I'll give you gas money and everything—"_

 _"Relax Megan."_ He cut her off in a gentle tone, hoping to calm her obvious anxiety. _"I'll be there to take you to work free of charge."_

 _"You really are a prince, aren't you, Elias?"_

The two then continued to chat for a bit until hanging up. Then he began the brisk walk to his car.

Seeing as how it was an hour to Metropolis, and half an hour to her jobsite, he figured he should get going now so she wouldn't be late.

Thankfully it was late in the day, and classes were over so he wasn't really missing anything—not that it really would have mattered. Despite the frustrations of campus life these days, the prince was still passing all classes with flying colors.

Graduation was certain….as long as he stood out of trouble…which seemed to be difficult these days.

The sun in the sky had quickly came and gone within the hour drive, the sky beautiful sunset colors as he finally stepped out of his car and strolled up to the front door of Megan's building.

He didn't bother to buzz in, the intercom being broken along with most of the buttons. He simply wrenched the door open with a bit of force and it popped open like nothing—another concern he had for the single, teenage female and her baby.

He held his nostrils closed with one hand as he made his way through the musky-smelling hallway and down to the basement where she resided. He knocked twice before she opened then scurried back inside to scramble for her purse, keys, and work lanyard.

As usual, the place was a mess, it smelt, and bugs littered almost every corner.

"Sorry about the mess." She apologized same as always as she tossed boxes and searched around, "Fuck! I can't find that damn lanyard!"

"Meg?" He questioned as he watched her usually positive mood slowly dwindle into a frustrated mess of worry.

"I promised I wouldn't be late anymore! If I don't find it I'll be fired…" She whined aloud more so to herself than him. "I need to find it!" Her breathing got more and more rapid, signifying an incoming panic attack.

Due to Sally's anxiety disorder, the auburn-haired squirrel knew very well what was going on and was quick to intervene.

He gently took both her hands and guided her to the beat up couch, urging her to sit with him and take deep breaths. She protested at first, but shortly followed suit as he coached her through the breathing technique he had seen his younger sister use on occasion.

He was relieved to see her calm down after a while of it although her hands remained shaking, but it wasn't caused by her anxiousness. It was fear rattling her body, and it was so clear to him.

Fear that she'd lose her job.

Fear that she'd lose her _'home'_.

Fear that she'd lose her baby.

It tugged at his heartstrings to think of all her struggles. Being disowned by her father, being a single mother with no family or financial support, struggling at a dead end job while residing in some shithole apartment on the sketchy side of town.

Struggles she didn't deserve.

Struggles he didn't want her to have.

"Quit your job…" He finally spoke up after a long silence, making her eyes widen with shock.

"What? Are you insane?"

"Look how it's got you. You're a mess."

"I can't just do that, Eli!" She yelped, standing to her feet quickly. "I need this job to pay for all this!" She added, extending her arms out in gesture of the disgusting basement apartment.

"All of this what? This bug-infested dungeon?!" He retorted, standing to his own feet in front of her to keep her gaze. "No one should be living like this, especially you two."

"It's all I've got." Megan replied, tears brimming her eyes as the terrible way she had been living became more apparent to her. "I have nothing to fall back on. No father, no education, no child support; nothing."

"Yes you do." He assured her, bringing his hands up to grip her forearms gently to keep her in place. "You have me, Megan."

"Eli…" She breathed, taken aback by such a bold and heartfelt statement.

"Quit your job, and come back to school with me. My mother and her husband could stay with Alexis until we graduate this June." The prince pleaded, bringing her closer and closer to him. "Then let me take care of you…Both of you…"

"I…I can't." She shook her head, pulling back from what he obviously intended to be a kiss. "What about everything I put you through? How could I ask such a thing of you?"

"You don't have to ask, because I'm asking." He replied, stepping back to kneel on one knee in that hideous apartment. He held one of her hands in both of his as he peered up at her with his sapphire eyes. "After graduation...will you marry me, Megan?"

She cupped her free hand over her mouth as her jade eyes widened in disbelief. Was this real? Or another one of those daydreams her mind tended to spiral off into?

It was such an overwhelming moment. She had even bitten he tip of her thumb to make sure it wasn't an illusion, but there he was…still kneeling there and awaiting an answer.

It was like something from a Disney movie. An ordinary girl down on her luck just miraculously being swept off her feet by a dashing prince who promised her the life she had always dreamed about since she was small.

How could anyone refuse?

Especially since they had mended things and became closer than ever before…

"Yes." She nodded, her tears finally spilling over as he stood up to his feet again and planted a true kiss on her.

The girl he had barely known months ago when she deceitfully claimed he had gotten her pregnant at a party he hardly recalled, only to reveal that had been a lie she made up so that her father wouldn't find out that the baby's true father was some lowlife he had warned her about.

Who in the world would have guessed that he'd end up asking her to marry him like this?

Or that he'd end up losing his virginity to her for real…

* * *

Manic hadn't stopped thinking about his conversation with Rouge all day.

He was back in his dorm, sitting on his bed as he stared at the wall and thought of how close he had come to confessing all the secrets he had been keeping from her and Shadow.

He felt so guilty, the distance between him and the other two feeling stronger with every day he had to lie to their faces and pretend nothing was wrong.

The pressure of secrecy was reaching it's max, and he could feel himself ready to snap at any minute.

The green hedgehog let out a dramatic shriek of frustration as he yanked on his messy quills, heart beating rapidly as he tried to force back the angst and sorrow so that he could walk out of the room with that fake cheery attitude he used to mask all of his true anguish.

 **INCOMING CALL**

His attention instantly flew to the phone on his dresser, forcing him to cease his meltdown to walk over and answer it.

 _"Hello?"_

 _"Hello, Manic…"_ The all too familiar voice on the other line replied, _"It's your father."_

 _"D-Dad?!"_

 _"I'm off duty right now so I thought I'd give you call from the base phone."_ Jules explained, his voice a bit sad _. "Is everything alright with you and your siblings?"_

 _"Heh, which ones? Sonic? Sonia? Or…Scourge?"_

 _"...Your mother told me about what happened with him."_ The man on the other line spoke up after an awkward pause. _"He didn't hurt you, did he?"_

 _"No. Not like the way you hurt him or Ma."_ Manic spat, bitterness rising in his tone as he began to pace around his dorm room alone. _"Nurse Bernie?!"_

 _"So your mother told you…"_

 _"Yeah, she told me about how you cheated on her when you were younger, about how Scourge is your love child with, Bernadette."_

 _"I've made many mistakes—"_

 _"Believe me, **I KNOW** that."_ The green boy cut him off, _"But still, to up and abandon him like nothing…you messed him up so much with your selfish bullshit!"_

 _"Abandoned him?"_ Jules repeated, _"Is that what your mother told you?"_

 _"It's the truth isn't it? You left him in Moebius and tried to keep him a secret from us."_

 _"Manic, I—"_

 _" **I DON'T WANT TO FUCKING HEAR IT!** " _Manic screamed into the speaker, tears falling down his cheeks as his emotions got the better of him.

 _"You're upset. I won't bother any further for now."_ His father sighed, _"I'll be down soon. I want to explain things, but for now…keep this a secret from your brother and sister please."_

 _"Of course. Keep secrets."_ The frustrated teen nodded before hurling his phone to the wall, shattering it to pieces. " **IT'S ALL I'M FUCKING GOOD FOR, RIGHT?** " He added angrily as he slid down the wall he had rested his back upon, falling to the floor in a heap of tears.

* * *

Once her final class let out, Nicole quickly walked through the halls with head hung low as she tried to retreat back to her dorm room. The photo scandal still hadn't calmed enough for her to be comfortable around campus, so she remained a bit of a hermit the best she could while keeping up with her studies and attending classes.

Today Espio had been injured during a marine-style obstacle course in Coach Sleuth's gym class, leaving the lynx to walk back to her dorm room alone for once.

She moved quickly, her purple slippers sliding a bit on the white tiles as she turned corners and sifted through groups of students loitering about.

"I heard the whore's got over a hundred pictures out there."

"I heard she fucked every guy at her old school."

"I heard she's had ten abortions in the last three years!"

Being non-confrontational was difficult, even when the raven-haired girl just wanted to scream at them to shut up with these disgusting lies about her older sister, but all she could do was keep quiet and move no matter how much it hurt her to hear it.

 _'If Shard were around…he'd do something drastic like what I was just thinking.'_ She thought to herself before she came to a slow stop and dropped her jade eyes to the ground.

It happened again.

Her mind had wandered back to her old, short-tempered, DigItalian friend.

Ever since Blaze's plea, her mind often wandered back to the yellow-striped teen. The purple girl had briefly explained that he was in a dark place right now, and she wondered what kind of place.

She had come to know him so well earlier in the year, the two of them spending almost all their time together exclusively. She felt foolish for not realizing that threatening letter was a fake, and wondered how badly she had hurt him with her cold words the very last time they spoke.

Despite their radically different personalities, he made for an amazing friend—one she happened to miss more and more as time passed.

He was bold for her when she shied away.

He was brave for her when she was frightened.

He was strong for her when she was fragile.

 **SLAM!**

As she thought of her friend, the sound of something heavy slamming against metal jolted her into alert mode, forcing her jade eyes to come off the floor to peer down the hall where the noise had come from.

Just a few feet away was the boy she had been thinking about…holding a young, green duck by the collar as he relentless slammed his face repeatedly into lockers while the white-tiled floor became coated in crimson liquid.

She watched in horror as the hedgehog treated the poor duck like a ragdoll while he cried and begged to be left alone. Behind them was another hedgehog, a gray-striped hedgehog with eyes like a snake, leering down at the scuffle with such an amused grin.

The lynx had assumed him to be Mephiles, the boy who had forced Blaze into tricking her with that letter to push Shard over the edge…

The poor girl didn't know how to react or what to do. She simply took a few steps back until fully turning around to run away.

She wasn't angry with Shard now that she knew the letter was a fake, that's not at all what was stopping her from reaching out to him again.

It was the simple fact that his violent antics and short-temper made her too fearful to even approach him.

These days he didn't look like the cheeky, sarcastic, bad boy with a heart of gold that she had befriended at all…

He looked like a monster on a rampage with a lust for violence.

He terrified her.

* * *

 _'I found out a few months ago…_

 _It was after Knuckles and Mighty got me to Metropolis Hospital when Thrash bashed my head in._

 _I had kicked them from my hospital room when they started preaching to me about leaving him when I didn't think I wanted to…_

 _My mentality was still messed up by the relationship. Dr. Tikal called it Battered Wife Syndrome, a common side-effect from being in an emotionally, verbally, and physically abusive relationship for too long. It's something the brain causes in an attempt to cope with the situation._

 _I felt so guilty about kicking them out because I knew they were trying to help, but a bigger part of me was still under Thrash's control…_

 _A few days later, Dr. Quack had come to my room. I thought he was just going to check up on my wounds or progress charts, but he actually came to deliver news._

 _I knew it was bad from the second he walked in and asked my grandfather to take Lara-Su outside for a moment._

 _Once they were gone he strolled up to my bedside and took a seat in the chair beside me. He sighed, clasping his hands together as he looked upon me with such a somber expression._

 _"Was my brain damaged?" Was the first question I blurted out._

 _"No, no. You suffered some blood loss and a concussion, but there doesn't appear to be any permanent damage."_

 _"Then…why are you here?"_

 _"Julie-Su…" He breathed, his tone and slow manner of speaking making me more and more nervous. "There was something else we found during the tests we took when you were brought in. Something much more serious…"_

 _"So-Something serious?" I stuttered, clutching my white sheets tightly as I stared at the disheartened duck. "Serious like what, Dr. Quack?!"_

 _"I…I don't know how to tell you this, but…Julie-Su…you have Leukemia."_

 _Leukemia…._

 _The monster that had taken my mother away when I was just a little girl._

 _It's actually real…_

 _And it's come to take me from my little girl next.'_

After classes were over, Julie-Su and Knuckles found themselves just lazily strolling around campus grounds beneath the beautiful pink sky. The sun was just dipping behind the horizon of trees, leaving the most beautiful colors in the sky fit for a watercolor painting.

The echidna couple held hands as they strolled down the pathways together with no real destination. All they wanted to do was bask in one another's presence and talk just how they did as young children.

He had been nothing but completely devoted and attentive to her, avoiding trouble of any sort in an attempt to build back the trust between them he had broken time and time again.

Things had slowly but surely been getting better between them despite Shade's taunting every so often.

He was allowed to spend time with Lara-Su whenever she was around, and even got to talk to her when she called.

He had also been working hard to rebuild trust with the little girl who still hadn't referred to him as her father, and she seemed to be coming around much faster than her mother.

"Julie?" Knuckles questioned, snapping the pink echidna out of her thoughts to lock their amethyst eyes. "You were spacing out again."

"Sorry." She apologized, dropping her gaze back to the ground.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine." She whined, annoyed with often he'd ask that. "I told you to stop babying me."

"Sorry." He apologized, squeezing her hand gently. "You've just…been worrying me lately…"

"How?"

"Well… I know I've given you a lot of reasons not to trust me back then, but I've been working really hard to earn it all back. I'm just nervous it'll never be enough to make up for the past…and that this won't work out."

"Knuckles…"

"I've been talking to Aunt Tikal about things, and she told me to be honest about how I feel when I talk to you so that there aren't any mixed signals again. So it's only fair that I let you know that I'm terrified of losing you and Lara-Su to my past…"

"You don't have to worry about something like that. I recognize your changes, and I'm getting more comfortable with you by the day. Everything is alright."

"Then why won't you open up to me about what's been going on with you?" He asked, ceasing their walking so he could look at her with a genuinely curious gaze. "I really am I worried about you…"

The pink echidna instantly looked away from him, thinking back to the horrible news she had gotten months ago.

How could she tell him that she had a life threatening disease after everything they'd been through already? How would he take it? How would any of her friends take it? She hadn't even accepted the situation herself….

The more she thought about it, the more it became clear to her that maybe telling her boyfriend, best friend, and father of her four year old daughter the truth would be for the best.

He'd know what's going on, and maybe he'd help her prepare to tell Lara-Su…or deal with the reality herself.

"Well, Knuckles…it's…I have-"

"Excuse me." A voice called out just before the echidna girl could spill her heart out to him.

They both turned to see a koala woman dressed in a very professional looking pantsuit stroll up to them with a yellow envelope in hand.

"Can we help you, Ma'am?" Knuckles piped up.

"Yes." The woman nodded, "I'm looking for a, Julie-Su the Echidna."

"That's me." The pink girl raised her hand, an eyebrow raised to the mysterious woman who then handed her the yellow envelope.

"You've been served." She stated flatly before briskly walking away.

The two echidna stared after her in utter confusion before Julie tore into the envelope and pulled out the white piece of paper.

She scanned it over, violet eyes widening in horror as her hands began to tremble with such a rage.

"What is it?" Knuckles questioned after noticing her intense reaction.

"It's a court order." She explained with such rage and terror in her tone, "Thrash is trying to take full custody of, Lara-Su."

" **WHAT?!** " Her boyfriend shrieked, ripping the paper from her hands to examine it himself. "He can't possibly do that! She's my daughter!"

"She is biologically yours…but he's the one who signed her birth certificate when she was born. So legally he does have the right to fight me for her…" Julie-Su explained, tears brimming her eyes at the thought as she balled her fists. "And he's got Isabella Mongoose representing him."

* * *

As promised, Sonic had met up with Amy once again at their favorite spot beneath the bleachers after lights out.

The two hedgehogs once again laid upon that makeshift hammock neither of them truly knew who created, feverishly making out as they talked.

"You know…When I talked to, Cream earlier she seemed absolutely okay with the idea of us back together." Amy mused between kisses.

"Yeah?" Her blue lover smirked, "Tails didn't seem to mind the idea either when I brought it up."

"So…I think we should go for it."

"What do you mean?"

"Make it official…again." She giggled, his mouth more focused on her already bruised neck than talking. "I don't care how it looks to everybody else. I'm ready to tell the world that, Sonic the Hedgehog is all mine again."

"You aren't worried about the backlash you'll get?" He asked, pulling away from her to shoot her a concerned look. "I'm not exactly king of everything anymore…"

"Sweetie, you're king of everything and anything when you're with me." The pink girl winked, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him back into another kiss. "And it's me. There's no backlash when it comes to me or anything I do, and if there is…it goes unheard or cared for."

"You really are a tough cookie, Ames." He chuckled.

"I sure am!" She giggled once more before getting a bit more serious than she usual did. "So you'll break up with her for real then?"

His voice instantly got caught in his throat, delaying his response as his mind wandered back to yesterday night by the lake. Then a wave of shame and dread washed over him as he remembered the recording on his phone.

He thought about Sally…about the tiny bit of romantic feeling that remained in his heart for her as he glanced down at his finger where the golden ring he once wore no longer resided.

Then Amy began working her magic with wandering hands over his needy body and strategically placed kisses that made him lose focus.

Those more guilty thoughts soon turned into the dark ones.

His frustration with her secretive nature and unknown history with Scourge. The torture he was put through because of her nude photo scandal—those coming from the hated green hedgehog's phone as well.

"Yeah." He finally spoke up, "I'm ready too, Ames."

He then gently pushed Amy back so that he could retrieve his phone from his pocket to shoot the chipmunk a cruel and pathetic breakup text.

 ** _Sonic:_** _Things aren't working out between us. Sorry, but it's over._

* * *

 **I think the title I chose for this chapter is very fitting.**

 **As you can see…bold moves are being made…but that doesn't necessarily mean they are the best moves, that's for sure.**

 **Thrash the Devil is returning to wreak havoc on the lives of Julie-Su and Knuckles, using Lara-Su as a pawn in his petty, messed up game.**

 **Isabella Mongoose is setting up to have Ms. Breezie locked away for sexual misconduct with underage students from her old job. Doesn't that make you wonder how she'd feel about her daughter's new boyfriend?**

 **Breezie the Hedgehog isn't just lying down and taking it. She's hitting Mina Mongoose where she knows it'll hurt…that being poor, sweet Honey.**

 **Elias Acorn has made probably the boldest of moves this chapter, that being asking Megan to marry him after all they had already been through…accompanied by his actual virginity of course…Bold, very bold. However, is he really over first love, Sonia? How would she feel about the news?**

 **Sonic the Hedgehog has made TWO bold moves this chapter. The first is his decision to not give Mephiles the video as promised. Will his mind change? Or will there be some consequences to his indecision? His second bold and horribly cruel move was finally cutting that one strand of happiness poor Sally had by dumping her via text to pursue a relationship with on-and-off girlfriend, Amy.**

 **A part from several characters making very bold moves, there was also a lot of eerie subtext and hinted at plotlines going on about here…**

 **What could be the connection between Rosy Rascal and Sally Acorn? And what did she mean by 'ran the city'?**

 **Jules seemed quite confused by the way Manic had relayed things he heard from Aleena about Scourge. Could there be more to the situation than we initially believed?!**

 **Oh boy, so much to look forward to…**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Mighty makes a noble sacrifice**

 **The truth about why Jules abandoned Scourge is revealed!**

 **Nack reveals why he's so desperate for that video**

 **Jet and Wave have a heart-to-heart on his struggle for redemption**

 **Sally goes off in search of Sonic**

 **It's FINALLY time for the long awaited Crush 40 concert Silver has been waiting for!**

 **Character Death?!**

 **And so much more!**

 **Fun Question: Who would you like to see Silver take to the concert, Blaze or Gold?**


	86. Chapter 86

**WARNING: Bullying, child abuse, child neglect, mentions of suicide and other dark subject matters**

* * *

 **Chapter 86: A Silver Lining… (Pun Intended)**

After his falling out with Amy Rose, Mighty had been distancing himself from almost everyone. He had been ignoring Julie-Su's calls, and avoiding certain areas of campus he was sure to meet up with his other friends.

The situation had just taken so much out of him that he felt he needed some time to himself for recovery. Unlike most students at Green Hill Academy, the armadillo wasn't used to being caught up in scandals or drama of any kind. He and his friends were usually ones to fly under the radar, so his experience in dealing with this sort of thing was very limited.

After a few days of solidarity, the armadillo felt much better and missed his lifelong friends and little brother dearly.

He checked his watch and noticed breakfast was over, meaning that the squirrel he was looking for should be heading to art in the electives building.

Hoping to catch him on the pathway outside between buildings, Mighty did a light jog across campus and was lucky enough to catch view of his brother loitering outside of the building with his girlfriend and friends.

As he got closer to the group of younglings, the armadillo's happy expression turned into more of a puzzled look as his ears honed in on their tone of voice, and his eyes took notice of the abrasive body language.

He saw, Ray with his back to the wall, an upset look on his face as he roared at the rabbit and fox standing opposite of him with such out-of-character malice in his voice. The two freshmen seemed to be barking back with just as upset tones while the little seedrian standing between them with arms raised to keep distance pleaded with them to cease their squabbling.

"I talked to Amy and she said your brother was lying!" Cream wailed, pointing an accusing finger at her boyfriend. "He's just upset she and Sonic are back together—"

"That's no-not how it is!" Ray retorted, "Mi-Mighty rejected her! She's th-the one who's got th-this school in a frenzy ov-over that girl's pictures!"

"Sonic said Amy's actually been very supportive of him in the situation. Why would she do that if she's the one who leaked those pictures for _'revenge'_ or whatever your lying brother said?" Tails hopped in with his opinion, "We're not trying to be mean or anything. We'd just appreciate it if you didn't spread misinformation about our friend."

"It's no-not misinformation!" The yellow squirrel snapped, "You bo-both need to take your st-stupid blinders off. Yo-Your friend is se-selfish jerk, no-not the pretty pr-princess she has yo-you thinking she is."

"How dare you, Ray!" Cream gasped, disgusted with how cruelly the boyfriend she was moments away from breaking up with was talking about her beloved friend.

"You guys, please…" Cosmo whimpered, trying to keep the peace to no avail.

"You're just mad because your brother is a liar." Tails huffed.

"Better that th-than the scumbag your brother is—"

"Hey, hey!" Mighty bellowed as he finally made it onto the scene, having the four younglings turn their heads over to him as he strolled up. "What's going on?"

Cosmo and Ray looked at him with such hope, praying that he'd finally put the conflict to rest. However, Tails and Cream were very unwelcoming of his presence thanks to the things Sonic and Amy had led them to believe about the armadillo.

"Mi-Mighty, tell them!" Ray begged, pointing toward the rabbit and fox who had verbally attacked him. "Tell th-them what you told me ab-about that Amy girl… About how Fi-Fiona was right!"

The armadillo frowned as he looked in between his brother and the young rabbit he had just recently began dating. He knew very well that the rabbit girl was best friends with the pink hedgehog, and that this situation put his little brother's first relationship and happiness in jeopardy.

Cream wasn't a cruel girl. She was just a very devoted friend, and believed in Amy despite the colder behaviors she had witnessed every once in a while from the pink girl.

"Actually, Ray…I've been meaning to talk to you about what I said." Mighty rubbed the back of his head nervously, averting his gaze from the four. "I did lie about what I told you…and I was mad about Amy rejecting me to get back with Sonic like they say."

"Y-You...you what?" The squirrel boy gasped in disbelief before a rage swept over him, "Ho-How could you lie to me like th-that? Do you re-realize how much drama it's put me th-through to defend you? Even fi-fighting with my girlfriend!"

He had never seen Ray so mad before—especially at him—and it only broke his heart as he remained silent and let the sophomore rail into him until he finally stormed off, Cream and Tails chasing after him as he did so.

 **1 NEW MESSAGE**

 ** _Julie-Su:_** _Mighty, it's an emergency. Please meet me and Knuckles in the main office right now. It's Thrash again._

After feeling the buzz in his pocket and reading those last three words of the message, the armadillo wasted no time in shaking off his disheartened feeling to jump into alert mode. He turned heel back toward the main building, but had been stopped in his tracks by a voice calling out to him.

"Ex-Excuse me!"

He turned around to see that, Cosmo the Seedrian hadn't left with her friends after, Ray. She was still standing there, twirling her fingers as she nervously looked up at the senior with a curious gaze.

"Yeah?" Mighty replied, settling down a bit as to not intimidate her although his mind burned in a rage at reading Thrash's name just moments ago.

"I was just wondering…why did you lie to Ray like that?"

"Like I said, I was jealous over Amy rejecting me. Now I've gotta get going—"

"No!" Cosmo cut him off, making him raise an eyebrow her way. "I know what you said about Amy is true. I'm asking why you lied to Ray about it just now."

"How do you know that was a lie? The other two bought it just fine…"

"I can always tell when someone is being untruthful." The green girl smiled sweetly, "My mother says it's a gift of mine."

"Well, I guess if you can tell the truth anyway I might as well not lie." The older teen sighed, turning back to her with honesty in his voice. "I don't want Ray to lose Cream over something so trivial. He's my little brother and this is his first relationship. I don't want to ruin that…even if it means I've got to brand myself a jealous liar. Now I've really gotta go take care of something. I'll catch ya' later!"

The armadillo then took off, leaving an astonished and blushing seedrian to stare after him.

With how cruel and drama-crazy most students were around campus, meeting someone like him was a breath of fresh air.

Someone who put the needs and happiness of others before his own.

* * *

After his proposal and spending the night with her, Elias had driven Megan back to Green Hill Academy with him early morning to meet with his mother in hopes of discussing her possible readmission.

The two squirrels sat in wooden chairs before her giant desk. Megan had her hands on her lap as she fiddled with her thumbs, nervous that the prince might have filled her head with nothing but hopeless dreams and that the outcome of this meeting wouldn't turn out well.

Elias was very aware of her worried demeanor, resting his hand on her back in a manner of comfort.

From behind her desk, Alicia smiled down fondly at the two.

She gazed upon her sweet son with such pride, thankful that he didn't turn out a thing like his repulsive, inconsiderate, and sexist father, Maximillian Acorn.

"I understand that you wished to be enrolled back into school, but I'm curious about what you'll do with the baby, Megan?" The chipmunk woman expressed her concerns for the grandchild she had no idea wasn't actually hers.

The squirrel girl bit her lip and darted her eyes to the floor at the statement, finding it difficult to muster up the boldness to ask her principal and now actual mother in-law to do her such a favor. Thankfully she had Elias by her side to be brave in the moment she couldn't be.

"Well…Mother, we were wondering if you'd look after her in the time being. Graduation is only a couple months away, and I know that you've loved having her around-"

" **REALLY?!** " Alicia gasped with such glee, leaping out of her seat with stars in her eyes at the thought of keeping Alexis even longer. "I can really look after her while you stay on campus?!"

"If…If it isn't too much trouble." Megan murmured shyly, Elias chuckling at how overjoyed his mother was.

"Of course it's not any trouble at all! She's my grandchild after all." The chestnut-haired woman mused sweetly, sending a pang of guilt through Megan's heart. "Megan the Squirrel, as of this moment you are officially a student in Green Hill Academy once again. Please go to the girl's dorm and check in with Ms. Vanilla for a spot."

"Thank you, Ma'am." She smiled, standing up with Elias as they began to make their way to the door.

"Wait just a moment, Elias."

The auburn-haired boy quickly ceased movement upon hearing his mother call out to him, turning back to her with an eyebrow raised.

"Yes, Mother?"

"I was just wondering if you had any knowledge about why students have been behaving so secretive and strangely lately…" The principal pried, her stern tone returning to her as she crossed her arms and locked eyes with the teen.

A mental image of students gathering around to snicker at the nude photos of his little sister that had been leaked crossed his mind. He clenched his teeth as he looked at his mother, finding it so difficult to lie when he was looking directly at her.

Then something Nicole had said during their phone conversation the other day came to mind.

 _'If Mother finds out about this will Sally be sent away back to Moebius again?'_

That mutual worry he and his youngest sister, Nicole had was all he needed to hold his tongue.

"No." The prince lied, his façade fooling her entirely. "I haven't really been on campus aside from my dorm room much too really notice anything odd."

"I see." His mother nodded, buying his story. "Also, I was wondering one more thing."

"Yes?"

"Have you seen either of your sisters around?" She asked, making him panic on the inside even more. "I've been taking a lot more strolls on campus these days but haven't run into either of them."

"…" He paused for a moment, unsure of how to respond and keep up his act of ignorance at the same time. He didn't want to say something that would cause her to go looking for them, fearing that she might find out about Sally's scandal.

Thankfully, Chaos was on his side as the door behind him and Megan swung open and in walked three angry teenagers.

The squirrel couple stepped aside in fear of getting run down as the three marched right up to her desk.

Megan was quick to recognize the angriest looking of the bunch, Mighty the Armadillo, the boy whom her father had wrongfully tried to rip her biologically brother from. Yet another pang of guilt struck her heart at seeing him. She then gently tugged on Elias' hand so that he'd follow her out of the office.

"Mighty, Julie-Su, Knuckles…what's going on?" Principal Acorn questioned, a bit overwhelmed at their upset demeanors.

"We need your help again." Mighty pleaded, the two echidnas on either side of him nodding in agreement.

"My help?"

"My ex-boyfriend is trying to use a loop hole in the system to take my daughter away from me." Julie-Su explained, handing the yellow envelope that stranger served her with yesterday.

Alicia's eyes widened upon reading the document, particularly the signature of the lawyer at the very bottom of the page.

 _Isabella Mongoose_

* * *

Today was the big day that Silver the Hedgehog had been waiting months for! After being pushed back several times due to weather inconvenience and technical issues the day had finally arrived.

The day of the Crush 40 concert his closest friend and current crush, Gold the Tenrec had presented him tickets with!

The white hedgehog was in full-on excite mode! His utter joy evident in every bouncy step he took and on that big smile he wore as he took down the halls in pure bliss. His extravagant quills swooshed about as he turned corners and bobbed his head to the music blaring through his headphones.

His open, black and teal, plaid shirt revealed the white T-shirt he bore underneath with the band's logo. His black pants and white shoes were plain, but matched nonetheless.

With all the pushbacks and rescheduling that had gone on with the concert, he was hoping that his beautiful tenrec friend would be able to go.

 _'Man…how cool would it be if we went to the concert together and I mustered up the courage to ask her out then and there?'_ He thought to himself as he carried along to her locker where he knew she'd be standing.

And right he was, because as soon as he turned the corner by the main office he spotted two long, golden quills tied back in pigtails.

He blushed madly as he strolled up to her, taking not of how delicately she stacked her books in an organized fashion, and that sweet smile that almost never left her face.

"Heya, Gold." He greeted.

She quickly turned back toward him, that sweet smile widening at the sight of him. The tenrec quickly shut her locker and turned to him, hugging the remaining book she hadn't put away to her chest as she greeted him back.

"Silver!" She cheered happily, "Love the shirt. I assume you're ready for the concert tonight?"

"Of course I am!" The white hedgehog chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "I was actually hoping you'd be too?"

His hope was quickly diminished when that sweet smile left her face to be replaced with a disappointed frown.

"Sorry, Silver. You know I'd love to come, but I really need to help Razor look after Cobar." Gold sighed, "Ever since that Jet guy walked into the LGBT club room he's spiraled back into that depression he was in after Rotor's passing…"

"Oh…" Silver frowned, "I understand. It's messed up how that kid was even allowed to come back in the first place. What was Principal Acorn even thinking when she agreed to that?"

"I heard she was forced by the school board or something." The tenrec shrugged, "Anyways, I'm sorry again."

"Don't worry. I'll pick up that CD for you. I promise."

"Hehe, I look forward to it." She giggled, that sweet smile he had come to love so much returning to her. "Well, I'd better get going. It's my free period and I wanted to go back to my dorm and tidy up. See you later, Silver!"

"Bye, Gold." He waved after her scurrying off figure, frowning in disappointment at missing the chance to have another amazing outing with the golden girl.

He then turned heel to walk off himself, but caught sight of yet another familiar girl coming down the hall he was leaving.

It was Blaze the Cat, former best-friend he had just recently been rebuilding a connection with.

She seemed to be in a bit of a rush, heels clicking fast as she walked down the hall with several books in hand and a worried look on her face.

However, that worried look quickly dissolved into one of happiness once she caught sight of the lanky hedgehog just awkwardly standing down the hall.

"Silver!" She cheered with such glee, "What're you doing just standing around out here?" She added with a chuckle that made him blush in embarrassment.

"Well…I was just talking to, Gold." He stammered, "Turns out she really won't be going to the concert with me after all, and I'll actually have to go alone like a total dork."

"Oh…that Crash 50 concert you two had made plans to go to a while back."

"It's Crush 40." He corrected her with a laugh.

"Whatever." She waved him off, "You know that kind of music has never been my thing."

"So I guess asking you to come with me would be out of the question?"

Her voice suddenly jammed in her throat and her heart quickly began pounding harder at the idea. To attend a concert with the boy she used to be so close with. It almost sounded like he was indirectly asking her on a date.

Although she couldn't stand the band, the thought at getting to spend some time with him off this hectic campus was a dream, but unfortunately Chaos hadn't exactly been on her side lately.

"I'd love to…" She began, making his smile widen before completely destroying it with her next words. "But Dr. Robotnik gave us this ridiculous science project that I need to work on… I'm sorry."

"Oh…" Silver murmured in disappointment yet again, "That's alright. I understand."

* * *

 _'After I found out Bernadette was pregnant I didn't believe it._

 _Ever since we were children she had always been after me, scaring off any females that might've taken up interest in me with anyway she could._

 _I thought this was just another one of those attempts to scare off, Aleena._

 _I yelled at her._

 _Reminded her about how I had told her time and time again that we were just friends and we'd never be anything more._

 _Told her I slept with her out of pity because I knew no one else would._

 _I cut ties with her immediately and ignored her calls._

 _I managed to patch things up with Aleena during that time, and that's when she told me she was pregnant with triplets…one of them a baby girl._

 _That peaceful time of marriage only lasted until Bernadette managed to contact me the old fashioned way._

 _A letter had been addressed to me without a name. Inside was a letter containing the Metropolis Hospital address, and a picture of a newborn baby._

 _A baby with eyes just like mine…_

 _Without telling Aleena, I went to visit them. The baby looked even more like me in real life. He was green like my mother, and had quills like mine._

 _"What's his name?" I asked Bernadette as I sat on the edge of her hospital bed while she held him in her arms._

 _I couldn't help but ask. I was so curious about him._

 _"His name is, Scourge the Hedgehog." She mused sweetly, swaying him gently. "And he's our baby…"_

 _"Scourge…" I whispered to myself._

 _He was my first born child. How could I just walk away? I knew Aleena would be furious, and that she'd definitely leave me._

 _"Bernadette…" I spoke up once more, stars in her eyes at my fake proclamation. "Let's run away and be a family. Just you, me, and Scourge."_

 _I then quickly moved Bernadette and Scourge to Moebius on the other side of the country relatively close to the military base I had been stationed at while keeping Aleena back in Mobotropolis, thus beginning my double family life._

 _I'd spend a few weeks with Aleena in Mobotropolis while telling Bernadette I was on base, and then I'd go spend a few weeks with Bernadette while telling Aleena I was on base._

 _I was able to raise Scourge and the three newborns Aleena had given birth to months later._

 _At night whenever I came back from Aleena's or actual work, I'd go pick up Scourge from his crib and sit with him on the rocking chair. I'd whisper to him about how his siblings were doing, and how someday I'd bring them all together so that he'd have some company because he always seemed like a lonely child._

 _I always used to tell him that he and Manic were so similar… They'd make the best of friends one day…_

 _It was only a matter of time before I'd finally be found out, but never would I have imagined that Aleena's reaction would be that awful…_

 _Scourge was about two and the triplets were probably around one and a couple months when Aleena had discovered my double life._

 _I had come home from Bernadette's, and she was waiting for me by the door. The triplets were in the playpen by the TV in the living room watching cartoons._

 _"Is something wrong?" I asked her when I noticed how hard she was glaring at me with her arms crossed, an angry fire in those jade eyes._

 _"I'll tell you what's fucking wrong." She growled back, tossing the wallet I thought I had forgotten on the train, it falling open to reveal a picture of, Scourge. "What the hell is this?"_

 _"Aleena…" I pleaded as her tone got more aggressive and her voice got louder._

 _"This is Bernadette's baby. The baby you told me wasn't yours. The baby who looks **JUST LIKE YOU**."_

 _"Calm down—"_

 _"How did you get this picture if you have nothing to do with her?!" She screeched, "You know what else? I called Captain Metal today to see if the kids and I could surprise you on base for your birthday and you know what he told me? You hadn't been to base in two weeks. **WHERE THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN?** "_

 _"Not in front of the kids, please." I begged her, but she just wouldn't let up._

 _" **YOU'VE BEEN WITH HER HAVEN'T YOU?** " She screamed, grabbing a nearby desk lamp to toss at me. I ducked and it hit the front door, shattering to pieces. "All those times you said you were at base you were out there with her and her child!"_

 _"What the hell was I supposed to do when I knew you'd freak out like this!?" I finally got fed up and retaliated with words of my own, "He's my son too…"_

 _"You son of a bitch!"_

 _She then hurled more objects in my direction, crying and screaming so loudly. Then the babies started crying. I begged her to stop and she soon settled down._

 _Then came the worst part of the altercation._

 _The part where I was forced to make an impossible choice I'd end up regretting for the rest of my life._

 _"If you want this marriage to work…you can't see her anymore." She stated, wiping the tears off her angry face as she kept my gaze. I nodded in understanding, not really interested in any sort of relationship with Bernadette anyway._

 _"I won't. I was only interested in staying in contact with my son." I explained carefully, "I'll go down to Metropolis Law Firm and see if Isabella will represent me in a custody hearing and-"_

 _"No."_

 _"What?"_

 _"If you want this marriage to work…you can't see **HIM** either."_

 _"What? Are you joking?!" I shrieked, "Aleena, he's my child—"_

 _" **AND SO ARE THEY!** " She retorted, pointing to the three baby who cowered in one corner of their playpen as they looked at us with terror in their eyes._

 _"He's my son, Aleena. I can't just abandon him."_

 _"He's not your son. He's a pawn in her pathetic game."_

 _"Even so…He is mine, and I won't abandon him because of your insecurity. You can't make me do that."_

 _"The hell I can't." She seethed maliciously, stomping over to the playpen._

 _I watched in confusion as she forcefully yanked the triplets one by one up into her arms, the three of them crying and utterly terrified._

 _"What're you doing?" I asked her._

 _"I'm giving you a choice." She stated coldly, "You either stop seeing them…or you **NEVER** see me or our kids again."_

 _How could anyone do that? How could anyone ever ask someone to choose between their children like that?_

 _I knew she was serious, and that no matter what…I was going to lose someone._

 _I didn't want to, but I made an impossible decision._

 _I chose to remain with her and the triplets._

 _I called Bernadette and told her that it was over and stood true to my word and didn't see them for months. Then somewhere along the line something in my heart told me to check on them despite everything, and so I did_

 _In secret I traveled back to Moebius to find Scourge alone in the apartment covered in blood, beaten with two visible knife wounds to the chest._

 _I was horrified. I looked for Bernadette everywhere but she was long gone. I could tell because his diaper hadn't been changed and he was frail from near starvation._

 _I couldn't bring him to the hospital. Aleena had friends in the medical field that could easily check up on records to see I was the one who brought him in, and she'd no doubt take off with my other children at the first sign of betrayal._

 _I could do nothing for him but look after him myself with my knowledge of first-aid until the wounds on his chest healed up a bit more. Then I began paying the local prostitutes to look after him, most notably, Penelope Platypus._

 _I never saw him again…_

 _From that day forth, the day Aleena had forced me to abandon Scourge, I found it difficult to even look at Manic…because he looked exactly like the son I left behind…and I just felt sick to my stomach whenever he came near me…whenever he called me dad…_

 _I guess Aleena noticed this, and since she could no longer birth children herself anymore, she took me to Metropolis Sanctuary where we found Tails, and talked me into adopting him._

 _Even so…to this day I still think about my first child…the child I loved so dearly but was forced away from…_

 _Scourge the Hedgehog.'_

"That's an awful situation, Jules." Vigil sighed as the two military partners sat outside on the balcony of the base that overlooked the city of Moebius together. "I wouldn't know what to do myself if it were me in your shoes."

"I just can't believe I actually listened to her. I should have fought harder for all my children. I regret so much."

"Your only regret should be her, and all those other girls you messed around with. Nothing crazy like this would've ever happened to you if you just stuck by Alicia the way you should have…"

"Well, teenagers don't really think about the future like that. I was just a selfish teen enjoying whatever I could get my hands on." The blue hedgehog sighed before eyeing his chameleon friend through the side of his eye with a smirk. "If only everyone's marriage could be as blissful as your marriage to Valdez was, or even as picture-perfect as Rosemary's was to Amadeus."

* * *

In the faculty room, all the way in back at the big, round tables sat the three head security guards and school counselor. They all sat with nothing but a cup of coffee in front of each of them as they eyed each other and talked about the newly discovered issue of a nude photo scandal.

"Shouldn't we just tell the chipmunk in charge?" Zector questioned with a shrug of his broad shoulders, "She'd be able to get to the bottom of this real quick."

"We can't just jump to conclusions." The blue hedgehog beside him sighed, taking a sip from his mug. "We aren't even sure if the girl in the images is actually a student here."

"That's right." Tikal agreed, "We shouldn't inform Alicia about any of this until we are absolutely sure this girl is a student here."

"Sorry I couldn't get close enough to make a proper ID." The chameleon sitting across from her apologized, staring down at his mug in shame.

"It's alright." She assured him, "We'll figure this out somehow."

"Well…seeing as how we're desperate…" Zector piped up once more, all eyes on him yet again. "Should we start taking…desperate measures?"

"What exactly do you mean by _'desperate measures'_?" Zonic rose a skeptical eyebrow.

"We're **NOT** beating any students up, Zector." Zespio stated bluntly, "It's unethical…like I've told you before."

"I didn't mean anything like that!" The croc whined, pouting as he crossed his arms. "I've heard about this kid named, Nack the Weasel. Apparently, he's always got the scoop on everything that goes on around here. I overheard some girls talking about him outside of the café."

"No way." Zonic shook his head in refusal, "We aren't going through some wannabe news reporter kid for serious information."

"It's a thought." Zector sighed.

Tikal just bit her lip as she stared down at her mug deep in thought, wondering if the girl in the images was really from their school—or better yet, how she must be feeling about such private images going viral.

* * *

Unfortunately, her break had ended before she could unwind fully. Ms. Breezie pouted in disappointment before getting up from the couch in the teacher's lounge to dump out the remainder of her now cold coffee in the kitchen station sink.

She glanced back at the counselor and three officers sitting in the back whispering to one another, wondering what in the world they were hiding.

She made a mental note to pry into it later, then carried on out of the room and toward her classroom upstairs to prepare a lesson plan for the day.

The gorgeous teacher stopped just a few feet short of reaching her room, noticing the orange echidna girl that stealthily slipped out and dashed away.

Curiously, she then walked over to wrench the door of her classroom open to reveal her desk to be a tarnished mess yet again.

She recognized the student who had been sneaking out to be Shade the Echidna thanks to the posters of the basketball star who had won the school their first place trophy.

The teal woman was furious, but knew she couldn't instill any fear or control over the echidna because she didn't have her English class.

 _'That damn mongoose whore…'_ Breezie growled in her mind before a wide smirk crossed her face with a devious idea _, 'Well then, if she's recruited students to partake in our little game of cat and mouse, then so can I…right?'_

She then laughed evilly and took down to the scary hallway of the main building that only the bad kids seemed to reside in. There, she spotted four brutish looking female students and called out to them with a wad of cash.

* * *

Sonia sat by herself once again at one of the picnic tables by the fountain. She sipped on a fruity beverage with a history textbook laid out in front of her although her attention was mostly on her phone as she scrolled through Instagram.

She had arrived with best friend, Honey, but the cat had to leave early to get to class on time. Ever since the phone call from her upset mother yesterday, the worried cat had been studying and attending classes with little room left for hanging about the way she used to, leaving the magenta girl to loiter around campus by herself more often.

She hummed to herself as she scrolled though images of people on her friends list, shockingly coming across a picture of her blue brother and the other female hedgehog of their group.

"Really, Bro? Shuffling around girlfriends again?" She whined aloud in distaste as she favorited the image anyway, "When are you just gonna settle down and pick one already!"

The magenta hedgehog then shut off the screen to her phone and slid it gently into the pocket of her black skirt. She then closed her textbook and tossed the now empty drink cup into the nearby wastebasket.

Class was starting soon and she needed to get going herself.

As she took down one of the pathways toward the electives building for art class she smiled to herself at the tranquil feeling of being able to roam freely without worry thanks to her abstaining from a hopeless search for romanticism.

Her life really had been much quieter and simpler since she started focusing on herself more.

While smiling joyously to herself, the magenta hedgehog had unconsciously walked right in between two people who had been holding hands, literally tearing them apart from one another.

Once she felt the pressure of their arms at her stomach and the release of their hand holding she nearly fell over on her face, but thankfully caught herself. She then whipped her head around to apologize endlessly to the couple, only to come face-to-face with her old best friend and the girl he told her he intended to marry.

"Elias…" She breathed in shock, the auburn-haired boy doing the same in response.

"Sonia…" He replied, Megan worriedly looking in between the two who quickly turned away from each other and kept walking as if the other didn't exist.

Megan leaned forward as she walked beside the prince, catching a glimpse of the obvious bitterness on his face while the magenta girl who walked away from them wore a look of shame and sorrow.

* * *

Wave wracked her knuckles against the door of Jet's room several times before deciding to take matters into her own hands and opened it herself without his permission. Her blank expression fell into one of sympathy as she stared sorrowfully at the hawk who sat on his bed and looked down onto the campus grounds from the window above it.

"Jet…" She cooed softly, coming close enough to sit beside him on the twin-sized mattress. "What happened yesterday?"

He was quiet for a moment before finally breaking his gaze from the window to turn back to her, pain evident in his voice as he clutched on to that new cross he wore around his neck these days.

"I thought joining the LGBT club as a supporter would show the community how much I've changed in ideals and as a person since…that day." The hawk explained, "I didn't mean to piss everyone off so badly."

His childhood friend then rested a comforting hand on his shoulder, urging him to keep his head up and look at the tender features of her face.

"Not everyone is so forgiving around here." Wave warned him, "And what happened between you and the LGBT club is a tough road to come back from, but not impossible. Hell, I managed to forgive you, even with all the mean things you used to say to me."

"Well, it's certainly impossible when no one else will give me the second chance to prove myself…" Jet replied bitterly, brushing her hand off his shoulder as he turned to stare back out the window…directly at the flagpole Rotor Walrus had hung himself from, thinking back to how his older brother had killed himself in the same manner so long ago. "I wish…I had killed myself back then too. Then none of this would have ever happened, and everyone would be happy."

Wave frowned at hearing such a horrible thing escape him, but she knew there was nothing she could say to make him think differently. She merely sat there and watched over him, wondering to herself how someone could find their way out of the darkness when no one was willing to reach out.

* * *

 _'I never thought a text could hurt so bad._

 _How could he just end things between us by text? Especially after…he and I…did **THAT** at the lake only the night before._

 _Did I do something wrong? Or was the stress of everything going on about those stupid pictures just getting to him?_

 _I've gotta fix this._

 _It must all be some misunderstanding, right?_

 _C'mon Sally…._

 _If you keep hiding in your dorm room like this you'll not only fail all your classes, but you'll also lose the boy you've fallen so hard for._

 _I've gotta go find him and find out what's going on before it's too late.'_

Against the anxiety and worry she felt in her heart, Sally Acorn miraculously got dressed and left the girl's dorm willingly for the first time in days.

She just needed to find Sonic and ask him what the text was about. She was utterly clueless to the change, and was desperate for answers.

Leaving her room and stepping out onto campus grounds again was like a rabbit wandering into the lion's den.

Eyes immediately flew in her direction with a spark of maliciousness to them as they recognized her.

"Oh look, the whore's out on the prowl!" Someone hollered at her as she hugged herself tightly and scurried down the pathway toward the main building. "How much for a blowy?"

"Oh my Chaos! It's her! It's her!"

"Amy shouldn't have made that public. This bitch probably saw it and is coming to start some bullshit again."

"I'll beat her ass if she tries to mess with Amy's happiness anymore!"

"Fucking whore."

" **SLUTTY SLUTCORN!** "

Sally bit her lip hard, drawing blood from it while she moved her hands up to her ears and covered them. The harsh comments were too much to bear and she was slowly succumbing to her anxiety.

Instead of searching for Sonic like she had intended, her mind went into panic mode and her feet carried her off in search of a new place to hide.

* * *

In the nurse's office, Nurse Bernadette had directed the lynx girl who had strolled into her office toward the back where a sore chameleon laid on one of the cots. The hedgehog woman assured her that it'd be fine to visit for a bit and drew the curtains to give them privacy while she carried on back toward her post at her desk by the door.

"Nicole…" Espio sighed, "You didn't have to come visit me. I'm being let out of here in a few hours."

"Sorry…" The shy lynx apologized, her jade eyes rested on her lap as her mind was more elsewhere at the moment. "I just…didn't have anywhere else to go with my friends splitting up for the time being and stuff…"

"It's fine. I'm glad you're here." The chameleon smiled, hoping to gain her attention back his way. "It's only a dislocated shoulder. We thought it was broken, but turns out it's not. So there's no need to look so worried. That's just the price I pay for thinking I could take on one of Coach Sleuth's death runs."

His explanation fell upon deaf ears as the lynx girl was nowhere near conscious enough in the moment to even pretend to be listening. Her mind had wandered back to yesterday, that scary look of satisfaction she had seen in Shard Metal's eyes when he was pulverizing that poor student in the hallway.

"Nicole!" Espio called out again, much more worry to his voice this time.

"S-Sorry!" She yelped, finally snapping out of the memory to recall where she was at the moment.

"What's wrong?" He then asked, making her gaze fall back to her lap once more as she debated on whether or not she should speak her mind, knowing the subject was one that he couldn't really stand.

"Well, I've just been thinking about…Shard lately." The raven-haired girl murmured, "I'm worried about him."

"Shard? Why would you even be thinking about that jerk?"

Nicole then took a deep breath and explained to him everything Blaze had told her before. About how the letter had been a fake, how troubled he's been, and how worried the cat was for him.

For someone so compassionate and empathetic, Espio really didn't seem moved, and it was evident in the tone of his voice when he replied.

"Even so, that doesn't negate the fact that he's been bullying people around with Nack the Weasel and Mephiles the Dark." The chameleon stated ever so coldly, "It's not like he's being held prisoner. He's got choices, and this is what he chooses to do. Neither you nor that Blaze girl can change it. He doesn't deserve your worry or hers."

Despite wanting to protest, the lynx girl found herself clammed shut. She knew she was getting nowhere in talking with him about this. Shard was probably the only subject the couple couldn't agree upon.

* * *

 _'I remember the relief I felt when he walked through the door and scooped me up off the floor._

 _I thought, dad's back! He'll protect from her…from anything and everything._

 _But nope._

 _He just up and left once I was better. Didn't even tell me why or where he was off too. Not that it would have made much of a difference. I was just a little kid and probably wouldn't remember anyway._

 _I hate them both—but I especially hate her._

 _That woman who was supposed to be my mom._

 _The school nurse who looks after everyone else' children. That's some ironic shit that belongs in a drama novel, isn't it?_

 _One thing I haven't been understanding is why…why I get so terrified when she's near me. It wasn't like that before I knew she was my real mom._

 _Why does she still scare me so bad? I'm not a fucking baby anymore!_

 _It was so easy to pull a gun on Manic's mom when I was so sure she was the one who abandoned me. So why can't I stand up to the real mom who threw me away?'_

Scourge just leaned up against the lockers adjacent to the nurse's office as he stared through the slightly opened door at the purple hedgehog wrapping a few bandages around a chameleon student's shoulder ever so caringly.

He dug his nails into his forearms as he glared on with such envy, noting in his mind of all the times that nurse refused to treat him for reasons unbeknownst to him—making sense of her distain toward him despite never really doing anything to her personally.

"Fucking bitch." He muttered to himself before finally standing up to stomp away.

* * *

Silver sighed to himself as he took down the halls of the main building yet again, this time without so much pep in his step due to the crushing disappointment that he'd be forced to attend the best concert ever alone tonight.

In his hands was a cardboard box full of several science equipment that Dr. Robotnik had chosen him to retrieve from the supply closet and deliver back to the science classroom on the third floor while the room was vacant.

To Silver it was cruel and unusual punishment…choosing the lankiest, weakest, and dorky-looking kid to do such a physically straining task when there were meatheads like Storm the Albatross, Bark the Polar Bear, and Drago Wolf in the same class who could pull off such a task with little to no effort at all.

The white hedgehog was at least grateful he'd have something to do to kill a bit of time before he'd have to catch the last bus off campus to get to the concert in about a half hour.

By the time he had the box and was just one hall away from the room his back already felt strained and his calves were still screaming from the several flights of stairs.

Without a moment to spare he opened the door to the empty classroom and slammed the box down on the nearest desk he could find.

He inhaled deep breaths as he leaned his back on the desk and used his hand to wipe the sweat from his brow.

"Jeez." The white hedgehog whined, completely exhausted from the trip. "I thought I was gonna die for sure—"

He quickly ceased whining to himself once his ears perked up at the sound of a noise. He quickly stood up straight again despite the pain shooting through his legs. He looked around at the empty classroom, curious as to what the sound could have possibly been.

It was silent for several seconds before it happened again, and then again.

"Crying?" He murmured to himself as he began walking around the empty classroom, "From…here?" He questioned as he made his way to Dr. Robotnik's desk, listening as the sound of muffled sobs came from the wooden piece of furniture.

He then got on his knees and peered his amber eyes underneath the desk, catching sight of what the source had been.

An auburn-haired chipmunk sitting on the floor beneath the desk, face down as she sobbed into her knees. She was holding a giant pair of glasses in one of the hands she had wrapped around herself.

"Hey…" He called out to her, the chipmunk instantly jolting her head up in fright. "Are you okay?"

Once her head flew up his eyes widened. Not from the fact that he recognized her, but because of the nasty scars tainting her otherwise pretty face.

She quickly fumbled to put her glasses on, adjusting them as she stared back at his worrisome expression.

"Piano Boy…" She mumbled, wiping her tears on the white sleeve of her jacket.

"Why are you crying?" He asked first and foremost, her sorrowful demeanor making him too upset to be glad to finally catch up with her again.

"Well…everyone hates me for one…and my boyfriend just dumped me over a text message last night and didn't really explain why…" The chipmunk explained honestly despite hardly knowing the white hedgehog. There was just something about the compassionate look in his amber eyes that made her feel a bit safe.

"That's awful." He sighed, heart going out to her before a hopeful idea popped into his mind. "It sounds like you need a pick me up."

"I doubt there's anything that could pick me up at this point." The chipmunk frowned down at the floor, "I feel beaten to the ground just about now."

"Well uh…this might sound stupid but…do you like the band, Crush 40?"

"That is a stupid question." She replied, making the hedgehog blush in embarrassment before her laughter called him back to happiness. "They're actually my favorite band. I have all their albums."

His amber eyes instantly lit up like stars to hear her say that. The band wasn't really all that liked, so it was pretty rare to find someone who did enjoy them. Of course he'd jump at the opportunity. He immediately dug into his pocket and pulled out the two tickets Gold had presented him with months back to show her.

"Really? Then how about you come to the concert with me tonight?" The white hedgehog asked excitedly, "I have an extra ticket and don't really want to go all by myself like a dork."

"I'd love to but…" Sally began but quickly trailed off as she looked back down at the floor in sorrow, "You wouldn't want to hang around with someone like me…"

"Why not?"

"Everyone hates me, and if you hang around me I'm sure they'll start hating you too."

"Oh, you **DEFINITELY** don't have to worry about that." The hedgehog chuckled, standing to extend his hand out for her to take so he could help her up. "Everyone already thinks I'm a loser. My name's Silver by the way."

"Silver…" The auburn-haired girl smiled weakly, taking his hand so he could lift her off the floor and stand beside him. "My name is Sally."

"Sally." He replied with a nod of his head, "I've been wanting to know your name since that first time we met in the auditorium."

"Really?"

"Yeah!" He chuckled, "It's a big campus. Looking around for you was like searching for a needle in a hay stack. Even though we've got the same English class we sit on opposite sides of a way too crowded room."

"That's right. I nearly forgot I saw you in there a few times when I used to sit closer to the front."

"It's pretty funny actually. Anyways, how about we head off to the bus stop?" Silver smiled at her, "You look like you could use a break from this place."

* * *

"You said we'd have the video by now!" Nack wailed, pacing back and forth in his dorm in front of a very annoyed Mephiles. "Well? Where the hell s it!"

"We'll have it soon enough." The gray-striped boy replied in his typical stoic tone, "Judging by the way he tried to approach me in the hall yesterday I'm sure he's got the video already. We're simply waiting on delivery at this point."

"You better be right about this, Mephy. Ya'hear? I've got a lot of money riding on this Chaos dammed video and I can't have any more pushbacks or screw ups."

The weasel then broke his pacing pattern to go flop down into his computer chair with a heavy sigh. He took off his iconic hat and waved it in the air a bit before placing it back on himself.

Mephiles eyed him curiously, taking note of absolutely every little detail of the other senior. It was obvious that he had a lot riding on this video, but why?

"You seem to be very eager to obtain this video, you've been that way from the very beginning. Why is that?" Mephiles questioned, "This isn't your usual blackmail buyer, is it?"

"You're darn right it ain't." The purple teen grinned, allowing his elongated tooth to appear. "This buyer's pretty new to me, and offered me more money for this one video than every blackmail buyer I've ever sold to in the last six months!"

From the corner of the room and far away from the two mischievous seniors, Shard once again stood by the door with his arms crossed. He glared at the two briefly before roaming back into thoughts, specifically thinking about how Blaze hadn't tried to contact him in the last few days.

 _'She's probably given up on me too…not that I care.'_ He thought to himself, _'For some reason I just thought she'd be different.'_

* * *

On her way back to the dorm after classes, Mina had yet another blissful, romantic phone conversation with her new boyfriend and ex-teacher, Ash Mongoose.

Due to being busy buying paint to cover the walls of his apartment that Breezie had tarnished he had to cut the call short, leaving the lavender-haired girl to continue walking in silence.

She passed by fellow students and fans alike every now and then, her mood the brightest it had been in weeks. She exchanged waves and smiles whenever she had to, heart radiating with the light Ash brought out in her.

However, the mood suddenly began to shift into one of surprise as she finally made it to the girl's dorm and noticed an ambulance waiting outside.

Being so far away from cities, it was rare to see vehicles that didn't belong to students on campus—let alone a city ambulance.

There was a small group formed outside the dorm that the mongoose had jogged over to join, searching for her cat friend or the hedgehog she hung around for the scoop on what was happening.

After shoving her way past a few people, Mina had caught a sobbing Sonia out the corner of her eye and quickly made her way over in that direction.

"Sonia!" She called out, shoving more people aside until she was close enough to the hedgehog to speak. "What's going on?"

The magenta girl just turned and looked at her, jade eyes widening in surprise before overflowing with tears once more. She didn't answer, just cried louder and threw her arms around the mongoose to cry into her shoulder.

Mina stood there in confusion for a few moments before a dramatic realization hit her. She then yanked the hedgehog off of herself by the shoulders to address her with such panic in her voice.

"Where's, Honey?!" She shouted, shaking the hedgehog who only continued to cry. "Sonia! **WHERE THE HELL IS, HONEY?!** "

"I…I ran into Elias and got upset…so I came to look for her to talk to…When I couldn't find her in her room…I went to the bathroom…and I found her…bloody…and beaten to a pulp."

"Wh-What?" Mina stammered in absolute shock as she turned back to the ambulance that was just on I's way to the dirt road that led into town.

"I called Nurse Bernadette, and she said Honey's condition was too critical to treat here so we waited an hour for the ambulance to come." Sonia continued, the mongoose girl's heart sinking as she thought of her only true friend being treated in the ambulance.

"Who did this to her?"

"No one saw a thing." The magenta girl muttered as she dried her tears, "No one knows."

"Honey…" Mina mumbled to herself as she watched the ambulance finally disappear behind the tree lining, then through the corner of her eye she spotted another familiar face in the crowd.

A very entertained looking English teacher with a grin as wide as the ocean.

* * *

 **BAM! How'd you like getting hit with those revisits and more convoluted twists, eh? Sorry, meant to post it way sooner thanks to the TONS of love you guys have been showing, but life gets in the way sometimes. I really appreciate all of you putting in your two cents because it is GRAVELY necessary in helping me wrap this bad boy up! I read every word, take in every suggestion, and sometimes I'm even surprised that theories turn out so point on! You'll be finding out which theory I'm taking about very soon….**

 **So let's start off with Jules the Hedgehog, father of the triplets…and Scourge. Really fucked up situation. I've been unraveling you his character from the point of others on purpose to show you how everything isn't always as it seems. At the start of this story you all thought he was an awful father and husband, immediately taking Aleena's side without question because most people forget that woman can be just as cruel and scummy as men.**

 **Admittedly, the man had made many mistakes with women, but was always ready to do whatever he had to for his children…even Scourge. The problem was the vindictive and toxic women he had messed with who forced him into situations he didn't want.**

 **He DIDN'T want to abandon Scourge, his wife forced him to out of jealousy, threatening him with taking away his other three. It's a sick and disgusting thing to think about but it should be made aware that there are some horrible and selfish people out there that use their children as pawns in disgusting games like this.**

 **The reason he found it so hard to love or even look at Manic is because all he could see in him was the son he was forced to abandon and it broke his heart to pieces every time.**

 **Moving on, Mighty and Elias have stepped up big time. Two of the most humblest of guys taking on such heavy loads to protect and care for their loved ones. Both of them have spent their entire lives taking care of the needs of others…makes you wonder who'll give them the time they need?**

 **I had this chapter prewritten before I saw this one specific review, but you really nailed it Guest! Revisiting the small moments Sally and Silver have had throughout the story, the two nerds have finally found each other again and are now aware of one another's existence! Is this the start of a nerd resistance forming? Or will the chipmunk's presence in his life unintentionally drag Silver back to the hellish nightmare of bullying along with her?**

 **Poor Jet. Unfortunately, for him, this story takes a much more realistic approach to redemption in certain aspects so his turn around hasn't come…and might not ever… What do you guys think?**

 **Lastly, things have really risen drastically between Isabella and Breezie…but have they finally…gone TOO far?**

 **Keep up the love guys! We're nearing the finishing line and a lot of shit is about to go down! Remember, all couples are still shufflalbe at this point…even ships you might assume are dead like BlazexSonic, FionaxTails, or even KnucklesxSonia! Anything is up for grabs at this point…so don't lose hope and keep putting your opinion out there no matter how unpopular you think it seems! I enjoy unique pairings, ideas, and these theories just kill me sometimes!**

 **Next Time On Green Hill Academy!**

 **Silver and Sally make a great escape!**

 **Mina Mongoose vs Sonia the Hedgehog**

 **Mephiles is on the hunt for Sonic and that video**

 **Things don't look good for Julie-Su…**

 **RIP Honey?!**

 **And so much more!**

 **Fun Question: It's finally been unveiled that Nack the Weasel is desperate for the video of Sally because someone is paying him big time for it! Any theories on who this person is?**


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